There are about 1,500 living species of starfish to be found on the
seabed in all the world's oceans, from the tropics to subzero polar
waters and from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths. Starfish are
among the most familiar of marine invertebrates. They typically have a
central disc and five or more arms. The upper surface may be smooth,
granular or spiny, and is clad in overlapping plates. Many species are
brightly coloured in shades of red or orange, while others are blue,
grey or brown. Starfish have tube feet operated by a hydraulic system
and a mouth at the centre of the lower surface. Most are voracious
predators, either swallowing their prey whole or turning their stomachs
inside out to engulf it. They have complex life cycles and can reproduce
both sexually and asexually. Most can regenerate damaged parts and many
can shed arms as a means of defence. Starfish such as the ochre sea star
and the reef sea star have become widely known as examples of the
keystone species concept in ecology. With their appealing symmetrical
shape, starfish are found in literature, legend and popular culture.
They are sometimes collected as curios, used in design or as logos, and
in some cultures they are eaten.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1874:
In one of the longest cases ever heard in an English court, the
defendant was convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity
of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichborne_case>
1914:
In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern
Albania proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Republic_of_Northern_Epirus>
1928:
Indian physicist C. V. Raman and his colleagues discovered what
is now called the Raman effect, for which he later became the first
Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._V._Raman>
1972:
U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic
of China concluded with the two countries issuing the Shanghai
Communiqué, pledging to work toward the full normalization of
diplomatic relations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nixon_visit_to_China>
2001:
A high-speed train accident occurred at Great Heck near Selby,
North Yorkshire, England, killing ten passengers and injuring 82 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Heck_rail_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
compere:
(chiefly UK) A master of ceremonies in a television, variety or quiz
show. Also used more generally for any master of ceremonies.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/compere>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is precious is never to forget The delight of the blood drawn
from ancient springs Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth;
Never to deny its pleasure in the simple morning light, Nor its grave
evening demand for love; Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother
With noise and fog the flowering of the spirit.
--Stephen Spender
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Spender>
"Terms of Endearment" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the
American science fiction television series The X-Files, originally
airing in January 1999. The show centers on FBI special agents Fox
Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on
cases linked to the paranormal called X-Files. In this episode, an
unborn child is apparently abducted from its mother's womb by a demon
after the prospective parents discover that their child has birth
defects, leading Mulder and Scully to investigate. They discover that
Wayne Weinsider (played by Bruce Campbell, pictured in 2011) is a child-
abducting demon. The plot was criticized but Campbell, already well
known as a cult film actor in several Sam Raimi horror movies, received
positive comments for his performance. Critics have complimented the
episode's unique representation of its antagonist, who has been
classified as a sympathetic villain. Many of the episode's special
effects were created without elaborate computer-generated effects. It
earned a Nielsen rating of 10.5 and was watched by 18.7 million people
on its initial broadcast.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_Endearment_(The_X-Files)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
907:
Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, was enthroned as Emperor Taizu,
establishing the Liao Dynasty in northern China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Taizu_of_Liao>
1812:
Manuel Belgrano raised the Flag of Argentina, which he
designed, for the first time in the city of Rosario, during the
Argentine War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Belgrano>
1962:
Two dissident Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence
Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam
President Ngo Dinh Diem.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_South_Vietnamese_Independence_Palace_bom…>
1989:
A wave of protests, riots and looting known as the Caracazo
resulted in a death toll of anywhere between 275 and 3,000 people in the
Venezuelan capital Caracas and its surrounding towns.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracazo>
2004:
The initial version of the John Jay Report, with details about
the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay_Report>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dystocia:
(medicine, veterinary medicine) A slow or difficult labour or delivery.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dystocia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
ἐν τούτῳ νίκα. In hoc signo vinces. In this sign,
conquer.
--Constantine the Great
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great>
John F. Bolt (1921–2004) was a United States Marine Corps aviator and
a decorated flying ace who served during World War II and the Korean
War. After dropping out of the University of Florida for financial
reasons in 1941, he joined the Marine Corps at the height of World War
II. Sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, he flew an F4U Corsair
during the campaigns in the Marshall Islands and New Guinea, claiming
six victories against Japanese A6M Zeros. Bolt continued his service
through the Korean War, entering combat through an exchange program with
the U.S. Air Force in late 1952. Over a period of several weeks in
mid-1953, he led flights of F-86 Sabres into combat with MiG-15s of the
Chinese Air Force, scoring six victories during fights along the
northern border of North Korea, commonly known as "MiG Alley," giving
him a total of 12 career victories. Bolt stayed in the Marine Corps
until 1962, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as an
analyst and instructor in his later career. In retirement, he qualified
as a lawyer in Florida. He remains the only US Marine to achieve ace
status in two wars and was also the only Marine jet fighter ace.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Bolt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
364:
Following the death of the Roman emperor Jovian, officers of the
army at Nicaea in Bithynia selected Flavius Valentinianus to succeed
him.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_I>
1815:
Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba, an island off the coast
of Italy where he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of
Fontainebleau one year earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon>
1917:
New Orleans' Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery
Stable Blues", the first jazz single ever released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_Stable_Blues>
1936:
Over 1400 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army staged a coup
d'etat in Japan, occupying Tokyo, and killing Finance Minister Takahashi
Korekiyo and several other leading politicians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident>
1995:
Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, collapsed
after its head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827
million while making unauthorized speculative trades on futures
contracts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beaver away:
(idiomatic) To work hard at a task.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beaver_away>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
On certain occasions, the eyes of the mind can supply the want of
the most powerful telescopes, and lead to astronomical discoveries of
the highest importance.
--François Arago
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Arago>
The King and I is a musical by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and
dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on the 1944 novel Anna and
the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which derives from the memoirs of
Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the
early 1860s. The musical relates the experiences of Anna, a British
schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his
country. Their relationship is marked by conflict through much of the
piece, and a love that neither can admit. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote
the musical for veteran star Gertrude Lawrence. Rex Harrison, who played
the King in the 1946 movie of Landon's book, was unavailable, so Yul
Brynner was chosen. The musical premiered in March 1951 at Broadway's
St. James Theatre and ran nearly three years. It was an immediate hit,
winning Tony Awards for Best Musical and for Best Actress and Best
Featured Actor for Lawrence and Brynner (pictured). A hit London run and
U.S. national tour followed, together with a 1956 film for which
Brynner won an Academy Award. Professional and amateur revivals of The
King and I are staged regularly throughout the English-speaking world.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_I>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
628:
Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, was
overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khosrau_II>
1866:
Miners in Calaveras County, California, discovered a human
skull that a prominent geologist claimed was proof (later disproven)
that humans had existed during the Pliocene age.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaveras_Skull>
1956:
In his speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences"
to the 20th Party Congress, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced
the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Cult_of_Personality_and_Its_Consequenc…>
1986:
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were
ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with
Corazon Aquino taking over the government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution>
1994:
Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim Arabs
praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29
people and wounding 125 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
king's ransom:
(idiomatic) A very large sum of money.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/king%27s_ransom>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The culture as a whole is losing its individual notes, its
diversity. And this is… it's not only sad. It's devastating. It's
devastating because routine language means routine thought. And it means
unquestioning thought.
--John Leonard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Leonard_(critic)>
Olga Constantinovna of Russia (1851–1926) was Queen of the Hellenes as
the wife of King George I of Greece. A member of the Romanov dynasty,
she married George in 1867 aged 16. At first, she felt ill at ease in
the Kingdom of Greece, but she quickly became involved in social and
charitable work, although her attempt to promote a new, more accessible,
Greek translation of the Gospels sparked riots by religious
conservatives. On the assassination of her husband in 1913, Olga
returned to Russia. When the First World War broke out, she set up a
military hospital in Pavlovsk Palace. She was trapped there after the
Russian Revolution of 1917, until the intervention of the Danish embassy
allowed her to escape to Switzerland. Olga could not return to Greece as
her son, King Constantine I, had been deposed. In October 1920, she
returned to Athens on the fatal illness of her grandson, King Alexander.
After his death, she was appointed regent until the restoration of
Constantine I the following month. The Greek royal family were again
exiled after defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) and Olga spent
the last years of her life in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Constantinovna_of_Russia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
303:
Roman emperor Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians"
was published, beginning the Diocletianic Persecution, the last and most
severe episode of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution>
1607:
Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, considered the
first fully developed opera, was first performed in Mantua, Duchy of
Mantua (now in Italy).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Orfeo>
1920:
At a meeting of the German Workers' Party, Adolf Hitler
outlined the party's 25-point programme and the party changed its name
to the Nazi Party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party>
1944:
World War II: The United States Army long-range penetration
special operations unit known as Merrill's Marauders began a 1000-mile
(1600 km) march over the Patkai region of the Himalayas and into the
Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders>
1989:
United Airlines Flight 811 experienced an uncontrolled
decompression after leaving Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii,
killing nine passengers when their seats were sucked out of the plane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_811>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
technopeasant:
(informal) One who is disadvantaged or exploited within a modern
technological society, especially through inability to use computer
technology.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/technopeasant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's
life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of
other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown
out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow
your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want
to become. Everything else is secondary.
--Steve Jobs
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs>
Jack Marsh (c. 1874 – 1916) was a first-class cricketer of
Australian aboriginal descent whose career was curtailed by continual
controversy surrounding the legality of his bowling action. Born into
the Bundjalung people at Yulgilbar in New South Wales, he first made an
impression as a professional runner before playing club cricket in
Sydney. In a trial match against the New South Wales state team in 1900,
he dismissed two Test cricketers but was called for throwing; he then
bowled with his arm in splints to prove that his action was legitimate.
Having topped the bowling averages in the local competition, Marsh was
selected to make his debut in the Sheffield Shield. He made an immediate
impression and led the first-class bowling averages for the season after
three matches. He was no-balled in his second match and then seventeen
times in his fourth match, leading to angry crowd demonstrations. Marsh
only played in two more first-class matches and he was passed over for
selection for Australia because of his action. Regarded as one of the
outstanding talents of his era, his lack of opportunities has often been
attributed to racial discrimination.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Marsh>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
Mexican–American War: The United States Army used heavy
artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army at the Battle of Buena
Vista near Saltillo, Coahuila.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buena_Vista>
1885:
Sino-French War: France gained an important victory in the
Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of what is now Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C4%90%E1%BB%93ng_%C4%90%C4%83ng>
1927:
German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg wrote a letter
to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli in which he described his uncertainty
principle for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg>
1947:
The International Organization for Standardization, responsible
for worldwide industrial and commercial standards, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization>
2007:
A Virgin Trains Pendolino express train from London Euston to
Glasgow Central derailed near Grayrigg, Cumbria, UK, killing one person
and injuring 22.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grayrigg_derailment>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
salami tactics:
The piecemeal removal or scaling back of something (especially political
opposition); a gradual attack on an opposing position, group, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salami_tactics>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The function of the university is not simply to teach bread-
winning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools or to be a centre
of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine
adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an
adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.
--W. E. B. Du Bois
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois>
Tropical Depression Ten was a short-lived tropical cyclone that made
landfall on the Florida Panhandle of America in September 2007. The
system developed as a subtropical depression on September 21 in the
northeastern Gulf of Mexico from the interaction of a tropical wave, the
tail end of a cold front, and an upper-level low. Initially containing a
poorly defined circulation and intermittent thunderstorm activity, the
system transitioned into a tropical depression after convection
increased over the center. Tracking northwestward, the depression moved
ashore near Fort Walton Beach early on September 22, before dissipating
over southeastern Alabama. Initially the depression was forecast to move
ashore as a minimal tropical storm, prompting state of emergency
declarations in Mississippi and Louisiana. It was the first tropical
cyclone to threaten the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina and the
destructive 2005 hurricane season. Overall impact from the cyclone was
minor and largely limited to light rainfall. However, the precursor
system spawned a damaging tornado in Eustis, Florida, where 20 houses
were destroyed and 30 more were damaged.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Depression_Ten_(2007)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
705:
Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule China in her own
right, abdicated the throne, restoring the Tang Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian>
1632:
Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in
which he advocated Copernican heliocentrism, was delivered to his
patron, Grand Duke Ferdinando.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialogue_Concerning_the_Two_Chief_World_Syste…>
1980:
At the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the United
States ice hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in an unlikely victory
that became known as the Miracle on Ice.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Ice>
1997:
Scientists at The Roslin Institute in Scotland announced the
birth of a cloned sheep named Dolly, the first mammal to have been
successfully cloned from an adult cell, seven months after the fact.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)>
2011:
Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people marched in
protest in Manama against the deaths of seven people killed by police
and army forces during previous protests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_loyalty_to_martyrs>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fugacious:
Fleeting, fading quickly, transient.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fugacious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the
limits of the world.
--Arthur Schopenhauer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer>
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) was the result of a collaboration
between the African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist
Malcolm X and the journalist Alex Haley. Haley based it on a series of
interviews between 1963 and Malcolm X's assassination on February 21,
1965. It is a spiritual conversion narrative outlining Malcolm X's
philosophy of black pride, black nationalism, and pan-Africanism. While
Malcolm X and scholars contemporary to the book's publication regarded
Haley as the book's ghostwriter, modern scholars regard him as an
essential collaborator who subsumed his authorial voice to allow readers
to feel as though Malcolm X were speaking directly to them. Haley also
influenced some of Malcolm X's literary choices and Haley's proactive
censorship of antisemitic material significantly influenced the
ideological tone of the Autobiography, increasing its popularity
although distorting Malcolm X's public persona. A New York Times
reviewer described it as a "brilliant, painful, important book" and Time
named it in 1998 as one of ten "required reading" nonfiction books. A
screenplay adaptation provided the source material for Spike Lee's
1992 film Malcolm X.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1245:
Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted
resignation by Pope Innocent IV after having confessed to torture and
forgery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_(bishop_of_Finland)>
1804:
Built by Cornish inventor Richard Trevithick, the first self-
propelled steam locomotive first ran in Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive>
1828:
The inaugural issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first
newspaper in a Native American language, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Phoenix>
1919:
Bavarian socialist Kurt Eisner (pictured), who had organized
the German Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy and
established Bavaria as a republic, was assassinated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Eisner>
1952:
Protesters in Dhaka, East Pakistan, walked into military
crossfire demanding the establishment of the Bengali language as an
official language.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_Language_Movement>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jump the shark:
1. (idiomatic, of a television program or other narrative) To undergo a
storyline development which heralds a fundamental and generally
disappointing change in direction.
2. (more generally) To experience a decline in quality, appeal, popularity,
etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jump_the_shark>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort
to be less horrible to one another. If we took just 5 minutes to
recognize each other’s beauty, instead of attacking each other for our
differences. That’s not hard. It’s really an easier and better way
to live. And ultimately, it saves lives.
--Ellen Page
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Page>
Afroyim v. Rusk is a 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case which ruled that
American citizens may not be deprived of citizenship involuntarily. The
U.S. government tried to revoke the citizenship of Beys Afroyim
(pictured with his son), who had voted in an Israeli election after
becoming a naturalized American citizen, but the court decided that his
right to retain his citizenship was guaranteed by the Citizenship Clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment. It overruled Perez v. Brownell (1958), in
which it had upheld loss of citizenship under similar circumstances.
Afroyim opened the way for a wider acceptance of multiple citizenship in
American law. Its impact was narrowed by Rogers v. Bellei (1971), which
held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply in all cases, but the
specific law in that case was repealed in 1978. The Bancroft
Treaties—a series of agreements between the United States and other
nations which sought to limit dual citizenship—were abandoned after
the Carter administration concluded that they had been rendered
unenforceable. As a consequence of revised government policies adopted
in 1990, it is now "virtually impossible" to lose American citizenship
involuntarily.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
Polish insurgents led an uprising in the Free City of Kraków
to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the
Austrian Empire nine days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w_Uprising>
1864:
American Civil War: The Union suffered one of its bloodiest
losses at the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Olustee>
1965:
NASA's Ranger 8 spacecraft (Ranger Block III pictured)
successfully transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23
minutes of its mission before crashing into Mare Tranquillitatis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8>
1998:
At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became
the youngest gold medal winner in the history of the Winter Olympic
Games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Lipinski>
2009:
The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft packed with
C-4 in suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot
down before they reached their targets.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_suicide_air_raid_on_Colombo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
take a flyer:
(idiomatic) To make a choice with an uncertain outcome; to take a
chance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_a_flyer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Robert Neville looked out over the new people of the earth. He
knew he did not belong to them; he knew that, like the vampires, he was
anathema and black terror to be destroyed. And, abruptly, the concept
came, amusing to him even in his pain. ... Full circle. A new terror
born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of
forever. I am legend.
--Richard Matheson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson>
The Brabham BT19 is a Formula One racing car designed by Ron Tauranac
for the British Brabham team. The BT19 competed in the 1966 and 1967
Formula One World Championships and was used by Australian driver Jack
Brabham to win his third World Championship in 1966. The BT19, which
Brabham referred to as his "Old Nail", was the first car bearing its
driver's name to win a World Championship race. The car was initially
conceived in 1965 for a 1.5-litre (92-cubic inch) Coventry Climax
engine, but never raced in this form. For the 1966 season the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile doubled the limit on engine
capacity to 3 litres (183 cu in). Australian company Repco developed
a new V8 engine for Brabham's use in 1966, but a disagreement between
Brabham and Tauranac over the latter's role in the racing team left no
time to develop a new car to handle it. Instead, the existing BT19
chassis was modified for the job. Only one BT19 was built. It was bought
by Repco in 2004 and put on display in the National Sports Museum in
Melbourne, Australia, in 2008. It is often demonstrated at motorsport
events.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabham_BT19>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1674:
The Third Anglo-Dutch War ended with the signing of the Treaty
of Westminster, with England regaining New York, and the Netherlands
taking Suriname.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Anglo-Dutch_War>
1884:
More than sixty tornadoes struck across the Southern United
States, believed to be among the largest and most widespread tornado
outbreaks in American history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_tornado_outbreak>
1942:
Second World War: In the largest attacks mounted by a foreign
power against Australia, more than 240 bombers and fighters of the
Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Darwin, Northern Territory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin>
1965:
Colonel Pham Ngoc Thao of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam,
and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Vietminh, along with
Generals Lam Van Phat and Tran Thien Khiem attempted a coup against the
military junta of Nguyen Khanh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_South_Vietnamese_coup>
2011:
Items from the Belitung shipwreck (bowls pictured), the biggest
single collection of Tang Dynasty artefacts found in one location, were
first put on display in Singapore.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belitung_shipwreck>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tor:
(South-West England) A hill.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tor>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and
majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of
His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of
worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than
knowledge.
--Nicolaus Copernicus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus>