The Apollo 15 postal covers incident involved the crew of NASA's
Apollo 15, who in 1971 carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers
(example pictured) to the Moon's surface. American astronauts David
Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin agreed to receive about $7,000 each
for transporting the covers, which were inside the Lunar Module Falcon
as Scott and Irwin walked on the Moon. The covers were postmarked both
prior to liftoff from Kennedy Space Center and after splashdown. Though
the astronauts returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA for
poor judgment and were called before a closed session of a Senate
committee. They were removed as the backup crew for Apollo 17 and never
flew in space again; by 1977, all had left NASA. In 1983, Worden sued
for the return of covers that had been impounded by NASA in 1972, and
the three men received them in an out-of-court settlement. One of the
covers provided in 1971 to West German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger sold
for over $50,000 in 2014.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_15_postal_covers_incident>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1959:
After a two-week escape journey from Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama
reached the Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh in India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawang_Monastery>
1964:
The Brazilian Armed Forces overthrew President João Goulart,
establishing a military dictatorship that lasted 21 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Brazilian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2004:
The Old National Library Building in Singapore was closed to
make way for a tunnel, despite widespread protests.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_National_Library_Building>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
two-spirit:
1. (chiefly Canada, US) A Native North American bisexual, homosexual, or
gender-variant person; especially one belonging to a traditional tribal
third-gender, fourth-gender, or transgender cultural category that has a
ceremonial role.
2. (chiefly Canada, US) Of, pertaining to, or being a two-spirit (noun
sense). [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/two-spirit>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I
knew it as such without a single doubt.
--Discourse on the Method
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Discourse_on_the_Method>
"Your Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey
(pictured) for her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi. She
wrote the track with Marc Shemer, who also produced it with her under
the name Scram Jones. The lyrics of "Your Girl" are about confidently
approaching a potential lover. To convey this sentiment, Carey employs
belting in her vocal performance. The track was influenced by disco,
gospel, jazz, pop, and soul, while sampling vocals and an acoustic
guitar from the 2003 Adeaze song "A Life with You". Some reviewers
considered "Your Girl" one of the best tracks on The Emancipation of
Mimi; others criticized the vocals. Regretful that it was not issued as
a single from the album, Carey later released two remixes featuring
rappers Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, and N.O.R.E. as part of a 2021 digital
extended play. She has performed the song live during the 2006 The
Adventures of Mimi concert tour and the 2024 Celebration of Mimi concert
residency in Las Vegas.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Girl>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1912:
Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fes (depicted), making
Morocco a French protectorate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fes>
1977:
Annie Hall had its first screening at the LA Film Festival; it
was voted the funniest screenplay ever by members of the Writers Guild
of America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Hall>
2009:
The Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan, was attacked
and held for several hours by 12 gunmen, resulting in 16 deaths and 95
injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Lahore_police_academy_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
clown doctor:
A clown who visits hospitals in a costume which is a combination of
attire worn by a clown and a doctor to entertain (young) patients.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/clown_doctor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Find things beautiful as much as you can, most people find too
little beautiful.
--Vincent van Gogh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh>
Hurricane Cindy was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in the U.S.
state of Louisiana in July 2005. The third named storm of the 2005
Atlantic hurricane season, Cindy developed from a tropical wave on
July 3, off the east coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Soon after,
it moved over land before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico. It tracked
toward the northern Gulf Coast and strengthened to reach maximum
sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), making it a Category 1 on the
Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane struck Louisiana, on July 5 at
peak intensity, but weakened by the time it made a second landfall along
southern Mississippi. It weakened over the southeastern US and
transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on July 7. The remnants of
Cindy produced an outbreak of 42 tornadoes across six states before
they moved into Atlantic Canada and dissipated on July 13 over the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. Cindy caused six traffic deaths and its damage was
significant.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Cindy_%282005%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1882:
The Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal
service organization, was founded by Michael J. McGivney in New Haven,
Connecticut, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus>
1974:
NASA's Mariner 10 became the first space probe to make a flyby
of Mercury.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_10>
2014:
The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales took place
following the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_Kingdom>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rightly so:
In a manner regarded as factual or just; correctly, fairly, justly,
truly; also, in a manner acceptable or excusable in the circumstances;
understandably.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rightly_so>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is
inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to
liberty.
--Eugene McCarthy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eugene_McCarthy>
Interstate 182 (I-182) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway
in the U.S. state of Washington. It serves as a connector from I-82 to
the Tri-Cities region that crosses the Columbia River on the Interstate
182 Bridge between Richland and Pasco. I-182 is 15 miles (24 km) long
and entirely concurrent with U.S. Route 12; it intersects State
Route 240 and US 395. Business leaders in the Tri-Cities began
lobbying for a freeway in 1958 after early alignments for I-82 were
routed away from the area. I-182 was a compromise to the routing
dispute, which allowed for direct access to the Tri-Cities and a bypass
for other traffic. The new freeway would also include construction of a
bridge between Richland and Pasco. Construction on I-182 was scheduled
to begin in 1971, but was delayed and began in late 1980; it opened to
traffic three years later. The final sections of the freeway, between
I-82 and Richland, opened to traffic in March 1986. (This article is
part of a featured topic: Interstate 82.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Interstate_82>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1935:
The Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, directed by Leni
Riefenstahl, premiered in Berlin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leni_Riefenstahl>
1942:
Second World War: The port of Saint-Nazaire in German-occupied
France was disabled by British naval forces (ship pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid>
1946:
The US Department of State released the Acheson–Lilienthal
Report, a proposal for the international control of nuclear weapons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acheson%E2%80%93Lilienthal_Report>
1979:
British prime minister James Callaghan was defeated by one vote
in a vote of no confidence after his government struggled to cope with
widespread strikes during the Winter of Discontent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_vote_of_no_confidence_in_the_Callaghan_m…>
1999:
Kosovo War: Serbian police and special forces killed around 93
Kosovo Albanians in the village of Izbica.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izbica_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
calamitous:
1. Causing or involving calamity; disastrous.
2. (obsolete) Of a person: involved in a calamity; hence, distressed,
miserable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calamitous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ordinary language is not the last word: in principle it can
everywhere be supplemented and improved upon and superseded. Only
remember, it is the first word.
--J. L. Austin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._L._Austin>
Pierre Boulez (26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French
composer and conductor. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war
contemporary classical music. As a composer, he played a leading role in
the development of integral serialism in the 1950s, and the electronic
transformation of instrumental music in real time from the 1970s. Boulez
conducted many of the world's great orchestras, including the Vienna
Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra. In the 1970s, he was the
music director of the New York Philharmonic and the chief conductor of
the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was particularly known for his
performances of 20th-century music, including Debussy, Stravinsky and
Schoenberg. Boulez's work in opera included the Jahrhundertring, a
production of Wagner's Ring cycle for the centenary of the Bayreuth
Festival. He also established several musical institutions, including
the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique / Musique and the
Ensemble intercontemporain.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Boulez>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1651:
The Spanish ship San José ran aground onto coasts controlled
by the indigenous Cunco people, who subsequently killed the crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreckage_of_San_Jos%C3%A9>
1697:
The Safavid Empire began a four-year occupation of the Ottoman
city of Basra on the Persian Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safavid_occupation_of_Basra>
1812:
The Boston Gazette printed a cartoon coining the term
"gerrymander", named after Governor Elbridge Gerry, who approved the
legislation that created oddly shaped electoral districts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry>
1939:
Nationalist forces began their final offensive of the Spanish
Civil War, at the end of which they controlled almost the entire
country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_offensive_of_the_Spanish_Civil_War>
1999:
A jury began deliberations in the trial of Jack Kevorkian, an
American practitioner of physician-assisted suicide who was charged with
murder in the death of a terminally ill patient.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
personable:
1. Of a person: having a pleasing appearance; attractive; handsome.
2. Of a person: having a pleasant manner; amiable, friendly.
3. (obsolete)
4. (rare) Synonym of personal (“done in person, without an
intermediary”)
5. (law) Being a legal person and thus able to maintain a plea in court,
or to hold some property or right.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/personable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I’d like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to
it and begin over. May no fate willfully misunderstand me And half
grant what I wish and snatch me away Not to return. Earth’s the right
place for love: I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
--Robert Frost
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Frost>
Flotilla is a 2010 turn-based strategy space-combat video game developed
by Brendon Chung (pictured) and his studio, Blendo Games. The game was
released in March 2010 on Steam for Microsoft Windows and on Xbox Live
Indie Games for the Xbox 360. Flotilla was designed with Microsoft's
XNA tools, and its development was influenced by animals as well as
board games such as Axis & Allies and Arkham Horror. The game takes the
player on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy. Chung began
developing Flotilla after the closure of Pandemic Studios, where he had
worked as a designer. The new game used assets imported from Chung's
early space combat prototype Space Piñata. Flotilla incorporates pieces
of classical music in its score such as Frédéric Chopin's "Raindrop"
prelude. It received mixed reviews from video game media outlets,
scoring 72 out of 100 on review aggregate website Metacritic, and was
included in Mike Rose's book 250 Indie Games You Must Play.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotilla_%28video_game%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1725:
Bach's chorale cantata Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern was
first performed on the Feast of the Annunciation, which coincided that
year with Palm Sunday.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wie_sch%C3%B6n_leuchtet_der_Morgenstern,_BWV_1>
1934:
Enrico Fermi published his discovery of neutron-induced
radioactivity, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Fermi>
1949:
The Soviet Union began mass deportations of more than 90,000
"undesirable" people from the Baltic states to Siberia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Priboi>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Blursday:
1. A day of the week not easily distinguished from other days.
2. A day when one feels disoriented and ill due to earlier alcohol or
drug intoxication.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Blursday>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a
difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore. I
hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will
hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence
in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty.
--Mia Love
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mia_Love>
Gertie the Dinosaur is a 1914 animated short film by American cartoonist
Winsor McCay. He first used the film before audiences as an interactive
part of his vaudeville act: the frisky, childlike dinosaur Gertie did
tricks at his command. His employer, magnate William Randolph Hearst,
later curtailed McCay's vaudeville activities, so McCay added a live-
action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release.
Gertie was the first film to use animation techniques such as keyframes,
registration marks, tracing paper, the Mutoscope action viewer, and
animation loops, and the first to feature a dinosaur. Gertie influenced
the next generation of animators, including the Fleischer brothers, Otto
Messmer, Paul Terry, and Walt Disney. McCay abandoned a sequel, Gertie
on Tour, around 1921 after producing about a minute of footage. Gertie
is the best preserved of his films—others are lost or in
fragments—and has been preserved in the US National Film Registry.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertie_the_Dinosaur>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1934:
The Tydings–McDuffie Act came into effect, which provided for
self-government of the Philippines and for Filipino independence from
the United States after a period of ten years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tydings%E2%80%93McDuffie_Act>
1939:
Members of the German National Movement in Liechtenstein
attempted to overthrow the government and provoke Liechtenstein's
annexation into Nazi Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Liechtenstein_putsch>
1964:
Royal assent was given to Prince Edward Island's Provincial
Flag Act, which outlined the design of its provincial flag (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Prince_Edward_Island>
2006:
Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus as an actress whose alter
ego is the titular character, premiered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Montana>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
megadeath:
1. One million deaths, especially as an unit of measure for estimating
deaths due to nuclear warfare.
2. (loosely) The deaths of a very large number of people; a massacre, a
slaughter.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/megadeath>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are many who are hypocrites although they think they are
not, and there are many who are afraid of being hypocrites although they
certainly are not. Which is the one and which is the other God knows,
and none but He.
--Walter Hilton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Hilton>
Michael Tritter is a fictional character in the medical drama series
House, played by David Morse (pictured). The main antagonist of the
third season (2006–07), Tritter is a police detective who tries to get
Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) to apologize for leaving him with a
thermometer in his rectum. After House refuses, Tritter discovers his
Vicodin addiction, and forces him to go to rehab. The character was
created as somebody who could go "toe-to-toe" with House. Morse, who
had never seen the show before, was unsure if he could portray the
character. The excited reaction of his friends convinced him to take
the role. Initial critical responses were mostly positive, but critics
later felt that the six-episode Tritter story arc became boring. Morse,
though, was praised for his portrayal and received an Emmy nomination.
He stated in a 2006 TV Guide interview that, although he had discussed
it with the show's writers, reprising the character would be
"practically impossible".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Tritter>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1931:
Bhagat Singh, one of the most influential revolutionaries of
the Indian independence movement, and two others were executed by the
British authorities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh>
1989:
Two researchers announced the discovery of cold fusion, a claim
that was later discredited.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_fusion>
1994:
Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into a hillside in Russia's
Kemerovo Oblast, killing all 75 people on board, after the pilot's 15
-year-old son unknowingly disabled the autopilot while seated at the
controls.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593>
2005:
A fire and explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, the
third-largest in the United States, killed 15 workers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_refinery_explosion>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
graupel:
1. (uncountable) A precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of
water condense on a snowflake.
2. (countable) A small ball of rime resulting from this process.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/graupel>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My life is much more than boxing — I've been knocked out more
outside the ring than in the ring.
--George Foreman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Foreman>
The True Record was a pictorial magazine published in Shanghai, China,
between June 1912 and March or April 1913. The magazine was
established by brothers Gao Qifeng and Gao Jianfu as the nascent
Republic of China was seeking to develop a new culture after centuries
of Qing rule. It sought to monitor the new republic, report the welfare
of the people, promote socialism, and distribute world knowledge. Under
the Gaos and fellow editor Huang Binhong, the magazine published
seventeen issues and expanded its reach from China through Southeast
Asia to Hawaii. Supportive of Sun Yat-sen and the nationalist movement,
the magazine was critical of Provisional President Yuan Shikai and
closed during a time when he was consolidating his power. Articles
covered such topics as art, current events, technology and politics.
Despite having been published for less than one year, The True Record
has been described as one of the most important illustrated magazines of
the first years of the Republic of China.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Record>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony
for her participation in the Antinomian Controversy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson>
1896:
Charilaos Vasilakos won the first modern marathon in
preparation for the inaugural Summer Olympics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charilaos_Vasilakos>
1913:
Phan Xích Long, the self-proclaimed emperor of Vietnam, was
arrested for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French
Indochina, which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the
following day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_X%C3%ADch_Long>
1984:
Teachers at a preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, were
falsely charged with the sexual abuse of schoolchildren, leading to the
longest and costliest criminal trial in United States history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial>
1995:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned from the space
station Mir aboard Soyuz TM-20 after 437 days in space, setting a record
for the longest spaceflight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cataract:
1. A (large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a
cliff.
2. (by extension) A flood of water; specifically, steep rapids in a
river.
3. (figurative) An overwhelming downpour or rush; a flood.
4. (mechanics, chiefly historical) A type of governor used in single-
acting steam engines, where a flow of water through an opening regulates
the stroke.
5. (obsolete, also figurative) Synonym of waterspout (“a whirlwind that
forms over water”) [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cataract>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Irony is a great help in helping to penetrate fraudulent
language. In the Second War especially, the language became virtually
identical with the language of advertising. It was seen through by the
troops, who knew what the truth was. It helped to sustain civilian
support for the war, which was its purpose, after all. … And euphemism
has remained, of course. It's a large part of the tone of public
discourse. … It's now practiced on so wide and so official a scale
that it's grown out of all proportion to what it was in the war.
--Paul Fussell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Fussell>
"All-American Bitch" is a 2023 song by American singer-songwriter Olivia
Rodrigo (pictured) from her second studio album, Guts. Lyrically, it is
satire and explores Rodrigo's concerns about society's double standards
and contradictory expectations for women. Rodrigo co-wrote the song with
its producer, Dan Nigro, and believed it captured feelings repressed
since age 15. It begins as a folk song and transitions into pop-punk
during the chorus, incorporating influences of punk, rock, grunge, and
pop rock. "All-American Bitch" was viewed as a successful opening track
that appealed to Generation Z by music critics, who praised Rodrigo's
vocals and the production. The song reached number 13 in the US and the
top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. Rodrigo performed it on
Saturday Night Live, where she stabbed a red-colored cake at a tea party
and splattered it on her face; the performance received positive
reviews. She also included it on the set list of the 2024–2025 Guts
World Tour.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-American_Bitch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1925:
Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges (cover pictured), to
a libretto by Colette, was premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27enfant_et_les_sortil%C3%A8ges>
1968:
War of Attrition: The Battle of Karameh took place between the
Israel Defense Forces and allied troops of the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Jordanian Armed Forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karameh>
1980:
The American soap opera Dallas aired the episode "A House
Divided", which led to eight months of international speculation on "Who
shot J.R.?"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_House_Divided_%28Dallas%29>
2019:
A major explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, China,
killed 78 people and injured 640 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Xiangshui_chemical_plant_explosion>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
diverse:
1. Not the same; different, dissimilar, distinct.
2. Consisting of different elements; various.
3. Capable of or having various forms in different situations or at
different times; multiform.
4. Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: of a community, organization,
etc.: composed of people with a variety of different demographic
characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or
socioeconomic status; especially, having a sizeable representation of
people who are minorities in the community, organization, etc.
5. (nonstandard) Of a person: belonging to a minority group.
6. (obsolete)
7. Differing from what is good or right, or beneficial; bad, evil;
harmful.
8. Having different colours; mottled, variegated.
9. (rare) Causing one to be indecisive between different viewpoints.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diverse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The virtues, like the body, become strong more by labor than by
nourishment.
--Jean Paul
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Paul>