Mount Berlin is a glacier-covered volcano in Marie Byrd Land,
Antarctica. It is a roughly 20-kilometre-wide (12 mi) mountain with
parasitic vents. It consists of two coalesced volcanoes: Berlin proper
with the 2-kilometre-wide (1.2 mi) Berlin Crater, and Merrem Peak 3.5
kilometres (2.2 mi) away with a 2.5-by-1-kilometre-wide (1.6 mi
× 0.6 mi) crater. Mount Berlin has a volume of 200 cubic kilometres
(50 cu mi) and rises 3,478 metres (11,411 ft) above sea level from
the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. It is part of the Marie Byrd Land Volcanic
Province. Trachyte is the dominant volcanic rock, occurring as
solidified lava flows and pyroclastic rocks. The volcano was active from
the Pliocene into the Holocene. Tephra layers from all over Antarctica
have been linked to Mount Berlin, the major regional source of such
tephras. The tephra was formed by explosive eruptions that generated
high eruption columns. Currently, fumarolic activity occurs that forms
ice towers from frozen steam.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Berlin>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1819:
British official Stamford Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan
Hussein Shah of Johor, establishing Singapore as a trading post for the
East India Company.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_years_of_modern_Singapore>
1919:
More than 65,000 workers in Seattle began a five-day general
strike to gain higher wages after two years of U.S. World War I wage
controls.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike>
1958:
The aircraft carrying the Manchester United football team
crashed while attempting to take off from Munich-Riem Airport in West
Germany, killing 8 players and 23 people in total (news reel featured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_air_disaster>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
dubplate:
(music, originally Jamaica) An acetate or vinyl record pressed in very
limited numbers, especially one issued to disc jockeys in advance of an
official release; specifically (and originally), one containing a piece
of dub music (a style of reggae music, often instrumental, involving the
mixing of different audio tracks).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dubplate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who
gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn't die in vain.
Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all.
You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we
will not pay." There is a point beyond which they must not advance. This
is the meaning in the phrase of Barry Goldwater's "peace through
strength." Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not
measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in
the world, we learn we are spirits — not animals." And he said, "There
is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space,
which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
--Ronald Reagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan>
The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is a skyscraper in Brooklyn, New
York City. Designed by Halsey, McCormack & Helmer, it was constructed
from 1927 to 1929 as the new headquarters for the Williamsburgh Savings
Bank. At 41 stories and 512 feet (156 m) tall, the Williamsburgh
Savings Bank Tower was the tallest building in Brooklyn until 2009. The
bank occupied the lowest floors, while the remaining stories were rented
as offices. By the late 20th century, dentists' offices occupied much of
the structure. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
designated the tower's exterior as a city landmark in 1977 and
designated some of the interior spaces in 1996. The building's upper
stories were converted to luxury condominium apartments from 2005 to
2007, while the banking hall became an event space. Over the years,
local residents have used the building both as a clock and as a landmark
for directions, and the tower has been used as a filming location.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburgh_Savings_Bank_Tower>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1913:
Claudio Monteverdi's last opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea, was
performed theatrically for the first time in more than 250 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27incoronazione_di_Poppea>
1958:
After a mid-air collision with a fighter plane during a
practice exercise off Tybee Island, Georgia, a U.S. Air Force bomber
jettisoned a Mark 15 nuclear bomb, which was presumed lost.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Tybee_Island_mid-air_collision>
1985:
The mayors of Carthage and Rome signed a symbolic peace treaty
to officially end the Third Punic War, 2,134 years after it began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Punic_War>
2019:
Pope Francis became the first pope to celebrate a papal Mass in
the Arabian Peninsula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
dreadlocks:
A hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in which the hair is left to
grow long, and twisted into matted strings.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dreadlocks>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the
path which has led to the present.
--Adlai Stevenson II
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adlai_Stevenson_II>
In the 1891 English cricket season, Somerset County Cricket Club
returned to first-class cricket after a five-year absence. They competed
in the County Championship, which had been established the previous
year. Somerset began the season poorly, drawing one and losing two of
their opening three fixtures. Results improved and Somerset won five,
lost six and drew one of their County Championship matches, finishing
fifth in the table. The Somerset team predominantly consisted of amateur
batsmen, supported by two professional bowlers. Lionel Palairet led
Somerset's batting in terms of both runs and average, scoring 560 runs
at an average of 31.11; he was also the only Somerset player to score a
century during 1891. Somerset's professional bowlers, George Nichols and
Ted Tyler, along with an amateur all-rounder, Sammy Woods, did almost
all of the bowling for the county; Woods led the bowling tables with 72
wickets at an average of 17.08.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_County_Cricket_Club_in_1891>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1969:
Yasser Arafat was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat>
1974:
American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was
kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined, in
one of the most well-known cases of Stockholm syndrome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst>
1999:
Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, was shot
and killed by four New York City Police Department plain-clothed
officers, prompting outrage both within and outside the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Amadou_Diallo>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
smallfolk:
(fantasy, mythology) Small humanoid creatures, such as gnomes and
halflings.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smallfolk>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All that I feared would happen has happened. We are at war all
over the world, and we are unprepared for it from either a spiritual or
a material standpoint. Fortunately, in spite of all that has been said,
the oceans are still difficult to cross; and we have the time to adjust
and prepare.
--Charles Lindbergh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
Brother Jonathan is an 1825 historical novel about the American
Revolution. Author John Neal (pictured) was considered one of America's
top novelists at the time. The story explores cross-cultural
relationships and highlights cultural diversity within the Thirteen
Colonies, stressing egalitarianism and challenging the conception of a
unified American nation. The book's sexual themes were explicit for the
period, addressing female sexual virtue and male guilt for sexual
misdeeds. Scholars praised Brother Jonathan's extensive and early use of
realism in depicting American culture and speech. It is Neal's longest
work and possibly the longest single work of American fiction until well
into the twentieth century. The editing process resulted in a number of
inconsistencies in the plot. A financial failure, it received mixed but
mostly warm reviews at the time. Readers of the twenty-first century are
generally unaware of the book, and many scholars consider it too complex
to be considered good.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Jonathan_%28novel%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1941:
Second World War: Free French and British forces (aircraft
pictured) began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of
Keren in Italian East Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Keren>
1953:
Hundreds of native creoles known as Forros were massacred on
São Tomé Island by the colonial administration and Portuguese
landowners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batep%C3%A1_massacre>
2023:
A freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing
hazardous materials into the surrounding area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ohio_train_derailment>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
cut the mustard:
(intransitive, idiomatic) To achieve the expected standard; to be
effective or good enough; to suffice.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cut_the_mustard>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The human soul has need of truth and of freedom of expression.
The need for truth requires that intellectual culture should be
universally accessible, and that it should be able to be acquired in an
environment neither physically remote nor psychologically alien.
--Simone Weil
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil>
The snowy plover (Anarhynchus nivosus) is a small shorebird found in
much of the Americas on both coasts and inland. Inland populations are
migratory, whereas some coastal birds are resident. This plover is brown
above and white below, with a white band on the neck, a slender black
bill, and gray to black legs. Breeding males have black patches behind
the eye and on the neck. The typical call is a repeated "tu-wheet". The
bird inhabits open areas with sparse vegetation, like sandy beaches and
shores of salt or soda lakes, where it feeds on invertebrates, such as
crustaceans, worms, beetles, and flies. Males excavate multiple nest
scrapes that are advertised to females, who may be polygamous. The
species is listed as near threatened by the IUCN. The main threats are
habitat destruction due to invasive beach grasses, urban development,
and disturbance due to recreational uses of beaches. While conservation
measures have been successful locally, the global population is thought
to be in decline.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_plover>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1934:
The Export–Import Bank of the United States, the country's
official export credit agency, was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export%E2%80%93Import_Bank_of_the_United_Stat…>
1974:
The F-16 Fighting Falcon, the most numerous fixed-wing aircraft
in military service, made its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon>
2004:
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer became the top-ranked men's
singles player, a position he held for a record 237 consecutive weeks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pipeweed:
1. (smoking) Tobacco prepared for smoking in a pipe; also, the leaves of
herbs or other plants prepared for such use.
2. Any of a number of plants having thin and straight stems resembling
pipes, often hollow or lacking branches.
3. (specifically) The common horsetail or field horsetail (Equisetum
arvense).
4. (specifically, US) The desert trumpet (Eriogonum inflatum) which has
a straight stem with a swollen portion; formerly some Native American
tribes in the Las Vegas Valley area turned such stems into pipes for
smoking by removing the stem at the base and cutting the swollen portion
in half to serve as a bowl.
5. (obsolete)
6. The redrattle (Pedicularis flammea), a parasitic plant having hollow
stems.
7. A type of seaweed with tubelike fronds; especially the sea lettuce
(Ulva intestinalis).
8. An unidentified sessile marine invertebrate, probably a soft coral or
sponge.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pipeweed>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When you find yourself needing the phrase "This is like Groundhog
Day" to explain how you feel, a movie has accomplished something.
--Roger Ebert
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert>
Philosophy is a systematic study of fundamental questions concerning
topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, and mind. It is a
rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its own methods and
assumptions. Major branches of philosophy are epistemology, ethics,
logic, and metaphysics. Epistemology studies what knowledge is and how
to acquire it. Ethics investigates the principles of moral conduct.
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. Metaphysics examines the most
general features of reality. Philosophical methods include analysis of
concepts and language, reliance on common sense and intuitions, use of
thought experiments, description of experience, and critical
questioning. Influential traditions are Western, Arabic–Persian,
Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Many of the sciences were part of
philosophy before they became separate disciplines. Philosophy is
relevant to diverse fields of inquiry by studying their scope and
concepts and providing an interdisciplinary perspective.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
More than 1,200 people died in the most destructive recorded
eruption of Mayon in the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayon>
1979:
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile and soon led
the Iranian Revolution to overthrow the U.S.-backed Pahlavi dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhollah_Khomeini%27s_return_to_Iran>
2009:
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir became the first female prime
minister of Iceland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3hanna_Sigur%C3%B0ard%C3%B3ttir>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
scourge:
1. To strike (a person, an animal, etc.) with a scourge (noun sense 1)
or whip; to flog, to whip.
2. To drive, or force (a person, an animal, etc.) to move, with or as if
with a scourge or whip.
3. (figurative)
4. To punish (a person, an animal, etc.); to chastise.
5. To cause (someone or something) persistent (and often widespread)
pain and suffering or trouble; to afflict, to torment.
6. (Scotland, agriculture) Of a crop or a farmer: to deplete the
fertility of (land or soil).
7. (weaponry, chiefly historical) A whip, often made of leather and
having multiple tails; a lash.
8. (figurative)
9. A person or thing regarded as an agent of divine punishment.
10. A source of persistent (and often widespread) pain and suffering or
trouble, such as a cruel ruler, disease, pestilence, or war.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scourge>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like
that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it.
--Boris Yeltsin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin>