The earliest book of English table manners was written by Daniel of Beccles in the time of Henry II. It prohibited elbows on tables, talking with full mouths and scratching armpits. It also gave guidance on what to do if the wife of the host were to make a pass at a guest: he should feign illness.
Fact of the Day
Quote of the Day
"Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its students.
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~ Hector Berlioz, composer
On This Day
1154 Nicholas Breakspear became the only Englishman ever to become pope, as Adrian IV.
1586 Mary Queen of Scots was publicly proclaimed guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I.
1791 Britain's oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, was first published