There were several famous events which occurred in the year 1954.
On 4th July that year, food rationing finally ended in Britain, nine years after WWII ended (rationing lasted longer in Britain than any other country); also in Britain, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes; the Queen became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia (it's hard to believe we've got the same Head of State now as we did in 1954); Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio; and huge areas of London and most other British cities were still derelict bomb-damaged sites.
Fans of 1950s music will probably also know that it's the year Bill Haley and the Comets released Rock Around the Clock.
But there was one particular day that year in which almost nothing of note occurred - 11th April. And it has been named the most boring day of the 20th Century.
After feeding 300million facts into a new computer search engine, experts in Cambridge have announced there were no key news events or births and deaths of famous people.
The best the machine could muster for the day was the fact that Belgium (the world's most boring and pointless "nation") had its fourth post-war general election and a Turkish academic who taught electronics was born.
It was also the day that former Notts County and Oldham Atheltic footballer Jack Shufflebotham passed way aged 69 and plans for a coup d’etat in Yanaon, a French colony in India, are believed to have been agreed (seven years after the British gave independence to their parts of India).
It is not the first time a particular day has been singled out for its lack of moment.
April 18, 1930 has been singled out for being particularly boring because on that day BBC Radio announced simply: ‘There is no news.’
Here isn't the news: April 11, 1954... the most boring day of the 20th century
By Andrew Levy
25th November 2010
Daily Mail
It was the year that Roger Bannister broke the four- minute mile and food rationing came to an end.
The Queen became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia and Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio.
But amid historic events of 1954 was a date which can only today be classed as significant – for its insignificance.
Enlarge
The front page of the Daily Mail from the 12th April 1954, the day after 'the world's most boring day'... but, of course, we still produced a dazzling newspaper
April 11 of that year has been identified by experts as the most boring of the 20th century – a day when nothing of note happened.
After feeding 300million facts into a new computer search engine they have announced there were no key news events or births and deaths of famous people.
The best the machine could muster for the day was the fact that Belgium had its fourth post-war general election and a Turkish academic who taught electronics was born.
Journeyman footballer Jack Shufflebotham, who played a handful of games for Oldham Athletic and Notts County, died, aged 69, and plans for a coup d’etat in Yanaon, a French colony in India, are believed to have been agreed.
But it could all have been so different for April 11. History notes that Bill Haley and the Comets recorded Rock Around The Clock the next day.
It is not the first time a particular day has been singled out for its lack of moment.
According to BBC Radio, April 18, 1930, was the dullest day of the 20th century after an announcer informed the nation at the 6.30pm bulletin: ‘There is no news.’
But the experts claim this date fell in the midst of the Great Depression and witnessed the death of Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, the first Cardinal to be born in Latin America.
There was also the birth of Clive Revill, the New Zealand-born actor best known for his Shakespearean performances on the London stage.
William Tunstall-Pedoe, founder of the new search engine True Knowledge, which is based in Cambridge, said: ‘When the results came back, the winner was April 11, 1954 – a Sunday.
‘Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim – Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.
‘The irony is, though, that – having done the calculation – the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring.
‘Unless, that is, you are Abdullah Atalar.’
True Knowledge, which provides a direct answer to a question instead of providing a list of links like other sites such as Google, was launched online in February this year.
The system can store hundreds of millions of facts about people, places, events and businesses.
The big stories in the Daily Mail on 12th April 1954 (the day after the world's most boring day)
British soldiers guarding Mau Mau terrorists in Kenya, 1954
U.S. races aid to Indo-China: US forces were organising a major airlift to ensure adequate military supplies reached French forces in Indo-China.
The Queen walks and the guests stay seated: The Queen was at a garden party in Colombo, what was then the capital of Sri Lanka, known then as Ceylon. The young queen (this was just days before she turned just 28 ) wowed the audience in a cool silk dress, although the picture is black and white, and no one recorded what colour it was.
Surrender offer to Mau Mau scrapped: British troops were fighting Mau Mau gangs in Kenya after withdrawing a mass surrender offer. RAF bombers swept over the forests, dropping tons of explosives on terrorist hideouts.
No repeats, musicians tell BBC: The Musicians Union banned all repeat recordings of BBC Programmes in which their musicians were used. Union leaders were demanding the full ‘live’ rate, rather than the smaller repeat payments which had been introduced because of the shortage of musicians in the war.
£50 Hook-up: A thief stole a £50 silver cup from a London flat after hooking it through a window with a long pole.
Amps for oil: Six thousand oil-lit farms in East Anglia were promised electric light – but they had to wait until the end of 1958 to see the light.
Catholics lose Belgian elections: Belgium’s government was in crisis then – as now – after the Catholic Party conceded defeat in the country’s fourth post-war General Election.
Ballet ‘might damage machine underneath’: Renowned ballerina Alicia Markova was banned from dancing on the stage of Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall after being told she might damage delicate machinery hidden underneath.
It was like first day of summer: Much of Britain basked in glorious sunshine as temperatures peaked at 26C.
Equal work for laundry man: A man who tried to take his washing to a laundry in Kensington was refused because the laundrette was ‘women only.’
dailymail.co.uk
On 4th July that year, food rationing finally ended in Britain, nine years after WWII ended (rationing lasted longer in Britain than any other country); also in Britain, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes; the Queen became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia (it's hard to believe we've got the same Head of State now as we did in 1954); Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio; and huge areas of London and most other British cities were still derelict bomb-damaged sites.
Fans of 1950s music will probably also know that it's the year Bill Haley and the Comets released Rock Around the Clock.
But there was one particular day that year in which almost nothing of note occurred - 11th April. And it has been named the most boring day of the 20th Century.
After feeding 300million facts into a new computer search engine, experts in Cambridge have announced there were no key news events or births and deaths of famous people.
The best the machine could muster for the day was the fact that Belgium (the world's most boring and pointless "nation") had its fourth post-war general election and a Turkish academic who taught electronics was born.
It was also the day that former Notts County and Oldham Atheltic footballer Jack Shufflebotham passed way aged 69 and plans for a coup d’etat in Yanaon, a French colony in India, are believed to have been agreed (seven years after the British gave independence to their parts of India).
It is not the first time a particular day has been singled out for its lack of moment.
April 18, 1930 has been singled out for being particularly boring because on that day BBC Radio announced simply: ‘There is no news.’
Here isn't the news: April 11, 1954... the most boring day of the 20th century
By Andrew Levy
25th November 2010
Daily Mail
It was the year that Roger Bannister broke the four- minute mile and food rationing came to an end.
The Queen became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia and Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio.
But amid historic events of 1954 was a date which can only today be classed as significant – for its insignificance.
Enlarge
The front page of the Daily Mail from the 12th April 1954, the day after 'the world's most boring day'... but, of course, we still produced a dazzling newspaper
April 11 of that year has been identified by experts as the most boring of the 20th century – a day when nothing of note happened.
After feeding 300million facts into a new computer search engine they have announced there were no key news events or births and deaths of famous people.
The best the machine could muster for the day was the fact that Belgium had its fourth post-war general election and a Turkish academic who taught electronics was born.
Journeyman footballer Jack Shufflebotham, who played a handful of games for Oldham Athletic and Notts County, died, aged 69, and plans for a coup d’etat in Yanaon, a French colony in India, are believed to have been agreed.
But it could all have been so different for April 11. History notes that Bill Haley and the Comets recorded Rock Around The Clock the next day.
It is not the first time a particular day has been singled out for its lack of moment.
According to BBC Radio, April 18, 1930, was the dullest day of the 20th century after an announcer informed the nation at the 6.30pm bulletin: ‘There is no news.’
But the experts claim this date fell in the midst of the Great Depression and witnessed the death of Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, the first Cardinal to be born in Latin America.
There was also the birth of Clive Revill, the New Zealand-born actor best known for his Shakespearean performances on the London stage.
William Tunstall-Pedoe, founder of the new search engine True Knowledge, which is based in Cambridge, said: ‘When the results came back, the winner was April 11, 1954 – a Sunday.
‘Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim – Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.
‘The irony is, though, that – having done the calculation – the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring.
‘Unless, that is, you are Abdullah Atalar.’
True Knowledge, which provides a direct answer to a question instead of providing a list of links like other sites such as Google, was launched online in February this year.
The system can store hundreds of millions of facts about people, places, events and businesses.
The big stories in the Daily Mail on 12th April 1954 (the day after the world's most boring day)
British soldiers guarding Mau Mau terrorists in Kenya, 1954
U.S. races aid to Indo-China: US forces were organising a major airlift to ensure adequate military supplies reached French forces in Indo-China.
The Queen walks and the guests stay seated: The Queen was at a garden party in Colombo, what was then the capital of Sri Lanka, known then as Ceylon. The young queen (this was just days before she turned just 28 ) wowed the audience in a cool silk dress, although the picture is black and white, and no one recorded what colour it was.
Surrender offer to Mau Mau scrapped: British troops were fighting Mau Mau gangs in Kenya after withdrawing a mass surrender offer. RAF bombers swept over the forests, dropping tons of explosives on terrorist hideouts.
No repeats, musicians tell BBC: The Musicians Union banned all repeat recordings of BBC Programmes in which their musicians were used. Union leaders were demanding the full ‘live’ rate, rather than the smaller repeat payments which had been introduced because of the shortage of musicians in the war.
£50 Hook-up: A thief stole a £50 silver cup from a London flat after hooking it through a window with a long pole.
Amps for oil: Six thousand oil-lit farms in East Anglia were promised electric light – but they had to wait until the end of 1958 to see the light.
Catholics lose Belgian elections: Belgium’s government was in crisis then – as now – after the Catholic Party conceded defeat in the country’s fourth post-war General Election.
Ballet ‘might damage machine underneath’: Renowned ballerina Alicia Markova was banned from dancing on the stage of Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall after being told she might damage delicate machinery hidden underneath.
It was like first day of summer: Much of Britain basked in glorious sunshine as temperatures peaked at 26C.
Equal work for laundry man: A man who tried to take his washing to a laundry in Kensington was refused because the laundrette was ‘women only.’
dailymail.co.uk
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