FUN FACTS

Planet Earth. Researchers calculate the age of the Earth by dating both the oldest rocks on the planet and meteorites that have been discovered on Earth. Their findings say Earth is about 4.54 billion years old.

Quote of the month

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr

By the numbers one month

45,400

By the time a person reaches 70 years of age, he or she will have consumed more than 45,400 litres of water. The current skin you’re in will be gone in a month. Our skin sheds 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells each day. But it rejuvenates just as quickly as it deteriorates.

five

Humans spend about five years of their lives eating. The Paul Hogan Show was a popular Australian comedy show that aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984 for a total of 12 seasons. It made a star of Paul Hogan, who later appeared in Crocodile Dundee. His friend (and producer of Crocodile Dundee) John Cornell also appeared in the show, playing Hogan’s dim flatmate Strop. Cornell married TV presenter Delvene Delaney in 1977, and died at their home at Byron Bay in July, aged 80.

This month in history

1826 - NSW established the first settlement in Western Australia at King George Sound. It was a military garrison called Frederick Town and was renamed Albany in 1832. 1921 – Ireland’s 26 southern states gained independence from Britain to become the Irish Free State. 1936 - King Edward VIII abdicated the English throne to marry a twice-divorced American named Wallis Simpson. 1945 – The first Sydney to Hobart yacht race was held. 1967 – Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach, Victoria 1988 – A PanAm jet was blown up over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing 259 on board and 11 people on the ground. 1989 - The Cold War ended after a summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president George Bush.