Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) was an astronaut and aeronautical engineer
who was the first person to walk on the Moon. He was a United States
Naval Aviator who served in the Korean War and later worked as a
civilian test pilot for experimental aircraft. Armstrong joined the NASA
Astronaut Corps in the second group, selected in 1962; he made his first
spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's
first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot
David Scott, he completed the first docking of two spacecraft. In July
1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin performed
the first crewed Moon landing, while Michael Collins remained in lunar
orbit in the command module. Stepping onto the lunar surface, Armstrong
said: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
He was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Congressional Gold Medal.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
905:
Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, was captured during his attempt
to restore Carolingian power over Italy by King Berengar I and blinded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_the_Blind>
1925:
American high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found
guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in
class.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial>
1969:
During the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the
Lunar Module Eagle and photographed human boot-prints on the Moon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin>
1973:
Mossad agents killed a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway,
mistakenly believing he had been involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics
massacre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillehammer_affair>
2012:
Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç became the first person in
history to complete a solo human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erden_Eru%C3%A7>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
aventurine:
1. A kind of brownish glass containing gold-coloured spangles.
2. (mineralogy, by extension) A variety of translucent quartz, spangled
throughout with scales of yellow mica.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aventurine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Electro-magnetic discoveries have recreated the simultaneous
"field" in all human affairs so that the human family now exists under
conditions of a "global village." We live in a single constricted space
resonant with tribal drums. … The new electronic interdependence
recreates the world in the image of a global village.
--Marshall McLuhan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan>
The Siege of Berwick lasted four months in 1333, and resulted in the
Scottish-held town of Berwick-upon-Tweed being captured by an English
army commanded by King Edward III (r. 1327–1377). The year before,
Edward Balliol had seized the Scottish Crown, surreptitiously supported
by Edward III. After Balliol was expelled from the kingdom by a popular
uprising, Edward III invaded Scotland. An advance force laid siege to
the strategically important border town of Berwick in March; Edward III
and the main English army joined it in May and pressed the attack. A
large Scottish army advanced to relieve the town. After unsuccessfully
manoeuvring for position and knowing that Berwick was on the verge of
surrender, the Scots felt compelled to attack the English at Halidon
Hill. They suffered a crushing defeat and Berwick surrendered the next
day, 20 July. Balliol was reinstalled as King of Scotland after ceding a
large part of his territory to Edward III and agreeing to do homage for
the balance.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Berwick_%281333%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1976:
The Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to successfully
land on Mars and perform its mission (documentary clip shown).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_1>
1982:
Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two
bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing 11 people, 7
horses, and wounding over 50 other people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park_and_Regent%27s_Park_bombings>
1999:
The Chinese government began a persecution campaign against
Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong>
2012:
A gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado,
killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora,_Colorado_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lunar:
1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling the Moon (that is, Luna, the Earth's
moon); Lunar.
2. Shaped like a crescent moon; lunate.
3. (chiefly historical) (Believed to be) influenced by the Moon or the
moon of another planet, as in character, growth, or properties.
4. (alchemy, chemistry, historical) Of or pertaining to silver (which
was symbolically associated with the Moon by alchemists).
5. (astronomy) Of or pertaining to travel through space between the
Earth and the Moon, or exploration and scientific investigation of the
Moon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lunar>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON
JULY 1969, A.D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND.
--NASA
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/NASA>
Banksia lemanniana, the yellow lantern banksia, is a species of woody
shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Western Australia. It generally
grows as an open shrub or small tree up to five metres (15 ft) high
with stiff serrated leaves, and unusual hanging flower clusters.
Flowering occurs over summer, the greenish buds developing into oval
flower spikes before turning grey and developing the characteristic
large woody follicles. It occurs within and just east of the Fitzgerald
River National Park on the southern coast of the state. B. lemanniana is
killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed. First described by Swiss
botanist Carl Meissner in 1856, it was named in honour of English
botanist Charles Morgan Lemann. Unlike many Western Australian banksias,
it appears to have some resistance to dieback from the soil-borne water
mould Phytophthora cinnamomi, and is one of the easier Western
Australian species to grow in cultivation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_lemanniana>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1545:
The English warship Mary Rose sank just outside Portsmouth
during the Battle of the Solent; it was not rediscovered until 1971.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rose>
1848:
The two-day Women's Rights Convention, the first women's rights
and feminist convention held in the United States, opened in Seneca
Falls, New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention>
1992:
A car bomb killed anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino and five
policemen in Palermo, Italy, less than two months after the murder of
Borsellino's friend and colleague Giovanni Falcone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Borsellino>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tall order:
(originally US, idiomatic) A big job; a difficult challenge.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tall_order>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Buddy, you're a young man, hard man Shouting in the street,
gonna take on the world someday You got blood on your face, you big
disgrace Waving your banner all over the place We will, we will rock
you, sing it! We will, we will rock you, yeah.
--Brian May
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_May>
Central Link is a light rail line serving 16 stations in Seattle and its
southern suburbs, in the U.S. state of Washington. Managed by Sound
Transit, it travels 20 miles (32 km) between University of Washington
and Angle Lake stations. The line connects the university campus,
Downtown Seattle, the Rainier Valley, and Sea–Tac Airport. Central
Link runs at a maximum frequency of every six minutes during peak
periods, and in 2018 carried an average of 72,000 daily passengers on
weekdays. Trains have two or three cars that can each carry 194
passengers and accommodate wheelchairs and bicycles. Construction of the
light rail system began in 2003 and the first section opened on July 18,
2009, terminating at Westlake and Tukwila International Boulevard
stations. The line was extended to the airport in December 2009, the
university in March 2016, and Angle Lake in September 2016; further
extensions are planned between 2021 and 2024.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Link>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1976:
At the Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci became the
first person to score a perfect 10 in a modern Olympics gymnastics
event.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci>
1989:
American actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed by
Robert John Bardo, eventually prompting the passage of anti-stalking
laws in California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer>
1995:
Selena's album Dreaming of You, instrumental in popularizing
Tejano music, was released posthumously.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreaming_of_You_%28Selena_album%29>
2012:
A suicide bomber attacked an Israeli tour bus at Burgas
Airport, Bulgaria, which led the European Union to list the military
branch of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Burgas_bus_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
get someone's goat:
(informal) To annoy or infuriate someone.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_someone%27s_goat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Fortune, good or ill, as I take it, does not change men and
women. It but develops their character. As there are a thousand thoughts
lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to
write, so the heart is a secret even to him (or her) who has it in his
own breast. Who hath not found himself surprised into revenge, or
action, or passion, for good or evil, whereof the seeds lay within him,
latent and unsuspected, until the occasion called them forth?
--William Makepeace Thackeray
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Makepeace_Thackeray>
The Legend of Bhagat Singh is an Indian historical biographical film
directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and released in 2002. Singh, who
witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a child, was a socialist
revolutionary of the Hindustan Republic Association who fought for
Indian independence. The film features Ajay Devgn (pictured) as Singh,
Sushant Singh, D. Santosh and Akhilendra Mishra. The story and dialogue
were written by Santoshi and Piyush Mishra, respectively. The film was
released to generally positive reviews, with the direction, story,
screenplay, technical aspects and performances of Devgn and Sushant
receiving the most attention. Produced on a budget of
₹200–250 million (about US$4.15–5.18 million in 2002), the film
earned only ₹129.35 million at the box office. It went on to win two
National Film Awards – Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Actor for
Devgn – and three Filmfare Awards from eight nominations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Bhagat_Singh>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1936:
Nationalist rebels attempted a coup d'état against the Second
Spanish Republic, sparking the Spanish Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_coup_of_July_1936>
1981:
A structural failure caused a walkway at the Hyatt Regency
hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., to collapse, killing 114 people
and injuring 216 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse>
1992:
Elizabeth II officially opened the Manchester Metrolink, the
first modern street-running light rail system in the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Metrolink>
2007:
TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crash-landed at the Congonhas Airport
in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people, the highest death toll of any
aviation accident in Brazil and the highest death toll of any accident
involving an Airbus A320 airliner.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM_Airlines_Flight_3054>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chancellor:
1. A senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties,
sometimes in charge of some area of government such as finance or
justice.
2. The head of the government in some German-speaking countries.
3. (Christianity) A senior record keeper of a cathedral; a senior legal
officer for a bishop or diocese in charge of hearing cases involving
ecclesiastical law.
4. (education) The head of a university, sometimes purely ceremonial.
5. (Britain) Short for Chancellor of the Exchequer.
6. (Scotland) The foreman of a jury.
7. (US, law) The chief judge of a court of chancery (that is, one
exercising equity jurisdiction).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chancellor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And
gather honey all the dayFrom every opening flower!
--Isaac Watts
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Watts>
Tutupaca is a volcano complex in Tacna, the southernmost region of Peru.
It is in the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the
Andes, where the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South
American Plate causes volcanic activity. Tutupaca consists of three
overlapping volcanoes formed by lava flows and lava domes made out of
andesite and dacite, which grew on top of older volcanic rocks. It
features geothermal manifestations with fumaroles and hot springs. Its
highest peak is usually reported to be 5,815 metres (19,078 ft), and
was glaciated in the past. Tutupaca became active about 700,000 years
ago. Several volcanoes in Peru have been active in recent times,
including Tutupaca; one of these generated a large debris avalanche when
it collapsed, probably in 1802, with pyroclastic flows and an eruption
that was among the largest in Peru for which there are historical
records.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutupaca>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1931:
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie signed the nation's first
constitution, intended to officially replace the Fetha Nagast, which had
been the supreme law since the Middle Ages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Constitution_of_Ethiopia>
1945:
Manhattan Project: Trinity, the first nuclear test explosion,
was carried out near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29>
1965:
South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo—an undetected
communist spy—was reported dead due to injuries sustained during his
capture, but it is generally assumed he was tortured to death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BA%A1m_Ng%E1%BB%8Dc_Th%E1%BA%A3o>
2013:
At least 23 students died and dozens more fell ill at a primary
school in the village of Dharmashati Gandaman in the Saran district of
the Indian state of Bihar after eating a Midday Meal contaminated with
pesticide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar_school_meal_poisoning_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wristlet:
1. An elastic band worn to keep a glove from slipping off the wrist.
2. A decorative band or bracelet that encircles the wearer's wrist;
especially, a closely knitted one to keep it warm; a muffetee.
3. A small handbag with a short strap for attaching it to the wearer's
wrist.
4. A handcuff.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wristlet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
11 … 10 ... 9 … ignition sequence start … 6 … 5 … 4 …
3… 2 … 1 … 0. All engine running. Liftoff! We have a liftoff —
32 minutes past the hour — lift off on Apollo 11. Tower cleared.
--Jack King
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_King_%28NASA%29>
Noronhomys vespuccii, Vespucci's rodent, was a rat from the islands of
Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. Numerous but fragmentary
fossil remains of the extinct species, of uncertain but probably
Holocene age, were discovered in 1973 and described in 1999. N.
vespuccii was larger than the black rat (Rattus rattus), with high-
crowned molars and several ridges on the skull that anchored the chewing
muscles. A member of the family Cricetidae and subfamily Sigmodontinae,
it shared several distinctive characters with the tribe Oryzomyini. Its
close relatives, including Holochilus and Lundomys, are adapted to a
semiaquatic lifestyle, spending much of their time in the water, but
features of the Noronhomys bones suggest that it lost its semiaquatic
lifestyle after arrival at its remote island. Italian explorer Amerigo
Vespucci may have seen it on a visit to Fernando de Noronha in 1503.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noronhomys>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1799:
French soldiers uncovered the Rosetta Stone in Fort Julien,
near the Egyptian port city of Rashid.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone>
1959:
Five hundred thousand American steelworkers went on strike,
closing nearly every steel mill in the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_strike_of_1959>
1983:
Armenian extremist organization ASALA bombed the Turkish
Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport, killing 8 and injuring 55, as
part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the
Armenian Genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Orly_Airport_attack>
2009:
Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 crashed in northwestern Iran,
killing all 168 people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Airlines_Flight_7908>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kombu:
Edible kelp (“a type of brown seaweed”) (from the class Phaeophyceae)
used in East Asian cuisine.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kombu>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every expression of human mental life can be understood as a kind
of language, and this understanding, in the manner of a true method,
everywhere raises new questions.
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>
Science Fiction Quarterly was an American pulp science fiction magazine,
published from 1940 to 1943 and again from 1951 to 1958. Robert A. W.
Lowndes edited all but the first two issues. It was launched by
publisher Louis Silberkleit during a boom in science fiction magazines,
but fell prey in 1943 to slow sales and paper shortages. Silberkleit
relaunched it when the market improved, and was able to obtain reprint
rights to several books by Ray Cummings and two early science fiction
novels. The budget was minuscule, but Lowndes was able to call on his
friends in the Futurians, a group of aspiring writers that included
Isaac Asimov, James Blish, and Donald Wollheim. Among the better-known
stories that ran were "Second Dawn" by Arthur C. Clarke, "The Last
Question" by Isaac Asimov, and "Common Time" by James Blish. By 1958,
Science Fiction Quarterly was the last surviving science fiction pulp.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_Quarterly>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
The Priestley Riots began, in which Joseph Priestley and other
religious Dissenters were driven out of Birmingham, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestley_Riots>
1950:
In an early battle of the Korean War, North Korean troops began
attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in
Taejon, South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taejon>
1965:
The NASA spacecraft Mariner 4 flew past Mars, collecting the
first close-up pictures of another planet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_4>
2016:
A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France,
resulting in the deaths of 86 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Nice_truck_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
l'esprit de l'escalier:
The phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to
someone after the opportunity to make it has passed.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/l%27esprit_de_l%27escalier>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm gonna tell all you fascists, you may be surprised People all
over this world are getting organized You're bound to lose You fascists
are bound to lose.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Stan Coveleski (July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American Major
League Baseball pitcher. In 450 career games from 1912 to 1928,
Coveleski posted a win–loss record of 215–142, with 224 complete
games, 38 shutouts, and a 2.89 earned run average. He made his major
league debut with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1912. He signed with the
Cleveland Indians in 1916, playing nine seasons with them and winning
three games during the 1920 World Series. He spent three seasons with
the Washington Senators and one with the New York Yankees before
retiring after the 1928 season. A starting pitcher, Coveleski
specialized in throwing the spitball, a pitch where the ball is altered
with a foreign substance such as chewing tobacco. It was legal when his
career began and outlawed in 1920, but he was one of 17 pitchers
permitted to continue throwing the pitch. He was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Coveleski>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Officials in Wallachia adopted the Regulamentul Organic, which
engendered a period of unprecedented reforms that provided a setting for
the Westernization of the local society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulamentul_Organic>
1878:
At the conclusion of the Congress of Berlin, the major powers
in Europe signed the Treaty of Berlin, redrawing the map of the Balkans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_%281878%29>
1973:
Watergate scandal: Under questioning by Senate investigators,
White House deputy chief of staff Alexander Butterfield revealed the
existence of a secret taping system in the Oval Office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_White_House_tapes>
2011:
Three coordinated bombings across Mumbai, India, killed 26
victims and injured 130 more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Mumbai_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
calvous:
1. (formal, medicine, rare) Lacking most or all of one's hair; bald,
hairless.
2. (botany, rare) Lacking bristles or pappuses.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calvous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The riddle nature could not prove Was nothing else but secret
love.
--John Clare
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Clare>
Manchester Cenotaph is a First World War memorial, with additions for
later conflicts, designed by Edwin Lutyens for St Peter's Square in
Manchester, England. Manchester was late in commissioning a war memorial
compared to most British towns and cities, convening a war memorial
committee in 1922. Lutyens' design is a variation of the one for his
cenotaph in London. The memorial consists of a central cenotaph and a
Stone of Remembrance flanked by twin obelisks, all features
characteristic of Lutyens' works. The cenotaph is topped by an effigy of
a fallen soldier and decorated with relief carvings of the imperial
crown, Manchester's coat of arms and inscriptions commemorating the
dead. The memorial was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by the Earl of Derby,
assisted by a local resident whose three sons had died in the war. In
2014, Manchester City Council dismantled the memorial and reconstructed
it at the northwest corner of St Peter's Square next to Manchester Town
Hall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Cenotaph>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: A squadron of British Royal Navy
ships of the line defeated a larger squadron of ships from the Spanish
and French navies in the Strait of Gibraltar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Algeciras>
1920:
The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed, with Soviet
Russia agreeing to recognize an independent Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Peace_Treaty>
1943:
World War II: German and Soviet forces engaged each other at
the Battle of Prokhorovka, one of the largest tank battles in military
history (German tanks pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Prokhorovka>
1979:
Rowdy fans at Comiskey Park in Chicago stormed the field during
a promotional event in which a crate of disco records was blown up.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abeyant:
Being in a state of abeyance; suspended.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abeyant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Acquire the art of detachment, the virtue of method, and the
quality of thoroughness, but above all the grace of humility.
--William Osler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Osler>