The history of the penny of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from
1714 to 1901, the period in which the House of Hanover reigned, saw its
transformation from a small silver coin to a larger bronze piece. All
bear the portrait of the monarch on the obverse; copper and bronze
pennies have a depiction of Britannia on the reverse. During most of the
18th century, the penny was a small silver coin rarely seen in
circulation. Beginning in 1787, the chronic shortage of good money
resulted in the wide circulation of private tokens, including ones
valued at one penny. In 1797 Matthew Boulton gained a government
contract and struck millions of pennies. The copper penny continued to
be issued until 1860, when they were replaced by lighter bronze coins;
the "Bun penny", named for the hairstyle of Queen Victoria on it, was
issued from then until 1894. The final years of her reign saw the "Old
head" pennies, coined from 1895 until her death in 1901.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_penny_%281714%E2%80%93…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1311:
The peerage and clergy of the Kingdom of England published the
Ordinances of 1311 to restrict King Edward II's powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinances_of_1311>
1840:
Bashir Shihab II surrendered to the Ottoman Empire and was
removed as Emir of Mount Lebanon after an imperial decree by Sultan
Abdülmecid I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashir_Shihab_II>
1950:
A field-sequential color system developed by Hungarian-American
engineer Peter Goldmark became the first color television system to be
adopted for commercial use, only for it to be abandoned a year later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-sequential_color_system>
1987:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Indian Peace Keeping Force began
Operation Pawan to take control of Jaffna from the Tamil Tigers and
enforce their disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pawan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
main:
1. Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
2. Chief, most important, or principal in extent, size, or strength;
consisting of the largest part.
3. Of force, strength, etc.: full, sheer, undivided.
4. (dialectal) Big; angry.
5. (nautical) Belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a
vessel.
6. (obsolete) Great in size or degree; important, powerful, strong,
vast.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/main>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have been one of those who have carried the fight for complete
freedom of information in the United Nations. And while accepting the
fact that some of our press, our radio commentators, our prominent
citizens and our movies may at times be blamed legitimately for things
they have said and done, still I feel that the fundamental right of
freedom of thought and expression is essential. If you curtail what the
other fellow says and does, you curtail what you yourself may say and
do. In our country we must trust the people to hear and see both the
good and the bad and to choose the good.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt>
The 70th Infantry Division of the British Army fought during the Western
Desert Campaign of the Second World War. On 10 October 1941 the 6th
Infantry Division was re-created as the 70th in an attempt to deceive
Axis intelligence concerning the strength of the British military in the
Middle East. At the Siege of Tobruk, the division relieved the mainly
Australian garrison, which had been defending the port for almost seven
months. Under daily aerial and artillery attacks, the division defended
the port and conducted nightly offensive patrols against German and
Italian positions. Two men from attached units were awarded the Victoria
Cross for their actions there during Operation Crusader. The division
was withdrawn to Egypt for refitting at the end of 1941, then placed in
reserve. It was transferred to India when Japan entered the war, where
it was considered the most experienced and best-trained British
formation available in Asia, until its disbandment in November 1943.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70th_Infantry_Division_%28United_Kingdom%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
English astronomer William Lassell discovered Triton, the
largest moon of the planet Neptune.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_%28moon%29>
1911:
The Xinhai Revolution began with the Wuchang Uprising, marking
the beginning of the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment
of the Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuchang_Uprising>
1943:
World War II: The Kenpeitai, the military police arm of the
Imperial Japanese Army, arrested and tortured 57 civilians and civilian
internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore
Harbour during Operation Jaywick.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Tenth_incident>
1963:
The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits all test
detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground,
came into effect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ferrule:
1. A band or cap (usually metal) placed around a shaft to reinforce it
or to prevent splitting.
2. (specifically, climbing) The metal spike at the end of the shaft of
an ice axe.
3. A band holding parts of an object together.
4. A bushing for securing a pipe joint.
5. A metal sleeve placed inside a gutter at the top.
6. (billiards) The plastic band attaching the tip to the cue.
7. (painting) The pinched metal band which holds the bristles of a
paintbrush to the shaft.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ferrule>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The good die young — but not always. The wicked prevail — but
not consistently. I am confused by life, and I feel safe within the
confines of the theatre. O'Neil's dramas are slapstick farces, Albee's
riddles are simple explanations, Pinter's threatening and threatened
anti-heroes are innocent babes — next to life and the living. I cry
out for order and find it only in art.
--Helen Hayes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Hayes>
Camille Saint-Saëns (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a French
composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. His works
include Danse macabre (1874), the opera Samson and Delilah (1877), the
Third ("Organ") Symphony (1886) and The Carnival of the Animals (1886).
Saint-Saëns was a musical prodigy who made his concert debut at the age
of ten. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire he followed a
conventional career as a church organist, first at Saint-Merri, Paris,
and from 1858 at La Madeleine, the official church of the French Empire.
As a young man, he was enthusiastic for the most modern music of the
day, particularly that of Schumann, Liszt and Wagner. He was a scholar
of musical history, and remained committed to the structures worked out
by earlier French composers. This brought him into conflict in his later
years with composers of the impressionist and dodecaphonic schools of
music, and by the time of his death, he was often regarded as a
reactionary.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Saint-Sa%C3%ABns>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1708:
Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of
Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border in what is now Belarus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lesnaya>
1888:
The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., at the time the
world's tallest building, officially opened to the general public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument>
1914:
World War I: The civilian authorities of Antwerp surrendered,
allowing the German army to capture the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Antwerp_%281914%29>
2016:
Militants attacked a border police post in Myanmar, killing
nine people and triggering a period of intense persecution of the
Rohingya Muslim minority.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Rohingya_persecution_in_Myanmar>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
acute:
1. Brief, quick, short.
2. High or shrill.
3. Intense, sensitive, sharp.
4. Urgent.
5. (botany) With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at
an apex or base).
6. (geometry) Of an angle: less than 90 degrees.
7. (geometry) Of a triangle: having all three interior angles measuring
less than 90 degrees.
8. (linguistics, chiefly historical) Of an accent or tone: generally
higher than others.
9. (medicine) Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in
contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike
the common usage.
10. (medicine) Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic
condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
11. (orthography) After a letter of the alphabet: having an acute
accent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acute>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
History moves in contradictions. The skeleton of historic
existence, the economic structure of society, also develops in
contradictions. Forms eternally follow forms. Everything has only a
passing being. The dynamic force of life creates the new over and over
again — such is the law inherent in reality.
--Nikolai Bukharin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikolai_Bukharin>
Mark Oliphant (8 October 1901 – 14 July 2000) was an Australian
physicist who made the first experimental demonstration of nuclear
fusion. Born and raised in Adelaide, he studied in England under Ernest
Rutherford at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.
There, he used a particle accelerator on deuterons, and discovered
helium-3 and tritium. During the Second World War he headed the group at
the University of Birmingham that created the cavity magnetron, which
made microwave radar possible. He served on the MAUD Committee, which
found that an atomic bomb was feasible, and on the Manhattan Project
with his friend Ernest Lawrence at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory,
developing electromagnetic isotope separation. After the war, he
returned to Australia as the first director of the Research School of
Physical Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University.
He retired from the university in 1967, and served as Governor of South
Australia from 1971 to 1976.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Oliphant>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
World War I: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during
the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, American
Corporal Alvin York led the 7 remaining men on an attack against a
German machine gun nest, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York>
1952:
Three trains collided at Harrow & Wealdstone station in London,
killing 112 people and injuring 340.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_and_Wealdstone_rail_crash>
1962:
The German news magazine Der Spiegel revealed the
unpreparedness of the West German armed forces against the communist
threat from the east, and was accused of treason shortly afterwards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiegel_affair>
1969:
Demonstrations organized by the Weather Underground known as
the Days of Rage began in Chicago.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Rage>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
slivovitz:
1. (countable, uncountable) A type of rakija made mostly in Eastern
European countries from distilled, fermented plum juice.
2. (countable) A serving of this alcoholic drink.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slivovitz>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man is the animal who weeps and laughs – and writes. If the
first Prometheus brought fire from heaven in a fennel-stalk, the last
will take it back – in a book.
--John Cowper Powys
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Cowper_Powys>
Francis Nash (c. 1742 – October 7, 1777) was a brigadier general in
the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As a lawyer
and public official in Hillsborough, North Carolina, he opposed the
Regulator Movement, an uprising of settlers in the North Carolina
Piedmont between 1765 and 1771. He represented Hillsborough in the
General Assembly of colonial North Carolina, and was a delegate to the
colony's first three Patriot provincial congresses. In 1775, he was
named lieutenant colonel of the 1st North Carolina Regiment under
Colonel James Moore. He was made a brigadier general in 1777 upon
Moore's death, and given command of the North Carolina brigade of the
Continental Army under General George Washington. He was wounded at the
Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777, and died several days later.
Nash was one of ten Patriot generals to die from wounds received in
combat between 1775 and 1781. He is honored by several city and county
names, including Nashville, Tennessee.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Nash>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
The French privateer Robert Surcouf led a 150-man crew to
capture the 40-gun, 437-man East Indiaman Kent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Surcouf>
1868:
Cornell University (co-founder Ezra Cornell pictured) in
Ithaca, New York, was inaugurated, with an initial enrollment of 412 men
the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University>
1988:
Near Point Barrow in Alaska, an Iñupiat hunter discovered
three gray whales trapped in pack ice, which resulted in an
international effort to free them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Breakthrough>
2008:
2008 TC3 exploded above the Nubian Desert in Sudan, the first
time that an asteroid impact had been predicted prior to its entry into
the atmosphere as a meteor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_TC3>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disrecommend:
(transitive) To recommend the opposite or negation of.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disrecommend>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do not seek to find hope among your leaders. They are the
repositories of poison. Their interest in you extends only so far as
their ability to control you. For you, they seek duty and obedience, and
they will ply you with the language of stirring faith. They seek
followers, and woe to those who question, or voice challenge.
Civilization after civilization, it is the same. The world falls to
tyranny with a whisper. The frightened are ever keen to bow to a
perceived necessity, in the belief that necessity forces conformity, and
conformity a certain stability. In a world shaped into conformity,
dissidents stand out, are easily branded and dealt with. There is no
multitude of perspectives, no dialogue. The victim assumes the face of
the tyrant, self-righteous and intransigent, and wars breed like vermin.
And people die.
--Steven Erikson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson>
The tree swallow is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found
in the Americas, it was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist
Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. It has since been moved to the
genus Tachycineta, where its phylogenetic placement is in debate. It
has glossy blue-green upperparts, with the exception of the blackish
wings and tail, and white underparts. The bill is black, the eyes are
dark brown, and the legs and feet are pale brown. The tree swallow
breeds in the US and Canada. It winters in the West Indies and from the
southern US coasts to Panama and the northwestern coast of South
America. It nests in isolated pairs or loose groups, in both natural and
artificial cavities. Breeding can start as soon as early May (although
this date is advancing because of climate change), and can end as late
as July. The species is generally socially monogamous, with high levels
of extra-pair paternity. An aerial insectivore, the tree swallow forages
alone and in groups.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_swallow>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1762:
Seven Years' War: The Battle of Manila concluded with a British
victory over Spain, leading to a short British occupation of Manila.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_%281762%29>
1934:
Catalonia's autonomous government declared a general strike, an
armed insurgency, and the establishment of the Catalan State in reaction
to the inclusion of conservatives in the republican regime of Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_State_%281934%29>
1998:
University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was attacked and
fatally wounded for being gay near Laramie, Wyoming, U.S., dying six
days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard>
2010:
Instagram (current logo pictured) released the initial version
of its mobile application for iOS devices.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
virtuous circle:
A situation in which the solution to one problem makes each future
problem easier to solve than the original one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/virtuous_circle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by
individuals on both sides of every new encounter, has been the
unfortunate habit of making assumptions. It often proved fatal.
--David Brin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Brin>
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954
Atlantic hurricane season. The storm was named by the US Weather Bureau
on October 5. In Haiti, 40% of the coffee trees and 50% of the cacao
crop were lost, and at least 400 people were killed. Hazel struck North
Carolina near Calabash on October 15 as a Category 4 hurricane. It
destroyed most of the waterfront dwellings near its point of impact,
including about 80% of those in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Heading
north along the Atlantic coast of the United States, it caused
$281 million in damage and 95 fatalities. Hazel struck Canada as an
extratropical storm, raising the death toll by 81 people. Its effects
were unprecedented in and around Toronto, due to a combination of heavy
rainfall during the preceding weeks, the storm's unexpected retention of
power and a lack of experience in dealing with tropical storms. Rivers
and streams overflowed, causing over C$135 million of damage. The
storm's name was later retired from use for North Atlantic hurricanes.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hazel>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
During construction of the Hennepin Island tunnel in St.
Anthony, Minnesota (now Minneapolis), U.S., the Mississippi River broke
through the tunnel's limestone ceiling, nearly destroying Saint Anthony
Falls.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hennepin_Island_tunnel>
1930:
The British airship R101 crashed in France en route to India on
its maiden overseas flight, killing 48 passengers and crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R101>
1970:
Members of the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped
British diplomat James Cross, sparking the October Crisis in Montreal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis>
1986:
Eugene Hasenfus's plane was shot down by Nicaraguan forces
while carrying weapons to the Contra rebels on behalf of the U.S.
government; he was subsequently captured, leading to an international
controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Hasenfus>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
plesionym:
(linguistics) A word that is almost a synonym but which has a slightly
different meaning.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plesionym>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from
the soil of a clearsighted awareness of the temporality and the
ephemerality of everything human. It is only this awareness that can
breathe any greatness into an action.
--Václav Havel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel>
The Malagasy mountain mouse (Monticolomys koopmani) is a small mouse-
like rodent of the family Nesomyidae. Found in the highlands of eastern
Madagascar (map pictured), it is dark brown on the upperparts and dark
gray below. It has small, rounded, densely haired ears and broad feet
with well-developed pads. The long tail lacks a tuft at the tip. The
skull is delicate and lacks crests and ridges on its roof. First
collected in 1929, the Malagasy mountain mouse was not formally
described until 1996, but it is now known to have a broad distribution.
Active during the night in trees and on the ground, the species occurs
in both montane forest and human-disturbed grasslands, and feeds on
fruits and seeds. Although habitat destruction may pose a threat, it is
classified as a species of least concern. Monticolomys means "mountain-
dwelling mouse", and koopmani honors Karl Koopman for his contributions
to mammalian systematics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_mountain_mouse>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
An ammunition plant in Sayreville, New Jersey, U.S., exploded,
killing around 100 people and destroying more than 300 buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._A._Gillespie_Company_Shell_Loading_Plant_e…>
1957:
Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1 (replica pictured), the first
artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched by an R-7 rocket
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1>
1958:
The current Constitution of France was signed into law,
establishing the French Fifth Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Fifth_Republic>
2010:
The dam holding a waste reservoir in western Hungary collapsed,
freeing one million m3 (1,300,000 yd3) of red mud, which flooded nearby
communities and killed ten people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wasm:
(humorous) A doctrine, ideology, rule, or theory that is no longer
current or fashionable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wasm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment
of its criminals.
--Rutherford B. Hayes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes>
Ray Lindwall was a key member of the Australian cricket team that toured
England in 1948. Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) played as a
right-arm opening fast bowler and right-handed batsman in the lower
middle-order. The Australians, who went undefeated in their 34 matches,
were called The Invincibles. Lindwall and Keith Miller formed
Australia's first-choice fast-bowling duo, regarded as one of the best
of all time, and captain Don Bradman typically used them in short bursts
with the new ball. The pair subdued England's leading batsmen for much
of the summer. Lindwall was a capable batsman who made two Test
centuries during his career, and he featured in several rearguard
actions that boosted Australia's scores during the tour. He was one of
two leading wicket-takers in the Tests (with 27), and had the best
bowling average (19.62) and strike rate. Lindwall was chosen as one of
the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Lindwall_with_the_Australian_cricket_team…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1951:
The First Battle of Maryang-san, widely regarded as one of the
Australian Army's greatest accomplishments during the Korean War, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Maryang-san>
1962:
Mercury-Atlas 8, the fifth United States manned space mission,
was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Atlas_8>
1991:
Nadine Gordimer became the first South African to win the Nobel
Prize in Literature.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadine_Gordimer>
2008:
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, establishing
the Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly referred to as a bailout of
the U.S. financial system, was enacted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
balconic:
(rare) Of or pertaining to balconies.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balconic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Christ himself, who preached the life of love, was yet as lonely
as any man that ever lived. Yet I could not say that he was mistaken
because he preached the life of love and fellowship, and lived and died
in loneliness; nor would I dare assert his way was wrong because a
billion men have since professed his way and never followed it.
--Thomas Wolfe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolfe>
North Cascades National Park is a US national park in the state of
Washington, established October 2, 1968. Covering more than 500,000
acres (200,000 ha), it features the rugged mountain peaks of the North
Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous
United States, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora
biodiversity of any US national park. It is bisected by the Skagit
River, which flows through Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The
region was first settled by Paleo-Indian Native Americans; when white
explorers and fur trappers arrived, Skagit tribes lived there. In the
1920s several dams were built in the Skagit River valley to generate
hydroelectric power. The park has one of the earliest and longest-
lasting research programs dedicated to studying climate change, focusing
on glacial retreat. With almost all of the park protected as wilderness,
there are few structures, roads or other improvements. Heavy snows and a
high risk of avalanches severely limit visitation in the winter.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Cascades_National_Park>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1835:
Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales,
Mexican Texas, encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia in the
Battle of Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales>
1928:
Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei (logo
pictured), a worldwide organization of the Catholic Church.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei>
1941:
World War II: Nazi German forces began Operation Typhoon, an
all-out offensive to begin the three-month-long Battle of Moscow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow>
1990:
A hijacked airliner collided with two other planes while
attempting to land at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China,
resulting in a total of 128 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Guangzhou_Baiyun_airport_collisions>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Chanakya:
(India) A shrewd politician or, in general, a cunning person; a
Machiavelli.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chanakya>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In childhood we live under the brightness of immortality —
heaven is as near and actual as seaside. Behind the complicated details
of the world stand the simplicities: God is good, the grown-up man or
woman knows the answer to every question, there is such a thing as
truth, and justice is as measured and faultless as a clock. Our heroes
are simple: they are brave, they tell the truth, they are good swordsmen
and they are never in the long run really defeated. That is why no later
books satisfy us like those which were read to us in childhood — for
those promised a world of great simplicity of which we knew the rules,
but the later books are complicated and contradictory with experience;
they are formed out of our own disappointing memories…
--Graham Greene
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Graham_Greene>