We have all had that moment of joyous realisation: if one small thing hadn’t happened, then our lives would have been so different. If I hadn’t got that Saturday job, then I wouldn’t have learned how to… or, if I hadn’t gone out that day then I wouldn’t have met… or, if I hadn’t had that teacher, then I probably wouldn’t have been so interested in their subject at school… The consequences of our actions, however small, can delight us.

In June 1954, the Sunday Pictorial Newspaper ran this story on their front pages: ‘British Doctors Give Their Startling Verdict After 6 Months’ Research on Virgin Birth’. It detailed the story of scientists who could not find proof that a man was involved in the conception of a daughter.