Æthelstan A is the name given by historians to an unknown scribe who
drafted charters (example pictured) for land grants made by King
Æthelstan of England between 928 and 935. Providing far more
information than other charters of the period, they contain the date and
place of the grants and an unusually long list of witnesses, including
kings of Wales and occasionally Scotland and Strathclyde. The charters
commence shortly after Æthelstan conquered Northumbria in 927, making
him the first king to rule the whole of England. They give him titles
such as "King of the English" and "King of the Whole of Britain",
reflecting his claim to a higher status than previous West Saxon kings.
The charters are written in the elaborate hermeneutic style of Latin, a
hallmark of the English Benedictine Reform; the style became dominant in
Anglo-Latin literature in the mid-tenth century. The scribe stopped
drafting charters after 935, and his successors returned to a simpler
style, suggesting that he was working on his own rather than as a member
of a royal scriptorium.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelstan_A>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Mount Tambora in Indonesia began one of the most violent
volcanic eruptions in recorded history, killing at least 71,000 people,
and affecting worldwide temperatures for the next two years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tambora>
1858:
Big Ben, the bell in the Palace of Westminster's clock tower in
London, was cast after the original bell had cracked during testing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben>
1944:
The Holocaust: Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escaped from
Auschwitz; their report was one of the earliest and most detailed
descriptions of the mass killings in the camp.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Vrba>
1992:
Nagorno-Karabakh War: At least 40 Armenian civilians were
massacred in Maraga, Azerbaijan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraga_massacre>
2009:
Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced that he had
suspended the constitution and assumed all governance in the country
after it was ruled that the government of Prime Minister Frank
Bainimarama was illegal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Fijian_constitutional_crisis>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
caveat:
1. (regarded by some as nonstandard) To qualify a statement with a caveat
or proviso.
2. (law) To lodge a formal notice of interest in land under a Torrens land-
title system.
3. (law, dated) To issue a notice requesting that proceedings be suspended.
4. (obsolete) To warn or caution against some event.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caveat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The true barbarian is he who thinks every thing barbarous but his
own tastes and prejudices.
--William Hazlitt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt>
The Lesser Antillean macaw (Ara guadeloupensis) was a parrot of the
Guadeloupe islands. There are no conserved specimens, but this macaw is
known from several contemporary accounts, and the bird is the subject of
some illustrations. Austin Hobart Clark made a species description based
on these accounts in 1905. A phalanx bone from the island of Marie-
Galante confirmed the existence of a similar-sized macaw predating the
arrival of humans, and was correlated with the Lesser Antillean macaw in
2015. According to contemporary descriptions, the body was red, the
wings were red, blue and yellow, and the solid red tail feathers were
between 38 and 51 cm (15 and 20 in) long; apart from the tail feathers
and its smaller size, this description matches the scarlet macaw. These
accounts also said that it ate fruit (including the poisonous
manchineel), nested in trees and laid two eggs once or twice a year.
Although it was said to be abundant in Guadeloupe, by 1760 it was
becoming rare and was soon eradicated, probably by disease and hunting.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Antillean_macaw>
_______________________________
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" (audio featured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville>
1866:
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, the United States' first federal
law to affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law, was
enacted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1866>
1940:
During the German invasion of Norway, Vidkun Quisling seized
control of the government in a Nazi-backed coup d'état.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling>
1948:
Fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firdos_Square_statue_destruction>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sully:
1. (transitive) To soil or stain; to dirty.
2. (transitive) To corrupt or damage.
3. (intransitive) To become soiled or tarnished.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sully>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Life is like a sewer — what you get out of it depends on what
you put into it." It's always seemed to me that this is precisely the
sort of dynamic, positive thinking that we so desperately need today in
these trying times of crisis and universal brouhaha.
--Tom Lehrer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer>
Withypool Stone Circle is a Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age ring of
thirty small gritstones near the village of Withypool, in Exmoor in the
south-western English county of Somerset. It is one of many stone
circles built across Britain, Ireland and Brittany as part of a
megalithic tradition between 3300 and 900 BCE. Archaeologists speculate
that they may be prehistoric religious sites with supernatural
associations. Although many monuments were built on Exmoor during the
Bronze Age, only one other stone circle survives in this area, at
Porlock. The Withypool ring sits in an area of heathland on the south-
western slope of Withypool Hill. It is about 36.4 metres (119 feet 5
inches) in diameter. There may originally have been around 100 stones;
there are conspicuous gaps on the northern and western sides of the
monument. The site was rediscovered in 1898 and surveyed by the
archaeologist Harold St George Gray in 1905.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withypool_Stone_Circle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
876:
Forces of the Abbasid Caliphate decisively defeated those of the
Saffarid emir Ya'qub ibn Laith, forcing the latter to halt his advance
into Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dayr_al-%27Aqul>
1740:
War of the Austrian Succession: The Royal Navy captured the
Spanish ship of the line Princesa and mustered her into British service.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Princess_(1740)>
1943:
Otto and Elise Hampel were executed in Berlin for their
resistance activities against the Third Reich.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_and_Elise_Hampel>
1968:
BOAC Flight 712 had an engine fire shortly after take-off from
London Heathrow, leading to the deaths of five people on board,
including flight attendant Jane Harrison, who was later awarded a
posthumous George Cross for heroism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Jane_Harrison>
2008:
On board Soyuz TMA-12, Yi So-yeon became the first Korean
person, and second Asian woman, to go into space.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_So-yeon>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enhypostasia:
(Christianity (Christology)) The state of the human nature of Jesus
Christ being entirely dependent on, and not existing independently of,
the divine nature of God as a whole (which is the hypostasis of the Holy
Trinity comprising God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit), or individual persons of the Trinity such as the Father and the
Holy Spirit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enhypostasia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the
throne of the kingdom of idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts.
--J. Michael Straczynski
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski>
Drama dari Krakatau (Drama of Krakatoa) is a 1929 vernacular Malay novel
written by Kwee Tek Hoay, first published as a serial in his magazine
Panorama between 7 April and 22 December 1928. Inspired by Edward
Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 novel The Last Days of Pompeii and the 1883
eruption of Krakatoa, the book centres on two families in 1920s Batam
with siblings who were separated in 1883. The brother becomes a
political figure, while the sister marries a Baduy priest-king who
ultimately sacrifices himself to calm a stirring Krakatoa. Before the
final instalment had been published, the novel had already been adapted
for the stage. Although Kwee was known as a realist and researched the
volcano before writing, Drama dari Krakatau is replete with mysticism.
Thematic analyses have focused on the depiction of indigenous cultures
by Kwee (himself ethnic Chinese), as well as geography and nationalism.
As with other works of Chinese Malay literature, the book is not
considered part of the Indonesian literary canon.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_dari_Krakatau>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
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>
1788:
American pioneers established the town of Marietta (now in
Ohio), the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest
Territory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pioneers_to_the_Northwest_Territory>
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>
1948:
The United Nations established the World Health Organization to
act as a coordinating authority on international public health.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization>
2010:
Thousands rioted in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, resulting in
the collapse of the Kurmanbek Bakiyev government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyz_Revolution_of_2010>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pharmacovigilance:
(medicine, pharmacology) The detection, assessment, understanding and
prevention of adverse effects of medicines.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pharmacovigilance>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We need not war to awaken human energy. There is at least equal
scope for courage and magnanimity in blessing, as in destroying mankind.
The condition of the human race offers inexhaustible objects for
enterprise, and fortitude, and magnanimity.
--William Ellery Channing
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing>
The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season was unusually active, with tropical
cyclone activity both before June and after November for the first time
in 50 years. There were three major hurricanes, and the sixteen named
storms tied for the sixth highest total on record. The strongest
hurricane of the season was Isabel, which reached Category 5 on the
Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale northeast of the Lesser Antilles, and
later struck North Carolina at Category 2, causing damage worth
$3.6 billion and 51 deaths across the Mid-Atlantic United States. In
early September, Hurricane Fabian struck Bermuda as a Category 3
hurricane, the strongest since 1926; it caused four deaths and
$300 million in damage (example pictured) on the island. Hurricane Juan
wreaked considerable destruction on Nova Scotia, particularly Halifax,
as a Category 2 hurricane, the first of significant strength there
since 1893. The minimal hurricanes Claudette and Erika struck Texas and
Mexico, respectively.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1712:
In New York City, a group of 23 slaves set a building on fire
and escaped, but were soon recaptured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Slave_Revolt_of_1712>
1812:
Peninsular War: After a three-week siege, the Anglo-Portuguese
Army, under the Earl of Wellington, captured Badajoz, Spain, and forced
the surrender of the French garrison.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Badajoz_(1812)>
1886:
Vancouver, one of British Columbia's youngest cities, was
incorporated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver>
1945:
Second World War: The Battle of Slater's Knoll on Bougainville
Island concluded with a decisive victory for the Australian Army's 7th
Brigade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Slater%27s_Knoll>
2005:
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was elected by the Iraqi National
Assembly as the first non-Arab President of Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_Talabani>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pornocracy:
1. (Roman Catholicism, historical, sometimes capitalized) The period of the
papacy known as the saeculum obscurum (Latin for “dark age”), and
also as the “Rule of the Harlots”, which began with the installation
of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for sixty years until the death of
Pope John XII in 964, during which time the popes were strongly
influenced by the Theophylacti, a powerful and corrupt aristocratic
family.
2. (derogatory, often figuratively) A government by, or dominated by,
prostitutes or corrupt persons.
3. (derogatory) A societal culture dominated by pornography.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pornocracy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Of the laws of nature on which the condition of man depends, that
which is attended with the greatest number of consequences is the
necessity of labor for obtaining the means of subsistence, as well as
the means of the greatest part of our pleasures. This is no doubt the
primary cause of government; for if nature had produced spontaneously
all the objects which we desire, and in sufficient abundance for the
desires of all, there would have been no source of dispute or of injury
among men, nor would any man have possessed the means of ever acquiring
authority over another. The results are exceedingly different when
nature produces the objects of desire not in sufficient abundance for
all. The source of dispute is then exhaustless, and every man has the
means of acquiring authority over others in proportion to the quantity
of those objects which he is able to possess. In this case the end to be
obtained through government as the means, is to make that distribution
of the scanty materials of happiness which would insure the greatest sum
of it in the members of the community taken altogether, preventing every
individual or combination of individuals from interfering with that
distribution or making any man to have less than his share.
--James Mill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Mill>
"On the Mindless Menace of Violence" was a speech given by United States
Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. He delivered it at
the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel on April 5, 1968, in the wake of riots and
chaos following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., an African-
American civil rights leader. Speechwriters worked early into the
morning on a full response to the assassination. After revising the
draft, Kennedy spoke for only 10 minutes in front of 2,200 people at the
City Club of Cleveland, outlining his views on violence in American
society. He faulted both the rioters and the white establishment who,
from his perspective, were responsible for the deterioration of social
conditions in the United States. He proposed no specific solutions, but
admonished the audience to seek common ground and cooperation.
Journalist Jack Newfield framed the address as a suitable epitaph for
the senator, who was himself assassinated two months later.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Mindless_Menace_of_Violence>
_______________________________
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>
1710:
The Statute of Anne, the first fully fledged law regulating
copyright, received royal assent and went into effect five days later in
Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne>
1936:
Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hit
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S., killing at least 216 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Tupelo%E2%80%93Gainesville_tornado_outbr…>
1986:
The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin,
killing 3 people and injuring 229 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_West_Berlin_discotheque_bombing>
1998:
Japan's Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, linking Awaji Island and Kobe,
opened to traffic, becoming the longest suspension bridge in the world
to date with a main span length of 1,991 metres (6,532 ft).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_Kaiky%C5%8D_Bridge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eucatastrophe:
(literature) A catastrophe (dramatic event leading to plot resolution)
that results in the protagonist's well-being.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eucatastrophe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men may make laws to hinder and fetter the ballot, but men cannot
make laws that will bind or retard the growth of manhood … progress is
the law of nature; under God it shall be our eternal guiding star.
--Booker T. Washington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington>
The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 5
October 2014 at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie. It was the 15th race
of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship, and the 30th Japanese
Grand Prix of the Formula One era. The 44-lap race was won by Mercedes
driver Lewis Hamilton, increasing his lead in the World Drivers'
Championship to ten points over his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who finished
second. Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel came in third. Heavy
rain from Typhoon Phanfone soaked the track surface and reduced
visibility. Jules Bianchi lost control of his Marussia on the 43rd lap
and collided with a tractor crane that was tending to Adrian Sutil's
car, which had spun off on the previous lap. Bianchi sustained severe
head injuries and died nine months later, the first death caused by a
Formula One race since Ayrton Senna's in 1994. Formula One's governing
body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, investigated and
found that the crash had no single cause.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Japanese_Grand_Prix>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
Bryant's Minstrels premiered the popular American song "Dixie"
in New York City as part of their blackface minstrel show.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_(song)>
1968:
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.>
1988:
Governor of Arizona Evan Mecham was removed from office after
being convicted in his impeachment trial.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Mecham>
1990:
The current flag of Hong Kong was adopted for post-colonial use
during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Hong_Kong>
2013:
A building collapsed on tribal land in Mumbra, a suburb of
Thane in Maharashtra, India, causing 74 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Thane_building_collapse>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disemvowel:
(transitive, sometimes humorous) To remove the vowels from, for example,
for the purpose of expurgating offensive words.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disemvowel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our aim is to persuade. We adopt the means of non-violence because
our end is a community at peace with itself. We will try to persuade
with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our
acts. We will always be willing to talk and seek fair compromise, but we
are ready to suffer when necessary and even risk our lives to become
witnesses to the truth as we see it. … But if physical death is the
price that a man must pay to free his children and his white brethren
from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing could be more
redemptive. This is the type of soul force that I am convinced will
triumph over the physical force of the oppressor.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.>
Banksia sphaerocarpa, the fox banksia, is a shrub (occasionally a tree)
in the family Proteaceae. Generally 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) high, this
banksia has narrow green leaves and, from January to July, brownish,
orange or yellow round flower spikes. The species is widely distributed
across the southwest of Western Australia, growing exclusively in sandy
soils. A dominant plant in scrubland or low woodland, it is pollinated
by, and is a food source for, birds, mammals, and insects. First
described in 1810 by botanist Robert Brown, the species has a
complicated taxonomic history, and several taxa once classified as part
of a broadly defined B. sphaerocarpa have since been named as species
in their own right. Most authorities recognise five varieties; the
largest, B. sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla (ironcap banksia), is
sometimes given species rank as B. dolichostyla. According to the
Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia, B. sphaerocarpa is not
threatened. None of the varieties is commonly seen in cultivation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_sphaerocarpa>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1043:
Edward the Confessor (pictured on coin) was crowned King of
England, the last king of the House of Wessex.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessor>
1559:
Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain signed a treaty to
end the Italian War of 1551–1559.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_War_of_1551%E2%80%931559>
1922:
Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin>
1948:
An uprising began on Jeju Island, eventually leading to the
deaths of between 14,000 and 30,000 individuals due to fighting between
its various factions, and the violent suppression of the rebellion by
the South Korean army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeju_uprising>
2008:
Texas law enforcement authorities raided the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' YFZ Ranch, eventually
removing 533 women and children from the premises.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YFZ_Ranch>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chairness:
The essence of what it means to be a chair; the qualities that make a
chair what it is.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chairness>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I think if we study the primates, we notice that a lot of these
things that we value in ourselves, such as human morality, have a
connection with primate behavior. This completely changes the
perspective, if you start thinking that actually we tap into our
biological resources to become moral beings. That gives a completely
different view of ourselves than this nasty selfish-gene type view that
has been promoted for the last 25 years.
--Jane Goodall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall>
The Boat Races 2017 took place on 2 April. Held annually, the Boat Race
is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of
Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the
River Thames in south-west London. For the second time in the history of
the event, the men's, the women's and both reserves' races were all held
on the Tideway on the same day. In the men's reserve race, Cambridge's
Goldie were beaten by Oxford's Isis, and in the women's reserve race,
Cambridge's Blondie defeated Oxford's Osiris. In the women's race,
Cambridge won by a large margin following a disastrous start by the
Oxford boat. This win, their second in ten years, took Cambridge's
advantage in the overall standings to 42–30. The Oxford men's boat won
their race after leading from the start, their fourth victory in five
years, taking the overall record in the event to 82–80 in Cambridge's
favour. The races were watched by around a quarter of a million
spectators live, including, for the first time, on YouTube.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_Races_2017>
_______________________________
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>
1863:
In Richmond, Virginia, U.S., about 5,000 people, mostly poor
women, rioted in protest of the exorbitant price of bread.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_bread_riots>
1973:
The Liberal Movement broke away from the Liberal and Country
League in South Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Movement_(Australia)>
1992:
Bosnian War (Yugoslav Wars): At least 48 civilians were killed
in the town of Bijeljina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijeljina_massacre>
2002:
Operation Defensive Shield: Approximately 200 Palestinian
militants fled the advancing Israel Defense Forces into the Church of
the Nativity in Bethlehem, starting a month-long standoff.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_the_Church_of_the_Nativity_in_Bethle…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
beer o'clock:
(slang, humorous) The time of the first beer (or alcoholic beverage) of
the day.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beer_o%27clock>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I attacked those Western playwrights who use their influence and
affluence to preach to the world the nihilistic doctrine that life is
pointless and irrationally destructive, and that there is nothing we can
do about it. Until everyone is fed, clothed, housed and taught, until
human beings have equal leisure to contemplate the overwhelming fact of
mortality, we should not (I argued) indulge in the luxury of "privileged
despair."
--Kenneth Tynan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Tynan>
RAF Uxbridge (1 April 1918 – 31 March 2010) was a Royal Air Force
station in the London Borough of Hillingdon. In the Second World War, it
was the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF, responsible for the aerial
defence of London and south-east England during the Battle of Britain.
Hillingdon House served as the group's headquarters. What is now called
the Battle of Britain Bunker was built nearby to house the 11 Group
Operations Room, which was also responsible for air support during the
evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 and the D-Day landings in 1944. It was
here that Winston Churchill first said, "Never in the history of mankind
has so much been owed by so many to so few", repeating the sentiment to
Parliament in a speech four days later. When the Uxbridge station closed
in 2010, many of its units moved to nearby RAF Northolt. Much of the
land around the River Pinn has been designated as green belt. All listed
buildings on the property were retained after redevelopment, including
the bunker, which is now a museum.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Uxbridge>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
528:
The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of China's Northern Wei dynasty
underwent gender reassignment and was installed as Emperor for a single
day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_Emperor_Xiaoming_of_Northern_Wei>
1833:
Mexican Texans met at San Felipe de Austin to combat evil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1833>
1918:
The British Armed Forces started to grant personnel the power
to fly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force>
1924:
Adolf Hitler was placed in a cage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Hall_Putsch>
1978:
The President of the Philippines ordered that the Philippine
College of Commerce become a pup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_University_of_the_Philippines>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
percussive maintenance:
(humorous) The use of physical concussion, such as a knock or a tap, in
an attempt to make a malfunctioning device or person work.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/percussive_maintenance>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God
is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not
many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his
presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
--First Epistle to the Corinthians
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/First_Epistle_to_the_Corinthians>