Salvador Dali's first exhibition

Salvador Dali's first one-man
exhibition was in 1929

Salvador Dali showcased his surrealist art
In Paris, which is where his legend would start
Gaining a following the year of 1928
With several paintings that led to his fate
His one-man exhibition that helped to define
Occurred on this day in 1929
The success launched Dali onto the global stage
At just 25 years of age
Soon after he joined the Surrealists
Led by Andre Breton, formerly of the Dadaists
The same year Dali met his business manager
Gala Eluard who would become his muse and lover

The legend of William Tell

Fact or fiction we don't know for sure
But the legend of William Tell continues ever more
Famous for firing an apple off his own son's head
He fought the Austrians with a Swiss army he led
Captured by Austrians trying to take over his land
They agreed to let him go if the apple was shot minus trembling hand

William Tell of Switzerland

His army consisted of mountaineers and noble men
Bitter at the takeover by the Austrian
Tell killed Governor Hermann Gessler, his nemesis
Who thought tyrannical rule was bliss
After this happened the Duke Albert I
Led an army to do their worst
So Tell and co hid in the trees and waited for their chance
Waiting for the devil so they could dance
The Duke soon appeared with his large troop
But the mountaineers were ready for their coup
From the advantage of their height
Tell and co caused the army to take flight
They threw down rocks and trunks upon them all
Injuring several and killing more in their fall
The Duke had no choice but to flee
And recognise the Forest of Cantons did not belong to thee
This launched the Republic of Switzerland
And William Tell was a hero, his legend far from bland

First President in the White House / First Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street

John Adams was the first president
in the White House, 1797-1801

Anyone know who was the first president
To live in the White House?
Incase you're unsure
Upon your uncertainty I shall douse
The first president to live there was the second
John Adams was his name
Preceded by George Washington
He followed in his predecessor's fame
Boldly defying governmental disputes
Mainly over Europe's conflicts perchance
His reign was marked by the Quasi-War
Which did involve France
What about the first prime minister
To live at 10 Downing Street?
Would you be able to recall the name

Sir Robert Walpole was the
first prime minister in Downing Street,
1721-1742

Of the man to achieve this feat?
I'll tell you then
Should you not know
It was indeed
Sir Robert Walpole
Third son from a family of 17
He's described as a large man
Despite his prickly attitude
He still gained many a fan
He did enjoy a bribe or two though
And was once tried for it
He spent six months in prison
But regained his position upon exit

King Jadwiga of Poland

Jadwiga of Poland was crowned king
On this day in 1384
But Jadwiga's reign was unique
Something never seen before
You see Jadwiga was no ordinary king
Because of certain detail

King Jadwiga of Poland

For Jadwiga was in fact
Not a man but female
Upon the death of King Casimir III
The throne went to his sibling
Elizabeth of Poland and her son Louis I
Of Hungary, who became king
Jadwiga was the daughter of Louis
And Elizabeth of Bosnia, his wife
Louis died when Jadwiga was ten
And everything changed in her life
She was made king at that age
Recognised as a sovereign in her own right
She reigned for 15 years
Until she died giving birth at 25
Intelligent, cultured, charitable and a polyglot
She was revered as a saint
Many legendary tales have been told
Making her ever more quaint
Now recognised by the church
By all means
Jadwiga is the patron saint
Of a United Europe and all queens

First song ever written

Discovered in the 1950s
This is oldest song known to man
Written in cuneiform
In the ancient language of Hurrian
Found on a clay tablet
In Ugarit, Syria
It was deciphered by
Prof. Anne Draffkorn Kilmer
Named Hurrian Hym No. 6
It's 3400 years old
Predating the next oldest song
By 1000 years we're told

Walt Disney and the FBI

Did you know that Walt Disney

Walt Disney worked with the FBI

Worked with the FBI?
It seems in J. Edgar Hoover
He had a firm ally
Animators went on strike
In 1941 July
Accusing them of 'Communistic agitation'
Disney did not comply
So to the bureau did he step forth
And begin to testify
Made into a Special Agent in Charge Contact
Against Hollywood he did spy
Those suspected of political subversions
Came under his watchful eye
This continued until 1966
The year that he would die

Egica enslaves Jews

On this date in 694

Egica forced Jews into slavery

Jews were condemned to slavery

By a Visigoth King named Egica

Convinced they were an adversary

Believing Jews and Muslims were in alliance 

He announced a veto

From them overthrowing Christian leaders

In the Seventeenth Council of Toledo

Forced into slavery 

Jews had to give up their land

While Jewish children were raised as Christians

All stemming from one ruler's demand

In Flanders' Fields

Flanders' fields poem by John McCrae

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky

Poppies worn on Remembrance Day

The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.


We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.


Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high, 
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' fields. 


John McCrae, 1915

The life of Caravaggio

Ottavio Leoni's portrait
of Caravaggio

Caravaggio was the name acquired by painter Michelangelo Merisi
Possibly the greatest Italian painter of the 17th century
He was born in the town of his acquired name
Which is close to Milan you see
Caravaggio was a man of brilliance
Whose divisive work was both lauded and loathed
But he also lived a tempestuous life and once murdered a man
Which led to his work turning morose
The apprentice of Simone Peterzano for four years
In the 1590s Caravaggio moved to Rome
There his work was noticed by Cardinal del Monte
And soon Caravaggio's work found a religious home
Commissioned to decorate the Contarelli Chapel
With the life of St Matthew
The public were stunned by the artwork
The beautiful realism and unflinching brutality was so new
From then Caravaggio was commissioned

The Crucifixion of St Peter
by Caravaggio, 1601

To produce many more pieces of art
Until 1606 when a heated game of tennis
Would forever blacken Caravaggio's heart
A quarrel broke out with his opponent
And Caravaggio stabbed the man to death
After that the painter went on the run
Living a life of strife and unrest
His work over the next four years
Were darker than before
In 1609 he was wounded badly
In a vicious tavern brawl
A year later he was pardoned of the murder
Which in Rome he had committed
But just a few months after that he died from a fever
A deeply troubled man but so very talented

Celebrating 10th Twitter follower

The base of our number system if you don't know is ten
And is the total number of legs on a crustacean
Such as a crab which is also known as a decapod
Deca meaning ten as in Decalogue
That's the Ten Commandments according to the Bible
Which also states there being ten virgins that rival
Ten years in a decade, ten players in a Lacrosse team
Ten pins in bowling it would also seem
We have ten fingers on our hands and ten toes on our feet
The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street
Ten is a triangular number like 1, 3 and 6
Ten's great to have for a random fact fix

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams

On this day in 1899

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud released a book that explored the mind
Entitled The Interpretation of Dreams 
It explored ways in untangling the mind at the seams
Believing that nothing happens by chance
Freud psychoanalysed the theory that unconscious minds advance
They tackle issues that occur in reality
But they tackle them with no real elements of normality
Using impulses and urges that we usually suppress
Freud believed the mind has to find a way to express
So in our dreams urges come forward in a disguised form
So when conscious we can be part of society and conform
Freud believes the mind is categorised into three
The ego, the superego and the ID
The ID releases our impulses which have potential to shock
So the ego acts as a sensor in an effort to block
This preserves sleep and doesn't disturb us too much
But them working together can make dreams confusing as such
When we awake and cannot remember our dreams anymore
The superego is working because it wants us to be normal before we step out the door

Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot

Remember, remember 
The 5th of November

James I

In 1603 Queen Elizabeth I was on her death bed
And it would be James VI of Scotland who would be newly appointed
When he took to the throne he became England's James I
Catholics were excited that he may lift their curse
They'd been accused of being traitors and banned from Mass
Because of the Spanish Armada and the Queen/Pope clash
When James came in he brought Catholics in from the dark
Because his wife was one, Queen Anne of Denmark
But by the end of the year Catholics had abused their freedom
And in the New Year James admitted his 'utter detestation' of them
Heavy fines were imposed and priests were thrown out to rot
So a gang came together to form the Gunpowder Plot
Many think it was Guy Fawkes who led this band
But it was actually Robert Catesby who showed the first hand
His Catholic father had been imprisoned so he decided to rebel
With his friends Thomas' Percy and Wintour, and Jack Wright as well
They recruited Guy Fawkes who was originally from York
He'd been serving in the Spanish Army, in Flanders he fought
The group started out with five vengeful men
And over the course of a year they expanded to ten
A lease was occupied for a cellar under the House of Lords

Guy Fawkes

And 36 barrels of gunpowder moved in beneath Parliament's floorboards
It was agreed that Fawkes would be the man to light the fuse
Then he would make his escape to Europe on a continental cruise
Simultaneously James' daughter was planned to be kidnapped by some of the team
In order for them to control her as their puppet Queen
But an anonymous letter scuppered the plan of action
And while using an alias Fawkes was caught by a mere fraction
The rest of the group were either captured or killed as they resisted in fight
And on 5 November they were left ruing their plight
Celebratory bonfires were lit in London to the dismay of Catholics
Fawkes and the rest were executed in January 1606
New laws were passed preventing Catholics the right to vote
This was uplifted in 1829, two centuries later...no joke

Mythological creatures from around the world

Humans have long held a fascination
With mystical creatures
Supernatural beings
With ghastly features
Spirits of the undead
That roam the land
Taking us into the afterlife
By the hand
Every country from around the world
Possesses a different tale
So here are 26 of the best
Deep breath now, inhale...

A is for Acheri
An Indian ghost
Of a little girl
That brings illness to most
She descends from the mountains
Preying on children in bed
The only form of defence
Is a ribbon in red

B is for Black Dog
From the coastlines of the UK
A sighting of the creature
Will cause much dismay
For it is linked to the devil
And to the dead
Larger than a normal dog
With eyes that glow red

Cerberus guards Hades

C is for Cerberus
A three-headed hound
Who the Greeks believe
Lives below ground
The beast guards the gates
To the place called hell
Where banished souls can never escape
Because Cerberus guards it so well

D is for Dybbuk
From Jewish folklore
They are spirits denied access
Through the front door
To a place called Sheol
Where all dead rest
Denied for suicide
Or serious acts for which they cannot attest

E is for Erlking
From German description
A creature that haunts forests
Carrying travellers away to extinction
Linked to the elf king
Who was Scandinavian
The Erlking got his name
From a mistranslation

F is for Fucanglong
Dragons of the underground
Chinese mythology believes
They guard treasures found
When a volcano erupts
It is one of the Fucanglong
Carrying a message
To heaven's echelon

G is for Grine
From Moroccan verse
A duplicate of ourselves
Born in a parallel universe
Every action we make
Influences that of the Grine
And vice-versa
Making you unable to call your life "mine"

Heikegani crabs

H is for Heikegani
A type of crab from Japan
Unusual in that its shell
Depicts the face of a man
Legend has it they are the faces
Of the Heike warriors that died
In the sea during the battle
Of Dan-no-ura in 1185

I is for Incubus
A demon in male shape
That preys on sleeping women
In order to copulate
Succubus is the female version
And Medieval legend has it
That Merlin was conceived this way
Hence the wizard's magic

J is for Jörmungandr
A humungous serpent of the sea
The god Loki was his father
Loki's children he had three
Jörmungandr grew so big
He's able to grasp his own tail
Encompassing the earth
If he lets go the world will fail

K is for Kishi
That lives in Angolan hills
A two-faced creature
One side is handsome the other leaves chills
The Kishi seduces women
And invites them for dinner
Then when alone
It devours them like a sinner

La Llorona

L is for La Llorona
The Weeping Woman of Latin America
A spirit of a woman who drowned her children
Her name was Maria
She committed the murder for a man
Who rejected her loving bids
So she killed herself and now wanders the earth
Looking for her kids

M is for Mimi
Who taught the Australian Aborigines
How to hunt, prepare food
And light fires for families
Fairy-like beings
Their bodies are so thin
They remain in rock crevices
As protection from the wind

N is for Nightmarchers
Hawaiian warrior ghosts
They revisit places of battle
On grounds which played hosts
Marching and chanting is heard
By people living close by
If you are seen by a Nightmarcher
Then you'll supposedly die

O is for Orang Bunian
Forest dwelling supernatural beings
In parts of West Borneo
There have been many seeings
They kidnap children
And lead adults astray
Some have married humans
Without ever giving anything away

P is for Pesanta
A demon that sits on peoples chest
While they are sleeping
They will surely gain no rest
Catalonians believe the Pesanta
Brings nightmares and causes problems to breathe
In the shape of a cat or dog
It creates feelings of unease

Q is for Qareen
That is everyone's personal jinn
According to Islamic faith
It is hidden within
God gave us one each
And it tries to make us disobey
But it is a test in life
And our responsibility not to be led astray

R is for Rusalka
A Slavic ghost of the river
A sight of their form
Would make a man shiver

Saci of Brazil

But they had powers of seduction
And could turn him into a knave
Then once under a spell
They'd be taken to their watery grave

S is for Saci
A one-legged spirit with a red cap
Brazilians say he'll grant you a wish
If you capture him in a trap
But his cap is magic
So make sure to not dwell
You must take it from him, get your wish
And beware of the cap's smell

T is for Trauco
A sexually potent dwarf with skill
At summoning any woman
He desired at will
Despite his repulsiveness
No woman could resist
If a single woman fell pregnant
Then it was rumoured to be his

U is for Urmahlullu
A Mesopotamian hybrid
His job was to keep bathrooms
Safely guarded
The body of a lion
But the torso of a man
Urmahlullu was a legend
At protecting the can

V is for Vardøger
A Norwegian form of déja vu
But in this case it is a person's smell or voice
Or footsteps that precedes them coming into view
Those who encounter this
Believe it to be someone they know
But in actual fact the person hasn't arrived yet
It's merely their Vardøger spirit on show

W is for Witte Wieven
Spirits of wise Dutch women
That had the power to heal
And abilities to cast out sin
Lingering in burial sites
They can be helpful to those they choose
But for others they will not assist
Instead they will lose

X is for Xana
An Asturian fairy found in a river or a cave
They're extraordinarily beautiful
With a tendency to misbehave
During spring and summer nights
They sing come sun or rain
Those of pure souls who hear them are filled with peace
While those who are not go insane

Y is for Yilbegän
Talked about by Turkic folk
It is a monster with several heads
And devours humans like egg yolk
Some say it is like a serpent
While others claim it has wings
Some reckon it rides a 99-horned ox
While some suggest its a descendant of kings

Z is for Zmeu
A Romanian giant in life
He kidnaps young girls
And makes them his wife
He appears as a human
But this isn't his natural sight
His real form is a dragon
Which he turns into at night

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

The Day of the Dead
celebrations

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition
That is 3,000 years old
The dates of November 1st and 2nd
Are important so we are told
For they are the days in which
We can commune with the dead
A deep rooted ritual
That's a joyous celebration instead
It would be disrespectful
To show tears or sorrow
To the visiting spirits of loved ones
Who could be gone again tomorrow
Death is not conveyed as frightening
Or strange in any way
Instead it's approached with positivity

Sugar Skull

Which teaches us to embrace every day
Bright colours are used
In paintings that are never dull
The most famous of all
Is the Mexican Sugar Skull
When the Spanish landed in Mexico
And discovered this ancient tradition
They tried hard to eradicate it
For they held no erudition
But despite colonisation
The Mexicans would not be led
Because these dates are important
It is the Day of the Dead