April 24 marks:
The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, launched by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in December 2018 with the aim of rallying society, demonstrating the obvious benefits of diplomatic methods of conflict resolution, as well as the downside of the settlement process, associated with bloodshed, innocent victims, destruction and deprivations
International Day of Youth Solidarity, which was first celebrated in 1957. This date was dedicated to the final meeting of the Bandung Conference of Asian and African countries in 1955.
International Secretary Day, started in 1952 in honor of people whose profession is one of the five most popular in the world. Now, this holiday is celebrated not only by secretaries, but also by everyone who depends on the work of offices – assistant directors, office managers, assistants, referents, speechwriters, stenographers, as well as specialists who manage records.
World Day for the Protection of Laboratory Animals, started in 1979
by the International Association against Animal Experimentation with the support of the UN.
The choice of date is dedicated to the birthday of Lord Hugh Dowding, a well-known animal rights activist and opponent of vivisection.
On this day:
1900 – Sigmund Freud’s book “The Interpretation of Dreams” was published;
1915 – the Ottoman authorities carried out mass arrests and deportation of the Armenian intelligentsia of Constantinople;
1920 – the governments of Poland and the Ukrainian People’s Republic concluded an agreement on military aid;
1949 – restrictions on the sale of sweets introduced during the war were abolished in England;
1953 – Queen Elizabeth II knighted Winston Churchill;
1957 – at the State Assembly of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong said: “You don’t need to read a lot of books”;
1968 – Mauritius became a member of the United Nations;
1981 – the first IBM personal computer was presented;
1984 – in San Francisco, Apple announced the Apple II portable computer weighing 6 kilograms and the size of a suitcase. However, the slogan “Apple II – forever”, under which the advertising campaign was carried out, turned out to be far from the truth – after 5 years, the Apple II was discontinued;
1985 – The Supreme Court of Canada recognized the legality of stores on Sundays;
2004 – Vitaliy Klitschko won the vacant WBC super-heavyweight world boxing title in a fight with Corey Sanders;
2005 – inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI.
April 24, 1184 BC the ancient Greeks were able to enter Troy with the help of the Trojan horse. According to legend, the master Epeus, with the help of the goddess Athena, made a large wooden horse in which the most important Achaean heroes hid: Diomedes, Odysseus, Menelaus, Neoptole and others. The Trojans decided to put a horse on the acropolis, to dedicate his gift to Pallas. Only the priest Laocoon was against it, who declared that this was another treachery of the Greeks, which would bring great misfortune to the city.
The horse was beautiful, but so big that it could not be dragged through the gate. Then the Trojans made a breach in the wall and dragged the “gift” into the city with ropes. Thinking that the Trojan War was over, they began to feast joyfully. The rest, as it is customary to say, was a matter of technique – at midnight, the Greeks rushed at the Trojans, who were carelessly feasting, butchering people, looting and setting fire to the city…
The Trojan operation is a classic example of the implementation of a “stratagema”, which means an ingenious plan, an original way to achieve military or political goals. More than 30 centuries have passed since that time, but the intelligence and intelligence method developed by Odysseus is still used today in various modifications in the political and military fields. “Trojan horse” technology was used in all wars.
April 24, 1800 The US Congress passed a law on the organization of the Library of Congress in Washington. President John Adams allocated 5,000 dollars for the purchase of books (a huge amount of money at that time). The Library of Congress of the United States occupies a unique place in American life, it grew in the 19th century into a state institution.
After the Second World War, the library became the largest international source of information. It simultaneously serves as a library and acts as a scientific center, works as a powerful bibliographic center and as an American copyright agency, sponsors exhibitions and cultural programs.
The library is located in Washington, occupies 265,000 square meters in buildings on Capitol Hill, the length of its shelves is 865.5 kilometers.
The main hall – 50 meters high from the floor to the dome – houses more than 45,000 reference books and tables for 250 readers. Nearby is the Machine Catalog Center, with access to the library’s automated catalog, CD-ROM databases, and the Internet. In total, the library’s collection includes about 120 million books and magazines, 12 million photographs, almost 5 million geographical maps, 57 million pages of manuscripts, as well as scores and musical recordings, films and television programs.
By the way, India is recognized as the most reading country in the world, its inhabitants spend an average of 10.7 hours a week reading books. A little less time is devoted to reading in Thailand – 9.4 hours. Chinese people read 8:00 a week. Residents of the Philippines – 7.6 hours per week, Egyptians – 7.5 hours.
