The pigeye shark is an uncommon species of requiem shark found in the
warm coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic and western Indo-Pacific. It
prefers shallow, murky environments with soft bottoms, and tends to roam
within a fairly localised area. With its bulky grey body, small eyes,
and short, blunt snout, the pigeye shark looks almost identical to (and
is often confused with) the better-known bull shark. The pigeye shark is
an apex predator that mostly hunts low in the water column. It has a
varied diet, consisting mainly of bony and cartilaginous fishes but also
including crustaceans, molluscs, sea snakes, and cetaceans. This species
gives birth to live young, with the developing embryos sustained to term
via a placental connection to their mother. Litters of three to thirteen
pups are born after a gestation period of nine or twelve months. Young
sharks spend their first few years of life in sheltered inshore habitats
such as bays. The pigeye shark's size and dentition make it potentially
dangerous, though it has not been known to attack humans. It is
infrequently caught by fisheries, which use it for meat and fins, and in
shark nets used to protect beaches.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeye_shark>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1509:
An estimated 10,000 people died in Constantinople due to an
earthquake so strong it was known as "the Lesser Judgement Day".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1509_Constantinople_earthquake>
1813:
War of 1812: American forces led by Oliver Hazard Perry
defeated the British on Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Erie>
1937:
Led by the United Kingdom and France, nine nations met in the
Nyon Conference to address international piracy in the Mediterranean
Sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyon_Conference>
1960:
Mickey Mantle hit what was originally thought to be the longest
home run in major league baseball, an estimated 643 feet (196 m).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle>
2007:
Nawaz Sharif, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, returned
to the country after being ousted in a coup and exiled eight years
earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawaz_Sharif>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
variadic:
(Computing, mathematics, linguistics) Taking a variable number of
arguments; especially, taking arbitrarily many arguments.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/variadic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Between too early and too late, there is never more than a
moment.
--Franz Werfel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franz_Werfel>
Natasha "Tasha" Yar is a fictional character who mainly appeared in the
first season of the American science fiction television series Star
Trek: The Next Generation. Portrayed by Denise Crosby (pictured), she is
chief of security aboard the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise-D. The
character's concept was originally based upon the character of Vasquez
from the 1986 film Aliens. Yar first appeared in the series' pilot
episode, "Encounter at Farpoint". After Crosby decided to leave the
show, Yar was killed by the creature Armus in "Skin of Evil", the
23rd episode of the season – a death that received mainly negative
reviews. She was written back into the show for a guest appearance in
the third season episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", in which the timeline
was altered so that she did not die, and again in the final episode of
the series "All Good Things...", in events set prior to the pilot. She
has been described as a forerunner to other strong women in science
fiction, such as Kara Thrace from the 2004 version of Battlestar
Galactica, and a step between the female characters in The Original
Series and the command positions they have in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
and Voyager.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasha_Yar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1141:
Yelü Dashi, the Liao Dynasty general who founded the Qara-
Khitai, defeated the Seljuq and Kara-Khanid forces at the Battle of
Qatwan near Samarkand, present-day Uzbekistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qatwan>
1513:
War of the League of Cambrai: James IV of Scotland was killed
at the Battle of Flodden in Northumberland while leading an invasion of
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flodden>
1739:
The Stono Rebellion, at the time the largest slave rebellion in
the Thirteen Colonies of British America, erupted near Charleston, South
Carolina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stono_Rebellion>
1969:
The Official Languages Act of Canada came into force, giving
both French and English equal status throughout the Canadian national
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Languages_Act_(Canada)>
2010:
A natural gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, US,
creating a "wall of fire more than 1,000 feet (300 m) high".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
zealous:
Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zealous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-
witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the
simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is
firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what
is laid before him.
--Leo Tolstoy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy>
SummerSlam (2003) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event
produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on August 24, 2003 at
the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 16th annual
SummerSlam event and starred wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown!
brands in nine professional wrestling matches. In the first main event,
World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (pictured) defeated Chris Jericho,
Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels to retain his
championship. In the other main match, featuring wrestlers from the
SmackDown! brand, defending WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeated challenger
Brock Lesnar. The other main match was a No Holds Barred match between
wrestlers from the Raw brand, in which Kane defeated Rob Van Dam. The
event marked the second time the Elimination Chamber format was used by
WWE; the first was at Survivor Series 2002. Including its scripted
buildup, SummerSlam (2003) grossed over $715,000 ticket sales from an
attendance of 16,113 and received about 415,000 pay-per-view buys, more
than the following year's event. This event helped WWE increase its pay-
per-view revenue by $6.2 million from the previous year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SummerSlam_(2003)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
617:
Li Yuan defeated a Sui Dynasty army in the Battle of Huoyi,
opening the path to his capture of the imperial capital Chang'an and the
eventual establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Huoyi>
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: The French defeated Austrian forces
in Bassano, Venetia, present-day Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bassano>
1831:
William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen were crowned King and
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen>
1935:
U.S. Senator Huey Long was fatally shot in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long>
1978:
Iranian Revolution: After the government of the Shah of Iran
declared martial law in response to protests, the Iranian Army shot and
killed at least 88 demonstrators in Tehran on Black Friday.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1978)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unstinted:
Not constrained, not restrained, or not confined.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unstinted>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I like to watch.
--Being There
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Being_There>
The history of Arsenal Football Club between 1886 and 1966 covers the
time from the club's foundation, through the first two major periods of
success and their subsequent decline to mid-table status. Arsenal were
founded in 1886 as a workers' team from Woolwich, in present-day South
East London. They turned professional in 1891 and joined the Football
League two years later, winning promotion into the First Division in
1904. Arsenal were bought out in 1910 by Sir Henry Norris, and he moved
the team to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London, in 1913 to
improve their financial standing. It was not until the appointment of
Herbert Chapman as manager that Arsenal had their first period of major
success; under him and his successor George Allison, Arsenal won five
First Division titles and two FA Cups in the 1930s. After the Second
World War, Tom Whittaker continued the success, leading the club to two
First Division titles and another FA Cup. Arsenal's fortunes gradually
declined; by 1966, they were in mid-table obscurity and had not won a
trophy in thirteen years. This led to the dismissal of Billy Wright as
manager, and with it the appointment of Bertie Mee. (
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Arsenal_F.C._(1886%E2%80%931966)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1191:
Third Crusade: Forces under Richard I of England defeated
Ayyubid troops under Saladin in Arsuf, present-day Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arsuf>
1778:
American Revolutionary War: France invaded the island of
Dominica and captured the British fort there before the latter even knew
that France had entered the war as an ally of the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Dominica>
1901:
With Peking occupied by foreign troops from the Eight-Nation
Alliance, Qing China was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, an unequal
treaty ending the Boxer Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Protocol>
1999:
Three weeks after an earthquake struck northwestern Turkey, a
major earthquake struck Athens, causing Greece and Turkey to initiate
"earthquake diplomacy".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek%E2%80%93Turkish_earthquake_diplomacy>
2011:
Yak-Service Flight 9633, carrying the players and coaching
staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team, crashed
near the Russian city of Yaroslavl, killing all aboard but one.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Lokomotiv_Yaroslavl_air_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
iatrogenesis:
(medicine) Any adverse effect (or complication) resulting from medical
treatment.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/iatrogenesis>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Brass shines as fair to the ignorant as gold to the goldsmiths.
--Elizabeth I of England
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England>
Roger Waters (born 1943) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and
composer. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink
Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure
of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist,
principal songwriter and conceptual leader. The band subsequently
achieved international success with the concept albums such as The Dark
Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. Although Waters'
primary instrument in Pink Floyd was the bass guitar, he also
experimented with synthesisers and tape loops and played rhythm guitar
on recordings and in concerts. Amid creative differences within the
group, Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and began a legal battle with the
remaining members over their intended use of the band's name and
material. They settled the dispute out of court in 1987, though the four
members did not play together until Live 8, nearly 18 years later.
Waters released Ça Ira (a three-act opera based on the French
Revolution) in 2005, and in 2010 staged The Wall Live concert tour, an
updated version of the original Pink Floyd album.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Waters>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1901:
U.S. President William McKinley was fatally wounded by
anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New
York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_William_McKinley>
1943:
A group of businessmen in Monterrey, Mexico, founded the
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, now one of the
largest universities in Latin America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterrey_Institute_of_Technology_and_Higher_…>
1955:
A Turkish mob attacked ethnic Greeks in Istanbul, killing at
least 13 people and damaging more than 5,000 Greek-owned homes and
businesses.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_riots>
1963:
Victor Krulak was sent on a mission by the Kennedy
administration to assess the progress of the Vietnam War, and the
viability of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem against the
backdrop of the Buddhist crisis and Xa Loi Pagoda raids.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krulak_Mendenhall_mission>
2000:
The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss
the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century, opened
in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Summit>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
munificent:
Very liberal in giving or bestowing; lavish; as a munificent benefactor.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/munificent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Your spiritual teachers caution you against enquiry — tell you
not to read certain books; not to listen to certain people; to beware of
profane learning; to submit your reason, and to receive their doctrines
for truths. Such advice renders them suspicious counsellors. By their
own creed you hold your reason from their God. Go! ask them why he gave
it.
--Frances Wright
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frances_Wright>
The Landing at Nadzab was an airborne landing on 5 September 1943 during
the New Guinea campaign of World War II. It began with a parachute drop
(pictured) into Nadzab by the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry
Regiment and elements of the Australian Army. The drop, which took place
in conjunction with the Landing at Lae, was observed by General Douglas
MacArthur, circling overhead in a B-17. Australian and Papuan troops
reached Nadzab that same day after an overland and river trek. The first
transport aircraft carrying troops of the Australian 7th Division
landed the next morning, but a terrible air crash at Jackson's Field
caused half the Allied casualties of the battle. The 7th Division
advanced on Lae from Nadzab. On 11 September, it defeated a Japanese
force at Heath's Plantation. During this engagement, Private Richard
Kelliher won the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest award for
gallantry. The Japanese Army elected not to fight for Lae, preferring
instead to withdraw over the rugged Saruwaged Range, which proved to be
a gruelling test of endurance. Nadzab was then developed and became the
major Allied air base in New Guinea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Nadzab>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
917:
Liu Yan declared himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han
state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu (present-day
Guangzhou).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Yan_(emperor)>
1781:
American Revolutionary War: French naval forces handed Britain
a major strategic defeat in the Battle of the Chesapeake.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake>
1793:
French Revolution: The National Convention began the Reign of
Terror, a ten-month period of systematic repression and mass executions
by guillotine of perceived enemies within the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror>
1927:
Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks' first popular character Oswald the
Lucky Rabbit made its debut in the animated cartoon Trolley Troubles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_the_Lucky_Rabbit>
1975:
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (pictured), a devotee of Charles
Manson, attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynette_Fromme>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
canard:
A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canard>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs,
and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of
people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly,
show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves.
--John Danforth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Danforth>
The Boys from Baghdad High is a television documentary film, first shown
at the 2007 Sheffield Doc/Fest in the United Kingdom. It documents the
lives of four Iraqi schoolboys of different religious or ethnic
backgrounds at the Tariq bin Ziad High School for Boys in Zayouna, a
middle-class neighbourhood in a suburb of Baghdad. It was filmed by the
boys themselves over the course of a year in the form of a video diary.
They have high expectations and hope to graduate and attend university.
They must also deal with increasing sectarian violence, and face the
threats of roadside bombings, the hassles of security checkpoints,
curfews, and the deterioration of their neighbourhood. The Boys from
Baghdad High received high viewership and favourable reviews when it
initially aired in the UK in 2008. It was named the Best News and
Current Affairs Film at the European Independent Film Festival, won the
Premier Prize at the Sandford St. Martin Trust Awards, and was nominated
for awards at two film festivals. The documentary also received the
Radio Times Readers Award, and a nomination for the Amnesty
International 2008 Television Documentary and Docudrama UK Media Award.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_from_Baghdad_High>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1479:
The Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon signed the Treaty
of Alcáçovas with Afonso V of Portugal and his son, John to end the
War of the Castilian Succession.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Alc%C3%A1%C3%A7ovas>
1843:
Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies married Pedro II of Brazil
(both pictured) at a state ceremony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Cristina_of_the_Two_Sicilies>
1886:
After over 25 years of fighting against the United States Army
and the armed forces of Mexico, Geronimo of the Chiricahua Apache
surrendered at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo>
1949:
Anti-communist riots erupted after a concert by Paul Robeson
near Peekskill, New York, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peekskill_Riots>
2010:
A 7.1 Mw earthquake struck South Island, New Zealand, causing
up to NZ$3.5 billion in damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Canterbury_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snood:
1. A small hairnet or cap worn by women to keep their hair in place.
2. The flap of red skin on the beak of a male turkey.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snood>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the
result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting.
--Ivan Illich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich>
Charles Inglis (1875–1952) was a British civil engineer who has been
described as the greatest teacher of engineering of his time. He was
educated at King's College, Cambridge, and then spent two years with the
engineering firm run by John Wolfe-Barry before returning to King's
College as a lecturer. Working with Professors James Alfred Ewing and
Bertram Hopkinson, he made several important studies into the effects of
vibration on structures and defects on the strength of plate steel.
Inglis served in the Royal Engineers during the First World War and
invented the Inglis Bridge, a reusable steel bridging system (example
pictured) – the precursor to the Bailey bridge of the Second World
War. In 1916 he was placed in charge of bridge design and supply at the
War Office and, with Giffard Le Quesne Martel, pioneered the use of
temporary bridges with tanks. He returned to Cambridge University after
the war as head of the Engineering Department, which became the largest
in the university and one of the best regarded engineering schools in
the world. Knighted in 1945, he spent his later years developing his
theories on the education of engineers and wrote a textbook on applied
mechanics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Inglis_(engineer)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
863:
Byzantine–Arab Wars: The Byzantine Empire decisively defeated
the Emirate of Melitene in the Battle of Lalakaon, beginning the era of
Byzantine ascendancy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lalakaon>
1651:
English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell won the
Battle of Worcester, the final battle of the Third English Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Worcester>
1783:
Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris,
formally ending the American Revolutionary War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)>
1941:
The Holocaust: SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch first used
the pesticide Zyklon B to execute Soviet POWs en masse at Auschwitz;
eventually it was used to kill about 1.2 million people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zyklon_B>
1991:
A fire killed 25 people locked inside a burning chicken
processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_chicken_processing_plant_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chirality:
The phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, in which an
object differs from its mirror image.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chirality>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How strange it seems that education, in practice, so often means
suppression: that instead of leading the mind outward to the light of
day it crowds things in upon it that darken and weary it. Yet evidently
the true object of education, now as ever, is to develop the
capabilities of the head and of the heart.
--Louis Sullivan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Sullivan>
The Fiji Parrotfinch is a species of estrildid finch endemic to Fiji
that was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Red-headed
Parrotfinch. This parrotfinch is a small, mainly green bird with a red
head and tail and a stubby dark grey bill. It is found in both forested
and open habitats, and has adapted well to man-made environments such as
grasslands, pasture and gardens. Pairs have a courtship display in which
they fly above the trees in an undulating flight, calling constantly.
Breeding birds build a domed grass nest with a side entrance, and lay a
clutch normally of four white eggs. The Fiji Parrotfinch eats seeds,
especially of grasses, but also readily feeds on insects and nectar. It
forms small flocks of up to six individuals after the breeding season.
Parrotfinches may be predated by indigenous birds of prey such as the
endemic Fiji Goshawk, or by introduced mammals like the small Asian
mongoose, rats and mice, and they may be susceptible to disease.
Nevertheless, the Fiji species, despite being both uncommon and endemic
to one island group, appears to be stable in numbers. It is classified
as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and it is protected under Fijian
law.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_Parrotfinch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
47 BC:
Caesarion (bust pictured), possibly the son of Julius Caesar,
became the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, ruling jointly
with his mother Cleopatra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarion>
1649:
Forces loyal to Pope Innocent X destroyed the ancient Italian
city of Castro, ending the Wars of Castro.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_Castro>
1807:
The British Royal Navy began their bombardment of Copenhagen to
capture the Dano-Norwegian navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Copenhagen_(1807)>
1945:
On the deck of the United States Navy battleship Missouri in
Tokyo Bay, representatives from the Empire of Japan and several Allied
Powers signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, formally ending
World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender>
1998:
Swissair Flight 111, en route from New York City to Geneva,
crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 229 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swissair_Flight_111>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
punctilio:
A fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony or procedure. Strictness
in observance of formalities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilio>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I care nothing for creeds. I am not concerned with any one's
religious belief. But I would have men think for themselves. If we do
not, we can only abandon one superstition to take up another, and it may
be a worse one. It is as bad for a man to think that he can know nothing
as to think he knows all.
--Henry George
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_George>
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River in the
Pacific Northwest of North America. The Willamette's main stem is 187
miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the
United States. Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and the
Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form the Willamette Valley,
which contains two-thirds of Oregon's population. The state's largest
city, Portland, surrounds the Willamette's mouth at the Columbia. Due to
prolific rainfall in the basin and sediments from the glacial Missoula
Floods, the Willamette Valley is one of the most fertile agricultural
regions in North America, and was thus the destination of many 19th-
century pioneers traveling west along the Oregon Trail. Since 1900, more
than 15 large dams and many smaller ones have been built in the
Willamette's drainage basin. They are used primarily to produce
hydroelectricity, to store water for irrigation, and to prevent
flooding. The river and its tributaries support 60 fish species,
including many species of salmon and trout; this is despite the dams,
other alterations, and pollution (especially on the river's lower
reaches).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_River>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1529:
Sancti Spiritu, the first European settlement in Argentina, was
destroyed by local natives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sancti_Spiritu_(Argentina)>
1774:
Thomas Gage, royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts
Bay, ordered soldiers to remove gunpowder from a magazine, causing
Patriots to prepare for war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_Alarm>
1880:
The army of Mohammad Ayub Khan was routed by the British at the
Battle of Kandahar, ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War>
1923:
The Great Kantō earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter
scale, struck the Kantō region of Japan, devastating Tokyo and
Yokohama, and killing over an estimated 100,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake>
1983:
Soviet jet interceptors shot down the civilian airliner Korean
Air Lines Flight 007 (artist's rendition pictured) near Sakhalin Island
in the North Pacific, killing all 246 passengers and 23 crew on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Lines_Flight_007>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
diaperhood:
(informal) The period of time for which one wears a diaper as a child;
babyhood.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diaperhood>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Why is it when we talk to God we're said to be praying — but
when God talks to us, we're said to be schizophrenic?
--Lily Tomlin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lily_Tomlin>