6 October

The Mad Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland wears, as we all know, a top hat.

On that top hat is a price ticket that bears the words "in this style 10/6", meaning that the hat, if ordered, would cost 10 shillings and sixpence. In America, 10/6 means it's the sixth of October - and that is why today is Mad Hatter Day, a day for general silliness and definitely a day to drink an Alice in Wonderland cocktail.

The birth of modern architecture

If you live in a highrise, look out over one, or simply appreciate clean lines, minimalism and lots of glass, it's time to raise, well, a glass to Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier, one of the founding fathers of modern architecture, who was born this day in 1887.

And if you're sitting on a tubular minimalist steel chair, or lounging on a blocky black leather sofa with a lot of metal, you most likely have the great man to thank for that as well. Le Corbusier packed a lot of living, as well as a lot of buildings, into his life. He painted the singer and dancer Josephine Baker nude, married a fashion model, and had a long-standing affair with a wealthy heiress. He also found time to conduct a vicious, lifelong feud with Salvador Dali.

We reckon Le Corbusier would have appreciated both the simplicity and the style of the Dry Ice Martini, a vodka martini enhanced with a hint of ice wine. Enjoy.