The Kragujevac massacre (21 October 1941) was the mass murder of almost
2,800 men and boys in the city of Kragujevac in the German-occupied
territory of Serbia by German soldiers during World War II. Coming in
reprisal for insurgent attacks that killed 10 German soldiers in the
Gornji Milanovac district, it followed a punitive German operation in
which 492 males were shot and four villages were burned down. The
victims included Serbs, Jews, Romani people, Muslims, Macedonians, and
Slovenes. The massacre exacerbated tensions between the two guerrilla
movements, the communist-led Partisans and the royalist, Serbian
nationalist Chetniks, and convinced Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović
that further attacks against the Germans would only result in more Serb
civilian deaths. Several senior German military officials were tried and
convicted during and after the Nuremberg Trials for their involvement in
the reprisal shootings. The massacre has been the subject of several
poems and feature films. Commemorated annually in Serbia, it is
memorialised at the October in Kragujevac Memorial Park and its
21st October Museum.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kragujevac_massacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1520:
The islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon were visited by
Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes near Canada, who named them
"Islands of the 11,000 Virgins".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon>
1805:
Napoleonic Wars: Lord Nelson signalled "England expects that
every man will do his duty" to the rest of his Royal Navy forces before
the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain's Cape Trafalgar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_expects_that_every_man_will_do_his_du…>
1867:
The first of the Medicine Lodge Treaties was signed between the
United States and several Native American tribes in the Great Plains,
requiring them to relocate to areas in present-day western Oklahoma.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Lodge_Treaty>
1966:
A coal tip fell on the village of Aberfan, Wales, killing 144
people, mostly schoolchildren.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster>
1994:
North Korea and the United States signed the Agreed Framework
to limit North Korea's nuclear weapons program and to normalize
relations between the two.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Framework>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
backstretch:
1. (athletics, horse racing) Synonym of back straight (“straight part of
a racetrack, running track, etc., opposite the finishing line”).
2. (horse racing) An area next to a racetrack used to stable the racehorses
and house employees.
3. (figuratively) The middle part of an event.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/backstretch>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The poet, described in ideal perfection, brings the whole soul of
man into activity, with the subordination of its faculties to each other
according to their relative worth and dignity. He diffuses a tone and
spirit of unity, that blends, and (as it were) fuses, each into each, by
that synthetic and magical power, to which I would exclusively
appropriate the name of Imagination.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Taylor_Coleridge>
Boogeyman 2 is a 2007 supernatural horror film edited and directed by
Jeff Betancourt and written by Brian Sieve. It stars Danielle Savre as
Laura Porter, a young woman who as a child witnessed the murder of her
parents by an unknown assailant. Believing the killer to have been the
Boogeyman, she participates in group therapy to overcome her phobia.
After the creature becomes a reality, her fellow patients are murdered
one by one, with their fears being used against them. Following the
financial success of the previous film, production began in October
2006, with filming taking place at the former Linda Vista Community
Hospital in Los Angeles. After a sold-out screening at the Screamfest
Horror Film Festival in October 2007, the film was released direct-to-
video in January 2008. Critics described the plot and characters as
unoriginal and boring but praised the death sequences and a more
realistic approach to the Boogeyman, setting the film apart from
contemporary creature features. Although Boogeyman 2 earned only around
$4.3 million on a budget of $4.5 million, it was followed by Boogeyman
3, released in October 2008.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogeyman_2>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1740:
Under the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, Maria
Theresa assumed the throne of the Habsburg Monarchy in Austria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa>
1939:
Pope Pius XII published his first major encyclical, Summi
Pontificatus, which was seen as setting a tone for his papacy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summi_Pontificatus>
1967:
Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin filmed an unidentified
subject at Six Rivers National Forest in California who they claimed was
a Bigfoot.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson%E2%80%93Gimlin_film>
1982:
During a UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC
Haarlem, a large number of attendees tried to leave the Grand Sports
Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium at the same time, resulting in a
stampede that caused 66 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzhniki_disaster>
1991:
The Uttarkashi earthquake struck the Indian state of
Uttarakhand, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of
homes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Uttarkashi_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sassy:
1. Bold and spirited, cheeky, impudent, saucy.
2. Somewhat sexy and provocative.
3. Lively, vigorous.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sassy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm watching the water Watching the coast Suddenly I know What I
want the most And I want to tell you Still I hold back I need some time
Get my life on track. I know that look on your face But there's
somethin' lucky about this place And there's somethin' good comin' For
you and me Somethin' good comin' There has to be.
--Tom Petty
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Petty>
Henry III (1207–1272) was King of England from 1216 until his death.
The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the
throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. He
was known for his piety, holding lavish religious ceremonies, giving
generously to charities, and adopting Edward the Confessor as his patron
saint. In 1230 he attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that
had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle, and a
revolt broke out in 1232. He invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the
disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. In 1258 a coalition of his barons
seized power in a coup. Henry and the baronial government enacted a
peace treaty with King Louis IX of France in 1259, under which Henry
gave up his other lands in France in return for recognition as the
rightful ruler of Gascony. In 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon
de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons' War. At the
Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry was taken prisoner. His eldest son,
Edward, defeated de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year
and freed his father.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_III_of_England>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1781:
American Revolutionary War: British forces led by Lord
Cornwallis officially surrendered to Franco-American forces under George
Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau, ending the Siege of Yorktown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown>
1914:
First World War: Allied forces engaged German troops in the
First Battle of Ypres.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Ypres>
1944:
The Guatemalan Revolution began when a small group of army
officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launched a
coup against the dictator Jorge Ubico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Revolution>
1987:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6% on Black Monday,
the largest one-day percentage decline in Dow Jones history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)>
2005:
Hurricane Wilma became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on
record with a minimum atmospheric pressure of 882 mbar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Wilma>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
discophilia:
The love of recorded music.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/discophilia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The same people who can deny others everything are famous for
refusing themselves nothing.
--Leigh Hunt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leigh_Hunt>
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet
or a high mountain glacier. Cores are drilled with hand augers (for
shallow holes) or powered drills; they can reach depths of over two
miles, and contain ice up to 800,000 years old. The physical properties
of the ice and of material trapped in it can be used to reconstruct the
climate over the age range of the core. The ratio of oxygen and hydrogen
isotopes provides information about ancient temperatures, and the air
trapped in tiny bubbles can indicate the level of atmospheric gases such
as carbon dioxide. Greenland ice cores contain layers of wind-blown dust
that correlate with cold, dry periods in the past. Radioactive elements,
either of natural origin or created by nuclear testing, can be used to
date the layers of ice. Some volcanic events that were sufficiently
powerful to send material around the globe have left a signature in many
different cores that can be used to synchronize their time scales.
Climate models can be constructed by piecing together all the available
data.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_core>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1081:
Byzantine–Norman wars: Robert Guiscard led an invasion of the
Byzantine Empire, capturing Dyrrhachium in present-day Albania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dyrrhachium_(1081)>
1561:
Sengoku period: The fourth battle of Kawanakajima, one of the
most famous in Japanese history, was fought in present-day Nagano
Prefecture.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Kawanakajima>
1851:
Moby-Dick, a novel by American writer Herman Melville, was
first published as The Whale in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick>
1929:
In the Persons Case, the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council decided that women were eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_v_Canada_(AG)>
1967:
The Soviet space probe Venera 4 (replica pictured) became the
first spacecraft to perform direct in situ analysis of the environment
of another planet (Venus).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_4>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
henotheism:
Belief in or worship of one deity without denying the existence of other
deities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/henotheism>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A country, after all, is not something you build as the pharaohs
built the pyramids, and then leave standing there to defy eternity. A
country is something that is built every day out of certain basic shared
values.
--Pierre Trudeau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau>
The Roland TR-808 is a drum machine introduced by the Roland Corporation
in 1980. Discontinued in 1983, it remains in use around the world.
Launched at a time when electronic music had yet to become mainstream,
the 808 was a commercial failure, but attracted a cult following for its
affordability, ease of use, and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its
deep, booming bass drum. It became a cornerstone of the emerging
electronic, dance, and hip hop genres, popularized by early hits such as
Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" (1982) and Afrika Bambaataa and the
Soulsonic Force's "Planet Rock" (1982). The 808 is completely analog,
meaning its sounds are generated by hardware rather than prerecorded.
Only around 12,000 units were built, but the 808 was eventually used on
more hit records than any other drum machine. Its popularity with hip
hop artists in particular has made it one of the most influential
inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster and
its influence on rock.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TR-808>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1346:
King David II of Scotland, under the terms of the Auld Alliance
with France, led an invasion of England during the Hundred Years' War,
but was captured in the Battle of Neville's Cross.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Neville%27s_Cross>
1660:
A series of executions concluded, where of the 59 commissioners
who signed the death warrant for Charles I of England, nine were hanged,
drawn and quartered for treason.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regicides_of_Charles_I>
1931:
American gangster Al Capone was convicted on five counts of
income tax evasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone>
1964:
Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opened the
artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Burley_Griffin>
2000:
A rail accident at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK, caused the
collapse of Railtrack and the introduction of widespread speed limit
reductions throughout the rail network.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railtrack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
broadcast:
1. (transitive) To transmit a message or signal through radio waves or
electronic means.
2. (transitive) To transmit a message over a wide area; specifically, to
send an email in a single transmission to a (typically large) number of
people.
3. (intransitive) To appear as a performer, presenter, or speaker in a
broadcast programme.
4. (transitive, agriculture, horticulture, archaic) To sow seeds over a
wide area.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/broadcast>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Crucible became by far my most frequently produced play, both
abroad and at home. Its meaning is somewhat different in different
places and moments. I can almost tell what the political situation in a
country is when the play is suddenly a hit there — it is either a
warning of tyranny on the way or a reminder of tyranny just past.
--Arthur Miller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Miller>
The long-tailed ground roller is a bird species found in arid spiny
forests near the coast of southwestern Madagascar. Requiring shade and a
deep layer of leaves on the ground, it has low population densities
throughout its habitat. This species of ground roller relies primarily
on its strong legs, as its wings are relatively weak. It is a medium-
sized bird with a plump silhouette, dark brown upperparts with black
streaks, light gray underparts, a white throat framed by black malar
stripes, a black breastband, and sky-blue feathers at the edge of its
wings and long tail. Calls are rarely made outside of the breeding
season. It feeds primarily on invertebrates, including ants, beetles,
butterflies, and worms, which it finds by searching through deep leaf
litter or by remaining still and watching attentively. It is classified
as a vulnerable species; the forests where it lives are not protected,
and it is losing habitat to slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal
collection, and logging.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_ground_roller>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
955:
The forces of Otto the Great defeated the Obotrite federation in
the Battle on the Raxa, marking the high point of Otto's reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_on_the_Raxa>
1869:
Girton College, one of the 31 constituent colleges of the
University of Cambridge and England's first residential college for
women, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girton_College,_Cambridge>
1940:
World War II: Nazi Governor-General Hans Frank established the
Warsaw Ghetto, the largest Jewish ghetto in occupied Poland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto>
1964:
With the success of the 596 nuclear weapons testing, China
became the world's fifth nuclear power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/596_(nuclear_test)>
2013:
In Laos's deadliest air accident, Lao Airlines Flight 301
crashed into the Mekong River, resulting in the deaths of all 49 people
aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_Airlines_Flight_301>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
armshouse:
(MLE) Bloodshed, violence.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/armshouse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression.
In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly
unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of
change in the air — however slight — lest we become unwitting
victims of the darkness.
--William O. Douglas
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_O._Douglas>
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a first-person shooter video game
set in the Halo universe. An enhanced remake of Halo: Combat Evolved,
the game was released on November 15, 2011—the 10th anniversary of the
original title's launch—for Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console, and re-
released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One
in 2014. It was developed by 343 Industries, Saber Interactive, and
Certain Affinity. Anniversary's enhancements include a high-definition
visual overhaul, support for cooperative and multiplayer gameplay via
the Xbox Live online service, new and remastered sound effects and
music, and extras such as achievements and hidden in-game collectibles.
The game is the first in the series to include Kinect support. Critical
reception to Anniversary was generally positive, with praise for the
updated graphics and ability to toggle between the remastered and
original visuals. Complaints included technical glitches, faults with
the original game's level design, and the multiplayer mode's
implementation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Combat_Evolved_Anniversary>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1529:
The Siege of Vienna ended as the Austrians repelled the
invading Turks, turning the tide against almost a century of conquest in
Europe by the Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Vienna>
1888:
George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance
Committee in London, received a letter allegedly from Jack the Ripper.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Hell_letter>
1917:
Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari was executed by a firing squad
for spying for Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari>
1997:
In Nevada's Black Rock Desert, Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green
set the first supersonic land speed record in the jet-propelled car
ThrustSSC.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThrustSSC>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chasma:
1. (astronomy, geology) A long, narrow, steep-sided depression on a planet
(often other than Earth), a moon, or another body in the Solar System.
2. (astronomy, obsolete, rare) An aurora.
3. Obsolete form of chasm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chasma>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing
between the disastrous and the unpalatable.
--John Kenneth Galbraith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith>
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-
French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under
the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, about 7 miles (11 kilometres)
northwest of Hastings. The death of the childless King Edward the
Confessor in January of that year led to a bloody struggle for the
throne. After Harold defeated his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian
King Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September,
William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey.
Harold marched swiftly to meet him, gathering forces as he went. The
English army, with perhaps 10,000 infantry, met an invading force of
perhaps 3,500 infantry and 3,500 cavalry and archers. After failing to
break the English battle lines, the Normans pretended to flee in panic,
then turned on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably near the end of
the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army and to the
Norman conquest of England. William was crowned as king on Christmas Day
1066.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1758:
Third Silesian War: At the Battle of Hochkirch, an Austrian
army under Leopold Joseph von Daun surprised the Prussians commanded by
Frederick the Great, overwhelming them and forcing a general retreat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hochkirch>
1805:
War of the Third Coalition: French forces under Marshal Michel
Ney defeated Austrian forces in Elchingen, present-day Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elchingen>
1913:
The worst mining accident in the United Kingdom's history took
place when an explosion resulted in 440 deaths (rescue team pictured) at
the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, Wales.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senghenydd_colliery_disaster>
1979:
At least 75,000 people attended the National March on
Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington, D.C., to demand
equal civil rights for LGBT people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_March_on_Washington_for_Lesbian_and_…>
2012:
Felix Baumgartner jumped from a helium balloon in the
stratosphere to become the first person to break the sound barrier
without vehicular power.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Baumgartner>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
scruple:
1. (obsolete) A weight of twenty grains or one third of a dram, in England
about 1.3 grams (symbol: ℈).
2. (obsolete) Hence, a very small quantity; a particle.
3. (obsolete) A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact;
intellectual perplexity.
4. Hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or
expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of
conscience.
5. A Hebrew unit of time equal to 1⁄1080 hour.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scruple>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
--Dwight D. Eisenhower
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower>
Ben Paschal (October 13, 1895 – November 10, 1974) was an American
Major League Baseball player for eight seasons between 1915 and 1929. He
spent most of his career as the fourth outfielder and right-handed pinch
hitter of the Murderers' Row championship teams of the New York Yankees
in the late 1920s. He is best known for hitting .360 in the 1925 season
while standing in for Babe Ruth, who missed the first 40 games with a
stomach ailment. Paschal was described as a five-tool player, excelling
at running, throwing, fielding, hitting percentage and power hitting.
His playing time with the Yankees was limited because they already had
future Baseball Hall of Famers Ruth and Earle Combs, along with Bob
Meusel, in the outfield. Paschal was considered one of the best bench
players in baseball during his time with the Yankees, and sportswriters
agreed that he would have started for most other teams in the American
League. He was one of the best pinch hitters in the game at a time when
the term was still relatively new to baseball.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Paschal>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1307:
Agents of King Philip IV of France launched a dawn raid,
arresting many members of the Knights Templar, and subsequently
torturing them into "admitting" heresy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar>
1885:
The Georgia Institute of Technology was established in Atlanta
as part of Reconstruction plans to build an industrial economy in the
Southern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology>
1917:
At least 30,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima,
Portugal, witnessed the "Miracle of the Sun".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun>
1979:
Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" topped the
Billboard Hot 100.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Stop_%27Til_You_Get_Enough>
2013:
During the Hindu festival of Navratri at a temple in the Indian
state of Madhya Pradesh, rumours about an impending bridge collapse
caused a stampede that resulted in 115 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Madhya_Pradesh_stampede>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
knock one over with a feather:
(idiomatic, informal) Used to express that one is greatly surprised.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knock_one_over_with_a_feather>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In any given society the Remnant are always so largely an unknown
quantity. You do not know, and will never know, more than two things
about them. You can be sure of those — dead sure, as our phrase is —
but you will never be able to make even a respectable guess at anything
else. You do not know, and will never know, who the Remnant are, nor
what they are doing or will do. Two things you do know, and no more:
First, that they exist; second, that they will find you. Except for
these two certainties, working for the Remnant means working in
impenetrable darkness; and this, I should say, is just the condition
calculated most effectively to pique the interest of any prophet who is
properly gifted with the imagination, insight and intellectual curiosity
necessary to a successful pursuit of his trade.
--Albert Jay Nock
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Jay_Nock>
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the
Solar System, after Jupiter. Named after the Roman god of agriculture,
it is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth.
Although it has only one-eighth the average density of Earth, it is over
95 times more massive. The planet probably has a core of iron–nickel
and rock, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an
intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and a gaseous
outer layer. Ammonia crystals give the upper atmosphere a pale yellow
hue. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to
give rise to the planetary magnetic field. Wind speeds can reach
1,800 km/h (500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter, but not as high as on
Neptune. A prominent ring system with nine continuous main rings and
three smaller arcs is composed mostly of ice particles, with some rocky
debris and dust. Saturn has hundreds of moonlets and at least 62 moons,
including Titan, the second-largest moon in the Solar System and the
only one with a substantial atmosphere.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1398:
The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand
Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen signed the Treaty of
Salynas, the third attempt to cede Samogitia to the Knights.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Salynas>
1798:
The Peasants' War began in Overmere, Southern Netherlands, with
peasants taking up arms against the French occupiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_War_(1798)>
1917:
First World War: New Zealand troops suffered more than 2,000
casualties, including more than 800 deaths, in the First Battle of
Passchendaele, making it the nation's largest loss of life in one day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Passchendaele>
1960:
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reportedly pounded his shoe on
a desk during the Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly
in response to Filipino delegate Lorenzo Sumulong's assertion of Soviet
colonial policy being conducted in Eastern Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-banging_incident>
1992:
A 5.8 MB earthquake struck south of Cairo, Egypt, killing 545
people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Cairo_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ratiocination:
1. Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of
reasoning.
2. Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational.
3. A proposition arrived at by such thought.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ratiocination>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Modern morality and manners suppress all natural instincts, keep
people ignorant of the facts of nature and make them fighting drunk on
bogey tales. … Knowing nothing and fearing everything, they rant and
rave and riot like so many maniacs. The subject does not matter. Any
idea which gives them an excuse of getting excited will serve. They look
for a victim to chivy, and howl him down, and finally lynch him in a
sheer storm of sexual frenzy which they honestly imagine to be moral
indignation, patriotic passion or some equally avowable emotion.
--Aleister Crowley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley>