The technology of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) was advanced,
providing some of the most prolific technological advancements in
Chinese history, much of which came from talented statesmen drafted by
the government through imperial examinations. The ingenuity of
mechanical engineering had a long tradition in China. The Song Dynasty
engineer Su Song admitted that he and his contemporaries were building
upon the achievements of the ancients such as Zhang Heng, an
astronomer, inventor, and early master of mechanical gears. The
application of movable type printing advanced the already widespread
use of woodblock printing to educate and amuse Confucian students and
the masses. The application of new weapons employing the use of
gunpowder enabled the Song Dynasty to ward off its militant enemies
until its collapse to the Mongol forces of Kublai Khan, in the late
13th century. Notable advancements in civil engineering, nautics, and
metallurgy were made in Song China, as well as the introduction of the
windmill to China during the 13th century. These advancements, along
with the introduction of paper-printed money, helped revolutionize and
sustain the economy of the Song Dynasty.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_the_Song_Dynasty
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1306:
Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland at Scone Palace in
Perth.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_I_of_Scotland)
1634:
Lord Baltimore, his younger brother Leonard Calvert, and a group of
Catholic settlers founded the English colony of Maryland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Maryland)
1655:
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan, the largest
natural satellite of the planet Saturn.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_%28moon%29)
1802:
France and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Amiens,
temporarily ending the hostilities between the two during the French
Revolutionary Wars.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Amiens)
1807:
The Slave Trade Act became law, abolishing the slave trade in the
British Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807)
1918:
The Belarusian People's Republic was established during World War I,
when Belarus was occupied by the German Empire according to the Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_National_Republic)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
rostrum: A dais, pulpit, or similar platform for a speaker, conductor
or other performer.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rostrum)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Political rights do not exist because they have been legally set down
on a piece of paper, but only when they have become the ingrown habit
of a people, and when any attempt to impair them will meet with the
violent resistance of the populace. Where this is not the case, there
is no help in any parliamentary Opposition or any Platonic appeals to
the constitution. One compels respect from others when he knows how
to defend his dignity as a human being.
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudolf_Rocker)
Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico is a federal assistance
nutritional program provided by the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) solely to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the
United States. It provides over $1.5 billion in supplemental economic
resources to help just over 1 million impoverished residents cope with
their nutritional needs. Since its inception in 1982, the program has
been providing low-income families living in Puerto Rico with cash
benefits used for food purchases. It is a collaborative effort between
the USDA and the island's government, where the former provides annual
federal appropriations for the Puerto Rico government to distribute
individually among eligible participants. Although the methods of
providing such benefits have changed over the years, the program's
basic objective of helping low-income families meet their nutritional
needs has remained constant. It has, however, been controversial
throughout its existence. Federal reviews and assessments have
revealed deficiencies in its operations and management, requiring the
implementation of various changes, including increased scrutiny. It
has also attracted both criticism and advocacy from Puerto Rico and
the United States over its effectiveness in helping poor families and
its impact on Puerto Rico's social classes and economy.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition_Assistance_for_Puerto_Rico
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1279:
The Song Dynasty in Imperial China ended with a victory by the Yuan
Dynasty at the Battle of Yamen off the coast of Xinhui, Guangdong
Province.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Dynasty)
1687:
The search for the mouth of the Mississippi River led by French
explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle ended with a mutiny
and his murder in present-day Texas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Robert_Cavelier%2C_Sieur_de_La_Salle)
1915:
Pluto was photographed for the first time, 15 years before it was
eventually discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto)
1941:
The Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-African American unit of the
United States Army Air Corps, was activated.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen)
1978:
In response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the United Nations
called on Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from Lebanon, and
established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_425)
1982:
Argentine forces led by Alfredo Astiz occupied South Georgia,
precipitating the Falklands War against the United Kingdom.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Georgia_and_the_South_Sandwich_Islands)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
vaunt: To speak boastfully.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaunt)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause;
He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made
laws.
-- Sir Richard Francis Burton
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th-century Middle English
alliterative chivalric romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a
knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In this Arthurian tale, Sir
Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely
green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin. The "Green
Knight" offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the
challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain
accepts, and beheads him in one blow, only to have the Green Knight
stand up, pick up his head, and remind Gawain to meet him at the
appointed time. The story of Gawain's struggle to meet the appointment
and his adventures along the way demonstrate chivalry and loyalty. The
poem survives on a single manuscript, the Cotton Nero A.x., on which
are also written three religious pieces. These works are thought to
have been written by the same unknown author, dubbed the "Pearl Poet"
or "Gawain poet". All four narrative poems are written in a North West
Midland dialect of Middle English. Everything from the Green Knight,
to the beheading game, to the girdle given to Gawain as protection
from the axe, is richly symbolic and steeped in Celtic, Germanic, and
other folklore and cultural traditions.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
624:
History of Islam: The Muslims of Medina defeated the Quraysh of
Mecca at the Battle of Badr in Badr, present-day Saudi Arabia, a
victory that has been attributed to divine intervention or the genius
of Muhammad.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr)
1958:
Vanguard 1, the first solar-powered satellite, was launched. It is
the oldest human-launched object still in Earth orbit today.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_1)
1969:
Golda Meir of the Labor Party became the first female Prime Minister
of Israel.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir)
2004:
Unrest in Kosovo broke out, resulting in more than 20 killed, 200
wounded, and the destruction of several Serb Orthodox churches and
shrines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_unrest_in_Kosovo)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
kudos: Praise; accolades.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kudos)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent,
nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by the
Lord many years before they happened, who knew everything, even before
the beginning of time. -- Saint Patrick
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick)
"Trapped in the Closet" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of
the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on November
16, 2005. The plot of the episode centers on the South Park character
Stan Marsh, as he joins Scientology in an attempt to find something
"fun and free". After the discovery of his surprisingly high "thetan
levels", he is recognized as the reincarnation of the founder of the
church, L. Ron Hubbard. Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, quit the show
shortly before the start of the tenth season. The reason for his
departure, as reported by Matt Stone, was due to his faith in
Scientology and this episode, which—despite initially supporting the
show's satirical take on several talk shows—he claimed was very
offensive. "Trapped in the Closet" was nominated for an Emmy Award in
July 2006, in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated
Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) category in July 2006,
but lost to The Simpsons episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story".
The episode was featured among Comedy Central's list of "10 South
Parks That Changed The World", spoofed by Conan O'Brien in the opening
segment of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards, and mentioned in the
Scientology critique film, The Bridge.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapped_in_the_Closet_%28South_Park%29
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1311:
The Catalan Company defeated Walter V of Brienne in the Battle of
Halmyros and took control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in
Greece.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Halmyros)
1877:
Cricketers representing England and Australia began the first match
in Test cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Test_cricket_from_1877_to_1883)
1917:
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was forced to abdicate in the February
Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia)
1939:
Nazi German troops began their occupation of Czechoslovakia and
established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectorate_of_Bohemia_and_Moravia)
1988:
Iran–Iraq War: Iraqi forces began attacking the Kurdish town of
Halabja with chemical weapons, killing up to 5,000 people.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_poison_gas_attack)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
bourgeois: Of or related to the middle class, especially its attitudes
and conventions.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bourgeois)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
As long as our government is administered for the good
of the people, and is regulated by their will; as long as it secures
to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of
the press, it will be worth defending.
-- Andrew Jackson
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson)
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish
public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio. It
determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song
Contest, and has been staged, almost every year, since 1959. The
competition is the most popular television programme in Sweden; it is
also broadcast on radio and the internet. The festival has produced
four Eurovision winners and sixteen top-five placings for Sweden at
the Contest. The winner of the Melodifestival has been chosen by
panels of jurors since its inception. Since 1999, the juries have been
joined by a public telephone vote which has an equal influence over
the final outcome. The introduction of semifinals in 2002 raised the
potential number of contestants from around twelve to thirty-two. A
children's version of the competition, Lilla Melodifestivalen, also
began in 2002. Light, orchestrated pop songs, known locally as
schlager music, are seen as so prevalent that the festival is
sometimes referred to as Schlagerfestivalen by the Swedish media.
However, other styles of music such as rap, reggae, and glam rock have
made an appearance since the event's expansion. The introduction of a
grand final in Stockholm has attracted considerable tourism to the
city.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodifestivalen
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1881:
Andrew Watson made his debut with the Scotland national football
team and became the world's first black international football player.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Watson)
1930:
Gandhi began the Dandi March, a 24-day walk to defy the British tax
on salt in colonial India.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Satyagraha)
1938:
Anschluss Österreichs: Austria was occupied by the Wehrmacht, and
subsequently became Ostmark, a province within the German Reich.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anschluss)
1940:
The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed, ending the Winter War between
Finland and the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Peace_Treaty)
1993:
A series of thirteen coordinated bomb explosions took place in
Bombay, India, killing over 250 civilians and injuring over 700
others.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Bombay_bombings)
2003:
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was assassinated in Belgrade.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Zoran_%C4%90in%C4%91i%C4%87)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
candor: Sincere and open speech, honesty in expression.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/candor)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind
together.
-- Jack Kerouac
Slavery in ancient Greece was considered not only necessary but
natural; neither the Stoics nor the Early Christians questioned the
practice. However, some isolated debate began to appear, notably in
Socratic dialogues, as early as the 4th century BC. Although slaves as
dependent groups existed, such as the Penestae of Thessaly, the
Spartan Helots or even the Klarotes of Crete, these were more like
Medieval serfs. Other parts of Greece practiced chattel slavery, where
the individual is deprived of liberty and forced to submit to an owner
who may buy, sell, or lease him or her as one might any chattel good.
The study of slavery in Ancient Greece poses a number of significant
methodological problems. Documentation is disjointed and very
fragmented, focusing on the city of Athens. No treatise is
specifically devoted to the subject. Judicial pleadings of the 4th
century BC were interested in slavery only as a source of revenue.
Comedy and tragedy represented stereotypes. Iconography made no
substantial differentiation between slave and craftsman. Even the
terminology is often vague.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Greece
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of the Sixth Coalition: Blücher's Prussian forces defeated
Napoleon's troops at the Battle of Laon near Laon, France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Laon)
1831:
King Louis-Philippe of France created the French Foreign Legion as a
unit of foreign volunteers because foreigners were forbidden to serve
in the French Army after the 1830 July Revolution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Foreign_Legion)
1861:
Toucouleur forces led by El Hadj Umar Tall seized Ségou and
conquered the Bamana Empire in present-day Mali.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamana_Empire)
1906:
More than a thousand coal miners were killed in the Courrières mine
disaster in Northern France, Europe's worst mining accident.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courri%C3%A8res_mine_disaster)
1952:
Forbidden by law to seek re-election, former President Fulgencio
Batista staged a coup d'état to resume control in Cuba.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista)
2000:
The NASDAQ stock market index peaked at 5048.62, the high point of
the dot-com boom.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
hunker: To crouch or squat close to the ground.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hunker)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
We are tired of having a "sphere" doled out to us, and of being told
that anything outside that sphere is "unwomanly". We want to be
natural just for a change … we must be ourselves at all risks.
-- Kate Sheppard
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Sheppard)
The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian empire that ruled most
of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th
centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur
but was later moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally
hill peoples of Malnad Karnataka, an elevated region in the Western
Ghats range. In the 12th century, taking advantage of the internecine
warfare between the then ruling Western Chalukyas and Kalachuri
kingdoms, they annexed areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile
areas north of the Kaveri River delta in present-day Tamil Nadu. By
the 13th century, they governed most of present-day Karnataka, parts
of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in Deccan India. The
Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art,
architecture, and religion in South India. The empire is remembered
today primarily for its temple architecture. Over a hundred surviving
temples are scattered across Karnataka, including the well known
Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and
the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The Hoysala rulers also patronised
the fine arts. This patronage encouraged literature to flourish in
Kannada and Sanskrit.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1702:
Princess Anne became the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland,
succeeding William III.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Great_Britain)
1782:
American Revolutionary War: Almost 100 Native Americans in
Gnadenhutten, Ohio died at the hands of Pennsylvanian militiamen in a
mass murder known as the Gnadenhutten massacre.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnadenhutten_massacre)
1966:
Nelson's Pillar, a large granite pillar with a statue of Lord Nelson
on top in Dublin, Ireland, was destroyed by a bomb.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson%27s_Pillar)
1983:
The Cold War: During a speech to the National Association of
Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Ronald Reagan
described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
1985:
A failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad
Hussein Fadlallah in a car-bombing in Beirut killed more than 80
people and injured almost 200 others.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Beirut_car_bombing)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
flagrant: Obvious and offensive, blatant, scandalous.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flagrant)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
We do not ask for what useful purpose the birds do sing, for song is
their pleasure since they were created for singing. Similarly, we
ought not to ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of
the heavens. The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great and
the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich precisely in order that
the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh enrichment.
-- Johannes Kepler
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler)
In 2006, the Entertainment Software Rating Board changed the rating of
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Teen (13+) to Mature (17+), citing
"more detailed depictions of blood and gore" than had been previously
considered, and "the presence in the PC version of the game of a
locked-out art file that, if accessed by using an apparently
unauthorized third party tool,"—the Oblivion Topless Mod—"allows the
user to play the game with topless versions of female characters." In
response to the new content, the ESRB conducted a new review of
Oblivion, showing to its reviewers the content originally submitted by
the game's publisher along with the newly disclosed content. The new
review resulted in an M rating. The ESRB reported that Bethesda
Softworks, the game's developer and publisher, would promptly notify
all retailers of the change, issue stickers for retailers and
distributors to affix on the product, display the new rating in all
following product shipments and marketing, and create a patch for
download rendering the topless skin inaccessible. Bethesda complied
with the request, but issued a press release declaring their
disagreement with the ESRB's rationale. Although certain retailers
began to check for ID before selling Oblivion as a result of the
change, and the change elicited criticism for the ESRB, the events
passed by with little notice from the public at large. Other
commentators remarked on the injustice of punishing a company for the
actions of independent modders, and one called the event a
"pseudo-sequel" to the Hot Coffee minigame controversy.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESRB_re-rating_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_IV%3A_Obli…
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1770:
The pelting of British soldiers with snowballs soon escalated into a
riot in Boston, Massachusetts, leaving at least five civilians dead.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre)
1824:
Britain officially declared war on Burma, beginning the First
Anglo-Burmese War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Burmese_War)
1850:
The Britannia Bridge, a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular
box-section spans crossing the Menai Strait between the island of
Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, opened.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Bridge)
1872:
American entrepreneur and engineer George Westinghouse patented the
air brake for trains to stop more reliably.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/air_brake_%28rail%29)
1946:
The term "Iron Curtain" was popularized by former British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill during a speech at Westminster College in
Fulton, Missouri, USA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Curtain)
1970:
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international treaty to
limit the spread of nuclear weapons, entered into force.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty)
1999:
Paul Okalik was elected as the first Premier of the Canadian
territory of Nunavut.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Okalik)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
viscous: Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/viscous)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell
you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask,
Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of
course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being
entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision.
-- Penn Jillette
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_Jillette)
Josquin des Prez was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He
was the most famous European composer between Guillaume Dufay and
Palestrina, and is usually considered to be the central figure of the
Franco-Flemish School. Josquin is widely considered by music scholars
to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic
vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime. During the 16th
century, Josquin gradually acquired the reputation as the greatest
composer of the age, his mastery of technique and expression
universally imitated and admired. Writers as diverse as Baldassare
Castiglione and Martin Luther wrote about his reputation and fame;
theorists such as Heinrich Glarean and Gioseffo Zarlino held his style
as that best representing perfection. He was so admired that many
anonymous compositions were attributed to him by copyists, probably to
increase their sales. At least 374 works are attributed to him; it was
only after the advent of modern analytical scholarship that some of
these mistaken attributions have been challenged, on the basis of
stylistic features and manuscript evidence. Yet in spite of Josquin's
colossal reputation, which endured until the beginning of the Baroque
era, and was revived in the 20th century, his biography is shadowy,
and we know next to nothing about his personality.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josquin_des_Prez
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1836:
Texas Revolution: At a convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos, the
Mexican state of Texas adopted a declaration of independence from
Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence)
1865:
Second Taranaki War: Protestant missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner died
at the hands of Hauhau militants in Opotiki for working as an agent
for George Grey, Governor-General of New Zealand.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkner_Incident)
1943:
World War II: Australian and American air forces attacked and
destroyed a large convoy of the Japanese Navy at the Battle of the
Bismarck Sea in the Bismarck Sea north of the island of Papua New
Guinea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bismarck_Sea)
1970:
Rhodesia formally broke its links with the British crown and
declared itself a republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia)
1978:
Aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 28 (insignia patch pictured),
Czech Vladimír Remek became the first person not from the Soviet Union
or the United States to go into space.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_28)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
pedagogic: Relating to teaching, pedagogy.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pedagogic)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!
... So, on beyond Z!
It's high time you were shown
That you really don't know
All there is to be known.
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss)
Joseph Priestley was an 18th-century British theologian, Dissenting
clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who
published over 150 works. He is usually credited with the discovery of
oxygen gas, although Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Antoine Lavoisier also
have such a claim. During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable
scientific reputation rested on his invention of soda water, his
writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases),
the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air"
(oxygen). However, Priestley's determination to reject what would
become the chemical revolution and to cling to phlogiston theory
eventually left him isolated within the scientific community.
Priestley's science was integral to his theology, and he consistently
tried to fuse Enlightenment rationalism with Christian theism. In his
metaphysical texts, Priestley attempted to combine theism,
materialism, and determinism, a project that has been called
"audacious and original". The controversial nature of Priestley's
publications combined with his outspoken support of the French
Revolution aroused public and governmental suspicion; he was
eventually forced to flee to the United States after a mob burned down
his home and church in 1791.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Priestley
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1565:
Portuguese knight Estácio de Sá founded the city of São Sebastião do
Rio de Janeiro (St Sebastian of the January River) in honour of King
Sebastian I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro)
1872:
Yellowstone National Park, one of the first national parks in the
world, was established.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park)
1896:
Ethiopia won the decisive Battle of Adwa over Italy, ending the
First Italo-Abyssinian War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adwa)
1919:
Korea under Japanese rule: The Samil Movement began with numerous
peaceful protests in Korea, but was brutally suppressed by the
Japanese police and army.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1st_Movement)
1954:
The 15-megaton hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo was detonated on Bikini
Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in one of the worst cases of
radioactive contamination ever caused by nuclear testing.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
polymath: A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive
knowledge.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polymath)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Try to remember this: what you projectIs what you will
perceive; what you perceiveWith any passion, be it love or terror,May
take on whims and powers of its own. -- Richard Wilbur
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Wilbur)