The Boat Race 2018 took place on 24 March. Held annually, The Boat Race
is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of
Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the
River Thames in south-west London, England. For the third time in the
history of the event, the men's, the women's and both reserves' races
were all held on the Tideway on the same day. The women's race saw
Cambridge lead from the start, eventually winning by a considerable
margin to take the overall record to 43–30 in their favour. In the
women's reserve race, Cambridge's Blondie (crew pictured) defeated
Oxford's Osiris by nine lengths. The men's reserve race was won by
Cambridge's Goldie, who defeated Oxford's Isis by a margin of four
lengths. The men's race was the final event of the day and completed a
whitewash as Cambridge won, taking the overall record to 83–80 in
their favour. The races were watched by around 250,000 spectators live,
and broadcast around the world.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_Race_2018>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1223:
Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan
Rus' army at the Battle of the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River>
1468:
Cardinal Bessarion announced his donation of 746 Greek and
Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, forming the Biblioteca
Marciana.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Marciana>
1935:
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Balochistan in British India,
now part of Pakistan, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_Quetta_earthquake>
2013:
A tornado struck Central Oklahoma, killing eight people and
injuring more than 150 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_El_Reno_tornado>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Nakba:
(politics) The dispossession of land and other property, destruction of
society, and suppression of culture and political rights experienced by
Palestinian Arabs occuring since the 1948 Palestine war and
establishment of the State of Israel.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nakba>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
By success, of course, I do not mean that you may become rich,
famous, or powerful for that does not, of necessity, represent
achievement. Indeed, not infrequently, such individuals represent
pathetic failure as persons. By success I mean the development of mature
and constructive personality. Through the application of the principle
of constructive thinking you can attain your worthy goals.
--Norman Vincent Peale
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Vincent_Peale>
Andrea Navagero (1483–1529) was a Venetian diplomat and writer. He
entered the Great Council of Venice at the age of twenty, five years
younger than was normal at the time. He edited manuscripts at the Aldine
Press, garnering a reputation as a scholar and a highly skilled writer.
In 1515, he was appointed the official historian of the Republic of
Venice as well as the caretaker of a library containing the collection
of the scholar Bessarion. Navagero was named the Venetian ambassador to
Spain in 1523 and navigated the volatile diplomatic climate caused by
the conflict between Charles V of Spain and Francis I of France. By
the time Navagero arrived back in Venice in 1528, he had grown
disillusioned with politics and wished to return to editing manuscripts
and cultivating his prized gardens. Much to his dismay, he was appointed
ambassador to France in January 1529. After traveling to meet with
Francis I, he fell ill and died that May.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Navagero>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1416:
A squadron of the Venetian navy captured many Ottoman ships at
the Battle of Gallipoli, confirming Venetian naval superiority in the
Aegean Sea for the next few decades.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gallipoli_%281416%29>
1913:
During the premiere of the ballet Le Sacre du printemps by Igor
Stravinsky at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the avant-
garde nature of the music and choreography caused a near-riot in the
audience (report pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring>
1999:
Charlotte Perrelli, representing Sweden, won the Eurovision
Song Contest, the first edition not to feature an orchestra or live
accompaniment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1999>
2011:
Residents of Portland, Oregon, held a rally called Hands Across
Hawthorne in response to an attack against a gay couple holding hands
while crossing the Hawthorne Bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hands_Across_Hawthorne>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unrebuilt:
1. Not rebuilt.
2. Of something damaged or destroyed: not built again, not
reconstructed.
3. Of something existing: not modified or renovated; still in its
original form.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unrebuilt>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to
increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by
all the processes and fulfillments of art — this is one of the
fascinating challenges of these days.
--John F. Kennedy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy>
Nosy Komba is a small volcanic island in Madagascar, situated between
Nosy Be and the northwest coast of the main island. The lowlands of the
island are divided between secondary forest and a patchwork of farmland
and plantations (notably including shade-grown coffee), while the
highlands are mainly scrubland, with a bamboo forest in the northern
portions. Ampangorina is the main village and administrative center. The
island attracts significant ecotourism, thanks in part to its black
lemurs. During the early 1800s, the region was heavily settled by
Sakalava refugees and their slaves fleeing the hegemony of the Merina.
France gained control of the island in 1840 and converted it to a
logistic center for the import of indentured servants. Although Nosy
Komba hosts a traditionally protected forest and an arboretum
established in the colonial era, protection for the latter is
essentially unenforced, and illegal logging continues. Only small
pockets of old-growth forest remain, in remote areas.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosy_Komba>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
English Civil War: Royalist troops stormed and captured the
Parliamentarian stronghold of Bolton, leading to a massacre of defenders
and local residents.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_Bolton>
1901:
Mozaffar ad-Din, Shah of Persia, granted exclusive rights to
prospect for oil in the country to William Knox D'Arcy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Arcy_Concession>
1937:
The rise of Neville Chamberlain culminated with his accession
as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, being summoned to Buckingham
Palace to "kiss hands".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_Neville_Chamberlain>
2002:
An independent commission appointed by the Football Association
voted two-to-one to allow Wimbledon F.C. to relocate from London to
Milton Keynes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relocation_of_Wimbledon_F.C._to_Milton_Keynes>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shenanigan:
1. (countable, chiefly in the plural) singular of shenanigans: a
deceitful confidence trick; also, an act of mischief; a prank, a trick;
an act of mischievous play, especially by children.
2. (uncountable, dated, rare) Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous
activities or behaviour; skulduggery, trickery; also, mischievous
behaviour or play; high jinks.
3. (transitive) To play a deceitful confidence trick on (someone); to
swindle, to trick; also, to carry out an act of mischief, on (someone);
to prank.
4. (intransitive) To play a deceitful confidence trick; also, to carry
out an act of mischief.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shenanigan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It has been nearly seventy years since the Sovereign first opened
Parliament. In the time since, Canada has dramatically changed:
repatriating its Constitution, achieving full independence, and
witnessing immense growth. Canada has embraced its British, French, and
Indigenous roots, and become a bold, ambitious, innovative country that
is bilingual, truly multicultural, and committed to reconciliation. The
Crown has for so long been a symbol of unity for Canada. It also
represents stability and continuity from the past to the present. As it
should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today, in all her
richness and dynamism.
--Charles III
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_III>
Transportation during the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
constituted a major challenge for the organisers due to the scale of the
event. Over €500 million was invested in improvements to
transportation infrastructure for the games. A mobile app was developed
to facilitate travel by offering a route calculator, and 5,000 agents
were deployed at stations and bus stops to assist travellers. A goal of
Paris 2024 was to halve the average carbon footprint of the London 2012
and Rio 2016 games. The organisers estimated that more than a third of
the greenhouse gas emissions would be from the transport of athletes and
spectators. All venues were made accessible by public transport and
bicycle, with 415 kilometres (258 mi) of cycle paths created to link
the venues and 27,000 bicycle racks installed. Public transport was
extended and services increased. The goal was met, with an estimated
54.6% reduction, representing 1.59 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_during_the_2024_Summer_Olympic…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1894:
Germany's Emanuel Lasker defeated Wilhelm Steinitz to become
the world chess champion, beginning a record 27-year reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Lasker>
1999:
Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League final to become
the first English football club to win three major championships in the
same season.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998%E2%80%9399_Manchester_United_F.C._season>
2002:
Barges being towed destroyed part of a bridge (aftermath
pictured) near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, causing vehicles to fall into
the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-40_bridge_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
high concept:
1. An appealing idea for a work (such as a book, film, or television
programme) that can be briefly summarized in an easily understandable
manner.
2. A style of work (such as a book, film, or television programme)
characterized by appealing and easily understandable ideas.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/high_concept>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Art is not science. Even when art is about science, it is still
art. There cannot be consensus, in the sense that science strives for
meaningful consensus. And unlike science, art is not progressive.
Personally, I have my doubts that science can be said to be genuinely
progressive, but I'm pretty dammed certain that art is not. Which is not
to say that it is not accumulative or accretionary. But the belief that
sf writers are out there forecasting the future, that they have some
social responsibility to do so, that's malarky, if you ask me.
--Caitlín R. Kiernan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Caitl%C3%ADn_R._Kiernan>
In the Rhine campaign of 1796, two First Coalition armies under the
overall command of Archduke Charles of Austria defeated two French
Republican armies in the last campaign of the War of the First
Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The French military
intended to capture Vienna and force the Holy Roman Emperor to
surrender. The French Army of Sambre and Meuse commanded by Jean-
Baptiste Jourdan opposed the Austrian Army of the Lower Rhine in the
north. The Army of the Rhine and Moselle, led by Jean Victor Marie
Moreau, fought the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine in the south. At the
Battle of Amberg on 24 August and the Battle of Würzburg on 3
September, Charles defeated Jourdan's northern army. During the winter
the Austrians forced Moreau's army back to France. Despite Charles's
success in the Rhineland, Austria lost the war when the French Army of
Italy, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, advanced on Vienna, resulting in
the Peace of Campo Formio.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine_campaign_of_1796>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1940:
Second World War: German troops captured Boulogne-sur-Mer,
France, forcing British forces to evacuate via Dunkirk.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Boulogne>
1955:
Joe Brown and George Band, members of the British Kangchenjunga
expedition, made the first ascent of the world's third-highest mountain
but deliberately did not set foot on the summit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_British_Kangchenjunga_expedition>
1967:
Having purged a group of rivals, Supreme Leader of North Korea
Kim Il Sung delivered the "May 25 teaching", entrenching his son Kim
Jong Il as his designated successor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapsan_faction_incident>
2020:
George Floyd, a black American man, was murdered (memorial
pictured) during an arrest by a white police officer in Minneapolis,
sparking protests in the U.S. and other countries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
endue:
1. Senses relating to covering or putting on.
2. (transitive, also figurative) Of a person or thing: to take on (a
different form); to adopt, to assume.
3. (transitive, archaic or literary, also figurative) To put on (a piece
of clothing, etc.); to wear; also (followed by with), to clothe
(someone) with something.
4. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To put (something) on top of a thing; to
cover, to overlay.
5. Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.
6. (transitive, often passive voice, literary) Followed by with: to
invest (someone or something) with a certain power, quality, etc.
7. (transitive, obsolete)
8. Of a quality, etc.: to be inherent in (something).
9. To supply (someone) with a thing.
10. Synonym of endow (“to invest (a person, group of people, or
institution) with property”)
11. (rare) Synonym of bestow (“to impart (something) gratuitously; to
grant”)
12. (obsolete) Senses relating to directing or leading.
13. (transitive) To raise or rear (someone); to bring up; also, to
educate or instruct (someone).
14. (transitive, rare) To bring (something) to a certain condition.
15. (obsolete) Senses relating to taking in.
16. (transitive, falconry) Of a hawk: originally, to pass (food in the
crop or gizzard) into the stomach; later, to digest (food).
17. (transitive, by extension) Of a person or animal: to digest (food).
18. (transitive, figurative) To take on; to absorb.
19. (intransitive, rare) Of food: to be digested.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/endue>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste. It's
what everything else isn't.
--Theodore Roethke
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Roethke>
Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages
and others from regions influenced by Chinese culture. The function,
style, and means of writing characters have changed greatly over the
past three millennia. Unlike letters in alphabets that directly reflect
the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally represent
morphemes—the units of meaning in a language—often encoding aspects
of pronunciation as well as meaning. Writing all of a language's
frequently used vocabulary requires 2000–3000 characters; as of 2024,
nearly 100,000 have been identified and included in The Unicode
Standard. Characters are composed of strokes written in a fixed order.
Historically, methods of writing them include inscribing stone, bone, or
bronze; brushing ink onto silk, bamboo, or paper; and printing with
woodblocks or moveable type. More recent technologies using Chinese
characters include telegraph codes and typewriters, as well as input
methods and text encodings on computers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
The Act of Toleration became law, granting freedom of worship
to English nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately
excluding Catholics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toleration_Act_1688>
1798:
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began, with battles beginning in
County Kildare and fighting later spreading across the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Rebellion_of_1798>
1963:
United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy met with
African American author James Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt to
improve race relations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin%E2%80%93Kennedy_meeting>
2014:
A gunman involved in Islamic extremism opened fire at the
Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_of_Belgium_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
smidgen:
1. Chiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a
bit, a trace.
2. (by extension) Chiefly in the form a smidgen of a: a very small or
insignificant person or thing; also, an example of such a person or
thing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smidgen>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads
to. It is the means that determine the end.
--Harry Emerson Fosdick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Emerson_Fosdick>
Ezra Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an American poet
and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a
World War II collaborator in Fascist Italy. His works include Ripostes
(1912), Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1920), and the epic poem The Cantos
(c. 1917–1962). Pound helped shape the work of contemporaries such
as H.D., Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce.
He moved to Italy in 1924, where he embraced Benito Mussolini's Italian
fascism and supported Adolf Hitler. During World War II, Pound recorded
hundreds of radio propaganda broadcasts attacking the United States,
praising the Holocaust in Italy, and urging American soldiers to
surrender. In 1945 Pound was captured and ruled mentally unfit to stand
trial. While incarcerated for over 12 years at a psychiatric hospital
his The Pisan Cantos (1948) was awarded the Bollingen Prize for Poetry
causing enormous controversy. Released, in 1958 he returned,
unrepentant, to Italy, where he died.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Pound>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1873:
The North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and
assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Mounted_Police>
1934:
During a strike against the Electric Auto-Lite company in
Toledo, a fight began between nearly 10,000 American strikers and
sheriff's deputies, later involving the Ohio National Guard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Lite_strike_%281934%29>
1999:
Professional wrestler Owen Hart died immediately before a World
Wrestling Federation match after dropping 70 feet (21 m) onto the ring
during a botched entrance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Edge_%281999%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rase:
1. (intransitive, archaic) To be extremely angry; to rage; specifically,
of a dog or wolf: to snarl in rage. [...]
2. (transitive, archaic) Alternative spelling of race (“to pluck or
snatch (something); also, to pull (something)”) [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rase>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Who will save your souls? After all those lies that you told,
boy Now, who will save your souls? If you won't save your own?
--Jewel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jewel_%28singer%29>
Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic
infection by the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. A person becomes
infected by drinking water contaminated with Guinea-worm larvae, which
penetrate the digestive tract and escape into the body. Around a year
later, the adult female migrates to an exit site – usually the lower
leg – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin.
Eventually, the blister bursts, creating a painful wound from which the
worm gradually emerges. The wound remains painful throughout the worm's
emergence, disabling the affected person for the three to ten weeks it
takes the worm to emerge. There is no medication to treat or prevent
dracunculiasis. Instead, the mainstay of treatment is the careful
wrapping of the emerging worm around a small stick or gauze to encourage
and speed up its exit. A disease of extreme poverty, there were 14 cases
reported worldwide in 2023, as efforts continue to eradicate it.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1874:
Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem was first performed in the San Marco
church in Milan to commemorate the first anniversary of Alessandro
Manzoni's death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_%28Verdi%29>
1998:
In Public Prosecutor v Taw Cheng Kong, the Court of Appeal of
Singapore overruled a High Court decision in the only time a statute in
Singapore had been ruled unconstitutional.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Prosecutor_v_Taw_Cheng_Kong>
2014:
Prayut Chan-o-cha, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai
Army, launched a coup d'état against the caretaker government following
six months of political crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Thai_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
zygote:
(cytology, also attributive) A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of
two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zygote>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Zen has been called the "religion before religion," which is to
say that anyone can practice, including those committed to another
faith. And that phrase evokes that natural religion of our early
childhood, when heaven and a splendorous earth were one. But soon the
child's clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions
and abstractions. Not until years later does an instinct come that a
vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the
pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain,
like a memory of paradise. After that day, at the bottom of each breath,
there is a hollow place that is filled with longing. We become seekers
without knowing what we seek.
--Peter Matthiessen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Matthiessen>
The red-capped parrot (Purpureicephalus spurius) is a species of broad-
tailed parrot native to southwest Western Australia. Described by
Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, it is classified in its own genus owing to its
distinctive elongated beak. Its closest relative is the mulga parrot. It
is not easily confused with other parrot species; both adult sexes have
a bright crimson crown, green-yellow cheeks, and a distinctive long
bill. The wings, back, and long tail are dark green, and the underparts
are purple-blue. Found in woodland and open savanna country, the red-
capped parrot consumes seeds (particularly of eucalypts), flowers,
berries, and occasionally insects. Nesting takes place in tree hollows.
Although the red-capped parrot has been shot as a pest, and affected by
land clearing, the population is growing and the species is not
threatened. In captivity, it has a reputation of being both anxious and
difficult to breed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-capped_parrot>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: The inconclusive Battle of Spotsylvania
Court House in Virginia ended with combined Union and Confederate
casualties totaling around 31,000.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spotsylvania_Court_House>
1894:
The Manchester Ship Canal, linking Manchester in North West
England to the Irish Sea, officially opened, becoming the world's
largest navigation canal at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Ship_Canal>
1925:
The opera Doktor Faust, unfinished when composer Ferruccio
Busoni died, was premiered in Dresden.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doktor_Faust>
2014:
A Taiwanese man carried out a stabbing spree on a Taipei Metro
train, killing four people and injuring 24 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Taipei_Metro_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Afrasian:
1. Of or relating to both Africa and Asia.
2. (linguistics, specifically) Synonym of Afroasiatic (“of, pertaining
to, or being a language family spoken in northern Africa and southwest
Asia, and including Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Semitic, and
possibly Omotic languages”)
3. A thing that relates to both Africa and Asia.
4. (linguistics) A person who comes from a region where Afroasiatic
languages are spoken.
5. (linguistics, uncommon) Synonym of Afroasiatic (“the language family
spoken in northern Africa and southwest Asia, and including Berber,
Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Semitic, and possibly Omotic languages”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Afrasian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Oh, happiness! Our being’s end and aim! Good, pleasure, ease,
content! whate’er thy name: That something still which prompts the
eternal sigh, For which we bear to live, or dare to die, Which still
so near us, yet beyond us lies, O’erlooked, seen double, by the fool,
and wise. Plant of celestial seed! if dropped below, Say, in what
mortal soil thou deign’st to grow? … Where grows? — where grows
it not? If vain our toil, We ought to blame the culture, not the soil:
Fixed to no spot is happiness sincere, ’Tis nowhere to be found, or
everywhere; ’Tis never to be bought, but always free, And fled from
monarchs, St. John! dwells with thee.
--An Essay on Man
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_Man>
1
0
May 20: Cher
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
20 May '25
20 May '25
Cher (born May 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress. Dubbed the
"Goddess of Pop", she gained fame in 1965 as part of the folk duo Sonny
& Cher, early exponents of 1960s counterculture. She became a TV star in
the 1970s, with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour drawing more than
30 million viewers weekly, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 with
narrative pop songs including "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" and "Half-
Breed". Transitioning to film, she earned two Academy Awards
nominations—for Silkwood (1983) and Moonstruck (1987), winning Best
Actress for the latter—and received the Cannes Film Festival Award for
Best Actress for Mask (1985). Her dance-pop comeback album Believe
(1998) introduced the "Cher effect", a stylized use of Auto-Tune to
distort vocals. Her 2002–2005 Farewell Tour grossed $250 million, the
highest ever by a female artist at the time. A Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame inductee, Cher is the only solo artist with Billboard number-one
singles in each of seven decades.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
794:
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, King Æthelberht II of
East Anglia was beheaded on the orders of Offa of Mercia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelberht_II_of_East_Anglia>
1714:
J. S. Bach led the first performance of his Pentecost cantata
Erschallet, ihr Lieder at the chapel of Schloss Weimar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erschallet,_ihr_Lieder,_erklinget,_ihr_Saiten…>
1927:
With the signing of the Treaty of Jeddah, the United Kingdom
recognized the sovereignty of Ibn Saud over Hejaz and Nejd, which later
merged to become Saudi Arabia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Saud>
1941:
World War II: German paratroopers began the Battle of
Heraklion on the island of Crete, capturing the airfield and port in
Heraklion ten days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Heraklion>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
boatage:
1. (uncountable) Conveyance, chiefly of goods, by boat.
2. (uncountable) A charge for transporting goods or people by boat;
(countable) an instance of this.
3. (uncountable) The total capacity of a number of boats, especially of
lifeboats on a ship.
4. (uncountable, obsolete) Boats collectively.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boatage>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
My goal in life is to make people think. If I do that, I've been
a success.
--Charles A. Reich
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_A._Reich>