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Yesterday was a ...

Thursday 10 April 1997 23:02 BST
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Good Day for Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817), a Polish patriot and hero of the American Revolution. In 1839, the explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki climbed Australia's highest mountain and named it after his compatriot Kosciuszko. A typist's error, however, led to the omission of the "z" in the name. The state government of New South Wales has now decided to restore the proper spelling. However, they rejected a recommendation to add an accent to the first "s" on the grounds that it would have created a "typists' nightmare". However, a spokesman said that people would not be prevented from pronouncing the word in the Polish way if they wanted.

Bad Day for Clarence Freeman Jr, a 6ft 9in Los Angeles man whose family are suing an undertaker's firm for allegedly putting his body "bent like a pretzel" into too small a coffin. "He can't rest in peace comfortably," his widow said. "My husband took a lot of pride in himself. He took care of his appearance and personal hygiene. This just isn't him." The family hopes for exhumation and substitution of a larger coffin.

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