Boletus luridus, commonly known as the lurid bolete, is a fungus of the
bolete family, found in deciduous woodlands on chalky soils in Asia,
Europe, and eastern North America. Fruit bodies arise in summer and
autumn and may be abundant. It is a solid bolete with an olive-brown cap
up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter, with small reddish pores on the
underside. The stout ochre stem reaches dimensions of 8–14 cm
(3–6 in) tall and 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) wide, and is patterned
with a reddish meshwork. Like several other red-pored boletes, it stains
blue when bruised or cut. Though edible when cooked, it can cause
gastric upset when eaten raw and can be confused with the poisonous
Boletus satanas. Hence some guidebooks recommend avoiding consumption
altogether. Boletus luridus has been implicated in causing adverse
reactions when eaten with alcohol similar to those caused by the
compound coprine, though laboratory testing has not revealed any
evidence of coprine in the mushroom. Boletus luridus is mycorrhizal,
forming a symbiotic association with deciduous trees such as oak, birch
and beech, and has been found to have a growth-enhancing effect with
conifers in experiments.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_luridus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
The Congress of the Confederation adopted the Great Seal of the
United States, used to authenticate certain documents issued by the
federal government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States>
1789:
French Revolution: Meeting in a tennis court near the Palace of
Versailles, members of France's Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath,
pledging not to separate until a new constitution was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath>
1837:
Victoria succeeded to the British throne, starting a reign that
lasted for more than 63 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria>
1895:
The Kiel Canal (pictured), connecting the North Sea to the
Baltic Sea across the base of the Jutland peninsula in Germany, was
officially opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_Canal>
1921:
Workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of
Chennai, India, began a four-month strike.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_Buckingham_and_Carnatic_Mills_Strike>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
demagogue:
(pejorative) An orator or leader who gains favor by pandering to or
exciting the passions and prejudices of the audience.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/demagogue>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nothing is wholly obvious without becoming enigmatic. Reality
itself is too obvious to be true.
--Jean Baudrillard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Baudrillard>
The 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Kama (2nd Croatian) was a
German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of
the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part
of the Wehrmacht during World War II. It was composed of German officers
and Bosnian Muslim soldiers. Named Kama after a small dagger used by
Balkan shepherds, it was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by
the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formed on 19 June 1944, it was built
around a cadre from the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS
Handschar (1st Croatian) but did not reach its full strength and never
saw action as a formation. Elements of the division fought briefly
against Soviet forces in southern Hungary in early October 1944
alongside the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division. They were soon
disengaged from the front line in Hungary and had begun a move to the
German puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia, to join the 13th
SS Division when the Bosnian Muslim soldiers of the Kama division
mutinied on 17 October 1944. The cadre quickly regained control, but the
mutiny resulted in the division being formally dissolved on 31 October
1944.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Waffen_Mountain_Division_of_the_SS_Kama_…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1269:
Louis IX of France imposed a fine of ten livres of silver on
Jews found in public without a yellow badge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_badge>
1846:
The first officially recorded baseball game using modern rules
developed by Alexander Cartwright was played in Hoboken, New Jersey, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball>
1867:
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico was executed by firing squad in
Querétaro.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico>
1961:
Kuwait declared independence from the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait>
2009:
Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police
officers broke out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances
surrounding the death of a local chef.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishou_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
salad dodger:
(informal) An overweight person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salad_dodger>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I do not envy people who think they have a complete
explanation of the world, for the simple reason that they are obviously
wrong.
--Salman Rushdie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie>
Marie Lloyd (1870–1922) was an English music hall singer, comedienne
and musical theatre actress, known as the "Queen of the Music Hall". She
was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy I Love is
Up in the Gallery" and "Oh Mr Porter What Shall I Do", and was both
criticised and praised for her use of innuendo and double entendre. She
made her professional debut in 1884 and thereafter frequently topped the
bill in London's West End. Between 1894 and 1900, she became an
international success when she toured France, America, Australia and
Belgium. In 1907, she assisted other performers during the music hall
war and protested for better pay and conditions for performers. During
the First World War, she helped the war effort and toured hospitals and
industrial institutions to boost morale. Lloyd had a turbulent private
life that was often the subject of press attention. She also suffered
from bouts of ill-health and became alcohol-dependent. In later life,
she was still in demand and had success in 1919 with her renowned
performance of "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)". Lloyd was taken ill
on stage at the Alhambra Theatre, London, and died a few days later.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Lloyd>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1053:
Humphrey of Hauteville led the armies of the Normans in the
Battle of Civitate against the combined forces of Pope Leo IX and the
Holy Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Civitate>
1858:
Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which prompted Darwin to
publish his theory of evolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_of_Darwin%27s_theory>
1953:
A Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft crashed just after
takeoff from Tachikawa, Japan, killing all 129 people on board in the
first aviation accident with over 100 fatalities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikawa_air_disaster>
1983:
Iranian teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad and nine other women were
hanged because of their membership in the Bahá'í Faith.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Mahmudnizhad>
1994:
The Troubles: Members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force
attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault
rifles, killing six.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughinisland_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chiaroscuro:
An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the
use of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of
volume.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiaroscuro>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ability of so many people to live comfortably with the idea
of capital punishment is perhaps a clue to how so many Europeans were
able to live with the idea of the Holocaust: Once you accept the notion
that the state has the right to kill someone and the right to define
what is a capital crime, aren't you halfway there?
--Roger Ebert
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert>
Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746–1817) was a military leader who became a
national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States. He
graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw, Poland, before studying in
France. In 1776, he moved to North America, where he took part in the
American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army. An
accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the
construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West
Point, New York. He returned to Poland, and was commissioned a major
general in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army in 1789. Two years
after the Polish–Russian War of 1792 had resulted in the Second
Partition of Poland, he led an uprising against Russia in March 1794.
Russian forces captured him at the Battle of Maciejowice, and the defeat
of the uprising led to the Third Partition in 1795, which ended Poland's
independent existence for 123 years. He was pardoned by Tsar Paul I in
1796 and emigrated to the United States. A close friend of Thomas
Jefferson, Kościuszko wrote a will in 1798 dedicating his American
assets to the education and freedom of U.S. slaves.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadeusz_Ko%C5%9Bciuszko>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
New Zealand Wars: An armed posse of Europeans set out from
Nelson to arrest Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha and clashed with Māori,
resulting in 26 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wairau_Affray>
1876:
Great Sioux War: A band of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne attacked a
United States Army expedition and its Crow and Shoshone allies in the
Battle of the Rosebud.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Rosebud>
1900:
Boxer Rebellion: Allied naval forces captured the Taku Forts
after a brief but bloody battle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dagu_Forts_(1900)>
1963:
Around 2,000 people rioted in South Vietnam, despite the
signing of the Joint Communique to resolve the ongoing Buddhist crisis
one day earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Communique>
1994:
Following a police chase along Los Angeles freeways and a
failed suicide attempt, actor and former American football player O. J.
Simpson was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson
and her friend Ronald Goldman.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
postilion:
A rider mounted on the near, leading horse pulling a carriage who guides
the team.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/postilion>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We must abandon the unworkable notion that it is morally
reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction,
yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for security — and
indeed to continue to refine their capacities and postulate plans for
their use.
--Mohamed ElBaradei
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mohamed_ElBaradei>
Great Eastern Highway is a 590-kilometre-long (370 mi) road linking the
Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key
route for vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields,
it is the western portion of the main road link between Perth and the
eastern states of Australia. The highway forms the majority of National
Highway 94, with various segments included in other road routes. The
highway was created in the 1930s from an existing system of roads
linking Perth with the Goldfields, though the name was coined to
describe a different route from Perth to Guildford (modern-day Guildford
Road). The Belmont section was constructed in 1867 using convict labour,
with the road base made from sections of tree trunks. Several bypasses
have been constructed, including Great Eastern Highway Bypass in Perth.
Over the years the road has been upgraded, with the whole highway sealed
by 1953, segments reconstructed and widened, dual carriageways created
in Perth and Kalgoorlie, and grade separated interchanges built at major
intersections. A future route to replace its current ascent of the
Darling Scarp has been identified.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Eastern_Highway>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
632:
The final king of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, Yazdegerd III,
took the throne at the age of eight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazdegerd_III>
1407:
During the Ming–Hồ War, the Chinese Ming armies captured
Hồ Quý Ly and his sons, thus ending the Vietnamese Hồ dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming%E2%80%93H%E1%BB%93_War>
1846:
Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti was elected as Pius IX
(pictured), and he would become the longest-reigning elected pope in the
history of the Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_IX>
1958:
Imre Nagy and other leaders of the failed Hungarian Revolution
of 1956 were executed following secret trials.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Nagy>
1967:
The Monterey Pop Festival rock festival, the venue for the
first major American performances by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The
Who, and Ravi Shankar, began in Monterey, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_Pop_Festival>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abeyance:
1. (law) Expectancy; condition of being undetermined; undetermined
ownership.
2. Suspension; temporary suppression.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abeyance>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair
like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he
kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as
another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he
asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my
arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts
all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I
will Yes.
--Ulysses
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ulysses>
"Bam Thwok" is a download-only single by the American alternative rock
band Pixies. The song was written and sung by bassist Kim Deal
(pictured), and released exclusively through the iTunes Store on June
15, 2004. It was the band's first recording since the 1991 studio album
Trompe le Monde; the Pixies broke up acrimoniously in 1993 and reformed
in 2004. Frontman Black Francis, the band's principal songwriter, said
the recording session "was very relaxed, a nice way to break the ice".
Originally composed for the movie Shrek 2, the song was not selected for
the final soundtrack. The lyrics display a surrealistic and nonsensical
nature typical of the band; Deal's inspiration was a discarded child's
art book she found on a New York City street. She commented "This kid
had written ... about a party that took place in another universe, about
people and monsters that were partying together." The song is structured
around a four-beat guitar melody which incorporates major chords
throughout. It begins with full instrumentation, over which Santiago
layers a short guitar solo. "Bam Thwok" debuted at number one on the
first release of the UK Download Chart.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bam_Thwok>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1667:
French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys administered the first
fully documented human blood transfusion, giving the blood of a sheep to
a 15-year-old boy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_transfusion>
1896:
A 7.2 Ms earthquake and a subsequent tsunami struck Japan,
destroying about 9,000 homes and causing at least 22,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Sanriku_earthquake>
1944:
In the Saskatchewan general election, the Co-operative
Commonwealth Federation led by Tommy Douglas won enough seats in the
Legislative Assembly to form the first socialist government in North
America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas>
1954:
The Union of European Football Associations, the administrative
and controlling body for European football, was founded in Basel,
Switzerland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA>
1996:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb in the
commercial centre of Manchester, England, injuring over 200 people and
causing widespread damage to buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
encapsulate:
1. To cover something as if in a capsule.
2. To epitomize something by expressing it as a brief summary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/encapsulate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All world-images are apt to become corrupt when left to
ecclesiastic bureaucracies. But this does not make the formation of
world-images expendable. And I can only repeat that we deny the remnants
of old-world images at our own risk, because we do not overcome them by
declaring them — with all the righteousness of skepticism —
something of a secret sin. They are not less powerful for being denied.
--Erik Erikson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson>
Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War between
7 and 14 June 1944. The intention was to seize Caen, a major Allied
objective in the early stages of the invasion of northwest Europe. The
operation had been planned to start immediately after the beach
landings, but when Caen was still in German hands three days into the
Battle of Normandy, it changed to a pincer attack using XXX Corps and
I Corps. XXX Corps faced strong German forces in a fierce battle for
Tilly-sur-Seulles. I Corps's eastern thrust from the Orne bridgehead
met determined resistance. With mounting casualties and no sign of
success, the offensive was abandoned. To the west, American pressure had
opened up a gap in the German lines. The 7th Armoured Division was
ordered to advance through it, to try to force a German retreat. After
two days of intense fighting, the division's position was untenable and
it was withdrawn. Historians generally agree that while an early
opportunity to capture Caen was squandered by British command failures,
the Germans had had to use their most powerful armoured reserves in a
defensive role, incurring heavy losses, rather than in counteroffensive
operations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Perch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1285:
Forces led by Prince Trần Quang Khải of Vietnam's Trần
dynasty destroyed most of the invading Mongol naval fleet in a battle at
Chuong Duong.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%E1%BA%A7n_Quang_Kh%E1%BA%A3i>
1846:
Anglo-American settlers in the Town of Sonoma began a rebellion
against Mexico, proclaiming the California Republic and eventually
raising a homemade flag with a bear and star (digital reproduction
pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic>
1944:
Second World War: Although the British Army abandoned the
attempt to capture Caen, the Germans had been forced to commit their
most powerful armoured reserves in a defensive role.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Perch>
1982:
Argentine forces surrendered to the British, essentially ending
the Falklands War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War>
1994:
After the Vancouver Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in ice
hockey's Stanley Cup Finals, a riot ensued in Downtown Vancouver,
causing C$1.1 million in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Vancouver_Stanley_Cup_riot>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vexillology:
The study of flags.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vexillology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Because you cannot see him, God is everywhere.
--Yasunari Kawabata
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yasunari_Kawabata>
The cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) is a fish species of the
family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean,
Rocky Mountains and Great Basin in North America. Cutthroat trout are
popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The
common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the
underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarki was given to honor
explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Cutthroat trout usually inhabit and spawn in small to moderately large,
clear, well-oxygenated, shallow rivers with gravel bottoms. They also
reproduce in clear, cold, moderately deep lakes. They are native to the
alluvial or freestone streams that are typical tributaries of the
Pacific basin, Great Basin and Rocky Mountains. Cutthroat trout spawn in
the spring and may inadvertently but naturally hybridize with rainbow
trout, producing fertile cutbows. Several subspecies of cutthroat trout
are currently listed as threatened due to habitat loss and the
introduction of non-native species. The cutthroat trout type species and
several subspecies are the official state fish of seven western U.S.
states.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutthroat_trout>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1525:
Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora (pictured), defying
the celibacy discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for
priests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharina_von_Bora>
1886:
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was found dead in Lake Starnberg near
Munich under mysterious circumstances.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria>
1966:
The Miranda v. Arizona landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme
Court established the Miranda warning, requiring law enforcement
officials to advise a suspect in custody of his rights to remain silent
and to obtain an attorney.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_v._Arizona>
1982:
Fahd became King of Saudi Arabia, succeeding his half-brother
Khalid upon the latter's death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahd_of_Saudi_Arabia>
1997:
In one of the worst fire tragedies in recent Indian history, 59
people died and 103 others were seriously injured during a premiere
screening of the film Border at the Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, Delhi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uphaar_Cinema_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
soundly:
In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/soundly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Be plural, like the universe! 
--Fernando Pessoa
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fernando_Pessoa>
The Zaian War was fought between France and the Zaian confederation of
Berber tribes in Morocco between 1914 and 1921. Morocco had become a
French protectorate in 1912, and Resident-General Hubert Lyautey
(pictured) sought to extend French influence through the Middle Atlas
mountains towards French Algeria. The war began well for the French, but
they incurred heavy losses, including over 600 troops killed at the
Battle of El Herri. The French retained most of their territory during
the First World War, despite the withdrawal of some troops for service
at home and continuing raids by the Zaians, who were supported by the
Central Powers. After the signing of the Armistice with Germany in
November 1918, significant forces of tribesmen remained opposed to
French rule. The French resumed their offensive in the Khénifra area in
1920, and entered negotiations with the Zaians. A split between those
who supported submission and those still opposed led to infighting, and
the French responded with a strong, three-pronged attack into the Middle
Atlas that pacified the area. Some tribesmen fled to the High Atlas and
continued a guerrilla war against the French well into the 1930s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaian_War>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1381:
The first mass protest in the Peasants' Revolt began in
Blackheath, England, with Lollard priest John Ball asking a crowd, "When
Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_Revolt>
1864:
Union General Ulysses S. Grant pulled his troops out of the
Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, ending one of the
bloodiest, most lopsided battles in the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cold_Harbor>
1954:
Pope Pius XII canonised Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old
when he died, to make him the youngest non-martyr saint in the Roman
Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Savio>
1967:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the landmark
civil rights case Loving v. Virginia, striking down laws restricting
interracial marriage in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia>
1994:
The Boeing 777 (pictured), the world's largest twinjet, made
its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
make shift:
(dated) To contrive; to invent a way of surmounting a difficulty.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make_shift>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead.
For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are
great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God's love
is truly boundless.
--George H. W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush>
Tom Pryce (1949–1977) was a Welsh racing driver. He is the only Welsh
driver to have won a Formula One race (the Brands Hatch Race of
Champions, a non-championship race, in 1975) or to have led a Formula
One World Championship Grand Prix (two laps of the 1975 British Grand
Prix). Pryce started his career in Formula One with the small Token
team, making his only start for them at the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix.
Shortly after an impressive performance at the Formula Three support
race for the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix, Pryce joined the Shadow team and
scored his first points in Germany in only his fourth race. Pryce
(pictured during the 1975 United States Grand Prix) later claimed two
podium finishes: the first in Austria in 1975 and the second in Brazil a
year later. Pryce was considered by his team as a great wet weather
driver, and was the fastest driver in the wet conditions of the practice
session for the 1977 South African Grand Prix, his final race. During
the race, he collided at high speed with a safety marshal, Frederik
Jansen van Vuuren, and both men were killed. A memorial to Pryce was
unveiled in 2009 in his home town of Ruthin.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pryce>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1594:
In the Philippines, Philip II of Spain recognized the right to
govern of the Principalía, the local nobles and chieftains who had
converted to Roman Catholicism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal%C3%ADa>
1776:
The Second Continental Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston
to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence for
Britain's Thirteen Colonies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Five>
1917:
Alexander was crowned King of Greece, succeeding his father
Constantine, who had abdicated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Greece>
1955:
More than 80 people were killed after Pierre Levegh and Lance
Macklin collided during the 23rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
sports car endurance race.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster>
2008:
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologised to the First
Nations for past governments' policies of forced assimilation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
piece together:
1. To physically assemble (or reassemble) from fragments or pieces.
2. (figuratively) To reconstruct an event or goal from incomplete or flawed
elements.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/piece_together>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Surely mankind has yet to be born. Surely this is true! For only
something blind and uncomprehending could exist in such a mean
conjunction with its own flesh, its own kind. How else account for such
faltering, clumsy, hateful cruelty? Even the possums and the skunks know
better!
--William Styron
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Styron>