The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held
every July in Calgary, Canada. The ten-day event attracts over one
million visitors per year and features a parade, midway, stage shows,
concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations
exhibitions. The first Stampede was held in 1912, organized by American
promoter Guy Weadick and supported by four area ranchers as a
celebration of their lifestyle. A second Stampede was held in 1919 and
it became an annual event in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary
Industrial Exhibition. It is one of Canada's largest festivals and has
become synonymous with Calgary's identity. It is a significant tourist
attraction for the city which takes on a party atmosphere: businesses
decorate their buildings in cowboy and western themes and hundreds of
community events are held throughout the city. The Stampede is one of
the premier events on the professional rodeo and chuckwagon circuits.
Both are televised nationally in Canada and offer one of the largest
prize funds in each sport. Some events, particularly chuckwagon racing,
are controversial and have become the target of international criticism
by animal welfare groups.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1560:
Scotland and England signed the Treaty of Edinburgh to formally
conclude the Siege of Leith and replace the Scottish–French Auld
Alliance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Edinburgh>
1887:
King Kalākaua of Hawai'i was forced to sign the Bayonet
Constitution, stripping the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority
as well as disfranchising all Asians, most native Hawaiians, and the
poor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1887_Constitution_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii>
1962:
The United States conducted the Sedan nuclear test as part of
Operation Plowshare, a program to investigate the use of nuclear
explosions for civilian purposes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_(nuclear_test)>
1989:
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad member carried out a suicide attack
by hijacking a bus and forcing it into a ravine near Kiryat Ye'arim,
Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv_Jerusalem_bus_405_suicide_attack>
1997:
The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of
unrest began in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_nationalist_riots_in_Northern_Ireland>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Higgs boson:
(physics) A hypothetical elementary particle predicted by the Standard
Model; a boson with zero spin, it is thought to give mass to other
particles.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Higgs_boson>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our gains are not measured in the losses of others. They are counted in
the conflicts we avert, the prosperity we share and the peace we extend.
--George W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush>
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