The Wonderful Parliament was a session of the English parliament held
from October to November 1386 in Westminster Abbey. Called by King
Richard II (pictured) to address his need for money, it attempted to
reform his administration. Richard had become increasingly unpopular due
to perceived extravagance towards his political favourites and the
unsuccessful prosecution of war against France. Discontent climaxed when
Richard requested a then-unprecedented sum to raise an army. The House
of Lords and the House of Commons united against him and his unpopular
chancellor, Michael de la Pole, demanding the latter's impeachment.
Richard requested the Commons send a delegation to negotiate;
Parliament, fearing an ambush, sent two lords instead. The lords
threatened Richard with deposition until he agreed to do Parliament's
bidding. He was forced to sack de la Pole and was restricted to advisers
appointed by parliament. The King was incensed and left Westminster
almost immediately.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderful_Parliament>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of the Sixth Coalition: French troops led by Napoleon
forced the Army of Bohemia to retreat after it advanced dangerously
close to Paris (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montereau>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the systematic
extermination of perceived hostile elements among Chinese Singaporeans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sook_Ching>
2007:
Terrorist bombs exploded on a Samjhauta Express train in
Panipat, India, killing 68 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Samjhauta_Express_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
husbandry:
1. The occupation or work of a husbandman or farmer; the cultivation of
crops and the raising of livestock; agriculture.
2. The prudent management or conservation of resources.
3. (now chiefly nautical) Administration or management of day-to-day
matters.
4. (obsolete) Agricultural or cultivated land.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/husbandry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to
familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their
power.
--Toni Morrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison>
The Ur-Quan are a fictional race of predatory alien caterpillars in the
Star Control series of video games, created by Paul Reiche III and Fred
Ford (both pictured). The first Star Control game introduces the Ur-Quan
as leading a galactic empire which seeks to enslave Earth. Their story
is expanded in Star Control II, revealing them as former slaves who
since vowed to fiercely defend themselves. They also appear in Star
Control 3 and The Ur-Quan Masters. Reiche and Ford developed the Ur-
Quan based on the concepts for unique spaceships in Star Control; their
insectoid appearance was inspired by a National Geographic photo of a
caterpillar. Their role in Star Control II has earned the Ur-Quan
acclaim as among the best game villains of all time, praised for their
menacing persona, as well as their surprising depth and humanity. The
Ur-Quan have also influenced other game studios, inspiring concepts in
games such as Mass Effect and Stellaris.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Quan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1894:
Rudolf Diesel's first working diesel engine ran for one minute.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine>
1944:
World War II: The U.S. Navy began Operation Hailstone, a
massive naval air and surface attack against the Japanese naval and air
base at Truk in the Caroline Islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hailstone>
1959:
Vanguard 2 (model pictured), the first weather satellite, was
launched to measure cloud cover distribution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_2>
2006:
A massive landslide in the Philippine province of Southern
Leyte killed over 1,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Southern_Leyte_mudslide>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hobbyist:
A person who is interested in an activity or a subject as a hobby.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hobbyist>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Political realism believes that politics, like society in
general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human
nature. In order to improve society it is first necessary to understand
the laws by which society lives. The operation of these laws being
impervious to our preferences, men will challenge them only at the risk
of failure. Realism, believing as it does in the objectivity of the
laws of politics, must also believe in the possibility of developing a
rational theory that reflects, however imperfectly and one-sidedly,
these objective laws. It believes also, then, in the possibility of
distinguishing in politics between truth and opinion — between what is
true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated
by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment, divorced from the
facts as they are and informed by prejudice and wishful thinking.
--Hans Morgenthau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hans_Morgenthau>
SS Choctaw was a steel-hulled American freighter in service between
1892 and 1915 on the Great Lakes of North America. She was a so-called
monitor vessel, containing elements of traditional lake freighters and
the whaleback ships designed by Alexander McDougall. Choctaw was built
in 1892 by the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company in Cleveland, Ohio. On her
regular route between Cleveland and the Michigan cities of Detroit,
Escanaba, and Marquette, she carried coal upbound and iron ore
downbound. In foggy conditions on July 11, 1915, Choctaw was on Lake
Huron upbound for Marquette when she was rammed east of Presque Isle
Light by the downbound Canadian canaller Wahcondah. Although Choctaw
sank in only 17 minutes, her crew of 22 escaped, and was picked up by
Wahcondah. The wreck was located on May 23, 2017, lying on her
starboard side with the bow partly buried in the lake bottom. It was
listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10,
2018.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Choctaw>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
The French government passed a law setting the musical note A4
to a frequency of 435 hertz, in the first attempt to standardize
concert pitch.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_pitch>
1923:
English Egyptologist and archaeologist Howard Carter unsealed
Tutankhamun's tomb, KV62, in the Valley of the Kings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Tutankhamun>
1959:
Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, beginning
his decades-long rule over the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro>
2013:
At least 91 people were killed and 190 others injured after a
bomb hidden in a water tank exploded at a market in Hazara Town,
Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2013_Quetta_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
deglutition:
(physiology) The act or process of swallowing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deglutition>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't have any answers. Use your common sense. Be nice. This is
the best I can do. All the trouble in the world is human trouble. Well,
that's not true. But when cancer cells run amok and burst out of the
prostate and take over the liver and lymph glands and end up killing
everything in the body including themselves, they certainly are acting
like some humans we know.
--P. J. O'Rourke
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._J._O%27Rourke>
David Berman (1967–2019) was an American musician, singer and poet. In
1989, with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, he founded
the indie-rock band Silver Jews, and was its only constant member until
its dissolution in 2009. He provided the band's characteristic lyrics
and the simple country-rock sound they developed from their early lo-fi
recordings. His abstract, autobiographical lyrics were his creative
priority, and he extensively labored over them. Despite believing his
work was unappreciated, Berman cultivated a passionate following and
became an influential figure in indie rock. After he announced his
withdrawal from music in 2009, his return to music in 2019, under the
moniker Purple Mountains, prompted an enthusiastic response. His return
to music closely preceded his death. Berman's life was marred by
difficulties; his music and poetry showcase a forlorn quality, using
varied characters in eccentric and surreal circumstances.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berman_%28musician%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1493:
Christopher Columbus wrote a letter, which was widely
distributed upon his return to Portugal, announcing the results of his
first voyage to the Americas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus%27s_letter_on_the_first_voyage>
1900:
Second Boer War: British cavalry led by John French defeated
Boer forces to end a 124-day siege of Kimberley in present-day South
Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kimberley>
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki
Yamashita captured Singapore, with the largest surrender of British-led
military personnel in history (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Singapore>
2012:
The world's deadliest prison fire took place at the National
Penitentiary at Comayagua, Honduras, killing 361 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comayagua_prison_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
meet cute:
(intransitive, informal) Of characters in a story or people in real
life: to meet each other in an adorable, amusing, or cute way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meet_cute>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I’m totally not kidding … Life is too short. This is all too
hard to do to actually be kidding about the whole thing.
--Miranda July
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miranda_July>
The Beautician and the Beast is a 1997 American romantic comedy film
directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Todd Graff. It stars Fran Drescher
(pictured) as a New York City beautician who is hired to tutor the
children of a fictional Eastern European dictator, played by Timothy
Dalton. The film takes inspiration from other stories like Beauty and
the Beast, The King and I, Evita, and The Sound of Music. Produced by
Drescher and Paramount Pictures, The Beautician and the Beast had
Drescher's first starring role in a film. Filming took place in
Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California, and Sychrov Castle in
the Czech Republic. Cliff Eidelman composed the soundtrack, which
features the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Critics panned the story as
more appropriate for a sitcom, and Drescher and Dalton received mixed
reviews for their performances. The Beautician and the Beast was a box-
office bomb, grossing roughly $11.5 million against a production budget
of $16 million.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beautician_and_the_Beast>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1852:
The Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England
to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, was founded in
London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ormond_Street_Hospital>
1924:
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company was renamed to
International Business Machines, which grew into one of the world's
largest companies by market capitalization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM>
1989:
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa calling for
the death of Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses, a novel
considered to be blasphemous by some Muslims.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_controversy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
love interest:
1. Especially of a character in film or literature: one who is of
interest as a (potential) partner in love.
2. A romantic relationship; a romance.
3. (film, literature, specifically) A romantic plot or subplot in a film
or book.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/love_interest>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love does not rule; but it trains, and that is more.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe>
The Great Western Railway War Memorial is a First World War memorial by
Charles Sargeant Jagger and Thomas S. Tait. It stands on platform 1 at
London Paddington station, commemorating the 2,500 Great Western Railway
(GWR) employees killed in the conflict. A third of the GWR's workforce
of almost 80,000 left to fight in the war, the company guaranteeing
their jobs. The memorial consists of a bronze statue of a soldier in
heavy winter clothing, reading a letter from home. The statue stands on
a polished granite plinth, within a white stone surround. The names of
the dead are on a roll buried in the plinth. GWR chairman Viscount
Churchill unveiled the memorial on 11 November 1922 in front of over
6,000 people, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, GWR officials, and
relatives of the dead. When public gatherings were restricted during
the COVID-19 pandemic, local communities on the GWR network laid wreaths
on trains that carried them to Paddington to be laid at the memorial for
Armistice Day.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Western_Railway_War_Memorial>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
Work began on the covering of the Senne, burying the polluted
main river of Brussels to allow for urban renewal in the centre of the
city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covering_of_the_Senne>
1945:
World War II: The Allies began a strategic bombing of Dresden,
Germany, resulting in a lethal firestorm that killed tens of thousands
of civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II>
1978:
A bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, the site of
the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, killing three people and
injuring eleven others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Hilton_Hotel_bombing>
2012:
The first Vega rocket was launched by the European Space
Agency.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_%28rocket%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shock stall:
(aviation) A stall (“sudden loss of efficiency”) caused when the airflow
over an aircraft's wings is disturbed by shock waves that occurs at a
specific Mach number when the aircraft is accelerating to transonic
speeds.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shock_stall>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men are more often bribed by their loyalties and ambitions than
by money.
--George Meredith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Meredith>
Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from
ballroom dancing. A team consists of one woman and one man. Ice dance
originated as recreational social skating: couples and friends would
skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances. By the early 1900s it
was popular in this form around the world. The first international ice
dance competition took place as a special event at the World Figure
Skating Championships in 1950 in London. Ice dance was formally added
to the World Championships in 1952 and became an Olympic medal sport in
1976. Dominated by British teams in the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet teams
until the 1990s, and North American teams in the 2000s, the discipline
lost much of its integrity as a sport in the late 1990s and early 2000s
after a series of judging scandals. Ice dance has certain elements that
competitors are required to perform in specific ways, including the
dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and
choreographic elements.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dance>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
The precursor of Michigan State University in East Lansing was
founded as the United States' first agricultural college.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University>
1947:
The French fashion company Dior unveiled its New Look
collection (suit pictured), which revolutionized women's dress and re-
established Paris as the centre of the fashion world after World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dior>
1968:
Vietnam War: Unarmed citizens in the villages of Phong Nhị
and Phong Nhất were massacred, allegedly by South Korean Marines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phong_Nh%E1%BB%8B_and_Phong_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_mass…>
2016:
In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church
and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International
Airport in Cuba.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_of_Pope_Francis_and_Patriar…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Darwinian:
1. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
2. Of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English
biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his
theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of
inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete,
survive, and reproduce.
3. (by extension) Of or pertaining to Darwinism, which includes the
theories of Charles Darwin and other scientists.
4. (by extension) Competitive, especially in a ruthless manner.
5. (by extension) Exhibiting an ability to adapt or develop in order to
survive; adaptable.
6. (chiefly historical) Of or pertaining to the philosophical and
scientific views, or poetic style, of the natural philosopher,
physiologist, and poet Erasmus Darwin.
7. Of or pertaining to Darwin, the capital city of the Northern
Territory, Australia.
8. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
9. An adherent of Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of species, or
of Darwinism.
10. (obsolete, rare) An adherent of the philosophical and scientific
views, or poetic style, of Erasmus Darwin.
11. A native or resident of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Darwinian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
More brain, O Lord, more brain! or we shall mar Utterly this
fair garden we might win.
--George Meredith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Meredith>
Melville Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was the eighth
chief justice of the United States. Born in Augusta, Maine, he graduated
from Bowdoin College and practiced law in Chicago. In 1888, President
Grover Cleveland appointed him to the Supreme Court. Fuller gained a
reputation for collegiality and competent administrative skills. His
jurisprudence was staunchly conservative: he favored free enterprise and
opposed broad federal power. Fuller wrote the majority opinion in
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., which held that the federal income
tax was unconstitutional. He joined the majority opinion in Plessy v.
Ferguson, which upheld state-mandated racial segregation, and in
Lochner v. New York, which struck down economic regulations on the
grounds that they violated the freedom of contract. Many of his
decisions were later overruled, and the majority of scholars have been
critical of the Fuller Court's jurisprudence. He served as chief justice
until his death in 1910.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_Fuller>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1584:
Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded the town of
Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived colonies at the Strait of
Magellan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_attempt_of_the_Strait_of…>
1840:
La fille du régiment (audio featured), an opéra comique by
Gaetano Donizetti, premiered in Paris to highly negative reviews but
later became a success.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_fille_du_r%C3%A9giment>
1919:
Friedrich Ebert was elected the provisional president of
Germany by the Weimar National Assembly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ebert>
2008:
Rebel East Timorese soldiers invaded the homes of President
José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, seriously wounding
the former.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_East_Timorese_assassination_attempts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
radium:
1. The chemical element (symbol Ra) with an atomic number of 88. It is a
soft, shiny and silvery radioactive alkaline earth metal.
2. (textiles, dated) A type of cloth woven from silk or synthetic yarn,
often with a shiny appearance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/radium>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most important step in getting a job done is the recognition
of the problem. Once I recognize a problem I usually can think of
someone who can work it out better than I could.
--Leó Szilárd
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a 2011 role-playing video game developed and
published by Square Enix. XIII-2 is a direct sequel to the 2009 role-
playing game Final Fantasy XIII and part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis
subseries. Development of the game began in early 2010 and involved many
of the key designers from the previous game. It includes modified
features from the previous game, including fast-paced combat and a
customizable "Paradigm" system. The development team wanted to improve
on the gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII, while making the story's tone
more mysterious and darker than the previous game. The new game's plot
features heavy use of time travel, allowing players to jump between
different time periods in the same location. The game was first released
on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and later ported to Microsoft
Windows, iOS, and Android. Final Fantasy XIII-2 received generally
positive reviews from critics. The game was the fifth-best selling game
of 2011 in Japan, and was followed by a sequel, Lightning Returns: Final
Fantasy XIII.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII-2>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1763:
Britain, France, and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris to end
the Seven Years' War, significantly reducing the size of the French
colonial empire while at the same time marking the beginning of an
extensive period of British dominance outside of Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_%281763%29>
1906:
The Royal Navy battleship HMS Dreadnought was launched,
representing such a marked advance in naval technology that her name
came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_%281906%29>
1962:
The first solo exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein opened, and it
included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben Day
dots, speech balloons, and comic imagery sourcing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_Mickey>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pulse:
1. (uncountable) Annual leguminous plants (such as beans, lentils, and
peas) yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals;
(countable) such a plant; a legume.
2. (uncountable) Edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants,
especially in a mature, dry condition; (countable) a specific kind of
such a grain or seed.
3. (physiology)
4. A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for
example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart
pumping blood through them.
5. The nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's
health.
6. (figuratively) A beat or throb; also, a repeated sequence of such
beats or throbs.
7. (figuratively) The focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place,
or thing; also, the feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place;
the heartbeat.
8. (chiefly biology, chemistry) An (increased) amount of a substance
(such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.
9. (cooking, chiefly attributively) A setting on a food processor which
causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously,
in order to break up ingredients without liquidizing them; also, a use
of this setting.
10. (music, prosody) The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse;
also, a repeated sequence of such beats.
11. (physics)
12. A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves,
etc.
13. Synonym of autosoliton (“a stable solitary localized structure that
arises in nonlinear spatially extended dissipative systems due to
mechanisms of self-organization”)
14. (also electronics) A brief increase in the strength of an electrical
signal; an impulse.
15. (transitive, also figuratively) To emit or impel (something) in
pulses or waves.
16. (transitive, chiefly biology, chemistry) To give to (something,
especially a cell culture) an (increased) amount of a substance, such as
a drug or an isotopic label, over a short time.
17. (transitive, cooking) To operate a food processor on (some
ingredient) in short bursts, to break it up without liquidizing it.
18. (transitive, electronics, physics)
19. To apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to
(something).
20. To manipulate (an electric current, electromagnetic wave, etc.) so
that it is emitted in pulses.
21. (intransitive, chiefly figuratively and literary) To expand and
contract repeatedly, like an artery when blood is flowing though it, or
the heart; to beat, to throb, to vibrate, to pulsate.
22. (intransitive, figuratively) Of an activity, place, or thing: to
bustle with energy and liveliness; to pulsate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pulse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How sickness enlarges the dimensions of a man's self to himself!
he is his own exclusive object. Supreme selfishness is inculcated upon
him as his only duty.
--Charles Lamb
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lamb>
Apollo 5 was the uncrewed first flight of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM),
which would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The liftoff of
the Saturn IB rocket bearing LM-1 (pictured), the first LM, from Cape
Kennedy followed long delays, due in part to setbacks in development of
the LM at Grumman, the manufacturer. The original rocket was taken down
during the delays and replaced with the one atop which the Apollo 1
fire that killed three astronauts had taken place. LM-1 arrived at the
Kennedy Space Center in June 1967; the following months were occupied in
testing. After further delays, the countdown began on January 21, 1968,
with launch the following day. Although due to programming problems a
mission different from that originally planned was executed, the
mission was successful enough that a contemplated second uncrewed
mission to test the LM was cancelled, advancing NASA's plans to land an
astronaut on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, with a safe return to
Earth.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_5>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
A series of hoof-like marks in the snow continuing through the
countryside for some 40 to 100 miles (60 to 160 km) were discovered in
Devon, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Footprints>
1913:
A meteor procession was visible across much of eastern North
and South America, leading astronomers to conclude that the body had
been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Great_Meteor_Procession>
1964:
As Beatlemania swept the U.S., the Beatles made their first
appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show before a record-breaking audience,
beginning a musical phenomenon known as the British Invasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Invasion>
1976:
The Australian Defence Force was formed by the integration of
the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Australian
Air Force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Defence_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gassy:
1. Having the nature of, or containing, gas.
2. (specifically) Of a beverage: containing dissolved gas (usually
carbon dioxide); fizzy.
3. (specifically) Of a person: tending to burp; burpy.
4. (specifically) Of a person: tending to release flatus; flatulent.
5. Of food or drink: tending to cause flatulence.
6. (figuratively, informal) Tending to be long-winded or wordy,
especially in a boastful and vain manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gassy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Truth is not spoken in anger. Truth is spoken, if it ever comes
to be spoken, in love.
--J. M. Coetzee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee>