Some Trivia of the Day

I love interesting coincidences, and here is a famous one which occurred to a French poet named Emile Deschamps, who was born today in 1791:

"From the book, Coincidences in the Unknown, 1902, Camille Flammarion tells of the experience of his friend, Emile Deschamps. In his childhood, at a school in Orleans, Deschamps shared a table with a certain M.de Fortgibu, who had returned from England with a taste for plum puddings, then unknown in France. He insisted Deschamps try one. Ten years later, Deschamps passed a restaurant and saw a plum pudding being prepared inside. His early taste, long forgotten, urged him to enter and ask for a slice; but the pudding was reserved for another, and Deschamps was obliged to beg the favour from this stranger. It turned out to be M.de Fortgibu, and both were astonished at meeting again for the second time over the same dish. Many years passed again, and Deschamps was invited to a dinner party which featured an English plum pudding; and Deschamps delighted his hosts with the tale of his extraordinary encounter with de Fortgibu. They all joked about the possibility of the old man turning up. During the meal he really did. De Fortgibu has also been invited out to dinner, but by another occupant of the same building, and had lost his way. "Three times have I eaten plum pudding, and three times I have seen M.de Fortgibu!", said Deschamps.

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I first read of the above story several years ago in a book. Today the tale came to my attention via a daily trivia email which I subscribe to. Another piece of trivia for Feb. 20 is that today is the Feast Day of St. Wulfric, an English priest from the 1100's, who kept dogs and hawks as pets.