Did You Know: Amazing Blue Whale stats and November 27 in history

Did you know

The biggest animal in the world is the blue whale, which is the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth, surpassing even the dinosaurs. It can grow up to 30.5 metres long and weigh as much as 200 tons. Its heart is as large as a small car, and the tongue can weigh as much as an elephant.

On this day in history: November 27

602 Roman Emperor Maurice is forced to watch his six sons being executed before he is beheaded by Persian invaders.

1798 An eloquent speaker and writer later in life, Andries Pretorius, the Voortrekker leader after whom Pretoria is named, is born near Graaff-Reniet. Highly regarded by both the British and Black leaders, when Pretorius died in the Magaliesberg in July 1853, many of them came to pay their respects.

1820 Renowned SA Painter Thomas Baines is born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England.

1895 In Paris, Alfred Nobel signs his last will and testament, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize. He did so after reading a premature obituary which condemned him for arms sales profiteering.

1942 The French navy scuttles its fleet in Toulon to keep them out of Nazi hands.

1944 A Royal Air Force ammunition dump explosion in Staffordshire kills 70 people.

1960 Congo politician and independence leader Patrice Lumumba flees Leopoldville, Congo, fearing for his life. He goes on to become the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo until his assassination by CIA-backed opposition leader Mobutu Sese Seko, with the help of Belgian mercenaries.

1967 French President Charles de Gaulle says ‘Non!’ to British entry to the European Common Market for the second time.

1987 A man in Omerset, England, makes headlines when it becomes known that he has survived 7 suicide attempts.

1989 A Boeing 727 explodes in mid-air over Colombia, killing 110 people. Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel claims responsibility.

2005 The first partial human face transplant takes place on a woman in France.

2017 A North Korean ghost ship washes up on a Japanese beach with 8 skeletons on board – it is the fourth boat to wash up in a month.

2020 Iran’s most senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is assassinated outside Tehran, escalating tensions in the region.

2022 Albanian President Bajram Begaj grants citizenship to pop star Dua Lipa for promoting the country through her international fame and her musical talents.

DAILY NEWS