More than 70 people died of methanol poisoning in the Russian city of
Irkutsk in December 2016. Caused by the consumption of adulterated
surrogate alcohol, it was the deadliest such incident in Russia's post-
Soviet history. Russian consumption of surrogate alcohol rose rapidly in
the early 2010s amid worsening economic conditions because they were
commonly available and cost less than government-regulated vodka. In the
Irkutsk incident, people drank hawthorn-scented bath oil which was
typically made with and labeled as containing drinkable ethanol. At
least one batch was made instead with a toxic amount of methanol
(pictured with ethanol), causing injuries and deaths among residents of
Novo-Lenino, a neighborhood in Irkutsk. An investigation found that the
surrogate alcohol's producer sourced the methanol from an employee of a
local windshield washer fluid production facility. The Russian
government increased punishments for illegally producing and selling
alcohol, and they made it more difficult to acquire surrogate alcohol.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Irkutsk_mass_methanol_poisoning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1904:
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly premiered
at La Scala in Milan to poor reviews, forcing him to revise the opera.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madama_Butterfly>
1964:
Gabonese military officers overthrew President Léon M'ba, but
French forces, honouring a 1960 treaty, forcibly reinstated him two days
later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Gabonese_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
1974:
A U.S. Army soldier stole a Bell UH-1 helicopter and landed it
on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_White_House_helicopter_incident>
2011:
Arab Spring: Bahraini security forces killed four protesters in
a pre-dawn raid at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, while the "Day of
Rage" took place in Libya with nationwide protests against Muammar
Gaddafi's government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_civil_war_%282011%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
quockerwodger:
1. Synonym of jumping jack (“a toy figure of a person with jointed limbs
that can be made to appear to dance or jump by pulling an attached
string”)
2. (figurative, slang) A person whose actions are controlled by someone
else; a puppet.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quockerwodger>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the
Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of
them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I
will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States."
--Constitution of the United States
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States>
Tropical Storm Gabrielle was a short-lived tropical cyclone that passed
over North Carolina before tracking out to sea. The seventh named storm
of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, Gabrielle developed as a
subtropical cyclone on September 8 about 385 miles (620 km) southeast
of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Unfavorable wind shear impacted the
storm for much of its duration, although a temporary decrease in the
shear allowed the cyclone to become a tropical storm. On September 9,
it made landfall at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina
with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h). Turning to the northeast, the storm
quickly weakened and dissipated on September 11. The storm dropped
heavy rainfall near its immediate landfall location but little
precipitation elsewhere. Along the coast of North Carolina, slight
localized flooding was reported. Along the coast of Florida, rough surf
drowned one person. Overall damage was minor.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Gabrielle_%282007%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence,
proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania>
1922:
A landslide in Byblos revealed a sarcophagus in an underground
tomb that was later discovered to be part of a large Bronze Age
necropolis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_necropolis_of_Byblos>
1996:
Eleven people died in a train collision in Silver Spring,
Maryland, leading to the creation of comprehensive U.S. federal rules
for the design of passenger cars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Maryland_train_collision>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pythonic:
1. Of or pertaining to, or resembling, a python (“large constricting
snake of the family Pythonidae”); pythonlike.
2. Of or pertaining to an oracle or prophet, or to the telling of
prophecies; oracular, prophetic.
3. Alternative letter-case form of Pythonic (“of or pertaining to, or
resembling, the Python in Ancient Greek mythology, a serpent which lived
at Delphi (regarded as the centre of the Earth) until it was killed by
Apollo; (figurative) enormous; monstrous”)
4. (programming) Alternative letter-case form of Pythonic (“using the
idioms of the Python programming language”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pythonic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No representative government can long be much better or much
worse than the society it represents. Purify society and you purify the
government. But try to purify the government artificially and you only
aggravate failure.
--Henry Adams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams>
The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in
Saratoga National Historical Park in the state of New York. Sculpted by
George Edwin Bissell and erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster,
it commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles
of Saratoga while in the Continental Army, but does not mention him on
the monument as Arnold later defected from the Americans to the British.
Instead, it commemorates Arnold as the "most brilliant soldier of the
Continental Army". While fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights, the
second of the Saratoga engagements, Arnold was shot and severely injured
in his left leg. His horse was also hit by gunfire and fell on Arnold,
crushing his already injured leg. Arnold was then passed over for
promotion and court-martialed. Feeling hard done by, he attempted to
help the British capture the fortification of West Point but was
discovered and fled to the British army.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Monument>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1763:
Prussia, Saxony and the Habsburg monarchy signed the Treaty of
Hubertusburg, ending the Third Silesian War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Silesian_War>
1940:
The official premiere of Paul Creston's Saxophone Sonata took
place at the Carnegie Chamber Hall, with saxophonist Cecil Leeson, who
commissioned the work, and Creston on piano.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophone_Sonata_%28Creston%29>
1979:
Don Dunstan resigned as Premier of South Australia, ending a
decade of sweeping social liberalisation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dunstan>
2018:
Following nationwide protests, Hailemariam Desalegn announced
his resignation as prime minister of Ethiopia, remaining in post as a
caretaker until he was succeeded by Abiy Ahmed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resignation_of_Hailemariam_Desalegn>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
overset:
1. (transitive)
2. To knock over or overturn (someone or something); to capsize, to
upset.
3. (figurative)
4. To physically or mentally disturb (someone); to upset; specifically,
to make (someone) ill, especially nauseous; to nauseate, to sicken.
5. To throw (something, such as an organization, a plan, etc.) into
confusion or out of order; to subvert, to unsettle, to upset.
6. (rare) To translate (a text).
7. (journalism, printing) To set (copy or type) in excess of a given
space.
8. (Lincolnshire, Scotland) To recover from (an illness).
9. (obsolete)
10. To cover (the surface of something) with objects.
11. To oppress or overwhelm (someone, their thoughts, etc.); to beset;
also, to overpower or overthrow (someone, an army, a people, etc.) by
force; to defeat, to overwhelm.
12. To press (something) down heavily; to compress; also, to choke (a
plant).
13. To put too heavy a load on (something); to overload.
14. (rare) To come to rest over (something); to settle.
15. (figurative, rare) To impose too heavy a tax on (someone); to
overtax.
16. (uncertain) To recover (money) given in an exchange.
17. (uncertain, nautical) To coil or stow away (a cable, a rope, etc.).
18. (intransitive)
19. (archaic) To turn, or to be turned, over; to capsize; to, or to be,
upset.
20. (obsolete) Of a person or thing (such as an organization or plan):
to become unbalanced or thrown into confusion; to be put into disarray.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/overset>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now began the part of her life where she was just very beautiful.
Except for nothing. Only winners will know what this feels like. Have
you ever wanted something very badly and then gotten it. Then you know
that winning is many things, but it is never the thing you thought it
would be.
--Miranda July
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miranda_July>
"My Little Love" is a song by English singer Adele (pictured) from her
fourth studio album, 30 (2021). Adele wrote the song with its producer,
Greg Kurstin. The song became available as the album's third track on
19 November 2021, when it was released by Columbia Records. "My Little
Love" is a jazz, R&B;, and soul song with a 1970s-style groove, gospel-
music influences, late-night bar piano, and a funk bassline. The song
incorporates voice notes of Adele's conversations with her son as she
explains the effects of her divorce on his life and pleads for his
understanding and forgiveness. Critics generally praised "My Little
Love", comparing it to the work of Marvin Gaye, among other artists.
Reviews highlighted the emotionalism and vulnerability displayed in the
song, but some found the inclusion of the voice notes excessive. The
track reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Iceland, the
Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, and entered the top 40 in several
other countries. (This article is part of a featured topic: 30
(album).).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/30_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1779:
Native Hawaiians killed the English explorer Captain James Cook
after he attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the
island of Hawaii.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook>
1990:
The NASA space probe Voyager 1 took Pale Blue Dot (detail
pictured), a photograph of Earth from a record distance of 40.5
astronomical units (6.06 billion km; 3.76 billion mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot>
2005:
The online video platform YouTube was founded by Steve Chen,
Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube>
2007:
The first of several bombings in Zahedan, Iran, killed 18
members of the Revolutionary Guards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Zahedan_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
now or never:
(idiomatic, set phrase) At this sole opportunity or time, or not at all.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/now_or_never>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office
and affairs of love: Therefore, all hearts in love use their own
tongues; Let every eye negotiate for itself And trust no agent.
--Much Ado About Nothing
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing>
Gao Qifeng (1889–1933) was a Chinese painter who co-founded the
Lingnan School. He spent much of his early life following his older
brother Gao Jianfu, learning the techniques of Ju Lian before travelling
to Tokyo in 1907 to study Western and Japanese painting. While abroad,
Gao joined the revolutionary organization Tongmenghui to challenge the
Qing dynasty; after he returned to China, he published the nationalist
magazine The True Record. He moved to Guangzhou in 1918, taking teaching
positions that culminated with an honorary professorship at Lingnan
University in 1925. Falling ill in 1929, Gao left for Ersha Island,
where he established the Tianfang Studio. He blended traditional Chinese
approaches to painting with Japanese techniques for light and shadow and
Western understandings of geometry and perspective. Gao is best
recognized for his paintings of animals, particularly eagles, lions, and
tigers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao_Qifeng>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1891:
Frances Coles was killed in the last of eleven unsolved murders
of women that took place in or near the impoverished Whitechapel
district in the East End of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitechapel_murders>
1961:
Geode prospectors near Olancha, California, discovered what
they claimed to be a 500,000-year-old rock with a 1920s-era spark plug
encased within (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_artifact>
2017:
Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un, was assassinated using VX nerve agent in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-nam>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
modulation:
1. (uncountable) Modification or regulation of something to achieve an
appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.
2. (art, uncountable) Variation (especially softening or toning down) of
brightness, form, etc.; (countable) an instance of this.
3. (biology, uncountable) Variation in the activity or form of a cell in
response to changes in the environment; (countable) an instance of this.
4. (engineering, physics, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by a descriptive
word: modification of an electromagnetic wave or other oscillating
carrier wave to apply a signal to it; (countable) an instance of this;
also, the extent to which such a wave is modified; and the modified wave
or signal.
5. (music)
6. (uncountable) Variation of the intensity, pitch, and tone of the
sound of a musical instrument or voice; inflection; (countable) an
instance of this.
7. (uncountable) Changing of the key in a piece of music; also, the
effect achieved by this as an element of harmony; (countable) an
instance of this.
8. (typography, countable) The contrast between the thick and thin parts
of the strokes of a typeface.
9. (uncountable) Changing of a thing from one form to another;
(countable) an instance of this.
10. (obsolete)
11. (uncountable) Harmonious use of language in poetry or prose.
12. (architecture, uncountable, rare) Modification of the parts of a
classical Greek or Roman building to achieve appropriate proportions by
measuring in modules (“standard units of measure, usually the diameter
or radius of a column at the base of a shaft”).
13. (music)
14. (countable, Christianity) Any of the musical notes in ecclesiastical
modes of music on which a melodic phrase had to begin and end.
15. (uncountable) Arrangement or composition, or performance, of music
in a certain key or mode; also (countable) a series of musical notes,
chord, or tune analyzed according to a key or mode.
16. (uncountable) Making music or singing; (countable) a melody, a tune;
also (chiefly in the plural), a musical note.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/modulation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Don't give up. You know it's never been easy. Don't give up.
'Cause I believe there's a place, There's a place where we belong.
--Peter Gabriel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Gabriel>
Ragnar Garrett (12 February 1900 – 4 November 1977) was Chief of
the General Staff in the Australian Army from 1958 to 1960. He completed
staff training in England just as the Second World War broke out, joined
the Second Australian Imperial Force, and commanded the 2/31st Battalion
in England before seeing action with Australian brigades during the
German invasion of Greece and the Battle of Crete in 1941. Promoted to
colonel the following year, he held senior positions with I Corps in
New Guinea and II Corps on Bougainville in 1944–1945. He was
appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his
staff work. After the war, he served two terms as commandant of the
Staff College, Queenscliff, in 1946–1947 and 1949–1951. Between
these appointments he was posted to Japan with the British Commonwealth
Occupation Force. He took charge of Western Command in August 1951,
became Deputy Chief of the General Staff in January 1953, and took over
Southern Command as a lieutenant general in October 1954. He was
knighted in 1959.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Garrett>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1924:
George Gershwin's composition Rhapsody in Blue premiered at
Aeolian Hall in New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhapsody_in_Blue>
1994:
Edvard Munch's painting The Scream was stolen from the National
Gallery of Norway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream>
2003:
Protesters in La Paz and the Bolivian government brokered a
deal to end two days of rioting against a proposed salary tax.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_La_Paz_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
leonine:
1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a lion; lionlike.
2. (pathology) Of a facies (“a person's facial features”): resembling
those of a lion as a result of some disease, especially a form of
leprosy which causes leontiasis (“a medical condition characterized by
an overgrowth of the cranial and facial bones”); also, of leprosy:
causing a lionlike facies.
3. Of or pertaining to one of the popes named Leo; specifically (in
Leonine City), to Pope Leo IV (790–855) who ordered the building of a
wall around Vatican Hill to protect what is now Vatican City.
4. (poetry) Being or relating to a kind of medieval Latin verse,
generally alternative hexameter and pentameter, with rhyming at the
middle and end of a line (that is, internal rhyme); also (by extension),
of or relating to modern verse having internal rhyme.
5. (poetry) Chiefly in the plural: synonym of Leonine verse (“a kind of
medieval Latin verse, generally alternative hexameter and pentameter,
with rhyming at the middle and end of a line (that is, internal rhyme)”)
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leonine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be
true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that
of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy of
their esteem.
--Abraham Lincoln
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln>
On 20 December 2004, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank
in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Having taken family members of two bank
officials hostage, an armed gang forced the workers to help them steal
banknotes. It was one of the largest bank robberies in the United
Kingdom. The police and the British and Irish governments claimed that
the Provisional Irish Republican Army was responsible, which was denied.
Police forces made inquiries and arrests in Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland. A sum of £2.3 million was impounded from a
financial adviser, Ted Cunningham, in County Cork; he was convicted in
2009. Chris Ward, one of the bank officials, was arrested in
November 2005 and charged with robbery. The prosecution offered no
evidence at trial and he was released. Northern Bank replaced its own
bank notes. The robbery adversely affected the Northern Ireland peace
process and hardened the relationship between the Taoiseach and Sinn
Féin. No individual or group has ever been held directly responsible
for the robbery.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Bank_robbery>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1851:
As part of celebrations marking the separation of Victoria from
New South Wales, the inaugural first-class cricket match in Australia
began at the Launceston Racecourse in Tasmania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Diemen%27s_Land_v_Port_Phillip,_1851>
1976:
The Frente de Liberación Homosexual made their final public
appearance, shortly before the group's dissolution due to political
repression after the Argentine coup d'état.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frente_de_Liberaci%C3%B3n_Homosexual>
2001:
The computer worm Anna Kournikova, which would affect millions
of users worldwide, was released by a 20-year-old Dutch student.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Kournikova_%28computer_virus%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kleptoparasitism:
(zoology) The parasitic theft of captured prey, nest material, etc.,
from animals of the same or another species.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kleptoparasitism>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Science is progressing at such a rapid rate that when you make a
prediction and think you are ahead of your time by 100 years you may be
ahead of your time by 10 at most.
--Leó Szilárd
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258 when a large army under
Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked Baghdad, the capital of
the Abbasid Caliphate. Hulegu had been sent by his brother, the Mongol
khan Möngke, to conquer Persia. He expected Baghdad's ruler, Caliph al-
Musta'sim, to reinforce his army, but this did not happen. Provoked by
al-Musta'sim's arrogance, Hulegu decided to overthrow him. The Mongol
army routed a sortie by flooding their camp, and besieged the city.
After Mongol siege engines breached Baghdad's walls, al-Musta'sim
surrendered on 10 February, and was later executed. The Mongol army
pillaged the city for a week. The number of deaths was inflated by
epidemics of disease, but Hulegu estimated his soldiers killed 200,000.
The siege, often seen as the end of the Islamic Golden Age, was in
reality not era-defining: Baghdad later prospered under Hulegu's
Ilkhanate.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Baghdad>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1919:
The Inter-Allied Women's Conference (delegates pictured) opened
as a counterpart to the Paris Peace Conference, marking the first time
that women were allowed formal participation in an international treaty
negotiation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-Allied_Women%27s_Conference>
1939:
Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists concluded their conquest of
Catalonia and sealed the border with France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia_Offensive>
2009:
The satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 destroyed each
other in the first accidental hypervelocity collision between two intact
satellites in low Earth orbit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jackanapes:
1. (obsolete) (A proper name for) an ape or monkey, especially a tame
one kept for entertainment or as a pet.
2. (by extension)
3. (derogatory, dated) (A proper name for) a person thought to behave
like an ape or monkey, for example, in being impudent, mischievous,
vain, etc.; specifically (chiefly humorous), an impudent or mischievous
child.
4. (obsolete, Christianity, derogatory, rare) A crucifix.
5. (obsolete, mining) A small pulley which keeps a rope in line when
lifting ore, water, etc., from a mine. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jackanapes>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are many things worth living for, there are a few things
worth dying for, but there is nothing worth killing for.
--Tom Robbins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins>
The Japanese battleship Tosa was a planned battleship of the Imperial
Japanese Navy. Designed by Yuzuru Hiraga, Tosa was to be the first of
two Tosa-class ships. Displacing 39,900 long tons (40,540 tonnes) and
armed with ten 410 mm (16.1 in) guns, these warships would have
brought Japan closer to its goal of an "eight–four" fleet (eight
battleships and four battlecruisers). Compared with earlier designs the
ships would have had higher steaming speed despite increased tonnage,
flush decks, and inclined armor. Tosa was ordered in 1918, laid down in
February 1920 in Nagasaki and launched in December 1921. All work on
the ship was halted in February 1922 after the Washington Naval
Conference and the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty. As the vessel
had to be destroyed in accordance with the terms of the treaty, it was
subjected to various tests to gauge the effectiveness of Japanese
weaponry before being scuttled on 9 February 1925. (This article is
part of a featured topic: Battleships of Japan.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battleships_of_Japan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German
destroyer in Førde Fjord, Norway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%281945%29>
1950:
U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy accused 205 employees of the State
Department of being communists, sparking a period of strong anti-
communist sentiment known as McCarthyism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism>
1975 – The spacecraft and crew of the Soviet Soyuz 17 mission
returned to earth after 29 days in orbit at the Salyut 4 station.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_17>
2020:
Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu won the Four Continents
Championships to become the only man to complete a Super Slam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzuru_Hanyu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
intertwingle:
1. To confuse or entangle together; to enmesh, to muddle.
2. (computing, information science) Of documents, information, etc.: to
interconnect or interrelate in a complex way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intertwingle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our oath was not to the Republican Party, not to the Democratic
Party, not to Joe Biden, not to Donald Trump, but our oath was to defend
the constitution. And right now — right now literally at this moment
that constitution is under the most direct and consequential assault in
our nation's history. An assault not on a particular provision but on
the essential structure of the document itself. It's hard to grasp what
is happening because of all the events that are swirling around us over
the last several weeks. It's coming from so many different quarters and
so many different actors. It's hard to get a picture of what's really
happening fundamentally. But this is an assault, and how we respond to
it will define our life's work, our place in history, and the future of
our country. None of us will ever face a greater challenge.
--Angus King
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Angus_King>
Lise Meitner (1878–1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who
was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission and protactinium.
In 1905, she became the second woman from the University of Vienna to
earn a doctorate in physics. She spent much of her scientific career at
the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. In 1938 she fled
Nazi Germany and moved to Sweden. That year, chemists Otto Hahn and
Fritz Strassmann demonstrated that isotopes of barium could be formed by
neutron bombardment of uranium. Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert
Frisch correctly interpreted their results and worked out the physics of
this process, which they named "fission". The discovery led to the
development of atomic bombs and nuclear reactors during World War II.
Meitner did not share the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the
discovery of fission, which was awarded to Hahn alone, but she received
many other honours, including the posthumous naming of element 109 as
meitnerium in 1997.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1250:
Seventh Crusade: The Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt defeated and
captured King Louis IX of France at the Battle of Fariskur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France>
1575:
William of Orange founded Leiden University, the oldest
university in the Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiden_University>
1960:
The official groundbreaking of the Walk of Fame took place in
Hollywood, Los Angeles, in California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame>
1968:
Law enforcement officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina, fired
into a crowd of college students who were protesting segregation,
killing three and injuring twenty-seven others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangeburg_Massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
happily ever after:
1. (idiomatic) Chiefly preceded by he, she, they, etc., lived: often
used as a formulaic ending in fairy tales, stories for children, and
similar works: in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their,
etc., lives.
2. (narratology) A story, or a conclusion to a story, in which all the
loose ends of the plot are tied up, and all the main characters are left
in a state of contentment or happiness.
3. (by extension) A happy period of time which is imagined never to end;
specifically, the state of happiness in which one or more people
(typically a loving couple) dwell for the rest of his, her, their, etc.,
lives.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/happily_ever_after>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The prophet is appointed to oppose the king, and even more:
history.
--Martin Buber
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Buber>