The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on
27 August 1896. The conflict lasted around 40 minutes and is the shortest
war in recorded history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the
pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent
succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. In accordance with a treaty signed
in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultancy was that the candidate
obtain the permission of the British Consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled
this requirement. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an
ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and
leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and
barricaded himself inside the palace. The ultimatum expired at 9:00 am East
Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three
cruisers, two gunships, 150 marines and sailors and 900 Zanzibaris in the
harbour area. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of
Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson whilst the Zanzibaris were commanded by
Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army. A bombardment was
opened at 9:02 am which set the palace on fire and disabled the defending
artillery. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 9:40 am.
The Sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British
sailor was injured. The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the
head of a puppet government; he abolished slavery within a few months. The
war marked the end of Zanzibar as a sovereign state and the start of a
period of heavy British influence.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1786:
Peter Leopold Joseph, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgated a penal reform that
made his country the first sovereign state to abolish the death penalty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
1853:
Russian battleships led by Pavel Nakhimov destroyed an Ottoman fleet of
frigates at the Battle of Sinop in Sinop, Turkey, precipitating the Crimean
War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War)
1936:
The Crystal Palace, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, was
destroyed by fire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace)
1939:
The Winter War broke out as the Soviet Red Army invaded Finland and quickly
advanced to the Mannerheim Line, an action judged as illegal by the League
of Nations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War)
2005:
John Sentamu was enthroned as Archbishop of York, becoming the first member
of an ethnic minority to serve as an archbishop in the Church of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sentamu)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ineluctable (adj) Impossible to avoid or escape; inescapable,
irresistible.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ineluctable)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.
--C. S. Lewis
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis)
Angus Lewis Macdonald (1890 – 1954) was a Nova Scotian lawyer, law professor
and politician. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to
1940 when he became the federal minister of defence for naval services. He
oversaw the creation of an effective Canadian navy and Allied convoy service
during World War II. After the war, he returned to Nova Scotia to become
premier again. In the election of 1945, his Liberals swept back into power
while their main rivals, the Conservatives, failed to win a single seat. The
Liberal rallying cry, "All's Well With Angus L." seemed so convincing that
the Conservatives despaired of ever beating Macdonald. He died suddenly in
office in 1954. Macdonald's more than 15 years as premier brought
fundamental changes. Under his leadership, the Nova Scotian government spent
more than $100 million paving roads, building bridges, extending electrical
systems and improving public education. Macdonald dealt with the mass
unemployment of the Great Depression by putting the jobless to work on
highway projects. Macdonald was one of the most eloquent political orators
in Nova Scotia history. He articulated a philosophy of provincial autonomy,
arguing that poorer provinces needed a greater share of national tax
revenues to pay for health, education and welfare.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Lewis_Macdonald
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1854:
The Eureka Flag was flown for the first time during the Eureka Stockade
rebellion in Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Flag)
1877:
Thomas Edison demonstrated the phonograph, his invention for recording and
replaying sound, for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph)
1890:
The Diet of Japan, Japan's bicameral legislature modelled after both the
German Reichstag and the British Westminster system, first met after the
Meiji Constitution went into effect.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Japan)
1929:
American explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd and three others completed the first
flight over the South Pole.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evelyn_Byrd)
1947:
The United Nations General Assembly voted to approve the Partition Plan for
Palestine, a plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the British
Mandate of Palestine by separating the territory into Jewish and Arab
states.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_181
)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
banjaxed (adj) 1. (UK, slang) Broken, ruined, shattered.
2. (UK, slang) Tired, sleepy.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/banjaxed)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
--William Blake
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Blake)
A pulmonary contusion is a contusion (bruise) of the lung, caused by chest
trauma. As a result of damage to capillaries, blood and other fluids
accumulate in the lung tissue. The excess fluid interferes with gas
exchange, potentially leading to inadequate oxygen levels (hypoxia). Unlike
pulmonary laceration, another type of lung injury, pulmonary contusion does
not involve a cut or tear of the lung tissue. A pulmonary contusion usually
is caused by blunt trauma but also is caused by explosions or a shock wave
associated with penetrating trauma. With the use of explosives during World
Wars I and II, pulmonary contusion resulting from blasts gained recognition.
In the 1960s its occurrence began to receive wider recognition in civilians,
for whom it is usually caused by traffic accidents. Often nothing more than
supplemental oxygen and close monitoring is needed; however, intensive care
may be required. The severity ranges from mild to deadly—small contusions
may have little or no impact on the patient's health—yet pulmonary contusion
is the most common type of potentially lethal chest trauma. With an
estimated mortality rate of 14–40%, pulmonary contusion plays a key role in
determining whether an individual will die or suffer serious ill effects as
the result of trauma.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_contusion
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1443:
Rebelling against the Ottoman Empire, Skanderbeg and his forces liberated
Kruja in Middle Albania and raised the Albanian flag.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanderbeg)
1920:
Thirty-six local Irish Republican Army volunteers killed seventeen members
of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary, marking a turning
point in the Irish War of Independence.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmichael_Ambush)
1979:
Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Antarctica's Mount Erebus, killing
all 257 people on board.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_New_Zealand_Flight_901)
1990:
After being elected as leader of the British Conservative Party one day
earlier, John Major officially succeeded Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Major)
1998:
The current Constitution of Albania, sanctioning a parliamentary republic,
people's sovereignty, fundamental rights of the citizens, and other
important points, was ratified via a voter-approved referendum.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Albania)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cognoscente (n) Someone possessing superior or specialized
knowledge in a particular field.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cognoscente)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight— always to try to be a little
kinder than is necessary?
--J. M. Barrie
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie)
Harvey Milk (1930–1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay
man to be elected to public office in California. Milk moved to San
Francisco in 1972 and opened a camera store. He settled in the Castro
District, a neighborhood that was experiencing a mass immigration of gay men
and lesbians. He was compelled to run for city supervisor in 1973, though he
encountered resistance from the existing gay political establishment. His
campaign was compared to theater; he was brash, outspoken, animated, and
outrageous, earning media attention and votes, although not enough to be
elected. He campaigned again in the next two supervisor elections, dubbing
himself the "Mayor of Castro Street". Voters responded enough to warrant his
running for the California State Assembly as well. Taking advantage of his
growing popularity, he led the gay political movement in fierce battles
against anti-gay initiatives. Milk was elected city supervisor in 1977 after
San Francisco reorganized its election procedures to choose representatives
from neighborhoods rather than through city-wide ballots. On November 27,
1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another
city supervisor who had recently resigned and wanted his job back. Milk has
become an icon in San Francisco and "a martyr for gay rights", according to
University of San Francisco professor Peter Novak.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1095:
At the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade,
declaring bellum sacrum against the Muslims who had occupied the Holy Land
and were attacking the Eastern Roman Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Clermont)
1868:
American Indian Wars: George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry defeated
Chief Black Kettle and the Cheyenne Indians on the Washita River near
present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Washita_River)
1895:
Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel signed his last will and
testament, setting aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prize
after his death.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel)
1975:
Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army assassinated Ross
McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, a few weeks after
McWhirter offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction
for several recent high-profile bombings that were publicly claimed by the
IRA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_McWhirter)
2001:
The Hubble Space Telescope detected sodium in the atmosphere of the
extrasolar planet HD 209458b, the first planetary atmosphere outside our
solar system to be measured.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_209458_b)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
spurious (adj) False; not authentic or genuine.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spurious)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will make company with creators, with harvesters, with rejoicers; I will
show them the rainbow and the stairway to the Superman.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche)
The 1956 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1955–56 staging of English
football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup,
better known as the FA Cup. The showpiece event was contested between
Manchester City and Birmingham City at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday
5 May 1956. Manchester City's victories were close affairs, each settled by
the odd goal, and they needed a replay to defeat fifth-round opponents
Liverpool. Birmingham City made more comfortable progress: they scored
eighteen goals while conceding only two, and won each match at the first
attempt despite being drawn to play on their opponents' ground in every
round. They became the first team to reach an FA Cup final without playing
at home. Birmingham entered the match as favourites, in a contest billed as
a contrast of styles. Watched by a crowd of 100,000 and a television
audience of five million, Manchester City took an early lead through Joe
Hayes, but Noel Kinsey equalised midway through the first half. Second half
goals from Jack Dyson and Bobby Johnstone gave Manchester City a 3–1
victory. The match is best remembered for the heroics of Manchester City
goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann, who continued playing despite breaking a bone in
his neck in a collision with Birmingham's Peter Murphy.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_FA_Cup_Final
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1778:
An expedition led by James Cook reached Maui, the second largest of the
Hawaiian Islands.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maui)
1842:
The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, USA was founded by
members of the Roman Catholic Congregation of Holy Cross.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Notre_Dame)
1922:
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter the tomb
of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KV62)
1942:
World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first
meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia at
Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVNOJ)
1950:
Chinese forces in North Korea launched a massive counterattack in Chosin
against South Korean and United States armed forces, ending any thought of a
quick end to the Korean War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chosin_Reservoir)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nix (v) 1. To make something become nothing; to reject or
cancel.
2. To destroy or eradicate.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nix)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Not to seek success, but to deserve it.
--Lester B. Pearson
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lester_B._Pearson)
David (1083 - 1153) was a 12th century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians
and later King of the Scots. The youngest son of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada
and Margaret, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled
to England in 1093. At some point, perhaps after 1100, he became a hanger-on
at the court of King Henry I and experienced long exposure to Norman and
Anglo-French culture. When David's brother Alexander I of Scotland died in
1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take the Kingdom of
Scotland (Alba) for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his
rival and nephew, Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair. Subduing the latter took David
ten years, and involved the destruction of Óengus, Mormaer of Moray. David's
victory allowed him to expand his control over more distant regions
theoretically part of his Kingdom. After the death of his former patron
Henry I, David supported the claims of Henry's daughter and his own niece,
the former Empress-consort, Matilda, to the throne of England; in the
process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his
power in northern England, despite his defeat at the Battle of the Standard
in 1138. The term "Davidian Revolution" is used by many scholars to
summarise the changes which took place in the Kingdom of Scotland during his
reign.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_I_of_Scotland
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1120:
William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England, drowned
in the White Ship Disaster, leading to a succession crisis which would bring
down the Norman monarchy of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Ship)
1177:
The 16-year-old King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, already ravaged by leprosy,
destroys a Muslim army led by Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard, saving
the Crusader states from invasion.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montgisard)
1795:
Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland, was forced to
abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by
Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_August_Poniatowski)
1970:
Japanese author Yukio Mishima committed the ritual suicide seppuku at the
Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters in Tokyo after an unsuccessful
attempt to inspire the soldiers to stage a coup d'etat to restore the powers
of the Japanese Emperor prior to the 1947 constitution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima)
1992:
Legislators in Czechoslovakia voted to dissolve their country into the Czech
Republic and Slovakia, effective January 1, 1993.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_Czechoslovakia)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ombudsman (n) 1. An appointed official whose duty is to investigate
complaints against institutions such as government departments.
2. A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to
assist members with conflict resolution.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ombudsman)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when
the baby gets hold of a hammer.
--Will Rogers
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Will_Rogers)
Yttrium is a chemical element with atomic number 39. It is a
silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanoids and
has historically been classified as a rare-earth element. Yttrium is almost
always found combined with the lanthanoids in rare-earth minerals and is
never found in nature as a free element. Its only stable isotope, 89Y, is
also its only naturally occurring isotope. In 1787, Carl Axel Arrhenius
found a new mineral near Ytterby in Sweden and named it ytterbite, after the
village. Johan Gadolin discovered yttrium's oxide in Arrhenius' sample in
1789, and Anders Gustaf Ekeberg named the new oxide yttria. Elemental
yttrium was first isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler. The most important
use of yttrium compounds is in making phosphors, such as the red ones used
in television cathode ray tube displays and in LEDs. Other uses include the
production of electrodes, electrolytes, electronic filters, lasers and
superconductors; various medical applications; and as traces in various
materials to enhance their properties. Yttrium has no known biological role.
Exposure to yttrium compounds can cause lung disease in humans.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yttrium
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1190:
Conrad of Montferrat became de jure King of Jerusalem after marrying Queen
Isabella.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_of_Montferrat)
1642:
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman reached Tasmania. He named the island Anthoonij
van Diemenslandt after Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Anthony van
Diemen.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmania)
1859:
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by British naturalist
Charles Darwin was first published, and sold out its initial print run on
the first day.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species)
1922:
Irish Civil War: Author and Irish nationalist Robert Erskine Childers was
executed by firing squad by the Irish Free State for illegally carrying a
revolver.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Erskine_Childers)
1974:
The 3.2-million-year-old skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis,
nicknamed "Lucy" after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", was
discovered in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_%28Australopithecus%29>
)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
refute (v) To prove (something) to be false or incorrect.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/refute)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law
free.
--Henry David Thoreau
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau)
The Doctor Who missing episodes are the many instalments of the long-running
British science fiction television programme Doctor Who that are missing,
with no known film or videotape copies existing. They were wiped by the BBC
during the 1960s and 1970s for a variety of economic and space-saving
reasons. In all, there are 27 serials that do not exist in complete form in
the BBC's archives, because 108 of 253 episodes produced during the first
six years of the programme are missing. Many more were thought to have been
so in the past before episodes were recovered from a variety of sources,
most notably overseas broadcasters. Doctor Who is not unique in this
respect, as thousands of hours of programming from across all genres were
destroyed up until 1978, when the BBC's archiving policies were changed.
Unlike other series, Doctor Who is unique in having all of its missing
episodes surviving in audio form, recorded off-air by fans at home.
Additionally, every 1970s episode exists in some form, which is not the case
for several other series. Efforts to locate missing episodes continue, both
by the BBC and by fans of the series. Extensive restoration has been carried
out on many surviving and recovered 1960s and 1970s episodes for release on
VHS and more recently on DVD. The surviving soundtracks of missing episodes
have been released on cassette and more recently CD. Both fan groups and the
BBC have released reconstructions of missing episodes, matching photographs
from the episodes with the soundtracks.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_missing_episodes
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
John Milton published Areopagitica, arguing for the right to free speech and
against publication censorship during the English Civil War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areopagitica)
1687:
The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England for their rescue
of two Irish nationalists, who played important roles in the failed Fenian
Rising, from jail.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Martyrs)
1963:
The BBC television series Doctor Who premiered with William Hartnell in the
titular role.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who)
1971:
The People's Republic of China was given China's permanent seat on the
United Nations Security Council.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations)
1985:
Omar Rezaq and two others from the Abu Nidal terrorist group hijacked
EgyptAir Flight 648 over the Mediterranean Sea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Nidal)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kismet (n) Fate; a predetermined or unavoidable destiny.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kismet)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
History would be an excellent thing if only it were true.
--Leo Tolstoy
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy)
Apollonius' problem is a challenge in Euclidean plane geometry to construct
circles that are tangent to three given circles in a plane. Apollonius of
Perga posed and solved this famous problem in his work Επαφαι
("Tangencies"); this work has been lost, but a 4th-century report of his
results by Pappus of Alexandria has survived. Three given circles
generically have eight different circles that are tangent to them and each
solution circle encloses or excludes the three given circles in a different
way. François Viète found such a solution by exploiting limiting cases: any
of the three given circles can be shrunk to zero radius (a point) or
expanded to infinite radius (a line). Viète's approach, which uses simpler
limiting cases to solve more complicated ones, is considered a plausible
reconstruction of Apollonius' method. The method of van Roomen was
simplified by Isaac Newton, who showed that Apollonius' problem is
equivalent to finding a position from the differences of its distances to
three known points. This has applications to navigation and positioning
systems such as GPS. Later mathematicians introduced algebraic methods,
which transform a geometric problem into algebraic equations.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonius%27_problem
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
The Cutty Sark, one of the last sailing clippers ever to be built, was
launched at Dumbarton in Scotland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_Sark)
1831:
After a bloody battle with the military causing 600 casualties, rebellious
silkworkers seized Lyon, France, beginning the First Canut Revolt.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canut_revolts)
1967:
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 242 in
the aftermath of the Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and
Syria.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242
)
1975:
Two days after the death of Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was declared King
of Spain according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain)
2004:
Orange Revolution: Massive protests started in cities across Ukraine,
resulting from allegations that the Ukrainian presidential election between
sitting Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and leader of the opposition
coalition Viktor Yushchenko was rigged.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Revolution)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
extraneous (adj) Not belonging to, or dependent upon, a thing; not
essential or intrinsic; foreign.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/extraneous)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.
--Chester Bowles
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chester_Bowles)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure video game
developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for
the Nintendo 64 video game console. Originally developed for the Nintendo
64DD peripheral, the game was instead released on a 32-megabyte cartridge,
at the time the largest-capacity cartridge Nintendo had produced. Ocarina of
Time is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series in terms of release,
but is set before the first four games. The player controls the series'
trademark protagonist, Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest
to stop Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, from obtaining the Triforce, a sacred
relic that grants the wishes of its holder. Link travels through time and
navigates several dungeons to awaken sages who have the power to seal
Ganondorf. Music plays an important role—to progress, the player learns
several songs for Link to play on his ocarina or the Ocarina of Time. The
game received wide critical acclaim and commercial success. It won the Grand
Prize in the Interactive Art division at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and
won six honors at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Despite a
November 1998 release, it was the best-selling game of that year, and has
sold over 7.6 million copies.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1272:
Edward I became King of England, succeeding his father Henry III who died
five days earlier.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England)
1783:
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes made the
first successful untethered flight by humans in a hot air balloon, which was
constructed by the Montgolfier brothers.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_balloon)
1920:
Irish War of Independence: On Bloody Sunday in Dublin, the Irish Republican
Army killed more than a dozen British intelligence officers known as the
Cairo Gang, and the Auxiliaries of the Royal Irish Constabulary opened fire
on players and spectators at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1920)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281920%29>
)
1962:
The Sino-Indian War ended after the Chinese People's Liberation Army
declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew to the prewar Line of Actual
Control, returning all the territory they had captured during the conflict.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Indian_War)
1977:
God Defend New Zealand became New Zealand's second national anthem, on equal
standing with God Save the Queen, which had been the traditional one since
1840.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Defend_New_Zealand)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nickel and dime (v) 1. (US) To quibble over trifling amounts of
money.
2. (figuratively) To quibble or obsess endlessly over trifles.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nickel_and_dime)
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old.
--Jonathan Swift
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift)