Thursday, September 29, 2005

Spotlight
London's reorganized police force went on duty on this date in 1829. British Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel introduced the legislation establishing the new police force, hence the popular nickname for London police, "bobbies." Scotland Yard got its name from the street where the police headquarters were located. It purportedly had been the site of a palace used to house visiting Scottish kings in the 12th century.

Quote
"The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession." – Sherlock Holmes

Word of the day
HOLMES: the British police's computer database; the acronym is based on the name of famed fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. (© test2)

Today's News

• Tom DeLay: House Majority Leader steps down after being indicted (story)
• yoga: grows in popularity among Australian men (story)
• $10 bill: US unveils new version to thwart counterfeiters (story)
• Oy Vey!: Yiddish expression of dismay greets motorists leaving Brooklyn (story)

Today's History

• Munich Pact: England and France agreed to give Nazi Germany the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia; this became a symbol of appeasement (1938)
• The Catch: Willie Mays snagged a 450-foot blast in the World Series in one of baseball's most memorable plays (1954)
• Tylenol scare: the first of 7 deaths in the Chicago area from ingestion of cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules (1982)

Today's Birthdays

• Pompey The Great: rival of Julius Caesar (106-48 BCE)
• Enrico Fermi: Nobel-winning nuclear fission pioneer (1901-1954)
• Jerry Lee Lewis: rock musician, "Great Balls of Fire" (70)