· On Jan. 8, 1310, near the beginning of the Little Ice Age, when average temperatures around the world dropped by as much as 3.6 F (particularly in Europe and North America), the Thames River in London froze so thickly that bonfires were lit on it.· On Jan. 9, 1768, British former cavalry Sergeant Major Philip Astley staged the first modern circus after discovering that if he galloped in a tight circle, centrifugal force would allow him to perform seemingly impossible acts on horseback. He drew up a ring and invited the public to watch him wave his sword in ...