An English naturalist and geologist, who spent almost five years recording the wildlife of Latin America from his base on board HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin published his defining work, On the Origin of Species, on this day in 1859.
The book, he recorded in his diary, sold out that same day, and the theory of evolution it contained would transform biology, theology, medicine and more. Honour Charles, a courageous man who overcame nervous illness to publish pioneering thought, and his big idea that has shaped our thought, with a Charlie, a pleasantly sweet bourbon concoction.
It's also Buy Nothing Day
Do you ever feel you have too much stuff? Or, equally importantly, too little money? Then Buy Nothing Day - today - is for you!
The challenge, presented by the folk behind Adbusters, is to spend absolutely nothing for an entire day. Which, this close to payday, might not be that huge a challenge for some of us.
Why? Well, we are part of the 20% of the world's population that use over 80% of the earth's resources. Much of what we buy is produced by third-world workers, many of them children, in hideous conditions, and the crap it is wrapped in is destroying the environment.
We are going to give it a go. If you can too, why not reward yourself with a Pall Mall Martini rather than a shopping mall.
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