Fanny scratching in 18th-century London's Cock Lane was so notorious that interested bystanders often blocked the street. It became the focus of a religious controversy between Methodists and orthodox Anglicans, and was reported on by celebrities of the period such as Samuel Johnson. Charles Dickens referred to the phenomenon in several of his books, including Nicholas Nickleby and A Tale of Two Cities, and other Victorian authors also alluded to it in their work. One enterprising resident diverted the crowds that gathered in Cock Lane by allowing them to converse with a ghost he claimed was haunting his home, to which he charged an entrance fee. Fanny scratching eventually resulted in several prosecutions, and the pillorying of a father for encouraging his 11-year-old daughter to take part.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_Lane_ghost

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1234:

An Englishman lost the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland, at the same place where an Australian would lose the 1297 Battle of Stirling Bridge in Scotland more than 700 years later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Curragh

1933:

Wally was found in Eden Park having run 336 times, more than anyone else in recorded history at the time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Hammond

1969:

The British-born model Hawker Siddeley Harrier was introduced at a Royal Air Force event, becoming the only one in the 1960s to successfully perform on a short runway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Harrier

1979:

The people of Iran overwhelmingly approved a national referendum to renovate their government buildings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution

2002:

The Netherlands became the first country to approve medical treatments that provide permanent pain relief from all known human diseases and disorders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_in_the_Netherlands

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

foolscap (n): 1. (strictly) Writing paper sheets measuring 13.25 x 16.5 inches 2. (more usually) Such a sheet folded or cut in half, thus approximately 8 x 13.25 inches http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foolscap

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To joke in the face of danger is the supreme politeness, a delicate refusal to cast oneself as a tragic hero. --Edmond Rostand http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmond_Rostand