The masked shrike (Lanius nubicus) is a bird in the shrike family,
Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and at the eastern end of the
Mediterranean, with a separate population in eastern Iraq and western
Iran, and winters mainly in northeast Africa. It is the smallest member
of its genus, long-tailed and with a hooked bill. The male has mainly
black upperparts, with white on its crown, forehead and supercilium and
large white patches on the shoulders and wings. The throat, neck sides
and underparts are white, with orange flanks and breast. The female is a
duller version of the male, with brownish black upperparts and a grey or
buff tone to the shoulders and underparts. The species' calls are short
and grating, but the song has melodic warbler-like components. The
masked shrike eats mainly large insects and occasionally small
vertebrates; it sometimes impales its prey on thorns or barbed wire.
Decreasing in parts of the European range, but not rapidly enough to
raise serious conservation concerns, it is classified by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of least
concern.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_shrike>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1710:
The Statute of Anne, the first fully-fledged law regulating
copyright, entered into force in Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne>
1816:
President James Madison signed the charter establishing the
Second Bank of the United States as the nation's second national bank.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bank_of_the_United_States>
1925:
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first
published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby>
1970:
In the midst of business disagreements with his bandmates, Paul
McCartney announced his departure from The Beatles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_McCartney>
2010:
A Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft carrying President of Poland Lech
Kaczyński and other Polish officials crashed while attempting to land
in heavy fog at Smolensk-North air base near Smolensk, Russia, killing
all 96 on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Polish_Air_Force_Tu-154_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
incorrigible:
1. Defective and impossible to materially correct or set aright.
2. Incurably depraved; not reformable.
3. Impervious to correction by punishment or pain.
4. Unmanageable.
5. Determined, unalterable, hence impossible to improve upon.
6. (archaic) Incurable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incorrigible>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We may fight against what is wrong, but if we allow ourselves to
hate, that is to insure our spiritual defeat and our likeness to what we
hate.
--Æ
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_William_Russell>
Typhoon Sudal was the strongest typhoon (the Northwestern Pacific Basin
equivalent of a hurricane) in half a century to strike the island of Yap
in the Federated States of Micronesia. The entire island, only 17 km
(11 mi) in length, experienced typhoon-force winds (at least 119 km/h
or 74 mph), and 90% of the structures were damaged or destroyed. The
storm formed on April 2, 2004, to the east of the country and attained
tropical storm status on April 5. On April 9, it passed just south of
Yap, and shortly thereafter its peak winds were estimated at 240 km/h
(150 mph). After moving northwest and then northeast, Sudal became an
extratropical cyclone on April 16 and dissipated two days later.
Overall damage was $14 million, most of which was on Yap. No fatalities
or serious injuries were reported, but more than 80 percent of the
islanders were without clean running water after the storm. The name
Sudal (Korean for "otter") had been contributed by South Korea for the
Pacific tropical cyclone list; due to the heavy damage, the name was
retired.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Sudal>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de
Martinville made the oldest known recording of an audible human voice,
when he recorded himself singing "Au clair de la lune".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville>
1865:
With their supply trains destroyed by Union troops one day
earlier, Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses
S. Grant at the McLean House near the Appomattox Court House in
Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House>
1918:
World War I: Aníbal Milhais's actions during the Battle of the
Lys made him the only person to be awarded Portugal's highest military
honour, the Order of the Tower and Sword, directly on the battlefield.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Lys_(1918)>
1948:
Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups
attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre>
2003:
Invasion of Iraq: Coalition forces captured Baghdad and the
statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was toppled (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firdos_Square_statue_destruction>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brunt:
1. The full adverse effects of; the chief consequences or negative results
of a thing or event.
2. The major part of, the bulk.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brunt>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently
these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people to
communicate with the people they love: husbands and wives who can't
communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so
on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on, and in real
life, I might add, spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't
communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very least
he can do is to shut up.
--Tom Lehrer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer>
Calostoma cinnabarinum is a species of gasteroid fungus in the family
Sclerodermataceae. Commonly called the stalked puffball-in-aspic or
gelatinous stalked puffball, it is the species most commonly associated
with genus Calostoma. The fruit body has a layer of yellowish jelly
surrounding a spherical bright red head atop a spongy red or yellowish
brown stalk. The innermost layer of the head, called the gleba, contains
clear or slightly yellowish elliptical spores. The spore surface
features a pattern of small pits, producing a net-like appearance. In
eastern North America, Central America, northeastern South America, and
East Asia, it grows on the ground in deciduous forests, where it forms a
symbiotic relationship with oak roots. Despite its appearance and common
name, C. cinnabarinum is not related to some other stalked puffballs,
true puffballs, earthstars, or stinkhorns, though during its complex
taxonomic history it has at various times been confused with each of
those groups. It is typically considered inedible, but is eaten or used
in folk medicine in some areas.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calostoma_cinnabarinum>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1271:
The Knights Hospitaller surrendered the Krak des Chevaliers to
the army of the Mamluk sultan Baibars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers>
1341:
Italian scholar and poet Petrarch took the title poet laureate
at a ceremony in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch>
1864:
American Civil War: A decisive Confederate victory in the
Battle of Mansfield stopped the advance of the Union Army's Red River
Campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mansfield>
1911:
Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered
superconductivity.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity>
2008:
The wind turbines at the Bahrain World Trade Center, the first
building to incorporate turbines into its design, became operational.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain_World_Trade_Center>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mar:
To spoil, to damage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mar>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of these days when the air clears up And the sun comes shining
through We'll all be drinking free bubble up And eating some rainbow
stew.
--Merle Haggard
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard>
Aquaman is a television pilot developed by Smallville creators Al Gough
and Miles Millar for The WB Television Network, based on the DC Comics
character of the same name. Featuring Justin Hartley, Lou Diamond
Phillips, Denise Quiñones, Rick Peters, Amber McDonald and Ving Rhames,
the pilot was written by Gough and Millar and directed by Greg Beeman.
It was inspired by "Aqua", the highest-rated episode of the fifth season
of Smallville. Hartley plays Arthur "A.C." Curry, a young man living in
a beachside community in the Florida Keys who learns about his
superpowers and destiny as the Prince of Atlantis. Much of the filming
took place underwater, and Hartley did the scenes without a tank. The
pilot was expected to debut in the fall schedule of 2006, but following
the merger of The WB and UPN, the resulting CW Network opted not to buy
the series. The pilot received generally favorable reviews. It was made
available online in the United States through iTunes, where it became
the most frequently downloaded television show for over a week. It was
later released through other online markets, and aired on Canadian
television network YTV.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman_(TV_pilot)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1141:
Empress Matilda became the first female ruler of England,
adopting the title 'Lady of the English'.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda>
1724:
Johann Sebastian Bach debuted the St John Passion, a musical
representation of the Passion, at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John_Passion>
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest
North mark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen>
1956:
Spain relinquished its protectorate in Morocco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_protectorate_in_Morocco>
1994:
The Rwandan genocide began, a few hours after the assassination
of President Juvénal Habyarimana; an estimated 500,000–1,000,000
Rwandans were killed in the following 100 days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocide>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cabbeling:
(oceanography) The process by which two masses of water with different
temperatures and salinities mix to form a new water mass with a density
higher than the density of either parent water mass; also, the sinking
of the new water mass as the effect of its increased density.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cabbeling>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
War is to be ranked among the most dreadful calamities which fall
on a guilty world; and, what deserves consideration, it tends to
multiply and perpetuate itself without end. It feeds and grows on the
blood which it sheds. The passions, from which it springs, gain strength
and fury from indulgence.
--William Ellery Channing
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing>
The Rosendale Trestle is a 940-foot (290 m) continuous truss bridge and
former railroad trestle in Rosendale in Ulster County, New York.
Originally constructed by the Wallkill Valley Railroad to continue its
rail line from New Paltz to Kingston, the bridge rises 150 feet (46 m)
above Rondout Creek, spanning both Route 213 and the former Delaware and
Hudson Canal. Construction began in 1870; when it opened to rail traffic
on April 6, 1872, it was the highest span bridge in the United States.
The trestle was rebuilt in 1895 by the King Bridge Company to address
public concerns regarding its stability and sturdiness, and it was
repeatedly reinforced until 1977, when Conrail closed the Wallkill
Valley rail line. The bridge was sold in 1986 for one dollar to a
private businessman who tried unsuccessfully to operate it as a bungee
jumping platform, and a similar attempt was made the following decade.
The trestle was seized by the county in 2009 for tax nonpayment, and
renovated for the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail as a pedestrian walkway
that opened on June 29, 2013.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosendale_Trestle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1320:
The Declaration of Arbroath, a declaration of Scottish
independence, was adopted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Arbroath>
1866:
The Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization
composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American
Civil War, was founded in Decatur, Illinois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic>
1896:
The first modern Olympic Games (official report pictured)
opened in Athens, with 241 athletes from 14 nations participating in 43
events in nine disciplines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics>
1941:
World War II: The Axis Powers began both Operation Marita and
Directive no. 25, invading Greece and Yugoslavia, respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Yugoslavia>
2009:
A 6.3 Mw earthquake struck the region of Abruzzo in central
Italy, killing 308 people and injuring more than 1,500 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
facetious:
1. Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour;
flippant.
2. Pleasantly humorous; jocular.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/facetious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sleep and death of the senses; tears and the death of the heart.
Do you understand the progression? Sleep, though sad, is gentler than
tears which, though painful, are gentler than death. Ecstasy is more
delightful than song, which is gentler than work. Prayer is superior to
dreaming which is more elevated than manual work.
--Gustave Moreau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gustave_Moreau>
Moonraker is the third novel by the British author Ian Fleming to
feature the Secret Service agent James Bond. It was published by
Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1955 with a cover design conceived by Fleming.
The only Bond novel set entirely in Britain, it features Drax, an ex-
Nazi working for the Russians, who plans to build a rocket, arm it with
a nuclear warhead, and fire it at London. Moonraker, like Fleming's
previous novels, was well received by critics. It plays on fears common
in the 1950s, including rocket attacks (following the V2 strikes of the
Second World War), Soviet communism, the re-emergence of Nazism and the
"threat from within" posed by both ideologies. Fleming examines
Englishness, and the novel shows the virtues and strength of England.
Adaptations include a broadcast on South African radio in 1956 starring
Bob Holness and a 1958 Daily Express comic strip. The novel's title was
used in 1979 for the eleventh official film in the Eon Productions Bond
series and the fourth to star Roger Moore as Bond; the plot was
significantly changed from the novel to include excursions into space.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonraker_(novel)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1081:
The Komnenian dynasty came to full power when Alexios I
Komnenos was crowned Byzantine Emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_I_Komnenos>
1566:
A covenant of nobles in the Habsburg Netherlands presented
Governor Margaret of Parma a petition to suspend the Spanish Inquisition
in the Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_Nobles>
1847:
Britain's first civic public park, Birkenhead Park in
Birkenhead, Merseyside, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenhead_Park>
1936:
Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hit
Tupelo, Mississippi, killing about 436 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Tupelo%E2%80%93Gainesville_tornado_outbr…>
2009:
The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from
the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking
concerns by other nations that it may have been a trial run of
technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-2>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tonology:
1. (linguistics, uncountable) The study of tone in human languages.
2. (linguistics, countable) The system of rules governing tones in a
particular language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tonology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I would permit no man, no matter what his colour might be, to
narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.
--Booker T. Washington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington>
Jonathan Agnew (born 4 April 1960) is an English cricket broadcaster and
former professional cricketer, nicknamed "Aggers". Agnew had a
successful first-class career as a fast bowler for Leicestershire from
1979 to 1990, returning briefly in 1992. He won three Test caps in the
mid-1980s for England, and played in three One Day Internationals, his
entire international career lasting just under a year. In county
cricket, Agnew's most successful seasons came toward the end of his
career. He was the second and third leading wicket-taker in 1987 and
1988 respectively, achieving 100 wickets in a season in the former.
Overall, he took 666 first-class wickets at an average of 29.25. He was
named one of the five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers'
Almanack in 1988. While still a player, Agnew began a career in cricket
journalism and commentary. Since his retirement as a player, he has
become a leading voice of cricket on radio, as the BBC radio cricket
correspondent and on Test Match Special. In 1991, he was part of an on-
air incident, known as the "leg over", which was blamed for a two-mile
traffic jam caused by drivers laughing; BBC 5 Live listeners voted it
"the greatest sporting commentary ever" in 2005.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Agnew>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1796:
French naturalist Georges Cuvier delivered a lecture at the
National Museum of Natural History on living and fossil remains of
elephants and related species, founding the science of paleontology.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Cuvier>
1873:
The Kennel Club, the oldest kennel club in the world, was
founded in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kennel_Club>
1949:
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO,
an organization that constitutes a system of collective defense whereby
its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by
any external party.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO>
1976:
Norodom Sihanouk abdicated from the role of leader of Cambodia
and was arrested by the Khmer Rouge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk>
2002:
The Angolan government and UNITA rebels signed a peace treaty,
agreeing to follow the 1994 Lusaka Protocol and ending the decades-long
Angolan Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fever pitch:
(idiomatic) Extreme excitement.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fever_pitch>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal.
Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful.
--Andrei Tarkovsky
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrei_Tarkovsky>
Alan McNicoll (1908–1987) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) and a diplomat. He graduated from the Royal Australian Naval
College in 1926. Attached to the Royal Navy in the Second World War, he
was decorated with the George Medal in 1941 for disarming enemy
ordnance. He was posted for staff duties with the Admiralty in September
1943 and helped plan the Normandy landings, then returned to Australia
in October 1944. After serving in a series of naval commands and
chairing the planning committee for the British nuclear tests on the
Montebello Islands, he returned to London to attend the Imperial Defence
College in 1955. He occupied staff positions in London and Canberra
before being posted to the Naval Board as Chief of Personnel in 1960.
This was followed by a term as Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian
Fleet and, in 1965, a promotion to vice admiral and Chief of Navy,
overseeing an extensive modernisation of the Australian fleet. Knighted
the next year, he presided over the RAN contribution to the Vietnam War
before serving as the inaugural Australian Ambassador to Turkey for five
years.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_McNicoll>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1043:
Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England, the last king
of the House of Wessex.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessor>
1895:
The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde began,
eventually resulting in Wilde's arrest, trial and imprisonment on
charges of gross indecency.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde>
1922:
Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin>
1946:
Imperial Japanese Army officer Masaharu Homma was executed for
war crimes relating to the Bataan Death March.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaharu_Homma>
1996:
A US Air Force CT-43 crashed into a mountainside while
attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport in Dubrovnik,
Croatia, killing Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and all the other 34
people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Croatia_USAF_CT-43_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mother:
A stringy, mucilaginous or film- or membrane-like substance (consisting
of acetobacters) which develops in fermenting alcoholic liquids (such as
wine, or cider), and turns the alcohol into acetic acid with the help of
oxygen from the air.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mother>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most important thing is to actually think about what you do.
To become aware and actually think about the effect of what you do on
the environment and on society. That's key, and that underlies
everything else.
--Jane Goodall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall>
Serpins are a superfamily of proteins with similar structures that were
first recognized for their protease inhibition activity and are found in
all kingdoms of life. Their unusual mechanism of action irreversibly
inhibits their target protease by undergoing a large conformational
change to disrupt its active site. This contrasts with the more common
competitive mechanism for protease inhibitors that bind to and block
access to the protease active site. Protease inhibition by serpins
controls an array of biological processes, including coagulation and
inflammation, and consequently these proteins are the target of medical
research. Their conformational-change mechanism confers certain
advantages, but it also has drawbacks: serpins are vulnerable to
mutations that can result in protein misfolding and the formation of
inactive long-chain polymers. Serpin polymerization not only reduces the
amount of active inhibitor, but also leads to accumulation of the
polymers, which can cause cell death and even organ failure.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpin>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1513:
Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León reached Florida,
becoming the first European known to do so, purportedly while searching
for the Fountain of Youth in the New World.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n>
1865:
American Civil War: On the third try, Union Army forces
captured Petersburg, Virginia, although Confederate government officials
and most of the remaining Confederate army were able to escape.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Petersburg>
1911:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the country's
first national census.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_in_Australia>
1982:
Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking
the Falklands War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands>
2006:
Over 60 tornadoes touched down in the central United States,
killing 27 people and causing about US$1.1 billion in damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2,_2006_tornado_outbreak>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
alligator:
(obsolete) One who binds or ties.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alligator>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No theater could sanely flourish until there was an umbilical
connection between what was happening on the stage and what was
happening in the world.
--Kenneth Tynan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Tynan>
Gregor I (1786–1845) was the first Cazique of the Principality of
Poyais in Central America, Inca of New Granada, and founder of the Order
of the Green Cross. Descended from both the ancient Kings of Scotland
and indigenous South American royalty, Gregor served with distinction in
the "Die-Hards" of the British Army's 57th Foot during the Peninsular
War, then rendered honourable service to New Granada, Venezuela and
Florida as a general during their wars of independence from Spain.
Becoming Cazique of Poyais in 1820, he returned to his native Britain to
offer the country's benefits to British investors and settlers, and
arranged transport for about 250 emigrants, mostly his fellow Scots.
Fewer than 50 ever returned from Poyais to Britain. He then attempted to
attract French colonists, but was frustrated when the French government
stopped them from leaving. Gregor died a hero; at his funeral, the
President of Venezuela marched behind his coffin. Many have tried to
emulate the policies he initiated as leader of Poyais, but few have come
close to matching his success.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_MacGregor>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1234:
An Englishman lost the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland, at the
same place where an Australian would win the 1297 Battle of Stirling
Bridge in Scotland many years later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Curragh>
1789:
Frederick Muhlenberg became the first person to qualify under
the United States Constitution's strict mandate of what defines a head
of the household for U.S. government purposes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Represe…>
1976:
Apple Computer was originally founded to sell "do-it-yourself"
kits (example of a completed kit pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_I>
2006:
Several British policing agencies joined together to become
very serious and organised.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_Organised_Crime_Agency>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gamergate:
(entomology) A worker insect that can become capable of reproducing when
the queen has died.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gamergate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
fools.
--Mostly Harmless
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Mostly…>