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Today, the science behind parhelia - also known as "sun dogs" - is well understood, but when the huge, glowing halos and miniature suns appeared in the sky above Stockholm in 1536, it was a major event. A painting of the occurrence is the earliest colour depiction of Stockholm, then a crowded cluster of stone buildings on an island. It is also the earliest depiction of sun dogs and is largely scientifically accurate. What were some of the conflicting interpretations of the omen at the time? More...
2010 - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes
The explosion of the British Petroleum (BP) platform operated by Transocean killed 11 workers and led to the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
1999 - 15 die in the Columbine High School massacre
A further 24 victims were injured when two teenagers opened fire on students and teachers in the high school south of Denver.
1978 - Soviet air defense shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 902
The Boeing 707's crew had miscalculated their route, taking them into Soviet airspace at the height of the Cold War. The jet made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. Two passengers were killed in the incident.
1951 - A human organ is surgically replaced for the first time
Romanian surgeon Dan Gavriliu used a section of the stomach to bypass the esophagus.
1902 - Pierre and Marie Curie discover the radioactive element radium
In 1903, the French couple received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research.
Historic Trivia pick
Mystery of the Wishing Trees studded with coins that can take illness away from the sick
Who says money doesn't grow on trees? Coins mysteriously appear in trunks up and down the country
They say money doesn't grow on trees.
But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded trunks dotted around the UK's woodland.
The strange phenomenon of gnarled old trees with coins embedded all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands.
Tree-mendous: A money tree with copper and silver coins hammered into the wood near Ingleton, North Yorkshire
The coins are usually knocked into felled tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune.
These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time.
The tradition of making offerings to deities at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare.
Tin and timber: The coins make tree trunk look almost like a heap of treasure
It used to be believed that divine spirits lived in trees, and they were often festooned with sweets and gifts - as is still done today at Christmas.
The act is reminiscent of tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach 'love padlocks' to bridges and fences to symbolise lasting romance.
Some pubs, such as the Punch Bowl in Askham, Cumbria, have old beams with splits in them into which coins are forced for luck.
Land of plenty: A lucky money tree in Tarn Hows, Cumbria
There are seven felled tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the picturesque village of Portmeirion, in Wales.
Meurig Jones, an estate manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC: 'We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins.
'I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as "wishing trees"
'In Britain it dates back to the 1700s - there is one tree in Scotland somewhere which apparently has a florin stuck into it.'
He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and their illness would go away.
'If someone then takes the coin out though, it's said they then become ill.'
Woodland wonder: Trees are traditional sources of good luck as deities were thought to reside in them
We haven't publicised it at all, it's just happened,' he added. 'It's quite amazing really.'
In Scotland, there is also a legend about a kissing tree. If a young man could drive a nail into a tree with one blow, he earned a kiss from his sweetheart.
Yoko Ono has used wishing trees in her artwork, and in 1877 Queen Victoria wrote about visiting an oak tree with coins stuck in it in the Highlands.
Sun Dog Phenomenon Observed over Stockholm
Today, the science behind parhelia - also known as "sun dogs" - is well understood, but when the huge, glowing halos and miniature suns appeared in the sky above Stockholm in 1536, it was a major event. A painting of the occurrence is the earliest colour depiction of Stockholm, then a crowded cluster of stone buildings on an island. It is also the earliest depiction of sun dogs and is largely scientifically accurate. What were some of the conflicting interpretations of the omen at the time? More...
2010 - The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes
The explosion of the British Petroleum (BP) platform operated by Transocean killed 11 workers and led to the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
1999 - 15 die in the Columbine High School massacre
A further 24 victims were injured when two teenagers opened fire on students and teachers in the high school south of Denver.
1978 - Soviet air defense shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 902
The Boeing 707's crew had miscalculated their route, taking them into Soviet airspace at the height of the Cold War. The jet made an emergency landing on a frozen lake. Two passengers were killed in the incident.
1951 - A human organ is surgically replaced for the first time
Romanian surgeon Dan Gavriliu used a section of the stomach to bypass the esophagus.
1902 - Pierre and Marie Curie discover the radioactive element radium
In 1903, the French couple received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering research.
Historic Trivia pickMystery of the Wishing Trees studded with coins that can take illness away from the sick
Who says money doesn't grow on trees? Coins mysteriously appear in trunks up and down the country
They say money doesn't grow on trees.
But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded trunks dotted around the UK's woodland.
The strange phenomenon of gnarled old trees with coins embedded all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands.
Tree-mendous: A money tree with copper and silver coins hammered into the wood near Ingleton, North Yorkshire
The coins are usually knocked into felled tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune.
These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time.
The tradition of making offerings to deities at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare.
Tin and timber: The coins make tree trunk look almost like a heap of treasure
It used to be believed that divine spirits lived in trees, and they were often festooned with sweets and gifts - as is still done today at Christmas.
The act is reminiscent of tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach 'love padlocks' to bridges and fences to symbolise lasting romance.
Some pubs, such as the Punch Bowl in Askham, Cumbria, have old beams with splits in them into which coins are forced for luck.
Land of plenty: A lucky money tree in Tarn Hows, Cumbria
There are seven felled tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the picturesque village of Portmeirion, in Wales.
Meurig Jones, an estate manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC: 'We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins.
'I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as "wishing trees"
'In Britain it dates back to the 1700s - there is one tree in Scotland somewhere which apparently has a florin stuck into it.'
He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and their illness would go away.
'If someone then takes the coin out though, it's said they then become ill.'
Woodland wonder: Trees are traditional sources of good luck as deities were thought to reside in them
We haven't publicised it at all, it's just happened,' he added. 'It's quite amazing really.'
In Scotland, there is also a legend about a kissing tree. If a young man could drive a nail into a tree with one blow, he earned a kiss from his sweetheart.
Yoko Ono has used wishing trees in her artwork, and in 1877 Queen Victoria wrote about visiting an oak tree with coins stuck in it in the Highlands.
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61-BLUES
