Oswald Watt (1878–1921) was an Australian aviator and businessman. He
was born in England and came to Sydney when he was a year old, returning
to England for his education. In 1900 he went back to Australia and
enlisted in the Militia, before acquiring cattle stations in New South
Wales and Queensland. He was also a partner in the family shipping firm.
Becoming in 1911 the first Australian to qualify for a Royal Aero Club
flying certificate, Watt joined the French Foreign Legion as a pilot on
the outbreak of World War I. He transferred to the Australian Flying
Corps (AFC) in 1916, quickly progressing to become commanding officer of
No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. By February 1918, he had been
promoted to lieutenant colonel and taken command of the AFC's 1st
Training Wing in England. A recipient of France's Legion of Honour and
Croix de Guerre, Watt was appointed an Officer of the Order of the
British Empire in 1919. He left the military to pursue business
interests in Australia. In 1921, he drowned at Bilgola Beach, New South
Wales. He is commemorated by the Oswald Watt Gold Medal for outstanding
achievement in Australian aviation, and the Oswald Watt Fund at the
University of Sydney.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Watt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1620:
The Mayflower Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth,
Massachusetts, establishing the Plymouth Colony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony>
1879:
A Doll's House, a controversial play by Henrik Ibsen that
challenged 19th century marriage norms, premiered at the Royal Theatre
in Copenhagen, Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll%27s_House>
1919:
After serving two years in prison for encouraging people to
resist military conscription, anarchist Emma Goldman was deported from
the United States to Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman>
1923:
Nepal and the United Kingdom signed a treaty, the first to
define the international status of Nepal as an independent and a
sovereign nation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal%E2%80%93Britain_Treaty_of_1923>
1988:
A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb on board Pan Am
Flight 103 exploded while the plane was in flight over Lockerbie,
Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
solstitial:
1. Pertaining to a solstice: a solstitial point, the solstitial meridian
plane, avenues with a solstitial orientation.
2. Occurring on a solstice: the solstitial half-moon, a solstitial event.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/solstitial>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the
Universe. All this is suggested by the systematic procession of events
and the harmony of the whole Universe, if only we face the facts, as
they say, "with both eyes open."
--Nicolaus Copernicus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus>
Easy Jet (1967–92) was an American Quarter Horse foaled, or born, in
1967, and was one of only two horses to have been a member of the
American Quarter Horse Association (or AQHA) Hall of Fame as well as
being an offspring of members. Easy Jet won the 1969 All American
Futurity, the highest race for Quarter Horse racehorses, and was named
World Champion Quarter Race Horse in the same year. He earned the
highest speed rating awarded at the time—AAAT. After winning 27 of his
38 races in two years of racing, he retired from the race track and
became a breeding stallion. As a sire, or father, he was the first All
American Futurity winner to sire an All American Futurity winner, and
went on to sire three winners of that race, and nine Champion Quarter
Running Horses. Ultimately, his ownership and breeding rights were split
into 60 shares worth $500,000 each—a total of $30 million. By 1993,
the year after his death, his foals had earned more than $25 million on
the racetrack. Easy Jet was of sorrel color, a light yellowish-red. He
stood about 15.3 hands high (63 inches; 160 cm) and had a large star
and a stripe on his face.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Jet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to
secede from the United States, leading to the eventual creation of the
Confederate States of America and later the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America>
1955:
Cardiff (Cardiff City Hall pictured) was proclaimed as the
capital of Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff>
1968:
The Zodiac Killer murdered the first of his five confirmed
victims in Vallejo, California, a case which remains unsolved.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer>
1988:
The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances governing international
cooperation against the illegal drug trade was signed in Vienna.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Illicit_Tra…>
1995:
As per the Dayton Agreement that ended the Bosnian War, the
NATO-led IFOR began peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deracinate:
1. To pull up by the roots; to uproot; to extirpate.
2. To force (people) from their homeland to a new or foreign location.
3. To liberate or be liberated from a culture or its norms..
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deracinate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You call me a Circle; but in reality I am not a Circle, but an
infinite number of Circles... For even a Sphere — which is my proper
name in my own country — if he manifest himself at all to an
inhabitant of Flatland — must needs manifest himself as a Circle.
--Edwin Abbott Abbott
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edwin_Abbott_Abbott>
The redback spider is a species of venomous spider indigenous to
Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the
widow spiders. The adult female has a black body with a prominent
abdominal red stripe (pictured). Females have a body length of about 10
millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only
3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Mainly nocturnal, the female lives in
an untidy-looking web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or
inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small
vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. Males and spiderlings often
live on the periphery of the female's web and steal leftovers. The
redback is one of few arachnids that usually display sexual cannibalism
while mating. It is widespread in Australia, and inadvertent
introductions have led to established colonies in New Zealand, Japan and
in greenhouses in Belgium. The redback is one of the few spider species
that can be seriously harmful to humans. An antivenom has been available
since 1956, but its effectiveness has recently been questioned. No
deaths directly due to redback bites have occurred since its
introduction.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1154:
Henry II was crowned King of England in London's Westminster
Abbey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England>
1843:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (pictured), a novella
about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his conversion after being visited
by three Christmas ghosts, was first published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
1956:
Irish-born British physician John Bodkin Adams was arrested in
connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 of his patients,
although he was only convicted on minor charges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bodkin_Adams>
1981:
Sixteen lives were lost when a Penlee lifeboat went to the aid
of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas off the south-west
coast of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penlee_lifeboat_disaster>
1986:
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev released dissident Andrei
Sakharov after six years of internal exile in Gorky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Sakharov>
1998:
The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill
Clinton following the Lewinsky scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
doomsayer:
One who makes dire predictions about the future; one fond of predicting
disaster.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doomsayer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if
persevered in, they must lead", said Scrooge. "But if the courses be
departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show
me!" The Spirit was immovable as ever.
--A Christmas Carol
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol>
Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837) was an English actor, comedian, dancer,
and the Regency era's most successful entertainer. He popularised and
expanded the role of "Clown" in the harlequinade that formed a part of
British pantomimes during the 1800s, and became a key pantomime
performer at the Drury Lane, Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden theatres.
While a boy, he appeared on stage at Drury Lane as "Little Clown" in the
pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding. Other
successful roles at the theatre followed, but he left in 1806 to take up
theatrical residencies at the Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells theatres.
As he matured, he began performing as Clown, for which character he
created the whiteface make-up design still used in pantomime and by many
other clowns today. The numerous injuries he received as a result of his
energetic performances eventually led to a decline in his health and to
his semi-retirement in 1823. Living in obscurity during his final years,
he became an impoverished alcoholic. Grimaldi died at home in Islington,
aged 59, having outlived his wife and his actor son Joseph Samuel.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Grimaldi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1892:
The first performance of the fairy tale-ballet The Nutcracker
was held at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker>
1916:
The French defeated German forces around the city of Verdun-
sur-Meuse in northeast France, ending the longest battle and one of the
bloodiest in World War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun>
1958:
The United States launched SCORE, the world's first
communications satellite.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCORE_(satellite)>
1966:
Epimetheus, one of the moons of Saturn, was discovered, but was
mistaken as Janus. It took twelve years to determine that they are two
distinct objects sharing the same orbit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimetheus_(moon)>
2010:
The Tunisian Revolution began, and what was initially a series
of protests with a set of demands evolved into nationwide demonstrations
that eventually toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after
nearly 23 years of rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_Revolution>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pergola:
A framework in the form of a passageway of columns that supports a
trelliswork roof; used to support and train climbing plants.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pergola>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The main thing now is not to paint precociously but to be, or at
least become, an individual. The art of mastering life is the
prerequisite for all further forms of expression, whether they are
paintings, sculptures, tragedies, or musical compositions.
--Paul Klee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Klee>
Nefarious: Merchant of Souls is a 2011 American documentary film about
modern human trafficking, specifically sexual slavery. Presented from a
Christian worldview, Nefarious covers human trafficking in the United
States, Western and Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, alternating
interviews with re-enactments. Nefarious was written, directed, produced
and narrated by Benjamin Nolot, founder and president of Exodus Cry, the
film's distributor. Nolot travelled to 19 countries to collect the
film's content. Interviewees in the film include Agape International
Missions founder Don Brewster, former prostitute Annie Lobert, and
Swedish Detective Superintendent Kajsa Wahlberg. Laila Mickelwait
(pictured), Exodus Cry's Director of Awareness and Prevention, screened
the film in several countries in an attempt to persuade governments to
make laws similar to Sweden's Sex Purchase Act, which criminalizes the
purchasing rather than the selling of sex. Nefarious has won a variety
of film awards, including the Honolulu Film Award for Best Screenplay,
the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Award, and
the Indie Fest Feature Documentary Award of Excellence.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefarious:_Merchant_of_Souls>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
497 BC:
The temple to the Roman god Saturn was dedicated in the Roman
Forum; its anniversary was celebrated as Saturnalia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia>
1583:
Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeated the troops
under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Godesberg>
1926:
A coup d'état by the Lithuanian military replaced the
democratically elected President Kazys Grinius with Antanas Smetona
(pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1926_Lithuanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
1960:
A US Air Force Convair C-131 Samaritan crashed shortly after
take-off into downtown Munich due to fuel contamination, killing all 20
people on board as well as 32 more on the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Munich_Convair_340_crash>
1983:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb just
outside Harrods Department Store in London, killing six people and
injuring about 90 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrods_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
neotenous:
1. Exhibiting retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult.
2. (informal) Babyfaced.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neotenous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Every discovery opens a new field for investigation of
facts, shows us the imperfection of our theories. It has justly been
said, that the greater the circle of light, the greater the boundary of
darkness by which it is surrounded. 
--Humphry Davy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Humphry_Davy>
Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) was a British poet and
philanthropist. She worked for unemployed women and the homeless, and
was actively involved with feminist groups and journals. Procter's
literary career began when she was a teenager; her poems were primarily
published in Charles Dickens's periodicals Household Words and All the
Year Round and later appeared in book form. Her charity work and her
conversion to Roman Catholicism appear to have strongly influenced her
poetry, which deals mostly with such subjects as homelessness, poverty,
and "fallen women". Procter was the favourite poet of Queen Victoria.
Her poetry went through numerous editions in the 19th century; Coventry
Patmore called her the most popular poet of the day, after Alfred, Lord
Tennyson. Nonetheless, by the early 20th century her reputation had
diminished. The few modern critics who have given her work attention
argue that her work is significant, in part for what it reveals about
how Victorian women expressed otherwise repressed feelings. Procter
never married, and some of her poetry has prompted speculation that she
was a lesbian. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 38.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_Anne_Procter>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
The Parliament of England adopted the Bill of Rights, declaring
that Englishmen possessed certain positive civil and political rights.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689>
1773:
To prevent the unloading of tea that was taxed without their
consent under the Tea Act, a group of colonists destroyed it by throwing
it into Boston Harbor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party>
1938:
Adolf Hitler instituted the Cross of Honour of the German
Mother as an order of merit for Imperial German women.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Honour_of_the_German_Mother>
1960:
Two airliners collided in mid-air in heavy clouds over Staten
Island, New York City, killing 134 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_New_York_mid-air_collision>
1997:
"Dennō Senshi Porygon", an episode of the Japanese television
series Pokémon, induced epileptic seizures in 685 children.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denn%C5%8D_Senshi_Porygon>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
neverendum:
A series of "neverending" referendums on the same issue held in an
attempt to achieve an unpopular result.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neverendum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Today we live in a society in which spurious realities are
manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by
religious groups, political groups … So I ask, in my writing, What is
real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities
manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated
electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their
power. They have a lot of it. And it is an astonishing power: that of
creating whole universes, universes of the mind. I ought to know. I do
the same thing.
--Philip K. Dick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick>
The Battle of Arawe was fought between Allied and Japanese forces during
the New Britain Campaign of World War II. The battle was initiated by
the Allies to divert Japanese attention away from the Cape Gloucester
area of New Britain ahead of a major offensive there in late December
1943. A force built around the U.S. Army's 112th Cavalry Regimental
Combat Team landed at Arawe on 15 December 1943 and rapidly overcame
the area's small garrison. Japanese air units made large-scale raids
against the Arawe area in the following days, and in late December
elements of two Imperial Japanese Army battalions unsuccessfully
counter-attacked the larger American force. In mid-January 1944 the
112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team was reinforced with additional
infantry and U.S. Marine Corps tanks, and launched a brief offensive
that pushed the Japanese back. The Japanese units withdrew from the area
towards the end of February as part of a general retreat from western
New Britain. There is no consensus among historians on whether the
Allied landing at Arawe was needed, with some arguing that it provided a
useful diversion while others judge that it formed part of an
unnecessary campaign.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arawe>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1256:
The Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran was
captured and destroyed by Hulagu Khan and the Mongols.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins>
1467:
Troops under Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the forces of
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in present-day Baia, Romania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baia>
1939:
The American historical epic film Gone With the Wind (poster
pictured), adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning novel of
the same name, made its premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)>
1973:
The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from
its official list of mental disorders, the DSM-II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_D…>
1995:
The European Court of Justice handed down the Bosman ruling,
allowing footballers in the European Union to freely transfer from one
UEFA Federation to another at the end of their contracts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosman_ruling>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mango:
To remove the innards of, stuff (especially with spicy foods), seal and
pickle or pour boiling vinegar over (a fruit).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mango>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Belief has its structures, and its symbols change. Its
tradition changes. All the relationships within these forms are inter-
dependent. We look at the symbols, we hope to read them, we hope for
sharing and communication.
--Muriel Rukeyser
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muriel_Rukeyser>
New York State Route 28N (NY 28N) is an east–west state highway in
the North Country of New York in the United States. It extends for 50.95
miles (82.00 km) through the Adirondack Mountains from Blue Mountain
Lake to North Creek. The route is a northerly alternate route to NY 28
between both locations and passes through several communities that
NY 28 bypasses. The westernmost 10 miles (16 km) of NY 28N overlap
with NY 30 through the town of Long Lake. The rest of NY 28N is
designated as the Roosevelt–Marcy Trail, a scenic byway marking the
path taken in 1901 by U.S. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt from Mount
Marcy to reach North Creek after he learned that President William
McKinley had been assassinated. The route has a rather scant history
before its designations. It originated as a highway from Warren County
to Long Lake. It was used for transportation in the iron ore industry in
Newcomb, and for the lumber industry in Minerva. The state gained
control of the road in 1909. The NY 28N designation was assigned as
part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York,
incorporating part of the former NY 10.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_28N>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
835:
In the Sweet Dew Incident, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty
conspired to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot
was foiled.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Dew_Incident>
1819:
Alabama was admitted as the 22nd U.S. state, after the
statehood of present-day Northern Alabama was delayed for several years
by the lack of a coastline until Mobile was captured from Spain during
the War of 1812.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama>
1911:
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first
people to reach the South Pole (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition>
1963:
The dam holding the Baldwin Hills Reservoir in Los Angeles
failed, releasing a flood that destroyed 277 homes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Hills_Reservoir>
1999:
Torrential rains caused flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela,
resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands
of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vargas_tragedy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
instar:
1. Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an
arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity:
the hopper was placed in a box in its first instar.
2. An arthropod at a specified one of these stages: first and second
instars of this species are more susceptible to H. bacteriophora than
later instars.
3. A stage in development: "photographs of the landlady’s children in all
their instars" (Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/instar>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Some say the Gods are just a myth but guess Who I've been dancing
with... The Great God Pan is alive!
--Mike Scott
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Scott_(musician)>
The giant eland is an open-forest savanna antelope. Although it is the
largest species of antelope, with a body length ranging from
220–290 cm (87–110 in), the epithet "giant" refers to its large
horns. It is also called "Lord Derby's eland" in honour of Edward Smith-
Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, by whose efforts it was first introduced to
England. As a herbivore, it eats grasses, foliage and branches. It
usually forms small herds consisting of 15–25 members, both males and
females. Giant elands are not territorial, and have large home ranges.
They are naturally alert and wary, which makes them difficult to
approach and observe. They can run at up to 70 km/h (43 mph) and use
speed as a defence against predators. They mostly inhabit broad-leafed
savannas, woodlands and glades. The giant eland is native to Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, The Democratic Republic of Congo,
Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan. It is no longer present in
Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo. Its presence is uncertain in
Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Uganda. There are two subspecies, which have
been given different conservation statuses by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_eland>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1545:
The Council of Trent, an ecumenical council convoked by Pope
Paul III in response to the growth of Protestantism, opened in Trent,
Bishopric of Trent (now in modern Italy).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Trent>
1809:
American physician Ephraim McDowell performed the world's first
removal of an ovarian tumor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_McDowell>
1960:
With Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie out of the country,
four conspirators staged a coup attempt and installed Crown Prince Asfaw
Wossen as the new Emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Ethiopian_coup_attempt>
1989:
The Troubles: A Provisional Irish Republican Army engaged in a
fierce firefight with the King's Own Scottish Borderers at a vehicle
checkpoint complex in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Derryard_checkpoint>
2011:
A man threw grenades and fired an automatic rifle at crowds in
the Place Saint-Lambert, Liège, Belgium, killing 15 people and injuring
125 others, before committing suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Li%C3%A8ge_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
calendrical:
Of, pertaining to, or used by a calendar system.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calendrical>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When words leave off, music begins.
--Heinrich Heine
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine>
Tropical Storm Cindy was a weak but unusually wet Atlantic tropical
cyclone that caused destructive floods and mudslides across Martinique
in August 1993. Cindy formed east of the island and became the annual
hurricane season's third named storm on August 14. After attaining
maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h), the storm began to weaken
from interaction with the high terrain of Hispaniola. It made landfall
in the Dominican Republic as a tropical depression on August 16,
dissipating the following day. Despite its poor cloud structure, Cindy
dropped torrential rain over portions of the northeastern Caribbean.
Martinique received up to 12 inches (305 mm) of rain in 24 hours,
affecting many northern villages and communes. Le Prêcheur in
particular was devastated by an extensive debris flow, which washed away
entire structures and wrought $2.7 million in damage. The disaster left
two people dead and hundreds homeless on the island. En route to
Hispaniola, Cindy affected the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with rough
surf and moderate rain. Heavy downpours and flooding killed two people
in the Dominican Republic, though the exact extent of the damage there
is unknown.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Cindy_(1993)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1531:
According to traditional Catholic accounts, the image of the
Blessed Virgin Mary miraculously appeared imprinted on Juan Diego's
tilma.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe>
1862:
American Civil War: The USS Cairo was sunk in the Yazoo River,
the first armored ship sunk by a naval mine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cairo>
1901:
Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio
signal, from Poldhu Wireless Station in Cornwall, England, to Signal
Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi>
1935:
The Nazi Lebensborn programme, which was later mistakenly
believed to engage in coercive breeding, was established to provide
assistance to the wives of SS members and unmarried mothers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebensborn>
1988:
Three trains collided (wreckage pictured) near Clapham Junction
railway station in London killing 35 people and injuring 500.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham_Junction_rail_crash>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tin anniversary:
The tenth anniversary (yearly recurrence) of an event, especially a
wedding.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tin_anniversary>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our country is the world — our countrymen are all mankind.
--William Lloyd Garrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Lloyd_Garrison>