Steve Bruce (born 1960) is an English football manager, currently for
Hull City, and a former player. A defender, he began his professional
career at Gillingham in 1979, and made over 200 appearances before
transferring to Norwich City five years later. From 1987 to 1996, he
played for Manchester United, winning the Premier League, FA Cup,
Football League Cup and European Cup Winner's Cup. He was the first
English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to the Double.
Bruce began his managerial career with Sheffield United, and briefly
managed Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace. He joined
Birmingham City in 2001 and twice led them to promotion to the Premier
League during his tenure of nearly six years, but resigned in 2007 to
begin a second spell as manager of Wigan. At the end of the 2008–09
season he resigned to take over as manager of Sunderland, a post he held
until he was dismissed in November 2011. Seven months later, he was
appointed manager of Hull City, and has since led the club to promotion
to the Premier League and the 2014 FA Cup Final.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bruce>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1225:
Lý Chiêu Hoàng, the only empress regnant in the history of
Vietnam, married Trần Thái Tông, making him the first emperor of the
Trần Dynasty at age seven.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BD_Chi%C3%AAu_Ho%C3%A0ng>
1759:
Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum to
the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin and began brewing Guinness.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness>
1862:
American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee, began in an engagement where both sides would suffer their
highest casualty rates of the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stones_River>
1965:
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic
army, and his military officers began a coup d'état against the
government of President David Dacko.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Sylvestre_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
1999:
Panama took control of the Panama Canal Zone from the United
States, in accordance with the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Zone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
watchnight:
1. (Christianity, historical) A monthly or quarterly religious service
participated in by Methodists which extended past midnight.
2. (Christianity) A religious service involving a review of the year passed
and preparation for the year ahead participated in by Methodists and
members of other Christian denominations which starts late on New Year's
Eve and ends after midnight on New Year's Day; hence, the night that
begins on December 31 and ends on January 1.
3. A religious or spiritual vigil.
4. (West African) A night watchman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/watchnight>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You study, you learn, but you guard the original naiveté. It has
to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is
within the lover.
--Henri Matisse
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse>
The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent
between the sixth and tenth centuries. Early Rashtrakuta inscriptions
show their clans ruling from Manapura, a city somewhere in Central or
West India, and from modern-day Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh and Elichpur in
Maharashtra. This third clan overthrew Kirtivarman II and built an
empire as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India
in 753. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal (in eastern India)
and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa (in the northwest) were gaining
force. Each of these three empires annexed the seat of power at Kannauj
for short periods of time while struggling for the resources of the rich
Gangetic plains. At their peak the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta ruled a
domain stretching from the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in
the north to Cape Comorin in the south. The early kings of this dynasty
were Hindu, while the later kings were strongly influenced by Jainism.
The empire was known for its literary and architectural achievements,
including the Kailasanath Temple at Ellora (pictured) and the Jain
Narayana temple at Pattadakal, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrakuta_dynasty>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1702:
Carolina colonial governor James Moore abandoned the siege
against the Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, Spanish Florida,
and retreated to Charles Town in disgrace.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_St._Augustine_(1702)>
1853:
The United States purchased approximately 29,600 sq mi
(77,000 km2) of land south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande
from Mexico for $10 million.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase>
1906:
The All-India Muslim League, a political party in British India
that developed into the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as
a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent, was founded in Dhaka.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-India_Muslim_League>
1965:
Ferdinand Marcos, who went on to rule the Philippines for 21
years, took office, beginning his first term as President.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos>
2005:
Tropical Storm Zeta was declared a tropical depression, making
it the record-breaking thirtieth tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season, the most active in recorded history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Zeta>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
arbuscle:
1. (botany) A plant midway in height between a shrub and a tree; a dwarf
tree.
2. (mycology) A branched hypha in some fungi.
3. (mycology) The site at which a symbiotic fungus attaches to the roots of
a plant and exchanges nutrients, etc., with it.
4. (zoology) A clump of feather-like cilia (hairlike structures).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arbuscle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man who is truly a man must learn to be alone in the midst
of all others, and if need be against all others.
--Romain Rolland
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Romain_Rolland>
HMS Warrior was the name ship of a class of two 40-gun steam-powered
armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy in 1859–61. The sister
ships Warrior and HMS Black Prince were the first armour-plated, iron-
hulled warships, and were built in response to France's launching in
1859 of the first ocean-going ironclad warship, the wooden-hulled
Gloire. After a publicity tour of Great Britain in 1863, Warrior had an
active career with the Channel Squadron. The frigate became obsolescent
following the 1871 launching of the mastless and more capable HMS
Devastation, was placed in reserve in 1875, and was paid off in 1883.
After serving as a storeship and depot ship, Warrior was assigned in
1904 to the Royal Navy's torpedo training school. The frigate was
converted into an oil jetty in 1927 and was donated by the Navy to the
Maritime Trust for restoration in 1979. The restoration process took
eight years, during which many of the ship's features and fittings were
either restored or recreated. When this was finished Warrior returned to
Portsmouth as a museum ship. Listed as part of the National Historic
Fleet, the ship has been based in Portsmouth since 1987.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warrior_(1860)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1170:
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was slain in his own
cathedral by four knights of Henry II of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket>
1890:
The United States Army killed over 150 members of the Great
Sioux Nation at the Wounded Knee Massacre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre>
1930:
Muhammad Iqbal introduced the two-nation theory outlining a
vision for the creation of an independent state for Muslim-majority
provinces in northwestern British India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-nation_theory>
1937:
The Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the
state known today as the Republic of Ireland, came into force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Ireland>
1997:
In order to prevent the spread of the H5N1 flu virus, the Hong
Kong government slaughtered 1.3 million chickens.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_spread_of_H5N1>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
embrittlement:
The process of being embrittled; loss of flexibility or elasticity of a
material.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/embrittlement>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There should be a sympathy with freedom, a desire to give it
scope, founded not upon visionary ideas, but upon the long experience of
many generations within the shores of this happy isle, that in freedom
you lay the firmest foundations both of loyalty and order; the firmest
foundations for the development of individual character; and the best
provision for the happiness of the nation at large.
--William Ewart Gladstone
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ewart_Gladstone>
Kingdom Hearts II is an action role-playing game developed and published
by Square Enix in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The
game is a sequel to the 2002 Disney Interactive and Square
collaboration, Kingdom Hearts, and to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
In this game, the protagonist Sora returns to search for his lost
friends, while Organization XIII from Chain of Memories reappears to
impede his progress. All three games feature a large cast of characters
from Disney films and Final Fantasy games. The game was well-received,
earning year-end awards from numerous video gaming websites. In Japan,
it shipped more than one million copies within a week of its release.
One month after its North American release, it had sold over one million
copies. By March 31, 2007, the game had shipped over 4 million copies
worldwide. A novel and manga series are based on it, as well as an
international version called Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, re-released in
high definition as Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix for the PlayStation 3.
The game was actor Pat Morita's final voice role before his death in
2005.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hearts_II>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1065:
Westminster Abbey in London, built by Edward the Confessor
between 1045 and 1050, was consecrated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Abbey>
1612:
Galileo became the first person to observe the planet Neptune,
although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune>
1832:
John C. Calhoun became the first Vice President of the United
States to resign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun>
1908:
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck
Messina, Italy, killing more than 100,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_Messina_earthquake>
1935:
Politician Pavel Postyshev revived the New Year tree tradition
in the Soviet Union when Pravda published his letter asking for them to
be installed in schools, children's homes, Young Pioneer Palaces,
children's clubs, children's theaters, and cinema theaters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Postyshev>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
aptonym:
A proper name that aptly describes the occupation or character of the
person, especially by coincidence.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aptonym>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only
because they do not realize how complicated life is.
--John von Neumann
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann>
Kent is the largest city in Portage County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It
is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger
Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area. The population was
28,904 in the 2010 Census and slightly higher in the 2014 estimate. Part
of the Connecticut Western Reserve, it was settled in 1805 as a mill
town along the Cuyahoga River and later named Franklin Mills. In the
1830s and 1840s, the village was on the route of the Pennsylvania and
Ohio Canal. Franklin Mills was an active stop on the Underground
Railroad before the Civil War. The city was renamed in 1864 for Marvin
Kent, who secured the maintenance yards of the Atlantic and Great
Western Railroad (depot pictured) for Franklin Mills. Today Kent is a
college town best known as the home of the main campus of Kent State
University, founded in 1910, and as the site of the 1970 Kent State
shootings. While historically a manufacturing center, the city's largest
economic sector is now education. Many Kentites and Kent State alumni
have risen to prominence in business, sports, and the arts.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent,_Ohio>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1657:
Citizens of New Netherland presented the Flushing Remonstrance
to Director-General Peter Stuyvesant, requesting an exemption to his ban
on Quaker worship.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Remonstrance>
1845:
John L. O'Sullivan, in his newspaper the New York Morning News,
argued that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon
Country "by the right of our manifest destiny".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny>
1918:
A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski
in Poznań sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacy_Jan_Paderewski>
1979:
Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace
outside Kabul and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and his
100–150 elite guards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafizullah_Amin>
2008:
In response to rocket attacks from Palestinian armed groups,
Israel launched a surprise attack against the Gaza Strip, opening the
three-week Gaza War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_War_(2008%E2%80%9309)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
showboat:
(informal, chiefly US) To show off.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/showboat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is a fallacy to think that carping is the strongest form of
criticism: the important work begins after the artist's mistakes have
been pointed out, and the reviewer can't put it off indefinitely with
sneers, although some neophytes might be tempted to try: "When in doubt,
stick out your tongue" is a safe rule that never cost one any readers.
But there's nothing strong about it, and it has nothing to do with the
real business of criticism, which is to do justice to the best work of
one's time, so that nothing gets lost.
--Wilfrid Sheed
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Sheed>
Andrew Johnston (born 1994) is a British singer who rose to fame when he
appeared as a boy soprano on the second series of the British television
talent show Britain's Got Talent in 2008. He sang "Pie Jesu" from Andrew
Lloyd Webber's Requiem in the finals. Although he did not win, he
received a contract to record on the SyCo Music label owned by the
Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell. Johnston's debut album, One
Voice, was released in September of the same year, and reached number
four on the UK Albums Chart. Johnston was born in Dumfries, Scotland,
and grew up in Carlisle. He became head chorister at Carlisle Cathedral,
and was bullied at school for his love of classical music. While some
journalists have argued that Britain's Got Talent producers exaggerated
Johnston's rough background, others have hailed his story as
inspirational. In 2009, he graduated from Trinity School. He sings in
the National Youth Choir as a baritone and studies full-time at the
Royal Northern College of Music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnston_(singer)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1606:
The first recorded performance of the play King Lear, a tragedy
by William Shakespeare based on the legendary King Lear of the Britons,
was held.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear>
1825:
Imperial Russian Army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a
protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder
brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decembrist_revolt>
1898:
At the French Academy of Sciences, physicists Pierre and Marie
Curie (both pictured) announced the discovery of a new element, naming
it radium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium>
1919:
American baseball player Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red
Sox to their rivals, the New York Yankees, starting the 84-year-long
Curse of the Bambino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Bambino>
1991:
The Supreme Soviet officially dissolved itself, completing the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gulp:
1. To swallow eagerly, or in large draughts; to swallow up; to take down at
one swallow.
2. To react nervously by swallowing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gulp>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er, Scatters from her pictured urn
Thoughts that breathe and words that burn.
--Thomas Gray
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Gray>
"Sisters at Heart" is the 13th episode of the seventh season of
Bewitched, an American Broadcasting Company fantasy television sitcom.
This Christmas episode aired on December 24, 1970, and again the
following December. In one storyline, Darrin Stephens (Dick Sargent)
fails to land a million-dollar advertising account after a toy company
owner mistakes a black woman for Darrin's wife. The man changes his
attitude after Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) uses witchcraft
to make him see everyone, including himself, as having black skin. At
the invitation of Montgomery and her husband William Asher, who directed
the episode, "Sisters at Heart" was initially written by 22 black
students from Jefferson High School (pictured), a school in a poor Los
Angeles neighborhood. This episode, Montgomery's favorite, received the
Governors Award at the 23rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Montgomery's
biographer Herbie Pilato wrote that the theme of overcoming prejudice is
central to Bewitched and that "no [other] episode of the series more
clearly represented this cry against prejudice".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_at_Heart>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1066:
Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror (pictured center in
Bayeux Tapestry) was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey,
although he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not
secure on his throne until after 1072.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror>
1815:
The Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously
performing arts organization in the United States, premiered at King's
Chapel in Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel_and_Haydn_Society>
1941:
Second World War: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began
after Mark Aitchison Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the
territory to Japan after 18 days of fierce fighting.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Hong_Kong>
1968:
In Tamil Nadu, India, families of striking Dalit workers were
massacred by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilvenmani_massacre>
2000:
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law that
officially established a new National Anthem of Russia, with music
adapted from the anthem of the Soviet Union that was composed by
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Anthem_of_Russia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wintertide:
(archaic) Wintertime.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wintertide>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
On this day, Christians reflect on their faith and celebrate the
birth of Jesus Christ. This occasion inspires families and communities
to come together, share what they have, and give back to those less
fortunate. May we take this time to reflect on our many blessings, and
remind our loved ones how much they mean to us.
--Justin Trudeau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Justin_Trudeau>
William Wurtenburg (1863–1957) was an American college football player
and coach. Born to German parents and raised in western New York,
Wurtenburg played for Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University. The
1887 Yale squad outscored their opponents 515–12, and the 1888 squad,
which he quarterbacked, held all opponents scoreless; both teams were
later recognized as national champions. Wurtenburg received his medical
degree from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1893. He coached
football for a year at the United States Naval Academy and then for five
years at Dartmouth College. In his first four years at Dartmouth, the
teams had perfect records against both of their Triangular Football
League opponents. Wurtenburg spent several years refereeing for Yale's
football team, then had a practice as an ear, nose and throat specialist
in New Haven, Connecticut, from 1904 until at least 1920. He is
particularly remembered for a 35-yard run in a close game in 1887
against rival Harvard, a game that was described as "undoubtedly the
finest ever played in America".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wurtenburg>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1294:
Boniface VIII began his papacy, replacing St. Celestine V, who
had declared that it was permissible for a Pope to resign, and then
promptly did so.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_VIII>
1865:
Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded the
Ku Klux Klan, which would later become a white supremacist group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan>
1914:
British and German soldiers interrupted the First World War to
celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce>
1955:
The NORAD Tracks Santa program began when children began
calling the Continental Air Defense Command Center to inquire about
Santa Claus' whereabouts due to a misprinted phone number.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORAD_Tracks_Santa>
2008:
The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began
attacks on several villages in Haut-Uele District, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, resulting in at least 400 deaths and numerous atrocities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Christmas_massacres>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wreath:
1. Something twisted, intertwined, or curled.
2. An ornamental circular band made, for example, of plaited flowers and
leaves, and used as decoration; a garland or chaplet, especially one
given to a victor.
3. (heraldry) An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and supporting
the crest. It generally represents a twist of two cords of silk, one
tinctured like the principal metal, the other like the principal color
in the coat of arms.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wreath>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in
spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in
spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may
continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each one of
us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.
--Frank Borman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frank_Borman>
Tropical Storm Edouard was the first of eight named storms to form in
September 2002, the most such storms for any month in the Atlantic at
the time. The fifth tropical storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane
season, Edouard developed into a tropical cyclone on September 1 from an
area of convection associated with a cold front east of Florida. Under
weak steering currents, Edouard drifted to the north and executed a
clockwise loop to the west. Despite moderate to strong levels of wind
shear, the storm reached a peak intensity of 65 mph (100 km/h) on
September 3, but quickly weakened as it tracked westward. Edouard made
landfall in northeastern Florida two days later, and dissipated the next
day after crossing the state. The storm dropped moderate rainfall across
Florida, exceeding 7 inches (175 mm) in the western portion of the
state. Though Edouard was a tropical storm at landfall, wind speeds
along the storm's path over land were light. The rain flooded several
roads, but there were no casualties, and damage was minimal. The storm
was eventually absorbed into the larger circulation of Tropical Storm
Fay.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Edouard_(2002)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
962:
Byzantine–Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus
Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Arab_wars_(780%E2%80%931180)>
1823:
A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before
Christmas, was first published anonymously. Authorship was later
attributed to Clement Clarke Moore.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas>
1888:
During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh
stalked his friend French painter Paul Gauguin with a razor, and then
afterwards cut off the lower part of his own left ear and gave it to a
prostitute.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh>
1957:
Ian Craig of Australia became the youngest Test cricket captain
in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Craig>
1990:
About 88% of the population in Slovenia voted to secede from
the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Slovenia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sciolist:
One who exhibits only superficial knowledge; a self-proclaimed expert
with little real understanding.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sciolist>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the
airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now
you're gonna hear about it!
--Seinfeld : The Strike
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Seinfeld#The_Strike_.5B9.10.5D>
Miniopterus aelleni is a bat in the genus Miniopterus found in the
Comoro Islands and Madagascar. It is a small, brown bat, with a forearm
length of 35 to 41 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in). The long tragus (a projection
in the outer ear) has a broad base and a blunt or rounded tip. The
uropatagium (tail membrane) is sparsely haired. The palate is flat and
there are distinct diastemata (gaps) between the upper canines and
premolars. Populations of this species were previously included in
Miniopterus manavi, but recent molecular studies revealed that M.
aelleni is a separate species and that Miniopterus is more species-rich
than previously thought. M. aelleni is known to live from 4 to 225 m
(13 to 738 ft) above sea level in northern and western Madagascar, at
1,100 m (3,600 ft) in northern Madagascar, and from 220 to 690 m (720
to 2,260 ft) on Anjouan in the nearby Comoros. On Madagascar,
M. aelleni has been found in forests and caves in karstic areas. The
specific name aelleni honors Professor Villy Aellen of the Natural
History Museum of Geneva.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniopterus_aelleni>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1769:
Having been soundly defeated in battle, the Qing dynasty agreed
to terms of truce, ending the Sino-Burmese War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Burmese_War_(1765%E2%80%9369)>
1807:
In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the
United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships
from engaging in trade with foreign nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo_Act_of_1807>
1944:
World War II: US Army General Anthony McAuliffe responded to
the German ultimatum of surrender during the Battle of the Bulge with a
single word, "NUTS!"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_McAuliffe>
1974:
Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli voted to become the
independent nation of the Comoros.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comoros>
1997:
Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of
President of Somalia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_Farrah_Aidid>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
sunstead:
(rare) A solstice.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sunstead>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
An equation has no meaning for me unless it expresses a thought of
GOD.
--Srinivasa Ramanujan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan>