On this day: June 30

• In 1963, Cardinal Montini was elected Pope Paul VI at 66 years old, after only nine years` experience as a priest with a parish. It`s claimed that on this occasion the traditional method of signaling the decision from the Vatican – using wet or dry straw to produce black or white smoke – had failed miserably, giving off clouds of a uniform gray. So the army came to the rescue with black and white smoke bombs!

• In 1971, the first astronauts to die in space perished as Soyuz II reentered the earth`s atmosphere. During the record 23-day flight everything had gone according to plan, and the only complaint from comrades Patsayev, Dobrovolsky, and Volkov was that they had too much work to do. But from the moment the engine braking system fired, all contact was lost, and when the recovery crew opened the hatch they found the three dead men still strapped in their seats. Their bodies were laid in state, then cremated, and their remains placed in the Kremlin Wall. During their flight Patsayev had celebrated his 38th birthday and his fellow spacemen had presented him with two presents they`d smuggled aboard – a fresh onion and a lemon!

— from Today’s the Day! by Jeremy Beadle (Signet)