this is the week that was

28 August:

1207: Liverpool is created a borough by King John.

1922: The first radio commercial is broadcast, advertising an apartment block in New York.

1988: The Yantlee Polyclinic in Bangkok claims that hunger may be suppressed by pressing lettuce seeds in your ears 10 times before meals.

29 August:

1882: England loses a test match to Australia for the first time. The "ashes" are born in an obituary for English cricket in the Sporting Times.

1885: Gottfried Daimler patents the first motorcycle.

1897: Chop suey is invented in New York, a dish designed to appeal to both Chinese and American diners.

30 August:

30BC: Cleopatra dies.

1860: Britain's first tramway opens in Birkenhead.

1881: The first stereo system is patented by Clement Ader of Germany.

1901: Herbert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner.

31 August:

1900: Coca-Cola goes on sale in Britain.

1963: The Hot Line comes into operation between the White House and the Kremlin.

1 September:

1830: Sarah J Hales publishes the poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

1878: Emma Nutt, of Boston Mass, becomes the world's first female telephone operator.

1951: Britain's first superm- arket opens, the Premier in Earls Court.

1971: The old penny and 3d piece cease to be legal tender.

1988: The New York Health Department announces that in the previous year 8,064 people were bitten by dogs, 1,587 were bitten by other people and one savaged by a penguin.

2 September:

1666: The Great Fire of London starts at a bakery in Pudding Lane.

1858: The song "The Yellow Rose of Texas" is copyrighted in New York by a composer identified only as "JK".

1932: The International Rugby Board condemns modern scrumming methods.

3 September:

1752: The Georgian calendar is adopted in Britain and the date jumps suddenly to 14 September.

1783: Britain recognises American independence.

1967: Sweden switches to driving on the right, leaving Britain alone on the left in Europe.