The Jin campaigns against the Song Dynasty were a series of wars that
took place in the 12th and 13th centuries between the Jurchen Jin
Dynasty and the Chinese Song Dynasty. The Jin invaded the Song in 1125
and captured the Song capital of Kaifeng in 1127, imprisoning Emperor
Qinzong and Huizong (pictured). The Jin conquered northern China and
remnants of the Song retreated to southern China, relocating the capital
to Hangzhou. A treaty ended the war in 1142 and settled the boundary
along the Huai River. Prince Hailing invaded the Song in 1161, but lost
at Caishi and was assassinated shortly after. A Song invasion of the Jin
motivated by revanchism in 1206–08 and a Jin invasion of the Song in
1217–24 were both unsuccessful. The Song allied with the Mongols in
1233, and jointly captured the last refuge of the Jin emperor in 1234,
the year the Jin collapsed. The wars between the Song and Jin gave rise
to an era of technological, cultural, and demographic changes in China.
The Jin adopted the political and cultural institutions of past Chinese
dynasties, gunpowder weapons like the fire lance were introduced, and
the Song resettled and rebuilt their government in southern China.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_campaigns_against_the_Song_Dynasty>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
314:
Sylvester I, during whose pontificate the great churches of Rome
were built, began his reign as pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_I>
1747:
The London Lock Hospital, the first clinic specialising in the
treatment of venereal diseases, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Lock_Hospital>
1846:
After having come to blows over the construction of a bridge,
the citizens of two neighboring towns united to form the city of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (skyline pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee>
1971:
The Vietnam Veterans Against the War opened the Winter Soldier
Investigation, a three-day media event to publicize war crimes and other
atrocities by American forces and their allies during the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Soldier_Investigation>
2010:
Avatar became the first film to earn over $2 billion worldwide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
smaragdine:
Having the colour of emeralds.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smaragdine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider. 
--Augustine of Hippo
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo>
Lemurs of Madagascar is a reference work and field guide giving
descriptions and biogeographic data for all the known lemur species in
Madagascar (ring-tailed lemur pictured). It also provides general
information about lemurs and their history and helps travelers identify
species they may encounter. The primary contributor is Russell
Mittermeier, president of Conservation International. The first edition
in 1994 received favorable reviews for its meticulous coverage, numerous
high-quality illustrations, and engaging discussion of lemur topics,
including conservation, evolution, and the recently extinct subfossil
lemurs. The American Journal of Primatology praised the second edition's
updates and enhancements. Lemur News appreciated the expanded content of
the third edition (2010), but was concerned that it was not as portable
as before. The first edition identified 50 lemur species and
subspecies, compared to 71 in the second edition and 101 in the third.
The taxonomy promoted by these books has been questioned by some
researchers who view these growing numbers of lemur species as
insufficiently justified inflation of species numbers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemurs_of_Madagascar_(book)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1661:
Two years after his death, Oliver Cromwell's remains were
exhumed for a posthumous execution and his head was placed on a spike
above Westminster Hall in London, where it remained until 1685.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell%27s_head>
1847:
The town of Yerba Buena in Mexican California was renamed San
Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco>
1948:
Nathuram Godse fatally shot Mahatma Gandhi (pictured), the
political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence
movement, at Birla House in Delhi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi>
1964:
In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh overthrew General
Duong Van Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months
after Minh executed a bloody coup himself.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_South_Vietnamese_coup>
1972:
On Bloody Sunday, members of the British Parachute Regiment
shot at twenty-six civil rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland,
killing at least thirteen people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1972)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mignon:
Small and cute; pretty in a delicate way; dainty.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mignon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology where we
are free of our labors and joined back to nature, returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters, and all watched over by machines of loving grace.
--Richard Brautigan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Brautigan>
At 14.45 miles (23.26 km), the West Virginia segment of Interstate 70
(I-70) is the shortest in any state through which I-70 passes on its way
from near Cove Fort, Utah, to near Baltimore, Maryland. Part of the U.S.
Interstate Highway System, it crosses the Northern Panhandle region of
West Virginia through Ohio County and the city of Wheeling. The Fort
Henry Bridge carries I-70 from Wheeling Island across the Ohio River and
into downtown Wheeling before the freeway enters the Wheeling Tunnel.
I-470, the lone auxiliary Interstate Highway in West Virginia, is
intersected near Elm Grove. Before crossing into Pennsylvania, I-70
passes The Highlands, a major shopping center, and the Bear Rock Lakes
Wildlife Management Area. Between 27,000 and 53,000 vehicles use the
freeway daily. The I-70 designation was brought to the Northern
Panhandle with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and a
controlled-access highway was built across the panhandle, bypassing
portions of the old National Road constructed in 1818 to connect
Wheeling and Cumberland, Maryland. The first portions of I-70 were
opened in 1963, and construction was completed across the panhandle by
1971.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_70_in_West_Virginia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
757:
An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty and
emperor of Yan, was murdered by his own son, An Qingxu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan>
1856:
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issued a Warrant under the
Royal sign-manual that established the Victoria Cross, originally to
recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the
Crimean War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross>
1891:
Liliʻuokalani was proclaimed the last monarch and only queen
regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani>
1944:
World War II: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen
injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai,
Lithuania) was attacked by Soviet partisan units.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koniuchy_massacre>
2006:
India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test
cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan_Pathan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obviate:
(transitive) To bypass a requirement or make it unnecessary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obviate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child
may have peace.
--Thomas Paine
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine>
Paul Henderson (born 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey
player. A left winger, he played 13 seasons in the National Hockey
League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta
Flames and 5 in the World Hockey Association for the Toronto Toros and
Birmingham Bulls. He played over 1,000 games, scoring 376 goals and
758 points. He is best known for leading Team Canada to victory at the
1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Played at the height of
the Cold War, the series was viewed as a battle for both hockey and
cultural supremacy. Henderson scored the game-winning goal in the sixth,
seventh and eighth games, the last of which was voted the "sports moment
of the century" by The Canadian Press. Henderson played in two NHL All-
Star Games and has twice been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
(individually and as a member of the 1972 national team). He was
inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in
2013. A born-again Christian, Henderson became a minister and
motivational speaker after his playing career, and has co-written three
books. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Henderson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1077:
Pope Gregory VII lifted the excommunication of Henry IV after
the Holy Roman Emperor made his trek from Speyer to Canossa Castle to
beg the pope for forgiveness for his actions in the Investiture
Controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_to_Canossa>
1393:
King Charles VI of France was nearly killed when several
dancers' costumes caught fire during a masquerade ball.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_des_Ardents>
1754:
Horace Walpole first coined the word "serendipity" in a letter
he wrote to a friend, saying that he derived the term from the Persian
fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Walpole>
1964:
An unarmed US Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission
was shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19, killing all
three aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_T-39_shootdown_incident>
1984:
Tropical Storm Domoina made landfall in southern Mozambique,
causing some of the most severe flooding recorded in the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Domoina>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
penumbra:
A partially shaded area around the edges of a shadow, especially an
eclipse.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penumbra>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am a sincere man from where the palm tree grows, and before I
die I wish to pour forth the verses from my soul.
--José Martí
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%AD>
Crocodilia is an order of large, predatory, semi-aquatic reptiles. They
appeared in the Late Cretaceous, and include true crocodiles,
alligators, caimans, and gharials. Solidly built animals, they have long
flattened snouts, eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head and
laterally compressed tails. Their skin is thick and covered in scales;
they have conical teeth and a powerful bite. They swim well and can move
quite rapidly on land. They are found mainly in lowlands in the tropics,
but alligators are also found in the United States (American alligator
pictured) and China. They are largely carnivorous; some specialise on
fish while others have generalised diets. They are typically solitary
and territorial. In some species, females care for their young. Eight
species have attacked humans, the largest number of attacks being by the
Nile crocodile. Crocodilian populations are threatened by habitat
destruction and being hunted by humans, but farming the reptiles has
reduced the unlawful trade in wild skins. They have appeared in art
since at least Ancient Egypt. Tales of crocodile tears date to the 9th
century, repeated by Sir John Mandeville in 1400 and William
Shakespeare.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1343:
Pope Clement VI (cameo pictured) issued the papal bull
Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VI>
1785:
The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, one of the oldest
public universities in the United States, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia>
1944:
World War II: The Soviet Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
successfully lifted the Siege of Leningrad, 872 days after it began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad>
1967:
The Apollo 1 spacecraft was destroyed by fire at the Kennedy
Space Center, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger
Chaffee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1>
1974:
The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of Brisbane,
broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Brisbane_flood>
2011:
Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution began as over 16,000
protestors demonstrated in Sana'a to demand governmental changes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Revolution>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cop on:
(Ireland, informal, idiomatic) Common sense.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cop_on>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Customs and convictions change; respectable people are the
last to know, or to admit, the change, and the ones most offended by
fresh reflections of the facts in the mirror of art.
--John Updike
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike>
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) was an American general who played a
prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received
the Medal of Honor, as did his father, was one of only five men to rise
to the rank of General of the Army in the U.S. Army, and was the only
man to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army. After graduating
first in his West Point class in 1903, MacArthur participated in the
1914 occupation of Veracruz and served on the Western Front during
World War I, becoming the U.S. Army's youngest major general.
Thereafter he held a variety of posts, including Superintendent of West
Point and Chief of Staff. He retired in 1937, but was recalled to active
duty during World War II. After the Japanese invasion of the
Philippines, he escaped with his family and staff to Australia, where he
became Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area. He fulfilled a famous
pledge to return to the Philippines, and officially accepted Japan's
surrender on 2 September 1945. Overseeing the occupation of Japan from
1945 to 1951, he implemented many reforms, and led the United Nations
Command in the Korean War until President Harry Truman had him relieved
of his commands in April 1951.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1500:
Spanish navigator, explorer, and conquistador Vicente Yáñez
Pinzón reached the north coast of what today is Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_Y%C3%A1%C3%B1ez_Pinz%C3%B3n>
1564:
Livonian War: A Lithuanian surprise attack resulted in a
decisive defeat of the numerically superior Russian forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ula>
1863:
American Civil War: After the disastrous result of the Battle
of Fredericksburg and a failed offensive against Robert E. Lee, Union
Army General Ambrose Burnside was relieved from command of the Army of
the Potomac.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Burnside>
1952:
Spontaneous anti-British riots erupted in Cairo following the
killings of 50 Egyptian auxiliary police the day before.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Fire>
1991:
Factions led by warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his rebel
group, the United Somali Congress, ousted President of Somalia Siad
Barre from office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siad_Barre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
monoousian:
(theology) Having one and the same nature or essence, especially with
regard to the persons of the Trinity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/monoousian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Let's give this entity which you call soul another name.
Soul has too many incorrect meanings for humans, too many verbal
reverberations, too many contrary definitions. Speak the word soul, and
unbelievers will automatically become deaf to what follows. Those who
believe in souls will always hear you through the mental constructs that
they formed on Earth. Let us call this nonmatter twin the... ah... ka…
--Philip José Farmer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer>
The Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent
commemorative coin issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Mint in 1936, part
of the wave of commemoratives authorized by Congress and struck that
year. Intended to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Elgin,
the piece was designed by local sculptor Trygve Rovelstad. The obverse
depicts an idealized head of a pioneer man. The reverse shows a grouping
of pioneers, and is based upon a sculptural group that Rovelstad hoped
to build as a memorial to those who settled Illinois, but which was not
erected in his lifetime. He hoped that the coin would both depict and be
a source of funds for the memorial. Texas coin dealer L.W. Hoffecker,
who assisted Rovelstad, was able to sell about 20,000 coins, four-
fifths of the issue: the remaining 5,000 were returned to the Mint for
melting. Unlike many commemorative coins of that era, the piece was not
bought up by dealers and speculators, but was sold directly to
collectors at the issue price. Art historian Cornelius Vermeule
considered the Elgin coin among the most outstanding American
commemoratives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin,_Illinois,_Centennial_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1554:
Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega
established a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which
grew to become São Paulo, Brazil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo>
1704:
English colonists from the Province of Carolina and their
native allies began a series of brutal raids against a largely pacific
population of Apalachee in Spanish Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachee_massacre>
1949:
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented the first
Emmy Awards to honor excellence in the American television industry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Award>
1971:
Idi Amin Dada seized power in a military coup d'état from
President Milton Obote, beginning eight years of military rule in
Uganda.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin>
2004:
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (artist's impression
pictured) landed on Mars and rolled into Eagle crater, a small crater on
the Meridiani Planum.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lose face:
(idiomatic) To lose the respect of others; to be humiliated or
experience public disgrace.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lose_face>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we
ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take
delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence
one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our
philosophy.
--W. Somerset Maugham
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham>
Sudirman (1916–50) was a high-ranking military officer during the
Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander-in-chief of the
Indonesian Armed Forces, he was declared a National Hero in 1964. A
teacher when the Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942, he joined the
Japanese-sponsored Defenders of the Homeland and oversaw the Japanese
surrender in Banyumas after Indonesia proclaimed its independence.
Elected commander-in-chief in November 1945, he ordered an assault on
British and Dutch forces at Ambarawa, strengthening his popular support.
During the next three years negotiations with the Dutch failed and in
December 1948 the Dutch tried to capture Yogyakarta, the republican
capital. While the political leadership sheltered, Sudirman led a small
group of soldiers in a seven-month guerrilla campaign. When the Dutch
began withdrawing, he wanted to continue fighting them but was
forbidden. Sudirman retired because of illness and died soon after the
Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence. His guerrilla campaign has
been credited with developing the army's esprit de corps, and the
100-kilometre (62 mi) long route he took must be followed by Indonesian
cadets before graduation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudirman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
41:
Cassius Chaerea and the disgruntled Praetorian Guards murdered
Roman emperor Caligula (bust pictured), replacing him with his uncle
Claudius.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula>
1857:
The University of Calcutta, the first modern university in the
Indian subcontinent, was established in Calcutta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calcutta>
1900:
Second Boer War: Boer forces stopped a British attempt to break
the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop>
1968:
Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation
Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider
fighting around Long Binh and Bien Hoa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Coburg>
2009:
Klaus, the most damaging storm since Lothar and Martin in
December 1999, made landfall near Bordeaux, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Klaus>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
alicorn:
(now historical) The horn of a unicorn considered as a medical or
pharmacological ingredient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alicorn>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one
can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is
unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in
big things, and happy in small ways.
--Edith Wharton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton>
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a crossover fighting game
featuring characters from Capcom's video game franchises and from
various anime series by Tatsunoko Production. The game was released in
Japan for arcades and the Wii video game console in December 2008. It
was released for the Wii in North America, Japan, and Europe in January
2010, featuring additional characters and an online mode. Players engage
in combat with a team of two characters or with a single giant character
and attempt to knock out their opponents. It is the seventh Capcom-
designed installment in their Vs. fighting game series, which includes
the Marvel vs. Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK series, and the first to be
fully rendered in 3D graphics. The game is designed around a simplified
three-button attack system, which was inspired by the simplistic control
schemes commonly used by both the Vs. series and the Wii. The game
received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its
approachable gameplay for newcomers and depth for veteran players.
However, reviewers had mixed experiences with its online component, and
found Arcade mode lacking in replay value.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsunoko_vs._Capcom:_Ultimate_All-Stars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
393:
Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaimed his nine-year-old son
Honorius co-emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorius_(emperor)>
1570:
James Hamilton shot and killed James Stewart, 1st Earl of
Moray, in the first recorded assassination using a firearm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart,_1st_Earl_of_Moray>
1789:
Bishop John Carroll purchased a plot of land that would be the
home of the future Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic University
in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_University>
1945:
German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz ordered the beginning of
Operation Hannibal, which became one of the largest emergency
evacuations by sea in history, with over 1 million people transferred
over 15 weeks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hannibal>
1997:
Madeleine Albright was sworn in as the first female United
States Secretary of State, the highest-ranking woman in the history of
the U.S. government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
blueberrying:
The act of gathering blueberries.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blueberrying>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A cultural inheritance may be acquired between dusk and dawn, and
many have been so acquired. But the new "culture" was an inheritance of
darkness, wherein "simpleton" meant the same thing as "citizen" meant
the same thing as "slave." The monks waited. It mattered not at all to
them that the knowledge they saved was useless, that much of it was not
really knowledge now… empty of content, its subject matter long since
gone. Still, such knowledge had a symbolic structure that was peculiar
to itself, and at least the symbol-interplay could be observed. To
observe the way a knowledge-system is knit together is to learn at least
a minimum knowledge-of-knowledge, until someday — someday, or some
century — an Integrator would come, and things would be fitted
together again. So time mattered not at all. The Memorabilia was there,
and it was given to them by duty to preserve, and preserve it they would
if the darkness in the world lasted ten more centuries, or even ten
thousand years...
--Walter M. Miller, Jr.
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller,_Jr.>
Gymnopilus maritimus is a species of Cortinariaceae fungus first
collected in northern Sardinia, Italy, in 2006. The species produces
moderately sized, sturdy mushrooms of a reddish-orange colour. The cap,
which can measure up to 70 millimetres (3 in) across, is covered in
orange fibrils, and sometimes has small scales. The yellowish stem
measures up to 110 mm (4 in) in length by 8 mm (0.3 in) in width,
and sometimes shows remnants of the partial veil. The mushrooms have
thick gills of a variable colour, ranging from yellow to rust but
staining darker, and the yellow flesh has a mild taste. The mushrooms
leave a rusty-brown spore print, while the spores themselves measure
from 7.5 to 11.5 micrometres in length. The species is most similar in
appearance to G. arenophilus and G. fulgens, but is not closely
related to either and is not particularly similar to any of its closest
relatives. The species has been found only on coastal sand dunes near
Olbia, Sardinia, where it was observed growing at the base of Juncus
maritimus (the sea rush), between the winter months of October and
January. However, there is speculation that it may also grow elsewhere
in Europe.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnopilus_maritimus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
565:
Justinian the Great deposed Eutychius, Patriarch of
Constantinople, after he refused the Byzantine Emperor's order to adopt
the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae, a sect of Monophysites.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Eutychius_of_Constantinople>
1905:
Russian Revolution: Peaceful demonstrators, led by Father Gapon
(pictured), a Russian Orthodox priest, were massacred outside the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_(1905)>
1924:
Ramsay MacDonald took office as the first British Prime
Minister from the Labour Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsay_MacDonald>
1944:
World War II: The Allies commenced Operation Shingle, an
amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno,
Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Shingle>
1984:
Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh, the first successful
personal computer to use a graphical user interface, during Super
Bowl XVIII with its groundbreaking "1984" television commercial.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(advertisement)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enthesis:
(anatomy) The point at which a tendon, ligament, or muscle inserts into
a bone.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enthesis>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
As a Buddhist, I was trained to be tolerant of everything except
intolerance.
--U Thant
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U_Thant>