July 24th: why did Peter Sellers once turn up naked at Spike Milligan’s door?

Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history …

July 18

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In 1872 the Ballot Act introduced the secret ballot to UK elections. The word ‘poll’ comes from the days when votes were cast in public – it means ‘head’, as voters stood together and their heads were counted.