Planet Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published
by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured adventures in space
and on other planets, and was initially focused on a young readership.
Malcolm Reiss was editor or editor-in-chief for all of its 71 issues. It
was launched at the same time as Fiction House's more successful Planet
Comics. Almost every issue's cover emphasized scantily clad damsels in
distress or alien princesses. Planet Stories did not pay well enough to
regularly attract the leading science fiction writers of the day, but
did on occasion manage to obtain work from well-known names including
Isaac Asimov, Clifford Simak, and Philip K. Dick. The two writers most
identified with the magazine are Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury, both
of whom set many of their stories on a romanticized version of Mars that
owed much to the depiction of Barsoom in the works of Edgar Rice
Burroughs. Bradbury contributed an early story in his Martian Chronicles
sequence, and Brackett authored a series of adventures featuring Eric
John Stark.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Stories>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1498:
A tsunami caused by the Nankai earthquake washed away the
building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in
Kamakura, Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dtoku-in>
1792:
The French Army achieved its first major victory in the War of
the First Coalition at the Battle of Valmy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valmy>
1967:
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard publicly announced the story
of Xenu in a taped lecture sent to all Scientologists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu>
1977:
A series of celestial phenomena of unknown nature was observed
in the western Soviet Union, Finland and Denmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrozavodsk_phenomenon>
2011:
The United States ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy,
allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
moonsickle:
(poetic) A thin crescent of the moon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moonsickle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now and then it occurs to one to reflect upon what slender threads
of accident depend the most important circumstances of his life; to look
back and shudder, realizing how close to the edge of nothingness his
being has come.
--Upton Sinclair
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair>
Egyptian temples were built to commemorate the pharaohs and to support
the central functions of their religion: giving offerings to the gods,
reenacting their mythological interactions through festivals, and
warding off the forces of chaos. Rituals, it was believed, invoked the
divine presence, sustained the god, and enabled it to continue to uphold
the divine order of the universe. Temples were important religious sites
for all classes of Egyptians even though most people were forbidden from
entering their most sacred areas. They are among the largest and most
enduring examples of Egyptian architecture, with their elements arranged
and decorated according to complex patterns of religious symbolism. A
large temple could own sizable tracts of land and employ thousands of
laymen to supply its needs. Some temples, such as Abu Simbel, have
become tourist attractions that contribute significantly to the modern
Egyptian economy. Egyptologists continue to study the surviving temples
for their invaluable sources of information about ancient Egyptian
society.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_temple>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
634:
Arab–Byzantine wars: Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid
captured Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Damascus_(634)>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: British troops engaged American
forces at the first Battle of Saratoga in New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Saratoga>
1846:
Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin
Giraud, reported experiencing a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near
La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette (statue
pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_La_Salette>
1970:
Greek student Kostas Georgakis set himself on fire in Genoa,
Italy, as a protest against the Greek military junta of Georgios
Papadopoulos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostas_Georgakis>
1991:
Ötzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about
3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shiver my timbers:
A mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance. It is
stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shiver_my_timbers>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Aren't there any grownups at all?
--William Golding
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Golding>
Morchella rufobrunnea, the blushing morel, is a sac fungus in the family
Morchellaceae. A prized edible species, the fungus was first described
in 1998 by mycologists Gastón Guzmán and Fidel Tapia from collections
made in Veracruz, Mexico. Several DNA studies have suggested that it is
common in the West Coast of the United States, Israel, Australia, and
Cyprus. It grows in disturbed soil or in woodchips used in landscaping,
and occasionally under olive trees (Olea europaea) in the Mediterranean
Basin. Young fruit bodies have conical, grayish caps covered with pale
ridges and dark pits; mature specimens are yellowish to ochraceous-buff,
and grow to a height of 9.0–15.5 cm (3.5–6.1 in). M. rufobrunnea
differs from other Morchella species in its urban or suburban habitat
preferences, the color and form of the fruit body, the lack of a sinus
at the attachment of the cap with the stalk, the length of the pits on
the surface, and a brownish-orange or pinkish bruising reaction. A
process to cultivate morels now known to be M. rufobrunnea was
described and patented in the 1980s.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella_rufobrunnea>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
324:
Constantine the Great decisively defeated Licinius in the Battle
of Chrysopolis, establishing Constantine's sole control over the Roman
Empire, and ending the Tetrarchy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chrysopolis>
1870:
Nathaniel P. Langford of the Washburn–Langford–Doane
Expedition first observed a geyser in Wyoming Territory erupting at
regular intervals and named it "Old Faithful" (video featured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Faithful>
1889:
Hull House, the United States' most influential settlement
house, opened in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull_House>
1918:
World War I: The Central Powers' defeat in the Battle of Dobro
Pole played a role in the Bulgarian withdrawal from the war and opened
the way for the subsequent liberation of Vardar Macedonia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dobro_Pole>
2014:
Scotland voted against independence from the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_independence_referendum,_2014>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
indyref:
(Scotland, informal) The Scottish independence referendum that was held
on 18 September 2014.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/indyref>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every
community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for
themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and
eagerness for the nearest good.
--Samuel Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson>
More than a thousand people developed Grand Theft Auto V, an action-
adventure video game. Rockstar Games released the game on 17 September
2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, on 18 November 2014 for PlayStation
4 and Xbox One, and on 14 April 2015 for Microsoft Windows, as the
fifteenth entry in the Grand Theft Auto series. Development began soon
after Grand Theft Auto IV's release and was led by Rockstar North's core
360-person team, who considered the game a spiritual successor to many
of their previous projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. Its
release date, though subject to several delays, was widely anticipated.
Much of the development time was spent creating the game's open world,
modelled on Southern California and Los Angeles. For the first time in
the series, players control three protagonists throughout the single-
player mode; the team found that these changes altered the gameplay and
narrative devices. The game features an original score, composed over
several years by a team of five music producers. Its re-release added a
first-person view option along with the traditional third-person view.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_Grand_Theft_Auto_V>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1683:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek wrote a letter to the Royal Society
describing "animalcules" – the first known description of protozoa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonie_van_Leeuwenhoek>
1862:
American Civil War: Almost 23,000 total casualties were
suffered at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where
Confederate and Union troops fought to a tactical stalemate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Antietam>
1914:
World War I: The Franco-British and German armies began the
"Race to the Sea", reciprocal attempts to envelop the northern flank of
the opposing army through northern France and Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Sea>
1970:
King Hussein ordered the Jordanian Army to oust Palestinian
fedayeen from Jordan in what became known as Black September.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September>
2011:
Adbusters, a Canadian anti-consumerist publication, organized a
protest against corporate influence on democracy at Zuccotti Park in New
York City that became known as Occupy Wall Street.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
animadvert:
1. (intransitive) To criticise, to censure.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To consider.
3. (intransitive, law, archaic) To turn judicial attention (to); to
criticise or punish.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/animadvert>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is the use of reading the common news of the day, the tragic
deaths and abuses of daily living, when for over half a lifetime we have
known that they must have occurred just as they have occurred given the
conditions that cause them? There is no light in it. It is trivial fill-
gap. We know the plane will crash, the train be derailed. And we know
why. No one cares, no one can care. We get the news and discount it, we
are quite right in doing so. It is trivial. But the haunted news I get
from some obscure patient's eyes is not trivial. It is profound.
--William Carlos Williams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Carlos_Williams>
Gumbo is a stew or soup associated with southern Louisiana since the
18th century. It consists primarily of meat or shellfish, a strongly
flavored stock, a thickener, celery, bell peppers, and onions. The dish
likely derived its name from either the Bantu word for okra (ki ngombo)
or the Choctaw word for filé (kombo). Several varieties exist; Creole
gumbo generally contains shellfish and tomatoes, while Cajun gumbo is
generally based on a dark roux and is spicier, with either shellfish or
fowl. Sausage or ham are often added to gumbos. After the base is
prepared, the vegetables are cooked down, and meat is added. The dish
simmers for a minimum of three hours, with shellfish and some spices
added near the end. It is traditionally served over rice. The dish
combines ingredients and culinary practices of several cultures,
including French, Spanish, German, West African, and Choctaw. It was
first described in 1802, and was listed in various cookbooks in the
latter half of the 19th century. Chef Paul Prudhomme's popularity in the
1980s spurred further interest in gumbo. The dish is the official
cuisine of Louisiana.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumbo>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: American colonists defeated British
troops at the Battle of Harlem Heights in present-day New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Harlem_Heights>
1940:
Second World War: Italy captured the town of Sidi Barrani, but
its invasion of Egypt (Italian tanks pictured) progressed no further.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_Egypt>
1963:
Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (present-day Sabah), and
Sarawak merged to form Malaysia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia>
1990:
Construction of the Northern Xinjiang Railway was completed
between Ürümqi and Alashankou, linking the railway lines of China and
Kazakhstan, and adding a sizable portion to the Eurasian Land Bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Land_Bridge>
2007:
Seventeen Iraqi civilians were shot and killed by Blackwater
Worldwide guards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisour_Square_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hombre:
(chiefly US, in Spanish-speaking contexts, slang) A man, a chap, a guy;
especially a Hispanic or Spanish man.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hombre>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly
intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.
--Laurence J. Peter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Laurence_J._Peter>
Eve is an American television sitcom, created by Meg DeLoatch, that
originally aired on United Paramount Network from September 15, 2003, to
May 11, 2006. It features an ensemble cast with Eve (pictured), Jason
George, Ali Landry, Natalie Desselle-Reid, Brian Hooks, and Sean Maguire
as six friends attempting to navigate relationships with the opposite
sex. Produced by The Greenblatt-Janollari Studio, Mega Diva Inc., and
Warner Bros. Television, the series was developed as a vehicle for Eve
under the working title The Opposite Sex, and was targeted to younger
audiences. After being picked up, the show was renamed Eve to attract
the rapper's fans. The series was set in Miami, but filmed at Sunset
Gower Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Eve suffered from low
viewership in spite of high ratings among young Hispanic women. The
cancellations of this series and other black sitcoms were criticized by
media outlets for reducing representation of African American characters
and the number of roles for African American actors on television.
Critical response to Eve was mixed, but the show and Eve received
several award nominations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_(2003_TV_series)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1530:
According to the Dominican Order, three mysterious women
brought the painting Saint Dominic in Soriano to a friary in Soriano
Calabro, Calabria, Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Dominic_in_Soriano>
1795:
French Revolutionary Wars: Great Britain seized the Dutch Cape
Colony to use its facilities against the French Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Cape_Colony_(1795)>
1830:
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened (train pictured) as
the first locomotive-hauled railway to connect two major cities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_of_the_Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railw…>
1935:
Nazi Germany enacted the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived German
Jews of citizenship, and adopted a new national flag emblazoned with a
swastika.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Germany#Nazi_Germany>
1963:
A bomb planted by members of the Ku Klux Klan exploded in the
16th Street Baptist Church, an African American church in Birmingham,
Alabama, killing four children and injuring at least 22 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
loll:
1. (intransitive) To act lazily or indolently; to recline; to lean; to
throw oneself down; to lie at ease.
2. (transitive) To hang extended from the mouth, like the tongue of an
animal heated from exertion.
3. (intransitive) To let the tongue hang from the mouth in this way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loll>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have always been so sure — too sure... But now I am very
humble and I say like a little child: "I do not know..."
--Agatha Christie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie>
Seven of Claudio Monteverdi's operas are lost, apart from a few
fragments, out of ten the Italian composer wrote in whole or in part
between 1607 and 1643. A few librettos from these early baroque works
have survived. Opera as a genre emerged during Monteverdi's creative
lifetime, and he became a principal exponent of this new form, first at
the Mantuan court and later as director of music at St Mark's Basilica
in Venice. The loss of these works, written during a critical period of
early opera history, has been much regretted by historians and
musicologists, but reflects the habit of the times, when stage music was
thought to have little relevance beyond its initial performance and
often vanished quickly. Contemporary documents, including many letters
written by Monteverdi, have provided most of the available information
on the lost works, and have established that four of them were completed
and performed in the composer's lifetime. Of the little music that has
survived, the lamento from L'Arianna (1608) is frequently performed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_operas_by_Claudio_Monteverdi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
919:
A coalition of native Irish, led by Niall Glúndub, failed in
their attempt to drive the Vikings of the Uí Ímair from Ireland
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Islandbridge>
1752:
In adopting the Gregorian calendar under the terms of the
Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire skipped eleven days:
(September 2 was followed directly by September 14).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_(New_Style)_Act_1750>
1927:
In a freak automobile accident, dancer Isadora Duncan was
strangled to death in Nice, France, by her scarf after it was caught on
the wheel of a car in which she was a passenger.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan>
1954:
In a top secret nuclear test, a Soviet Tu-4 bomber dropped a
40-kiloton atomic weapon just north of Totskoye village, exposing some
45,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians to nuclear fallout.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totskoye_nuclear_exercise>
2007:
Late-2000s financial crisis: The Northern Rock bank received a
liquidity support facility from the Bank of England, sparking a bank
run—the United Kingdom's first in 150 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Rock>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
middling:
1. Of intermediate or average size, position, or quality; mediocre.
2. (colloquial, regional Britain) In fairly good health.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/middling>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats
nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate,
to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong."
--Sydney J. Harris
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_J._Harris>
Si Ronda is a 1930 silent film from the Dutch East Indies, directed by
Lie Tek Swie and starring Bachtiar Effendi (pictured). It was adapted
from a lenong (a Betawi oral tradition similar to a stage play) that was
popular with ethnic Chinese and native audiences of the time.
Adaptations of the genre, manifested as bandit films, appeared in
domestic cinema following the release of Si Tjonat by Batavia Motion
Picture in 1929. The Ronda stories follow the Betawi bandit of the same
name, who is skilled at silat (traditional martial arts) and reputed to
take from the rich to give to the poor. The Indonesian film scholar
Misbach Yusa Biran suggests that Ronda was selected for adaptation
because of its action sequences. In the domestic cinema, such sequences
had generally been inspired by American works and been well received by
audiences. The production, now thought lost, was one of a series of
martial arts films released between 1929 and 1931. Si Ronda received
little coverage in the media upon its release. A second adaptation of
the tale, Si Ronda Macan Betawi, was made in 1978.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Ronda>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
After three years of exile, John Calvin returned to Geneva to
reform the church under a body of doctrine that came to be known as
Calvinism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism>
1899:
An expedition led by Halford Mackinder made the first ascent of
Mount Kenya, the second-highest mountain in Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kenya>
1933:
Elizabeth McCombs became the first woman elected to the
Parliament of New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_McCombs>
1971:
Following a failed coup attempt, Mao Zedong's second-in-command
Lin Biao died in a plane crash while attempting to flee the People's
Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Biao>
2007:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out the individual and
collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to
culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other
issues.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_on_the_Rights_of_Indigenous_Peopl…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
contemporaneous:
Existing or created in the same period of time.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contemporaneous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"The matter with human beans," the BFG went on, "is that they is
absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually
seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles."
--Roald Dahl
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl>
Steve Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African
Xhosa anti-apartheid activist. Fighting racial segregation and white-
minority rule in South Africa, Biko was at the forefront of the
grassroots Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s.
Frustrated by the domination of white liberals in the anti-apartheid
movement, he became a leading figure in the creation of the South
African Students' Organisation in 1968. An African nationalist and
African socialist, he was influenced by Frantz Fanon and the African-
American Black Power movement. He promoted its slogan "black is
beautiful", believing that black people needed to rid themselves of any
sense of racial inferiority. In 1972, he helped found the Black People's
Convention to spread these ideas among the wider population. Though the
government banned Biko in 1973, he remained politically active. He was
arrested in August 1977 and severely beaten by State security officers,
resulting in his death. One of the earliest icons of the movement
against apartheid, Biko is regarded as a political martyr.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Biko>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
490 BC:
Greco-Persian Wars: Athenians and their Plataean allies
turned back the first Persian invasion of Greece in the Battle of
Marathon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon>
1848:
Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new
constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland>
1910:
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral
works in the classical concert repertoire, was first performed in
Munich.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._8_(Mahler)>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the Battle of
Edson's Ridge in an effort to retake Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Edson%27s_Ridge>
1992:
Aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, American Mae Jemison became the
first black woman in space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Jemison>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
overstuffed:
Filled beyond capacity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overstuffed>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they
want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
--H. L. Mencken
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken>
Benedict Arnold led an expedition early in the American Revolutionary
War from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the wilderness of what is now
Maine to the gates of Quebec City, setting out on September 11, 1775.
Colonel Arnold's force of 1,100 Continental Army troops was part of a
two-pronged invasion of the British Province of Quebec, along with
Richard Montgomery's expedition pushing north from Lake Champlain. By
the time Arnold reached the French settlements above the Saint Lawrence
River in November, his force was reduced to 600 starving men. They had
traveled about 350 miles (560 km) through poorly charted wilderness,
twice the distance they had expected to cover. Assisted by the local
French-speaking Canadiens, Arnold's troops crossed the Saint Lawrence on
November 13 and 14 and attempted to put Quebec City under siege. Failing
in this, they withdrew until Montgomery arrived to lead an unsuccessful
attack on the city. Arnold received a promotion to brigadier general.
His route through northern Maine has been listed on the National
Register of Historic Places as the Arnold Trail to Quebec.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold%27s_expedition_to_Quebec>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1226:
The Catholic practice of Eucharistic adoration among lay people
formally began in Avignon, France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharistic_adoration>
1649:
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland: Oliver Cromwell's New Model
Army ended the Siege of Drogheda, took over the town and massacred its
garrison.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Drogheda>
1924:
French composer Gabriel Fauré finished his last piece, a
string quartet, before dying two months later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Faur%C3%A9>
1992:
The eye of Hurricane Iniki, the most powerful hurricane to
strike the state of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history,
passed directly over the island of Kauai, killing six people and causing
around US$1.8 billion dollars in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Iniki>
2001:
Al-Qaeda used four hijacked passenger airliners to carry out a
series of suicide attacks against targets in New York City and the
Washington, D.C., area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
detritivore:
(ecology) An organism that feeds on detritus; a saprophage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/detritivore>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm amazed that there is such misunderstanding of what our country
is about, that people would hate us. I am like most Americans. I just
can't believe it, because I know how good we are, and we've got to do a
better job of making our case. We've got to do a better job of
explaining to the people in the Middle East, for example, that we don't
fight a war against Islam or Muslims. We don't hold any religion
accountable. We're fighting evil. And these murderers have hijacked a
great religion in order to justify their evil deeds. And we cannot let
it stand.
--George W. Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush>