User:MIDI/DYK

... that "Albino Ballerina", the final single by indie rock band Sweet Jesus, gained extensive critical acclaim before the band's commercial success dwindled and they soon disbanded?
... that Broad Street in Reading, England – the site of a 1688 battle and crucial to the Earl of Essex's siege of the town – is now a pedestrianised shopping street?
... that Rock 'n' Roll Prophet, the only album on which Rick Wakeman sang lead vocals, received criticising reviews that described it as "goofy", "novelty", and like "pressing the self-destruct button"?
... that the Outer Trial Bank, a nature reserve in East Anglia, UK, was originally built as part of a failed government scheme to barrage the Wash and create a reservoir?
... that "Have Ya Got Any Gum, Chum?", a 1944 novelty jazz song written by Murray Kane and performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, was inspired by a phrase used by British children towards American soldiers during World War II?
... that A.F.C. Aldermaston, a non-league football club from Berkshire, has been dubbed the "worst English football team in history" after losing 40 consecutive matches?
... that in 1844, Joseph Tubb created The Poem Tree by carving a 20-line poem into the bark of a beech tree (pictured) at Wittenham Clumps?
... that the piano riff played by Johnny Parker on the 1956 song "Bad Penny Blues" has been suggested as a possible influence on The Beatles' "Lady Madonna"?
... that George Shepherd (sample painting pictured) was one of the founding members of what is now the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours?
... that one suggested toponomy of Baughurst in Hampshire is that the village is named after the "wood of the badgers"?
... that con man Alexander Day used the name 'Marmaduke Davenport Esq.' to convince his victims that he was a member of the gentry in order to gain purchasing credit, which he would never repay?
... that the rock gong was a neolithic musical instrument made out of dolerite that would resonate with a metallic tone when struck with a small igneous stone?
... that the ADEOS II satellite, which cost 70 billion yen (US$570 million) to develop, failed 10 months into the mission after the solar panel malfunctioned?
... that the NASDA satellite ADEOS I malfunctioned less than a year in orbit – a fate repeated by its successor six years later?
... that Thomas Barrie, found guilty in 1538 of spreading rumours about Henry VIII of England, had his ears cut off while in the pillory and later died from shock?
... that "The Ballad of Molly Mogg" was "writ by two or three men of wit" – John Gay, Alexander Pope and Dean Swift – while sheltering from a storm?
... that in the 1930s, there were concerns that the BBC-Marconi Type A microphone (pictured) would infringe the patent of a similar, but more expensive, microphone made by RCA?
... that Charles Ingle, who composed the music for "My Old Dutch", gained his pseudonym during a "spirit of waggery"?
... that Google's Art Project features digital versions of 17 pieces of artwork (including Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, pictured) at a resolution of 7 gigapixels?
... that Geoff Emerick, who co-created the send tape echo echo delay audio effect at Abbey Road Studios, once said that "God only knows" how it worked?
... that although audio spill is often undesirable in the recording of popular music, it can be heard on records by The Beatles and Christina Aguilera?
... that in 1893, stockbroker and Knight Templar Charles Edward Keyser bought Aldermaston Court – a mansion built by a student of his grandfather?
... that Daniel and Anne-Margaretta Burr's eldest son, Higford, took an ancestor's surname – and was known as Higford Higford?
... that when he established Genetic Studios in 1980, record producer Martin Rushent spent £35,000 on air conditioning alone?
... that despite reports that they played so badly their set was cut short, The Beatles' first performance at Lathom Hall led to a number of future bookings there, earning them the 2005 equivalent of £120 per concert?
... that Brian Epstein was so angered that The Beatles were paid in loose change for a gig at the Aintree Institute, he never booked with the venue's promoter again?
... that after his shooting in 1881, U.S. President Garfield was treated by Doctor Doctor Bliss (pictured)?
... that the Coles 4038 microphone, used on records by The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, has the appearance of a waffle iron?
... that in 1963, a whole farm—including machinery, staff and a pedigree herd of Hereford cattle—travelled by train from Tetbury railway station to Stranraer in advance of the Beeching Axe?
... that the first captain of the Titanic was Captain Haddock?
... that the French research vessel Le Suroît was involved in the search for the wreck of the RMS Titanic but missed it by less than one kilometre?
... that despite signing it in 1986, President Ronald Reagan objected to parts of the RMS Titanic Maritime Memorial Act?
... that the "most famous signature in rock 'n' roll" – the opening riff to Chuck Berry's 1958 hit "Johnny B Goode" – was actually a jazz riff played 12 years earlier by Carl Hogan?
... that the drum introduction to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" actually copied Charles Connor's drumming on Little Richard's 1957 hit "Keep A-Knockin'"?
... that Monmouthpedia has led to Monmouth being described as the "world's first Wikipedia town"?
... that Yes's 1970–71 tour began with Steve Howe joining the band and ended with Tony Kaye leaving?
... that Yes cancelled a show on their Fragile Tour after the van carrying their PA system broke down—as did two others sent to replace it?
... that on Yes's 1972–73 tour, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe played a rendition of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" at an Australian show?
... that Danny Gatton's 1991 album 88 Elmira St. featured a version of "The Simpsons Theme", with the added sound effect of a fart?
... that The Backstreet Boys had a song called "Fuck Off"?
... that Bono counts off the song "Vertigo" with "one, two, three, fourteen!" in Spanish?
... that Tina Turner sang on "A Fool in Love"—her breakthrough hit—after original vocalist Art Lassiter failed to turn up for the song's recording session?
... that more than 200 performers appeared on recordings by The Beatles, playing instruments such as an alarm clock and a heap of gravel?
... that Henry John Elwes described Wellingtonia Avenue (pictured) as "by far the best avenue" of giant sequoia that he had seen?
... that the Back to the Future musical is scheduled to première in the West End in 2015—the same year that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelled to in Back to the Future Part II?
... that although the Beatles had a more successful version, the first recording of "Twist and Shout" was by The Top Notes, and was produced by Phil Spector—who later went on to produce The Beatles?
... that canal engineer John Hore was described as setting a new standard for inland waterways with the Kennet navigation, also characterized as an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution?
... that a pumping station on the River Jordan used a section of the damaged funnel from the SS Great Eastern as a water filter?
... that an earthquake on 11 September 1275 caused the destruction of the church on Glastonbury Tor (tor and rebuilt church pictured) and was felt across England and Wales, but its epicentre is unknown?
... that a local story suggests that in 1912, a cow swam the entire 1,630-yard (1,490 m) length of the Foulridge Tunnel before being pulled out and treated to some brandy?
... that The Straight Mile (pictured) is not a straight mile, and includes The Culvert which isn't a culvert?
... that civil engineer Charles Blackwell was the third Blackwell (after his father and his grandfather) to be elected to the Institution of Civil Engineers?
... that the Seven Wonders of the Waterways includes the UK's longest and highest aqueduct, its longest, deepest, and highest canal tunnel, and the world's only swinging aqueduct?
... that Thomas Evans Blackwell was, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the first hydraulic engineer in England?
... that John Blackwell was dismissed for being "bigoted and obstinate" by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for suggesting a new road might cause a landslide, which indeed happen once the road was built?
... that the Concert Hall inside the BBC's Broadcasting House was pressed into service as a dormitory at the outbreak of World War II?
... that despite Charles Jones already having a reputation for ineptitude and dishonesty, he was awarded the contract to dig the longest canal tunnel in England?
... that the Cassington Canal was built by the Duke of Marlborough to connect his lands to the River Thames and the country's network of canals and rivers?
... that one surveyor's proposal for removing the Blackwall Rock obstruction in the Thames involved using explosives he knew would likely kill some of the labourers?
... that Henry Eastburn studied under his uncle John Smeaton before undertaking his own civil engineering projects, such as the Basingstoke Canal?