Fantastic Novels was an American science fiction and fantasy pulp
magazine published by the Munsey Company of New York from 1940 to 1941,
and by Popular Publications from 1948 to 1951. It was launched as a
bimonthly companion magazine to Famous Fantastic Mysteries in response
to heavy demand for book-length reprints of stories from pulp magazines
such as Amazing Stories and Argosy. It ran science fiction and fantasy
classics from earlier decades, including novels by A. Merritt, George
Allan England, Victor Rousseau and others, and occasionally published
reprints of more recent work, such as Earth's Last Citadel by Henry
Kuttner and C. L. Moore. There were five issues in the magazine's first
incarnation and another twenty in the revived version from Popular
Publications, along with seventeen Canadian and two British reprints.
Mary Gnaedinger edited both series; her interest in reprinting Merritt's
work helped make him one of the better-known fantasy writers of the era.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Novels>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1559:
During a jousting match, Gabriel Montgomery of the Garde
Écossaise mortally wounded King Henry II of France, piercing him in the
eye with his lance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_France>
1859:
French acrobat Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Gorge on a
tightrope, turning him into one of the world's most famous tightrope
walkers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Blondin>
1894:
London's Tower Bridge, a combined bascule and suspension bridge
over the River Thames, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge>
1987:
The Royal Canadian Mint introduced the Canadian one-dollar
coin, commonly known as the Loonie.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
miserabilist:
One who is unhappy, or extols being miserable as a virtue; a philosopher
of pessimism.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miserabilist>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Evil grows and bears fruit, which is understandable, because it
has logic and probability on its side and also, of course, strength. The
resistance of tiny kernels of good, to which no one grants the power of
causing far-reaching consequences, is entirely mysterious, however. Such
seeming nothingness not only lasts but contains within itself enormous
energy which is revealed gradually.
--Czesław Miłosz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz>
Robin Friday (1952–1990) was an English football forward who played
for Reading and Cardiff City during the mid-1970s. Born and raised in
Acton in west London, Friday joined Reading in 1974, quickly becoming a
key player and helping Reading win promotion to the Third Division
during the 1975–76 season. Friday won Reading's player of the year
award in both of his full seasons there as their leading goal scorer.
Many contemporaries would later assert that he was good enough to play
for England, but his habit of unsettling opponents through physical
intimidation contributed to a heavily tarnished disciplinary record, and
his personal life was one of heavy smoking, drinking, womanising and
drug abuse. His intensifying drug habit led Reading to sell him to
Cardiff in 1976. Following incidents on and off the field—including
kicking Mark Lawrenson in the face mid-game—Friday retired from
football in 1977. He died in Acton in 1990, aged 38, after suffering a
heart attack. Despite his short career, Friday remains prominent in the
memory of Reading and Cardiff supporters, as a player and a personality.
He has been voted Reading's best ever player three times.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Friday>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1149:
Second Crusade: An army led by Nur ad-Din Zangi destroyed the
forces of Antioch led by Prince Raymond.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inab>
1444:
Albanians led by Skanderbeg scored a resounding victory in
their rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Torvioll>
1776:
Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu
founded Mission San Francisco de Asís, the oldest surviving building in
San Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs>
1985:
The European Economic Community adopted the Flag of Europe, a
flag previously adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Europe>
1995:
The Shuttle–Mir Program began when Space Shuttle Atlantis
became the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station
Mir.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle%E2%80%93Mir_Program>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enterolith:
A mineral concretion in the intestinal tract.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enterolith>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Confuse not love with the raptures of possession, which bring
the cruelest of sufferings. For, notwithstanding the general opinion,
love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership,
which is love's opposite.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
Edmontosaurus, a genus with the species E. regalis and E. annectens, was
one of the largest duck-billed dinosaurs, up to 12 metres (39 ft) long
and weighing around 4.0 metric tons (4.4 short tons). Widely distributed
across western North America, especially in the coasts and coastal
plains, it was a herbivore with small solid or fleshy crests that could
move on two legs or four, and is thought to have lived in groups. It was
named after Edmonton, Alberta; the first fossils were discovered in
Alberta's Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Abundant fossils have allowed
researchers to study its brain, feeding habits, pathologies, and even
injuries, including in one case from a tyrannosaur attack. Fossils of E.
regalis have been found in rocks that date from 73 million years ago,
while those of E. annectens (reconstruction pictured) are around
66 million years old, both in the Cretaceous Period. Edmontosaurus was
one of the last non-avian dinosaurs, living alongside Triceratops and
Tyrannosaurus shortly before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmontosaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1841:
Giselle, a ballet by French composer Adolphe Adam, was first
performed at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giselle>
1880:
Police captured Australian bank robber and cultural icon Ned
Kelly after a gun battle in Glenrowan, Victoria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly>
1922:
The Irish Civil War began with an assault by the Irish Free
State's National Army on the Four Courts building, which had been
occupied by the Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Civil_War>
1989:
President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević gave a speech in which
he described the possibility of "armed battles" in the future of
Serbia's national development.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan_speech>
2005:
War in Afghanistan: Three U.S. Navy SEALs and 16 American
Special Operations Forces soldiers were killed during a failed counter-
insurgent mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Wings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
röck döts:
(informal, humorous) Heavy metal umlauts; umlauts over letters in the
name of a heavy metal band (as in "Motörhead", "Queensrÿche" and
"Mötley Crüe"), added gratuitously for mere stylistic effect.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/r%C3%B6ck_d%C3%B6ts>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A country cannot subsist well without liberty, nor liberty
without virtue.
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau>
Hurricane Georges hit Louisiana in 1998, doing $30.1 million in damage
and causing three deaths. Attaining a peak intensity of 155 mph
(250 km/h) on September 20, the storm tracked through the Greater
Antilles and later entered the Gulf of Mexico. Half a million residents
in Louisiana evacuated from low-lying areas before the Category 2 storm
made landfall on the 28th in Mississippi. Many homes outside the levee
system were flooded by the storm surge, and 85 fishing camps on the
banks of Lake Pontchartrain were destroyed. An estimated 160,000
residences were left without power; beaches were severely eroded by the
slow-moving storm. Precipitation in Louisiana peaked at 2.98 inches
(75.69 mm) in Bogalusa, and wind gusts reached 82 mph (132 km/h). In
the wake of the hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
opened 67 shelters across the state, and covered insurance claims
totalling $14,150,532, including from Puerto Rico and Mississippi. The
Clinton administration appropriated $56 million in disaster relief to
regions in Louisiana for recovery from Tropical Storm Frances and
Hurricane Georges.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Georges_in_Louisiana>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
678:
Pope Agatho, later venerated as a saint in both the Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, began his reign as Pope.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Agatho>
1743:
War of the Austrian Succession: In the last time that a British
monarch personally led his troops into battle, George II and his forces
defeated the French in Dettingen, Bavaria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dettingen>
1899:
A. E. J. Collins scored 628 runs not out, the highest-ever
recorded score in cricket.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._J._Collins>
1905:
The crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin began a mutiny
against their oppressive officers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Potemkin>
1952:
The Congress of Guatemala passed Decree 900, redistributing
unused lands of sizes greater than 224 acres (0.9 km2) to local
peasants and having a major effect on the nation's land reform movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decree_900>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
philander:
To make love to women; to play the male flirt.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/philander>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe it is a sacred duty to encourage ourselves and others;
to hold the tongue from any unhappy word against God's world, because no
man has any right to complain of a universe which God made good, and
which thousands of men have striven to keep good. I believe we should so
act that we may draw nearer and more near the age when no man shall live
at his ease while another suffers. These are the articles of my faith,
and there is yet another on which all depends — to bear this faith
above every tempest which overfloods it, and to make it a principal in
disaster and through affliction. Optimism is the harmony between man's
spirit and of God pronouncing His works good.
--Helen Keller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller>
Sir Stanley Savige (1890–1954) was an Australian Army soldier and
officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. He enlisted in
the First Australian Imperial Force in March 1915, and served in the
ranks during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he received a commission. He
earned the Military Cross for bravery in fighting on the Western Front.
In 1918 he joined Dunsterforce, and participated in the Caucasus
Campaign, during which he was instrumental in protecting thousands of
Assyrian refugees. After the war he wrote a book, Stalky's Forlorn Hope,
about his wartime experiences, and played a key role in the
establishment of Legacy Australia, a war widows and orphans benefit
fund. During the Second World War, he commanded the 17th Infantry
Brigade in the North African campaign, the Battle of Greece and the
Syria–Lebanon campaign. His outspoken criticism of professional
soldiers earned him their rancour. He returned to Australia after the
Battle of Greece, but later commanded the 3rd Division in New Guinea in
the Salamaua–Lae campaign. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general,
commanding the II Corps in the Bougainville campaign in the final stages
of the war.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Savige>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1295:
Przemysł II was crowned King of Poland, the first coronation
of a Polish ruler in 219 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przemys%C5%82_II>
1886:
French chemist Henri Moissan reported he was able to
successfully isolate elemental fluorine (liquid fluorine pictured), for
which he later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorine>
1918:
World War I: The 26-day Battle of Belleau Wood near the Marne
River in France ended with American forces finally clearing that forest
of German troops.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belleau_Wood>
1945:
At a conference in San Francisco, delegates from 50 nations
signed a charter establishing the United Nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations>
1959:
Ingemar Johansson became the only Swedish world champion of
heavyweight boxing by defeating American Floyd Patterson at Yankee
Stadium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingemar_Johansson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
not dog:
A vegetarian imitation-sausage, or hot dog sandwich made with one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/not_dog>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To live among friends is the primary essential of happiness.
--Lord Kelvin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin>
Astatine is a very rare radioactive chemical element with the chemical
symbol At and atomic number 85. It occurs on Earth as the decay product
of various heavier elements. All its isotopes are short-lived, with
half-lives of 8.1 hours or less. Elemental astatine has never been
viewed because a mass large enough to be seen by the naked eye would be
immediately vaporized by its radioactive heating. The bulk properties of
astatine are not known with any certainty, but they have been predicted
based on its similarity to the other halogens, the lighter elements
directly above it in the periodic table: fluorine, chlorine, bromine and
especially iodine. It is likely to have a dark or lustrous appearance
and may be a semiconductor or possibly a metal; it will probably have a
higher melting point than iodine. Chemically, several anionic species of
astatine are known and most of its compounds resemble those of iodine.
It also shows some metallic behavior, including the ability to form a
stable monatomic cation in aqueous solution (unlike the lighter
halogens).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astatine>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1658:
Anglo-Spanish War: English colonial forces repelled a Spanish
attack in the largest battle ever fought on Jamaica.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rio_Nuevo>
1910:
The Firebird, the first major work by Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky, made its premiere in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firebird>
1950:
The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre-
dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War>
1975:
Citing threats to national security, Indian Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the
nation that lasted nearly two years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_(India)>
2013:
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the eighth Emir of Qatar,
currently the world's youngest reigning monarch.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamim_bin_Hamad_Al_Thani>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flense:
To strip the blubber or skin from, as from a whale, seal, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flense>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I applied my reason at every moment. Reason is excellent for
getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit.
Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively
reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.
--Yann Martel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yann_Martel>
L'Arianna (Ariadne) was the second opera by Claudio Monteverdi, composed
in 1607–08; all the music is lost apart from the extended recitative
known as "Lamento d'Arianna", or "Ariadne's Lament" (pictured). One of
the earliest operas, it was first performed on 28 May 1608, as part of
the musical festivities for a royal wedding at the court of Duke
Vincenzo Gonzaga in Mantua. The libretto was written in eight scenes by
Ottavio Rinuccini, who used Ovid's Heroides and other classical sources
to relate the story of Ariadne's abandonment by Theseus on the island of
Naxos and her subsequent elevation as bride to the god Bacchus.The
composer later said that the effort of creating the opera almost killed
him. The first performance, produced with lavish and innovative special
effects, was highly praised, and the work was equally well received in
Venice when it was revived under the composer's direction in 1640 as the
inaugural work for the Teatro San Moisè. Expressive laments became an
integral feature of Italian opera for much of the 17th century. In
recent years the "Lamento" has become popular as a concert and recital
piece and has been frequently recorded.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Arianna>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1340:
Hundred Years' War: The English fleet commanded by Edward III
almost totally destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sluys>
1622:
Dutch–Portuguese War: An outnumbered Portuguese force
repelled a Dutch attack in the Battle of Macau, the only major military
engagement that was fought between two European powers on the Chinese
mainland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Macau>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée under Napoleon
crossed the Neman River, marking the start of their invasion of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia>
1981:
The Humber Bridge opened, connecting the East Riding of
Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in England, at the time the longest
single-span suspension bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Bridge>
2010:
Julia Gillard assumed office as the first female Prime Minister
of Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Gillard>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dead tree edition:
(idiomatic, pejorative, humorous) Paper version of a publication that
can be found online.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dead_tree_edition>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any law that takes hold of a man’s daily life cannot prevail
in a community, unless the vast majority of the community are actively
in favor of it. The laws that are the most operative are the laws which
protect life.
--Henry Ward Beecher
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Ward_Beecher>
In London's Great Stink of 1858, the smell from untreated human waste
and industrial effluent being pumped onto the banks of the River Thames
was exacerbated by the low levels of the river in the hot summer
weather. The cause was the inadequate and archaic sewerage system, which
poured waste into the river. Victorian doctors still believed in the
miasma theory, that smell transmitted contagious diseases, rather than
microorganisms; three outbreaks of cholera prior to the Great Stink were
blamed on the ongoing problems with the river. Local and national
administrators who had been looking at possible solutions accepted a
proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette (pictured) to move
the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that
sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Pumping stations
were built to lift the sewage from lower levels into higher pipes, and
two of the more ornate buildings, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness
on the Erith Marshes, are listed for protection by English Heritage.
Bazalgette's plan introduced three embankments to London in which the
sewers ran—the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments. The work
ensured that sewage was no longer dumped onto the shores of the Thames
and brought an end to the cholera outbreaks. Although Bazalgette planned
for the sewers to support a city of 4.5 million, the system still
operates into the 21st century, servicing a city that has grown to over
8 million.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stink>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1280:
Reconquista: Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeated those of
the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of León in the Battle of
Moclín.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mocl%C3%ADn_(1280)>
1858:
Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish boy, was seized by papal
authorities and taken to be raised as a Roman Catholic, sparking an
international controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgardo_Mortara>
1894:
Led by French historian Pierre de Coubertin, an international
congress at the Sorbonne in Paris founded the International Olympic
Committee to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Coubertin>
1972:
Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
amended to prohibit gender discrimination in any educational program
receiving federal funds, which allowed for huge growth in women's sports
for student athletes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX>
1985:
A bomb attributed to the Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa
destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unbeknownst:
(followed by to) Without the knowledge of.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unbeknownst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have to act now … and not one of us can do it without the
other. Maybe I am a monster … I don't think I would know if I were
one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So there may be no
way to make you trust me. … But we need to go.
--Avengers: Age of Ultron
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Avengers:_Age_of_Ultron>
In physics, M-theory is a unification of what were originally thought to
be five distinct versions of superstring theory. The possibility of such
a theory was first conjectured by Edward Witten (pictured) at a string
theory conference at the University of Southern California in 1995,
initiating a flurry of research activity known as the second superstring
revolution. Work by several physicists showed that the original five
theories could be related by transformations called S-duality and
T-duality. Witten's conjecture drew on these dualities and on a field
theory called eleven-dimensional supergravity. Some physicists believe
that a complete formulation of M-theory could provide a framework for
developing a unified theory of all the fundamental forces of nature.
Current directions of research in the theory include matrix theory and
gauge/gravity duality. According to Witten, the M in M-theory can stand
for "magic", "mystery", or "membrane" according to taste, and the true
meaning of the title should be decided when a more fundamental
formulation of the theory is known.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-theory>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1633:
Galileo Galilei was forced to recant his heliocentric view of
the Solar System by the Roman Inquisition, after which, as legend has
it, he muttered under his breath, "And yet it moves".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair>
1813:
War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a forthcoming
surprise attack, Laura Secord set out on a 30 km (19 mi) journey from
Queenston, Ontario, Upper Canada, on foot to warn Lieutenant James
FitzGibbon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Secord>
1911:
George V and Mary of Teck were crowned King and Queen of the
United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Teck>
1969:
The surface of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, US, caught on fire,
helping to spur the environmental movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River>
2002:
An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw struck a region of northwestern
Iran, killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others, and
eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official
response.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bou%27in-Zahra_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
avocation:
1. A hobby or recreational or leisure pursuit.
2. Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time; usual employment;
vocation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avocation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The entire cosmos is made out of one and the same world-stuff,
operated by the same energy as we ourselves. "Mind" and "matter" appears
as two aspects of our unitary mind-bodies. There is no separate
supernatural realm: all phenomena are part of one natural process of
evolution. There is no basic cleavage between science and religion; they
are both organs of evolving humanity.
--Julian Huxley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_Huxley>
HMS Nairana was a passenger ferry that was requisitioned by the Royal
Navy as a seaplane carrier in 1917. She was laid down in 1914 as TSS
Nairana for the Australian shipping line Huddart Parker, but
construction was temporarily suspended after the outbreak of the First
World War. The ship was converted to operate wheeled aircraft from her
forward flying-off deck as well as floatplanes that were lowered into
the water. She saw service during the war with the Grand Fleet, and in
1918–19 supported the British intervention in the Russian Civil War.
Nairana was returned to her former owners in 1921 and refitted in her
original planned configuration, then spent the next several decades
ferrying passengers and cargo across Bass Strait between Tasmania and
Melbourne, where she was nearly capsized twice by rogue waves. Nairana
was the only Bass Strait ferry not requisitioned for military service in
the Second World War, and so became the sole passenger ship with service
to Tasmania during the conflict. She was laid up in 1948, wrecked in a
storm three years later, and scrapped onsite in 1953–54.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nairana_(1917)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
217 BC:
Second Punic War: The Carthaginians under Hannibal executed
one of the largest military ambushes in history when they overwhelmingly
defeated the Romans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene>
1826:
Greek War of Independence: A combined Egyptian and Ottoman army
began their invasion of the Mani Peninsula, but they were initially held
off by the Maniots at the fortifications of Vergas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Egyptian_invasion_of_Mani>
1898:
In a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War, the
United States captured Guam from Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Guam>
1919:
Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttled the German High Seas Fleet
in Scapa Flow to prevent the ships from being seized and divided amongst
the Allied Powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttling_of_the_German_fleet_in_Scapa_Flow>
1948:
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, the world's
first stored-program computer, ran its first computer program.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Small-Scale_Experimental_Machine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
angst:
1. A feeling of acute but vague anxiety or apprehension often accompanied
by depression, especially philosophical anxiety.
2. More commonly, painful sadness or emotional turmoil, as teen angst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/angst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of the fundamental points about religious humility is you
say you don't know about the ultimate judgment. It's beyond your
judgment. And if you equate God's judgment with your judgment, you have
a wrong religion.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr>