Blood on the Floor is a suite in nine movements composed for orchestra
and jazz trio by Mark-Anthony Turnage (pictured). It was composed
between 1993 and 1996, during which Turnage's brother died of a drug
overdose, causing drug culture to be one of its main themes. It is also
influenced by the paintings of Francis Bacon and Heather Betts; the
title is an adaptation of Bacon's Blood on Pavement. The composition has
been described as being part of the third stream genre and is written as
a concerto grosso featuring a blend of classical, jazz, non-western and
electronic instruments. It contains space for soloists to improvise in
four of its movements. The suite shows elements of non-functional
harmony and has complex rhythmic changes, often changing metre every
bar. Motifs recur throughout the work. It was premiered in London in May
1996, and received a mixed reception from critics. Some enjoyed the
suite's fusion of classical and jazz music, while others found it to be
an unfulfilling combination.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_on_the_Floor_%28Turnage%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1944:
The Admiralty Islands campaign during the Pacific War of World
War II began when American forces assaulted Los Negros Island, the
third largest of the Admiralty Islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_Islands_campaign>
1960:
The deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history (damaged building
pictured) struck the city of Agadir, killing at least 12,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Agadir_earthquake>
2004:
Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown
following popular rebel uprising.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Haitian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2012:
Construction of Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower and
third-tallest structure, was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Skytree>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
leap year:
1. A year in the Julian or Gregorian calendar with an intercalary day
added to February (in the Gregorian calendar, February 29), used to
adjust for the extra hours of the solar year; a 366-day year.
2. (loosely) Any other year featuring intercalation, such as a year in a
lunisolar calendar with 13 months instead of 12, used to maintain its
alignment with the seasons of the solar year.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leap_year>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Religion's Meaning when I would recall, Love is to me the
plainest Word of all. Plainest, — because that what I love, or hate,
Shews me directly my internal State; By its own Consciousness is best
defin'd Which way the Heart within me stands inclin'd. On what it lets
its Inclination rest, To that its real Worship is address'd; Whatever
Forms or Ceremonies spring From Custom's Force, there lies the real
Thing; Jew, Turk or Christian be the Lover's Name, If same the Love,
Religion is the same.
--John Byrom
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Byrom>
Freedom was a livestream concert by Filipino singer Regine Velasquez
(pictured) held on February 28, 2021. Following the cancellation of
music events during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Velasquez
organized the show to create a live experience on a stream for her fans
longing for a sense of human connection. The concert's premise was
"freedom of singing", stemming from her desire to cover songs from
several music genres. It was filmed at the studios of ABS-CBN in Metro
Manila, with musicians, background vocalists, and dancers on set, and
was broadcast through four livestreaming platforms worldwide. Its set
featured a large LED screen as a backdrop and props resembling origami
cranes hanging from the ceiling. She performed numerous selections from
artists such as Elton John, Chris Isaak, George Michael, Sara Bareilles,
Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish. Critics gave the show high praise for its
production and vocal performances, setting a benchmark for online
concerts in the Philippines.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_%28concert%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1904:
The most successful football club in Portugal, S.L. Benfica
(first team pictured) was founded in Lisbon as Sport Lisboa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.L._Benfica>
1914:
In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Greeks living in southern
Albania proclaimed the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern
Epirus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Republic_of_Northern_Epirus>
1939:
In one of the most famous errors in lexicography, the erroneous
word "dord" was discovered in Webster's New International Dictionary by
an editor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dord>
1974:
The British election ended in a hung parliament after the
Liberal Party, under Jeremy Thorpe, achieved their highest ever number
of votes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Thorpe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
irradiate:
1. (transitive)
2. To send out (heat, light, or some other form of radiation) in the
form of rays; to radiate.
3. (often literary or poetic) To make (someone or something) bright by
shining light on them or it; to brighten, to illuminate.
4. (technology) To apply radiation other than visible light to (someone
or something).
5. To treat (food) with ionizing radiation to destroy pathogens.
6. (medicine) To treat (a patient, or a cancerous growth or tumour) with
radiation.
7. (figurative, often literary or poetic)
8. To animate or enliven (one's mood, or soul or spirit).
9. To cause (one's face) to look beautiful, happy, or lively; to light
up.
10. To decorate (a place) splendidly.
11. To enlighten (someone, their mind, etc.) intellectually or
spiritually; to illuminate, to shed light on.
12. To send out (something) as if in the form of rays; to diffuse, to
radiate, to shed.
13. (obsolete, figurative) To influence (something) as if with rays of
heat, light, etc.
14. (intransitive, often literary or poetic)
15. To become bright; to brighten, to light up.
16. Often followed by on or upon: to emit rays of light; to shine.
17. (figurative) To emit something other than light; to radiate.
18. (obsolete) To diverge or be sent out in the form of rays.
19. Made brilliant or bright; irradiated, illuminated.
20. (figurative) Made splendid or wonderful.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/irradiate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond
what he can do.
--Stephen Spender
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Spender>
The polar bear is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas.
Closely related to the brown bear, the polar bear is the largest extant
species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300 to
800 kg (700 to 1,800 lb). It has white or yellowish fur with black
skin and a thick layer of fat. Polar bears live both on land and on sea
ice, and usually live solitarily. They mainly prey on seals, especially
ringed seals. Male bears guard females during the breeding season and
defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens
during the winter. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
considers polar bears a vulnerable species. Their biggest threat is
climate change as global warming has led to a decline in sea ice in the
Arctic. They have been hunted for their coats, meat and other items.
They have been kept in captivity and have played important roles in
culture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
Peninsular War: In the south of France, Spanish, British and
Portuguese soldiers under the command of Arthur Wellesley defeated
French soldiers in the Battle of Orthez, causing the French to retreat
east.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Orthez>
1972:
The Sunday People revealed that James Humphreys, a notorious
pornographer, had bribed a senior London police officer with a holiday
to Cyprus and Beirut.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Humphreys_%28pornographer%29>
1988:
The Armenian community of Sumgait in Azerbaijan was the target
of a violent pogrom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumgait_pogrom>
1996:
The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release
of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Red,_Blue,_and_Yellow>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
take the shilling:
1. (Britain, military, historical) To enlist as a soldier in the British
army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer.
2. (by extension)
3. (military, dated) To enlist as a soldier of any military force; to
join the armed forces.
4. (generally) To be on the payroll of an organization; to work for an
organization.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_the_shilling>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles
the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of
wildflowers hidden in the grass.
--John Steinbeck
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck>
"Last Gasp" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British
black comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It first
aired on 26 February 2014 on BBC Two. Written by Steve Pemberton and
Reece Shearsmith, the story revolves around the birthday of the severely
ill Tamsin—played by Lucy Hutchinson—whose parents arrange for the
singer Frankie J Parsons (David Bedella) to visit their daughter through
the charity WishmakerUK. Frankie dies after blowing up a balloon,
leading to arguments between Tamsin's father (Pemberton), the
WishmakerUK representative Sally (Tamsin Greig, pictured), and Frankie's
assistant Si (Adam Deacon) over the now-valuable balloon containing
Frankie's last breath. The story was inspired by someone Pemberton had
seen on Swap Shop who collected air from different places. The episode
is a morality tale that satirizes and critiques celebrity culture.
Pemberton subsequently sold a balloon containing his breath on eBay,
with proceeds going to a Sport Relief charity.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Gasp_%28Inside_No._9%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1914:
RMS Britannic, the third and largest Olympic-class ocean liner
of the White Star Line after RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic, was launched
at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Britannic>
1979:
The Superliner railcar entered revenue service with Amtrak.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliner_%28railcar%29>
2014:
Former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao Kevin
Lau was stabbed, prompting concerns and protests about media freedom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_attack_on_Kevin_Lau>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
latibulum:
(obsolete) A concealed hiding place, especially of an animal; a burrow,
hole, or lair.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/latibulum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry will take a great step, a decisive step, a step which,
like the upheaval of an earthquake, will change the whole face of the
intellectual world. It will set about doing as nature does, mingling in
its creations — but without confounding them — darkness and light,
the grotesque and the sublime; in other words, the body and the soul,
the beast and the intellect; for the starting-point of religion is
always the starting-point of poetry. All things are connected.
--Victor Hugo
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo>
The Benty Grange hanging bowl is a fragmentary Anglo-Saxon artefact from
the seventh century CE. All that remains are parts of two escutcheons:
bronze frames that are usually circular and elaborately decorated, and
that sit along the outside of the rim or at the interior base of a
hanging bowl. A third disintegrated soon after excavation. The
escutcheons were found in 1848 by an antiquary, Thomas Bateman, in a
tumulus in north-western Derbyshire. The grave also contained the boar-
crested Benty Grange helmet. The surviving escutcheons are made of
enamelled bronze and are 40 mm (1.6 in) in diameter. They show three
dolphin-like creatures arranged in a circle, each biting the tail of the
one ahead of it (design shown). Their bodies and the background are made
of enamel, likely all yellow, with the creatures' outlines and eyes
tinned or silvered, as are the borders of the escutcheons. The third
escutcheon was of a different size and style and it may have originally
been placed at the bottom of the bowl.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benty_Grange_hanging_bowl>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1933:
USS Ranger, the United States Navy's first purpose-built
aircraft carrier, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ranger_%28CV-4%29>
1951:
After being postponed due to World War II, the inaugural Pan
American Games opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_Games>
1994:
Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim Arabs
praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29
people and wounding 125 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre>
2009:
At their headquarters in Pilkhana, members of the Bangladesh
Rifles began a mutiny that resulted in 82 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Rifles_revolt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
simulacrum:
1. A physical image or representation of a deity, person, or thing.
2. A thing which has the appearance or form of another thing, but not
its true qualities; a thing which simulates another thing; an imitation,
a semblance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/simulacrum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Give me love, give me peace on earth, Give me light, give me
life, keep me free from birth, Give me hope, help me cope, with this
heavy load, Trying to, touch and reach you with, heart and soul.
--George Harrison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Harrison>
Nestor Makhno (1888–1934) was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and
the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the
Ukrainian Civil War. Born into a poor peasant family in southern
Ukraine, Makhno became involved in the local anarchist movement and was
imprisoned for his activities. Following the 1917 Revolution, he
returned to his hometown and became a local revolutionary leader,
spearheading anarchist resistance to Ukrainian nationalists and the
White movement. Upon defeating his enemies in battle, he established the
Makhnovshchina, a mass movement by the Ukrainian peasantry to establish
anarchist communism in Ukraine, coming to control much of the southern
and eastern part of the country. After he collaborated with the
Bolsheviks to defeat the Whites, his former allies turned on him, and he
was wounded and driven into exile in 1921. He died in Paris from
tuberculosis.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestor_Makhno>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1809:
Napoleonic Wars: French admiral Villaret de Joyeuse
unconditionally surrendered to the British, which ended the British
invasion of Martinique and began a five-year occupation of the island.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Martinique_%281809%29>
1979:
Uganda–Tanzania War: Ugandian government forces fled Masaka,
Uganda, as the Tanzania People's Defence Force bombarded and captured
the town.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Masaka>
1989:
United Airlines Flight 811 experienced uncontrolled
decompression after leaving Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii,
blowing seats out of the aircraft and killing nine passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_811>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fraught:
1. (nautical) Of a boat, ship, or other vessel: laden with cargo.
2. (figurative)
3. Followed by with: carrying, or charged or loaded up with (usually
something negative); accompanied by; entailing.
4. (specifically) Carrying or loaded with anxiety, fear, or stress, for
example, due to complexity or difficulty; distressed; also, causing
distress; distressing.
5. Followed by with: furnished, provided. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fraught>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sir Walter Raleigh declared in the early 17th century that
"whoever commands the sea, commands the trade; whosoever commands the
trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently
the world itself." This principle is as true today as when uttered, and
its effect will continue as long as ships traverse the seas.
--Chester W. Nimitz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chester_W._Nimitz>
"Open Arms" is a song by American singer-songwriter SZA (pictured) from
her second studio album, SOS (2022), featuring American rapper Travis
Scott. It is one of the album's guitar-backed acoustic ballads,
exploring a style of music that departs from SZA's usual R&B;-leaning
sound. Her deceased grandmother, whose vocals were in the album
preceding SOS, appears in the song as a way of paying tribute. With
lyrics about trying to stay with an ex-lover, "Open Arms" is addressed
to a subject whom the narrator eventually leaves to fix her self-esteem
despite persistent feelings of attachment to him. Upon release, it
charted in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and it peaked at
number 67 on the Billboard Global 200. The song is SZA's fourth
collaboration with Scott, whose uncharacteristically gentle delivery on
his verse was received positively by critics. A solo version was
released in January 2023 as a track on the website-exclusive digital
edition of SOS.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Arms_%28SZA_song%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1886:
American inventor Charles Martin Hall discovered an inexpensive
method of producing aluminium (sample pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martin_Hall>
1944:
In response to an insurgency in Chechnya, the Soviet Union
began the forced deportation of the native Chechen and Ingush of North
Caucasus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Chechens_and_Ingush>
1987:
SN 1987A, a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, was
observed from Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1987A>
2021:
Caused by gang rivalries, riots in four Ecuadorian prisons
resulted in the deaths of 79 inmates.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2021_Ecuadorian_prison_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
selfbow:
(archery) A bow made from a single piece of wood (often referred to as a
bow stave).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/selfbow>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Today for the first time in more than a half century, the US has
returned to the moon. Today, for the first time in the history of
humanity, a commercial company — an American company — launched and
led the voyage up there. And today is a day that shows the power and
promise of NASA's commercial partnerships. … What a triumph! Odysseus
has taken the moon. This feat is a giant leap forward for all of
humanity.
--Bill Nelson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Nelson>
Dookie is the third studio album by the American rock band Green Day,
released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's major
label debut, it was recorded in mid-1993 and is heavily based around
frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's personal experiences, with themes such
as boredom, anxiety, relationships, and sexuality. After several years
of grunge's dominance in popular music, the album brought a livelier,
more melodic rock sound to the mainstream. Considered one of the
defining albums of the 1990s and punk rock in general, Dookie was also
pivotal in solidifying the genre's mainstream popularity. The album
influenced a new wave of pop-punk bands, such as Blink-182, Sum 41, and
Fall Out Boy. Though the band was labeled a sell-out by some of the
band's original fans, the record received critical acclaim upon its
release and won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dookie>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1959:
Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 NASCAR auto race at the
Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_Daytona_500>
1974:
Samuel Byck attempted to hijack an aircraft at
Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of
crashing it into the White House to assassinate Richard Nixon, but was
killed by police.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Byck>
2019:
A group broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid and stole
several mobile telephones and digital storage devices.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_Embassy_in_Madrid_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
blight:
1. (transitive)
2. (phytopathology) To affect the fertility or growth of (a plant) with
a blight (noun sense 1.1), especially one caused by a fungus; to blast,
to mildew, to smut.
3. (by extension, pathology, dated) To affect (a body part) with a
disease.
4. (figurative) To impede the development or growth of (an aspect of
life); to damage, to ruin, to spoil.
5. (intransitive) Of a plant: to suffer blight (noun sense 1.1).
6. (phytopathology)
7. A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete
and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as
floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a
fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.
8. The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be
airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus;
also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.
9. (by extension)
10. A state of cloudy, humid weather.
11. (pathology, dated) A diseased condition of the face or skin;
specifically, bleeding under the conjunctiva of the eye, a form of skin
rash, or a palsy of the face due to cold.
12. (figurative)
13. Something that impedes development or growth, or spoils any other
aspect of life.
14. (specifically) A rundown and unsightly condition of an urban area;
also, such an area.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blight>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For the sake of humanity it is devoutly to be wished, that the
manly employment of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of commerce,
would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest; that the
swords might be turned into plough-shares, the spears into pruning
hooks, and, as the Scripture expresses it, "the nations learn war no
more."
--George Washington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington>
Donald Hardman (21 February 1899 – 2 March 1982) was a senior Royal
Air Force (RAF) commander. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and
flew fighters over the Western Front, achieving nine victories to become
a decorated ace. Between the wars he saw service with RAF squadrons in
India and Egypt. At the outbreak of World War II, Hardman was a wing
commander, attached to the Air Ministry. In 1944 he commanded No. 232
(Transport) Group during the Burma campaign. He served successively as
Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Commandant of RAF Staff College,
Bracknell, and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Home Command. He
was knighted in 1952. Hardman was Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal
Australian Air Force from 1952 to 1954, and was responsible for
reorganising its geographically based command-and-control system into a
functional structure. After returning to Britain, he joined the Air
Council in May 1954, and was promoted to air chief marshal the following
year. He retired from the RAF in 1958.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Hardman>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: The Confederate Army began an attempt to
gain control of the Southwest with a major victory in the Battle of
Valverde.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valverde>
1952:
A number of student protesters demanding the establishment of
Bengali as an official language were killed by police in Dhaka, East
Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_language_movement>
1965:
American Black nationalist Malcolm X was assassinated while
giving a speech in New York City's Audubon Ballroom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X>
1973:
After accidentally straying into Israeli-occupied airspace,
Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was shot down by two fighter aircraft,
killing 108 of the 113 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Arab_Airlines_Flight_114>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
phonology:
1. (uncountable) The study of the way sounds function in languages,
including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure,
and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable)
the way sounds function within a given language; a phonological system.
2. (by extension, uncountable) The study of the way components of signs
function in a sign language, and which components are distinctive units
within the language; (countable) the way components of signs function
within a given sign language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/phonology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The basic stimulus to the intelligence is doubt, a feeling that
the meaning of an experience is not self-evident.
--W. H. Auden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._H._Auden>
The quarter sovereign is a British gold coin issued by the Royal Mint
since 2009. It has been issued as a bullion coin and as a collector's
coin. The smallest in the sovereign range, it has a face value of 25
pence. In 1853, the Royal Mint produced two patterns for a quarter
sovereign for circulation, with one denominated as five shillings. These
coins never went into production. In 1979, the Royal Mint began to sell
sovereigns to those wishing to own gold coins, by the following year
selling four different denominations, ranging from the half sovereign to
the five pound gold coin. In 2009, a quarter sovereign was introduced as
an extension of this range. It shares the same design as the larger
coins, depicting Elizabeth II on the obverse, or since 2022,
Charles III. Although there are some one-year designs, the one most
often used on the reverse is Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint
George and the Dragon (shown), which was first used on the sovereign in
1817.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_sovereign>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1959:
Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro
CF-105 Arrow interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow>
1970:
The Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani province, one of the
largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Dhammakaya>
1998:
At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became
the youngest gold-medal winner in the history of the Winter Olympic
Games at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Lipinski>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
for good:
(idiomatic) In a way that is conclusive and final.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/for_good>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I spend most of my day screaming — and then over time I get
tired and then when I'm tired, I start thinking of the jokes. … That's
what I always loved about comedy, it is a way for us to just, you know,
to numb the pain, to process what we're going through without feeling
every single inkling of it.
--Trevor Noah
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Trevor_Noah>