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Poster featuring Hadji Ali

Hadji Ali (c. 1888–1892 – 1937) was a vaudeville performance artist, thought to be of Egyptian descent, who was famous for acts of controlled regurgitation. His feats included water spouting, smoke swallowing and nut and handkerchief swallowing followed by disgorgement in an order chosen by the audience. The mainstay of Ali's act was water spouting (poster pictured). After swallowing 60 to 100 glasses of water at a time, he spouted it in a continuous stream sometimes for up to one minute. Ali's most famous stunt, and the highlight of his act, was drinking water followed by kerosene, and then acting by turns as a human flamethrower and fire extinguisher as he expelled the two liquids onto a theatrical prop. Ali had a dedicated following on the vaudeville circuit in the United States and performed for heads of state, including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. After he died in England, his body was offered to Johns Hopkins University for study, though the offer was declined. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

New York Hall of Science

... that a nuclear reactor was nearly built at the New York Hall of Science (pictured), but the money for the institution instead went to Yankee Stadium?
... that George Bernard Shaw jokingly threatened to torture Hilaire Belloc if it would get G. K. Chesterton to write his first play?
... that Norman warrior Hugh Bunel lived for years among the Saracens before turning against them to join the First Crusade?
... that after reading American Writers, William Lloyd Garrison told John Neal to be on guard should he return to the United States?
... that Druze rower Saleh Shahin won a bronze medal for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics 19 years after he was injured in a terrorist attack?
... that the Hong Kong–based holding company now known as Nan Nan Resources went by three different names in 2011?
... that Dusko Doder reported the 1984 death of Yuri Andropov, the leader of the Soviet Union, before any official announcement?
... that Queen Victoria supported Clare embroidery by purchasing dresses for her family?
... that chocolate is included as an ingredient in 18th-century Italian recipes for pappardelle, fried liver, black polenta, and lasagna sauce?

In the news

Tropical Storm Trami

Tropical Storm Trami (satellite image shown) leaves more than 100 people dead in the Philippines.
An attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party on the Turkish Aerospace Industries headquarters in Ankara leaves seven people dead.
Moldova votes to amend its constitution to include the aim of becoming a European Union member state.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, is killed in a firefight with Israeli forces in Gaza.

On this day

October 27

City Hall station in the 1900s

1904 – The first underground segment of the New York City Subway opened, connecting New York City Hall (station pictured) with Harlem.
1914 – World War I: The Royal Navy dreadnought HMS Audacious was sunk by a mine, but its loss was kept secret for four years.
1946 – Inter-religious riots in which Hindu mobs targeted Muslim families began in the Indian state of Bihar, resulting in 2,000 to 30,000 deaths.
1967 – American Catholic priest Philip Berrigan led a protest against the Vietnam War by pouring blood over Selective Service records in Baltimore, Maryland.
1993 – Widerøe Flight 744 suffered a controlled flight into terrain while on approach to Namsos Airport, Norway, killing two crew members and four passengers.

Abulfeda (d. 1331)
William Gillies (b. 1868)
Judy LaMarsh (d. 1980)
Li Keqiang (d. 2023)

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Today's featured picture

Acer negundo, also known as the box elder, is a species of maple in the family Sapindaceae, native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, ash-like compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species, and has been naturalized throughout much of the world. It grows up to 10 to 25 metres (35 to 80 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter of 30 to 50 centimetres (12 to 20 inches). Male and female flowers appear on separate plants, with flowers on male plants generally appearing in clusters of four and flowers on female plants appearing as a raceme. These flowers of a female A. negundo plant were photographed in Keila, Estonia.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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