Back in 1886, Dr John Pemberton came out with a corker. It was March 29 and he thought the world - or at least Allanton, Georgia - was ready for a drink that could cure hysteria, the common cold and just about everything in between. It was an 'Esteemed Brain Tonic' (for esteemed brains only) and an 'Intellectual Beverage' (which is why the Mem and I drink it and Eight Eff Pee never touch the stuff). It was made from caffeine, syrup and Coca leaves. It was called - you guessed it - Syrup of Figs.
Lovely.
In other news ...
This one must float to the top in the What-Was-That-All-About stakes. Today in 1989, to commemorate two hundred years of mass guillotinings, President Francois Mitterand unveiled a glass 'thing' in front of the Louvre. Astonishingly, bearing in mind the scorn the pyramid drew, it's not only still there but actually featured in the movie The Da Vinci Code.
You couldn't make it up, could you? That's because Dan Brown did.
