Oryzomys peninsulae, also known as the Lower California rice rat, is a
species of rodent from western Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of
the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus Oryzomys of
family Cricetidae. Twenty-one specimens of O. peninsulae are known,
caught in 1896 and 1906 at two locations about 13 km (8 mi) apart
along the Río San José, a river in southernmost Baja California Sur.
Río San José no longer exists, having fallen prey to irrigation
projects, and touristic development of its estuary has resulted in
pollution. Biologists working in the area in 1979 and from 1991 to 1993
failed to find O. peninsulae, casting doubt on its continued existence.
Medium in size for its genus, it was first described as a separate
species, but later lumped into other widespread species until it was
reinstated as separate in 2009. It is distinctive in fur color—grayish
brown on the forequarters and reddish brown on the hindquarters—and in
some dimensions of its skull (pictured), with a high braincase, robust
zygomatic arches (cheekbones), and long incisive foramina (perforations
of the palate between the incisors and the molars).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryzomys_peninsulae>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
330:
The city of Byzantium was consecrated as Nova Roma, which became
known as Constantinople, the new capital of the Roman Empire under
Emperor Constantine the Great (mosaic pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople>
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeated the
Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian "Pragmatic Army" at the Battle of Fontenoy in the
Austrian Netherlands in present-day Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fontenoy>
1889:
An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort resulted in the
theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wham_Paymaster_Robbery>
1946:
The United Malays National Organisation, today Malaysia's
largest political party, was founded, originally to oppose the
constitutional framework of the Malayan Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Malays_National_Organisation>
2010:
David Cameron took office as the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats formed the country's
first coalition government since the Second World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cameron>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
atheophobia:
Fear or hatred of atheism or atheists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atheophobia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Conquering evil, not the opponent, is the essence of
swordsmanship.
--Yagyū Munenori
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yagy%C5%AB_Munenori>
The voyage of the James Caird was a small-boat journey undertaken by Sir
Ernest Shackleton and five companions from Elephant Island in the South
Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a
distance of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi). In October 1915,
Endurance, the ship of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of
1914–17, had been crushed by pack ice and sunk in the Weddell Sea,
leaving the 27-man expedition stranded thousands of miles from safety.
In April 1916, when the floe on which they were camped broke up, the
party made its way in the ship's three lifeboats to the uninhabited
Elephant Island. Shackleton decided that the best chance for rescue
would be for a crew of six to sail a lifeboat to South Georgia; the
James Caird was deemed the most likely of the lifeboats to survive the
journey. After overcoming a series of dangers, including a near
capsizing, the boat reached South Georgia after 16 days. Shackleton was
then able to organise the relief of the Elephant Island party, and to
return his men home without loss of life. The James Caird's voyage is
regarded as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever accomplished.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
28 BC:
The first recorded observation of a sunspot was made by Han
Dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_technology_of_the_Han_dynasty#Ast…>
1833:
Lê Văn Khôi broke out of prison to start a revolt against
Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mạng, primarily to avenge the desecration of
the grave of his adopted father Lê Văn Duyệt, former viceroy of the
southern part of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_V%C4%83n_Kh%C3%B4i_revolt>
1924:
J. Edgar Hoover became the director of the Bureau of
Investigation, which would later become the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover>
1940:
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and
formally recommended Winston Churchill as his successor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain>
1997:
A 7.3 Mw earthquake struck Iran's Khorasan Province, killing
1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or
destroying over 15,000 homes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Qayen_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cymotrichous:
(anthropology) Having wavy hair.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cymotrichous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our Yes towards life from the very beginning carries within
it the Divine No which breaks forth from the antithesis and points away
from what now was the thesis to the original and final synthesis. The No
is not the last and highest truth, but the call from home which comes in
answer to our asking for God in the world.
--Karl Barth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Barth>
In mathematics and theoretical physics, mirror symmetry is a
relationship between geometric objects called Calabi–Yau manifolds
(pictured). The term refers to a situation where two Calabi–Yau
manifolds look very different geometrically but are nevertheless
equivalent when employed as extra dimensions of string theory. Mirror
symmetry was originally discovered by physicists. Mathematicians became
interested in this relationship around 1990 when Philip Candelas, Xenia
de la Ossa, Paul Green, and Linda Parks showed that it could be used as
a tool in a branch of mathematics called enumerative geometry. Today
mirror symmetry is a major research topic in pure mathematics, and
mathematicians are working to develop a mathematical understanding of
the relationship based on physicists' intuition. Mirror symmetry is also
a fundamental tool for doing calculations in string theory, and it has
been used to understand aspects of quantum field theory, the formalism
that physicists use to describe elementary particles. Major approaches
to mirror symmetry include the homological mirror symmetry program of
Maxim Kontsevich and the SYZ conjecture of Andrew Strominger, Shing-Tung
Yau, and Eric Zaslow.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_symmetry_(string_theory)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1671:
Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood was caught trying to steal the
English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blood>
1877:
An 8.5 Ms earthquake struck the northern portion of Chile,
resulting in the death of 2,541 people, including victims of the ensuing
tsunami as far away as Hawaii and Japan
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Iquique_earthquake>
1949:
Rainier III became Prince of Monaco, beginning a 56-year reign,
which would make him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th
century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainier_III,_Prince_of_Monaco>
1964:
Ngô Đình Cẩn, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his
brother President Ngô Đình Diệm before the family's toppling, was
executed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng%C3%B4_%C4%90%C3%ACnh_C%E1%BA%A9n>
2004:
Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic,
and about 30 others were killed by a bomb during a World War II
memorial victory parade in Grozny.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhmad_Kadyrov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
green gown:
(now archaic, historical) A dress that has been stained green from
rolling in the grass; generally with allusion to sexual activity,
especially a woman's loss of virginity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/green_gown>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Man is a substantial emigrant on a pilgrimage of being, and
it is accordingly meaningless to set limits to what he is capable of
being.
--José Ortega y Gasset
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset>
The Doom Bar is a sandbar at the mouth of the estuary of the River Camel
on the north coast of Cornwall, England. It is composed mainly of marine
sand, more than 60 per cent of which is derived from marine shells
making it an important source of agricultural lime which has been
collected for hundreds of years. According to tradition, the Doom Bar
formed in the reign of Henry VIII, damaging the prosperity of the port
of Padstow a mile up the estuary. Until the 20th century, access to
Padstow's harbour was via a narrow and difficult channel between the
Doom Bar and the cliffs at Stepper Point, and many ships were wrecked on
the Doom Bar, including the 12-gun schooner HMS Whiting in 1816. In the
early 20th century the main channel moved away from the cliffs, and
continued dredging has made it much safer for boats, but deaths have
occurred on the bar as recently as 1997. A Cornish folklore legend
relates that a mermaid created the bar as a dying curse on the harbour
after she was shot by a local man. The Doom Bar has been used in poetry
to symbolise feelings of melancholy, and it has given its name to the
flagship ale from Sharp's Brewery.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_Bar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
453 BC:
The house of Zhao defeated the house of Zhi, ending the
Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the
State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jinyang>
1886:
In Atlanta, American pharmacist John Pemberton first sold his
carbonated beverage Coca-Cola as a patent medicine, claiming that it
cured a number of diseases.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola>
1924:
Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention with the nations of
the Conference of Ambassadors, taking the Klaipėda Region from East
Prussia and making it into an autonomous region under unconditional
sovereignty of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Convention>
1972:
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to
demand the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571>
1984:
The Soviet Union announced the boycott of the Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles, citing security concerns and stated that "chauvinistic
sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria [were] being whipped up in the
United States".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics_boycott>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adversity:
1. (uncountable) The state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or
calamity.
2. (countable) An event that is adverse; calamity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adversity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The growth of the human mind is part of the growth of
civilization; it is the state of civilization at any given moment that
determines the scope and possibilities of human ends and values. The
mind can never foresee its own advance.
--Friedrich Hayek
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek>
Albert Ball (1896–1917) was an English fighter pilot during the First
World War. At the time of his death he was, with 44 victories, the
United Kingdom's leading flying ace. Raised in Nottingham, Ball was
commissioned as a second lieutenant in October 1914. He transferred to
the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) the following year, and gained his pilot's
wings in January 1916. He then joined No. 13 Squadron RFC in France,
flying reconnaissance missions before being posted in May to No. 11
Squadron, a fighter unit. From then until his return to England on leave
in October, he accrued many aerial victories, earning two Distinguished
Service Orders and the Military Cross. He was the first British ace to
become a popular hero. After a period on home establishment, Ball was
posted to No. 56 Squadron, which was sent to the Western Front in April
1917. He crashed to his death in a field in France on 7 May, sparking a
wave of national mourning and posthumous recognition, which included the
award of the Victoria Cross for his actions during his final tour of
duty. His most renowned enemy, Manfred von Richthofen, remarked upon
hearing of Ball's death that he was "by far the best English flying
man".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Ball>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
The world's oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide
was launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for
transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Adelaide_(1864)>
1895:
Alexander Stepanovich Popov presented his radio receiver,
refined as a lightning detector, to the Russian Physical and Chemical
Society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stepanovich_Popov>
1940:
A debate in the British House of Commons began, and culminated
in the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston
Churchill several days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Debate>
1960:
Cold War: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that his
country was holding American pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy
plane was shot down over the Soviet Union six days earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident>
2009:
Police in Napier, New Zealand, began a 40-hour siege of the
home of a former New Zealand Army member who shot at officers during the
routine execution of a search warrant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Napier_shootings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sequela:
(pathology) A disease or condition which is caused by an earlier disease
or problem.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sequela>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All the great utterances of man have to be judged not by the
letter but by the spirit — the spirit which unfolds itself with the
growth of life in history.
--Rabindranath Tagore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore>
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2003 side scrolling and platforming
video game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance.
In the game, it is the year 2035 and Dracula has been sealed in his
castle since being defeated in 1999. Soma Cruz, a teenager with occult
power, has been told that Dracula's reincarnation will acquire his
powers, and Cruz battles dark figures in the castle who also wish to
inherit these powers. The game incorporates the combination of elements
from platform games and role-playing video games that were initially
utilized in an earlier Castlevania game Symphony of the Night. Aria of
Sorrow introduces several new features to the series, such as the
"Tactical Soul" system and a futuristic storyline, a contrast to the
medieval setting of many other Castlevania games. The game sold poorly
in Japan but was commercially successful in the United States. It was
praised by several video game publications, with many considering it one
of the best games in the series since Symphony of the Night. A sequel
was released in Japan in 2005.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Aria_of_Sorrow>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1536:
The army of Inca Emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui began a 10-month
siege of Cuzco against a garrison of Spanish conquistadors and Indian
auxiliaries led by Hernando Pizarro.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Cuzco>
1882:
Irish Under-Secretary Thomas Henry Burke and Irish Chief
Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of
the radical group Irish National Invincibles as they walked through
Phoenix Park in Dublin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park_Murders>
1954:
At Oxford's Iffley Road Track, English athlete Roger Bannister
became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile>
1991:
Time magazine published "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power",
an article highly critical of the Scientology organization, leading to
years of legal conflict that ended when the Church of Scientology's
petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United
States in the case was denied in 2001.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thriving_Cult_of_Greed_and_Power>
2002:
Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated by animal rights
and environmental activist Volkert van der Graaf in Hilversum, marking
the first political murder on Dutch soil since 1672.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Pim_Fortuyn>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
softly softly:
(UK, idiomatic) In a very tactful, careful, or nondisruptive manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/softly_softly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Faith is more basic than language or theology. Faith is the
response to something which is calling us from the timeless part of our
reality. Faith may be encouraged by what has happened in the past, or
what is thought to have happened in the past, but the only proof of it
is in the future. Scriptures and creeds may come to seem incredible, but
faith will still go dancing on. Even though (because it rejects a
doctrine) it is now described as "doubt". This, I believe, is the kind
of faith that Christ commended.
--Sydney Carter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_Carter>
Roekiah (1917–1945) was a kroncong singer and film actress from the
Dutch East Indies. Born to two actors, she began her career at the age
of seven, and by 1932 had become well-known in Batavia. Around this time
she met her husband Kartolo. The two acted in the 1937 hit Terang
Boelan, with Roekiah starring alongside Rd Mochtar; after the film's
commercial success, Roekiah, Kartolo, and most of the cast and crew of
Terang Boelan were signed to Tan's Film. They appeared in three films
for the company, beginning with Fatima in 1938, before Mochtar left in
1940; his departure ended a partnership which had spawned numerous
imitators. Mochtar's replacement, Djoemala, acted with Roekiah in four
films, beginning with Sorga Ka Toedjoe, although these were less
successful. During the peak of her career, Roekiah was a fashion and
beauty icon, featuring in advertisements and drawing comparisons to
Dorothy Lamour and Janet Gaynor. After the Japanese invaded the Indies
in 1942, Roekiah took only one more film role before her death. Of her
five children with Kartolo, one – Rachmat Kartolo – entered
acting. Roekiah has often been cited as one of Indonesia's film
pioneers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roekiah>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland
Campaign in Virginia began with the Battle of the Wilderness (centennial
stamp pictured) in Spotsylvania County.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Wilderness>
1936:
Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops captured Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, unopposed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_the_Iron_Will>
1981:
After sixty-six days without food, Irish republican Bobby Sands
died of starvation in HM Prison Maze.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands>
1994:
American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for
theft and vandalism, a punishment that the United States deemed to be
excessive for a teenager committing a non-violent crime.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay>
2010:
A series of demonstrations in Athens and general strikes across
Greece began in response to austerity measures imposed by the government
as a result of the debt crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9312_Greek_protests>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Stakhanovite:
An extremely productive or hard-working worker, especially in the former
USSR, who may earn special rewards; a workaholic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Stakhanovite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Printer's ink has been running a race against gunpowder
these many, many years. Ink is handicapped, in a way, because you can
blow up a man with gunpowder in half a second, while it may take twenty
years to blow him up with a book. But the gunpowder destroys itself
along with its victim, while a book can keep on exploding for centuries.
--Christopher Morley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Morley>
Art Houtteman (1927–2003) was an American right-handed pitcher in
Major League Baseball. In 325 career games, Houtteman pitched 1,555
innings and posted a win–loss record of 87–91, with 78 complete
games, 14 shutouts, and a 4.14 earned run average. He was signed by
scout Wish Egan in 1945 at 17 years of age, and joined a Detroit Tigers
pitching staff that had lost players to injuries and World War II. After
moving between the major and minor leagues over the next few years, he
was nearly killed in a driving accident just before the 1949 season.
Houtteman rebounded from his injuries and went on to win 15 games that
season and made his only All-Star appearance in the following year. He
played three more seasons with the Tigers, then pitched for the pennant-
winning Cleveland Indians during their 1954 season. After losing his
position as starting pitcher, he played two more seasons with the
Indians before he was bought by the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he
finished his final season in Major League Baseball. Houtteman ended his
baseball career in the minor leagues and became a sales executive in
Detroit.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Houtteman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became
the first of England's Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to
the British Crown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_of_Rhode_Island_and_Providence_Plantat…>
1814:
Ferdinand VII abolished the Spanish Constitution of 1812,
returning Spain to absolutism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1812>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy engaged Allied naval
forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fleet action in which
aircraft carriers engaged each other.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea>
1974:
An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in
the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaslu>
2000:
Ken Livingstone took office as the first Mayor of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Livingstone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
effrontery:
1. (uncountable) Insolent and shameless audacity.
2. (countable) An act of insolent and shameless audacity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/effrontery>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For every man the world is as fresh as it was at the first day,
and as full of untold novelties for him who has the eyes to see them.
--T. H. Huxley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._H._Huxley>
"What Is and What Should Never Be" is the twentieth episode of the
paranormal drama television series Supernatural's second season, and was
first broadcast on May 3, 2007. Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) finds
himself in an alternate reality after a confrontation with a djinn. The
creature appears to have fulfilled Dean's greatest wish: that his mother
had not been killed when he was a child. Dean is happy until it becomes
apparent that his previous work as a hunter of supernatural creatures
has been undone. He then rejects the alternate reality and attempts to
bring himself back. The episode was written by Raelle Tucker, and marked
the directorial debut of series creator Eric Kripke. It featured the
return of deceased characters Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) and
Jessica Moore (Adrianne Palicki, pictured). Kripke enjoyed expanding
upon the character of Mary, who was only briefly depicted in earlier
episodes. Despite obtaining low ratings, the episode acquired positive
critical reviews, praising Ackles' performance and welcoming the return
of Smith and Palicki. Tucker also received a Constellation Award for her
work on the episode.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_and_What_Should_Never_Be_(Supernatura…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
The Polish–Lithuanian Constitution of May 3, the oldest
codified national constitution in Europe, was adopted by the Great Sejm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791>
1855:
American adventurer William Walker and a group of mercenaries
sailed from San Francisco to conquer Nicaragua.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_(filibuster)>
1939:
Subhas Chandra Bose formed the All India Forward Bloc of the
Indian National Congress in opposition to Gandhi's tactics of
nonviolence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_India_Forward_Bloc>
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces began invading Tulagi and
nearby islands in the Solomon Islands, enabling them to threaten and
interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States
and Australia and New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Tulagi_(May_1942)>
2000:
The sport of geocaching was born when the coordinates of a
cache outside Portland, Oregon, US, were posted to a Usenet group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
treeness:
1. The essence of what it means to be a tree; the qualities that make a
tree what it is.
2. (genetics) The suitability of an evolutionary tree for representing the
structure of a population; the degree to which a population structure
can be accurately described as a tree of descent, with different
branches evolving independently after they split.
3. (graph theory) The condition of being a tree; acyclicity and
connectedness.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/treeness>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 It seems that scientists are often attracted to beautiful
theories in the way that insects are attracted to flowers — not by
logical deduction, but by something like a sense of smell.
--Steven Weinberg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Weinberg>
Lochry's Defeat was a battle fought on August 24, 1781, near present-day
Aurora, Indiana, in the United States. The battle was part of the
American Revolutionary War (1775–83), in which American Indians were
allies of the British. The battle was short and decisive: about one
hundred Indians under Joseph Brant (pictured), a Mohawk war leader,
ambushed about an equal number of Pennsylvania militiamen led by
Archibald Lochry, and killed or captured them all without suffering any
casualties. Lochry's force was part of an army being raised by George
Rogers Clark for a campaign against Detroit, the British regional
headquarters. In early August 1781, Clark and about 400 men left Fort
Pitt in Pennsylvania by boat on the Ohio River, a few days ahead of
Lochry and his men. Brant's force was part of a combined British and
Indian army being raised to counter Clark's offensive. Brant had too few
men to challenge Clark, but he intercepted messengers between Clark and
Lochry and learned about Lochry's smaller group. When Lochry landed to
feed his men and horses, Brant launched his overwhelming ambush. The
loss of Lochry's men resulted in the cancellation of Clark's expedition.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochry%27s_Defeat>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1194:
King Richard I of England gave the city of Portsmouth (Old
Portsmouth pictured) its first Royal Charter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth>
1757:
Konbaung forces captured the city of Bago, Burma, to end the
Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konbaung%E2%80%93Hanthawaddy_War>
1885:
A small force of Cree and Assiniboine defeated a larger
Canadian force in the Battle of Cut Knife, the natives' most successful
battle during the North-West Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cut_Knife>
1995:
Croatian War of Independence: Serb forces began firing rockets
on the Croatian capital of Zagreb, killing 7 and injuring at least 175
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreb_rocket_attacks>
2011:
The Conservative Party of Canada won enough seats in the
Canadian federal election to establish their first majority government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_2011>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Penrose stairs:
An impossible loop of endlessly ascending and descending stairs, or an
optical illusion appearing to depict such a loop.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Penrose_stairs>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Friends, the soil is poor, we must sow seeds in plenty for us to
garner even modest harvests.
--Novalis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Novalis>