The Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar is a fifty-
cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936 as a
commemorative coin. Designed by Abraham Wolfe Davidson, it marks the
150th anniversary of the designation of Columbia as South Carolina's
state capital. The obverse design (pictured) depicts Lady Justice
holding a sword and scales, standing between South Carolina's Old State
House, built in 1790, and the New State House, completed in 1903. The
reverse shows the palmetto tree, South Carolina's state symbol, with 13
stars representing the original Thirteen Colonies, though they may also
be intended to represent the Confederate States. The coins were struck
in September 1936, but they were slow to be distributed. Once they were,
they were sold to the public in small quantities, frustrating coin
dealers who hoped to accumulate more to resell to their customers. They
generally sell in the range of hundreds of dollars today, depending on
condition.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_South_Carolina,_Sesquicentennial_ha…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1602:
Early English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold arrived on Cape Cod
in present-day Massachusetts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Gosnold>
1904:
Russo-Japanese War: After striking several mines off Port
Arthur, China, the Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Yashima>
1966:
Disapproving of General Tôn Thất Đính's handling of the
Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ
ordered an attack on his forces and ousted Đính from his post.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B4n_Th%E1%BA%A5t_%C4%90%C3%ADnh>
1990:
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction
at Christie's in New York for US$82.5 million, making it the world's
most expensive painting at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
primigravida:
(obstetrics, veterinary medicine) A woman or female animal who is
pregnant for the first time, or who has been pregnant once.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/primigravida>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Rationality is what we do to organize the world, to make it
possible to predict. Art is the rehearsal for the inapplicability and
failure of that process.
--Brian Eno
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Eno>
Several attempts and proposals were made to unify Bulgaria and Romania
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, under a federation, a personal
union or a confederation. Earlier, Bulgarians and Romanians had lived
together under the First Bulgarian, Second Bulgarian and Ottoman empires
for centuries. After the establishment in 1878 of an autonomous
Bulgarian principality, there were several unsuccessful Romanian
nominees for its throne. In 1886, Bulgarian leader Stefan Stambolov
tried again to establish a personal union with Romania, and negotiations
were conducted. All such proposals ultimately failed because of cultural
and political differences and opposition from Austria-Hungary and
especially Russia, which even threatened to invade both countries.
Approaches to effect a union were attempted again during the communist
era, but the Soviet Union strongly rejected them. The accession of both
countries into the European Union has led to speculation about a new
future revitalization of the idea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Bulgaria_and_Romania>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1919:
Sir Harry Hands, the mayor of Cape Town, performed the first
public observance of a two-minute silence in remembrance of those killed
in World War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-minute_silence>
1931:
Five people were killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers opened
fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85dalen_shootings>
1951:
Trains ran on the Talyllyn Railway (locomotive pictured) in
Wales for the first time since its preservation, making it the first
railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talyllyn_Railway>
1980:
Salvadoran Civil War: Refugees trying to flee El Salvador
across the Sumpul River to Honduras were attacked by both Salvadoran and
Honduran forces, resulting in at least 300 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumpul_River_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
up to something:
(idiomatic) Doing something mischievous or scheming.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/up_to_something>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Don't avoid the clichés — they are clichés because they work!
--George Lucas
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Lucas>
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and
written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It stars Bruce Willis
(pictured), Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia. Based
on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard
follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is
caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Filming
took place in 1987 and 1988, on a $25–35 million budget. Reviews were
mixed, but Die Hard became the year's highest-grossing action film. It
received four Academy Award nominations, elevated Willis to leading-man
status and made Rickman a celebrity. It is now considered one of the
greatest action films. It revitalized the genre, largely due to its
depiction of McClane as a vulnerable and fallible protagonist. "Die
Hard" became a shorthand for plots in which a hero battles in a
restricted environment. It was selected for preservation in the National
Film Registry in 2017.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: Robert Smalls escaped from slavery by
commandeering the CSS Planter and sailing it from Confederate-
controlled waters to the Union blockade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls>
1909:
The first edition of the Giro d'Italia began in Milan, with
Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna becoming the eventual winner.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giro_d%27Italia>
1958:
Algerian War: A group of French military officers led a coup in
Algiers, demanding the formation of a government to defend French
control of Algeria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1958_crisis_in_France>
2005:
Uzbek Interior Ministry and State Security Service troops fired
at protesters in Andijan, killing between 187 and 1,500 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andijan_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
slip-up:
(idiomatic) A (small) error or mistake; a (minor) misstep.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slip-up>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I felt that I had done my duty. Nothing drove me now. I had run
out of causes and was as close as I might ever be to peace. With all
this behind me, I felt that if I had to die now, it was all right. I
would not protest quite so loudly as I would have at any other time.
--The Courts of Chaos
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Amber#The_Courts_of_Chaos_%…>
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range, wide-body airliner and cargo
aircraft manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United
States. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the
custom-built Everett Plant, the largest building in the world by volume.
The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was
certified that December. Entering service with Pan Am on January 22,
1970, it was the first airplane dubbed a "Jumbo Jet". The 747 is a
quadjet, with ten-abreast economy seating typically accommodating 366
passengers. It has a pronounced 37.5° wing sweep, allowing a Mach 0.85
(490 kn; 560 mph; 900 km/h) cruise speed. Boeing introduced the -200
in 1971, with more powerful engines for a heavier maximum takeoff weight
and a longer range. The heavier 747-400 was introduced in 1989 and is
the most common variant. By June 2020, 1,556 aircraft had been built.
As of 2020, 61 Boeing 747s have been lost in accidents, in which 3,722
people have died.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1881:
Under threat of invasion, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, Bey of Tunis,
signed the Treaty of Bardo to make Tunisia a French protectorate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_conquest_of_Tunisia>
1941:
German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3 (replica
pictured), the first working programmable and fully automatic computer,
to an audience of scientists in Berlin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z3_%28computer%29>
2008:
An earthquake registering approximately 8.0 Ms struck the
Chinese province of Sichuan, killing at least 69,000 people, injuring at
least 374,000, and leaving at least 4.8 million others homeless.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
motherhood statement:
(chiefly Canada, US) A vague, feel-good platitude, especially one made
by a politician, that few people would disagree with.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motherhood_statement>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When shall we see a life full of steady enthusiasm, walking
straight to its aim, flying home, as that bird is now, against the wind
— with the calmness and the confidence of one who knows the laws of
God and can apply them?
--Florence Nightingale
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale>
Ted Kaczynski (born 1942), also known as the Unabomber, is an American
domestic terrorist, primitivist and former mathematics professor. He was
accepted to Harvard College at the age of 16 and, after graduating and
earning his PhD, he taught at UC Berkeley for three years. He then moved
to a small cabin in Montana to pursue a simple life. Kaczynski began
sending mail bombs to people associated with universities, airlines, and
the advancement of modern technology in 1978. He mailed a total of
sixteen bombs, killing 3 people and injuring 23 others. Kaczynski's
bombing campaign came under investigation by the FBI, who employed over
150 people in the most expensive FBI investigation ever conducted at the
time. Kaczynski's manifesto, an anarcho-primitivist essay, was published
in The Washington Post on the condition that he would desist from
terrorism. He was eventually arrested in 1996 (mug shot pictured) and
later imprisoned at ADX Florence in Colorado.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
The major powers of Europe signed the Treaty of London to
resolve a crisis over the political status of Luxembourg between France
and Prussia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_%281867%29>
1894:
In response to a 28-percent wage cut, 4,000 Pullman Palace Car
Company workers went on strike in Illinois, bringing rail traffic west
of Chicago to a halt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike>
1981:
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats (performers pictured), the first
megamusical, opened at the New London Theatre to become an unprecedented
commercial success.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_%28musical%29>
1998:
India began the Pokhran-II nuclear-weapons test, its first
since the Smiling Buddha test 24 years earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhran-II>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brubru:
Also more fully as brubru shrike: a bird in the bushshrike family found
in sub-Saharan Africa (Nilaus afer).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brubru>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Learning in the true sense of the word is possible only in that
state of attention, in which there is no outer or inner compulsion.
Right thinking can come about only when the mind is not enslaved by
tradition and memory. It is attention that allows silence to come upon
the mind, which is the opening of the door to creation. That is why
attention is of the highest importance. Knowledge is necessary at the
functional level as a means of cultivating the mind, and not as an end
in itself. We are concerned, not with the development of just one
capacity, such as that of a mathematician, or a scientist, or a
musician, but with the total development of the student as a human
being.
--Jiddu Krishnamurti
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti>
A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo
project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was
composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife, Geneviève
Castrée's, diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2015 and her death in
July 2016. Elverum wrote and recorded the songs over a six-week period
in the room where she died, mostly using her instruments. The lyrics are
presented in a diary-like form and sung in a raw, intimate style. They
bluntly detail Castrée's illness and death, Elverum's grief, and his
relationship with their infant child. It is soundtracked by sparse folk
instrumentation. It was widely praised for its emotional potency. The
album went on to be one of the most acclaimed albums of 2017 and of
Elverum's career. His following albums, Now Only (2018) and Lost Wisdom
pt. 2 (2019), further detail and examine Castrée's illness and early
death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Crow_Looked_at_Me>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1849:
A personal dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William
Macready in New York City devolved into a riot that left at least 22
dead and more than 120 injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor_Place_Riot>
1916:
Ernest Shackleton and five companions arrived at South Georgia,
completing a 1,300 km (800 mi) lifeboat voyage (launch pictured) over
16 days to obtain rescue for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird>
1941:
World War II: German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess parachuted
into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the British
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess>
2005:
Armenian Vladimir Arutyunian attempted to assassinate U.S.
president George W. Bush and Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili in
Tbilisi using a hand grenade, which failed to detonate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Arutyunian>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abstract away:
1. (transitive) To generalize concepts or their application by using
abstraction into a more usable form.
2. (transitive, by extension) To ignore, to omit.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abstract_away>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If nature has offered to produce the maximum effect with minimum
causes, it is in all of its laws that it had to solve this major
problem. It is without doubt difficult to discover the foundations of
this wonderful economy, i.e. the simplest causes of phenomena considered
from such a wide point of view. But if this general principle of the
philosophy of physics does not lead immediately to the knowledge of
truth, it can direct the efforts of the human spirit, by leading it away
from theories which relate the phenomena to too many different causes,
and by adopting preferably those based on the smallest number of
assumptions, which show to be more fruitful in consequences.
--Augustin-Jean Fresnel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel>
"Mother's Day" is the second episode of the fourth season of the
American animated television series Rugrats, first broadcast on May 6,
1997, on Nickelodeon. In this Mother's Day special, Tommy Pickles and
Phil and Lil Deville attempt to find the perfect mother for Chuckie
Finster, who is being raised by his father Chas. They discover that
Chuckie's mother, voiced by Kim Cattrall (pictured), died of a terminal
illness. Norton Virgien and Toni Vian directed the episode. "Mother's
Day" was praised by critics for its storyline and its representation of
breastfeeding, and has been the subject of several retrospective reviews
for its treatment of the death of a parent. It won a CableACE Award and
was nominated for the Humanitas Prize in the Children's Animation
Category. Rugrats received a nomination for the 1997 Primetime Emmy
Award for Outstanding Animated Program after Nickelodeon submitted
"Mother's Day" for consideration.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_%28Rugrats%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1901:
The first Parliament of Australia opened (depicted) in the
Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, exactly 26 years before it moved
to Canberra's Provisional Parliament House, and exactly 87 years before
it moved into the Parliament House in Canberra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Australia>
1961:
In a speech to U.S. broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton Minow
described commercial television programming as "a vast wasteland".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_and_the_Public_Interest>
2001:
Police at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, fired tear
gas to quell unrest at a football match, leading to a stampede that
killed 126 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accra_Sports_Stadium_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
system:
1. A collection of organized things; a whole composed of relationships
among its members.
2. (derogatory) Preceded by the word the: the mainstream culture,
controlled by the elites or government of a state, or a combination of
them, seen as oppressive to the individual.
3. (computing) A set of hardware and software operating in a computer.
4. (mathematics) A set of equations involving the same variables, which
are to be solved simultaneously.
5. (music) A set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments
or sounds that are to be played simultaneously.
6. (physiology) A set of body organs having a particular function.
7. A method or way of organizing or planning.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/system>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The "ideas" of the average man are not genuine ideas, nor is
their possession culture. An idea is a putting truth in checkmate.
Whoever wishes to have ideas must first prepare himself to desire truth
and to accept the rules of the game imposed by it. It is no use speaking
of ideas when there is no acceptance of a higher authority to regulate
them, a series of standards to which it is possible to appeal in a
discussion. These standards are the principles on which culture rests.
--José Ortega y Gasset
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset>
Preening is a bird maintenance behaviour that involves using the beak to
position feathers, interlock the barbules, clean plumage, and reduce
parasites. Feathers contribute to a bird's insulation, waterproofing and
flight, so birds spend much time on preening. They may fluff up their
feathers to "rezip" the barbules, and use their beaks to gather preen
oil from a gland at the base of their tail. They spread the oil by
drawing each contour feather through their bills. Ritualised preening
has become part of some courtship displays and a displacement activity
when birds are subjected to stress. Preening can be a social activity
involving two or more birds called "allopreening", which occurs either
between a mated pair or flock members in a social species. This may
assist in grooming, the recognition of individuals, or reducing
conflict. Most allopreening is confined to the head and neck. Ingestion
of pollutants or pathogens during preening can lead to health problems.
Injury and infection can cause overpreening in caged birds.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preening>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
A train derailed and caught fire (depicted) near Versailles,
France, killing between 52 and 200 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_rail_accident>
1957:
South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began a state
visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem_presidential_visit_to_the_Unite…>
1972:
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to
demand the release of 315 convicted Palestinian terrorists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571>
1987:
A British Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish
Republican Army (IRA) unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight
IRA members and one civilian.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_ambush>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
megapolitan:
Of or pertaining to a megapolis (“a very large city or urban complex”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/megapolitan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Why should things be easy to understand?
--Thomas Pynchon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon>
Frances Gertrude McGill (1882–1959) was a Canadian scientist who was a
forensic pathologist, nicknamed the "Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan"
for her deductive skills and public fame. McGill influenced the
development of forensic pathology in Canadian police work. After
receiving her medical degree in 1915, McGill moved to Saskatchewan,
where she was hired first as the provincial bacteriologist and then as
the provincial pathologist. She worked extensively with the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and local police forces for more than
thirty years, and was instrumental in establishing the first RCMP
forensic laboratory. She directed the RCMP laboratory for three years,
and trained new RCMP recruits in forensic detection methods. After
retiring in 1946, McGill was appointed Honorary Surgeon for the RCMP by
the Canadian minister of justice, becoming one of its first official
female members. McGill Lake in northern Saskatchewan was named in her
honour.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Gertrude_McGill>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1895:
Alexander Stepanovich Popov presented his radio receiver,
refined as a lightning detector, to the Russian Physical and Chemical
Society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stepanovich_Popov>
1931:
New York City police engaged in a two-hour-long shootout with
Francis Crowley, witnessed by 15,000 bystanders, before he finally
surrendered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Crowley>
1946:
Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded the telecommunications
corporation Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, later renamed Sony.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony>
2009:
Police in Napier, New Zealand, began a 40-hour siege of the
home of a former New Zealand Army member who had shot at officers during
the routine execution of a search warrant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_shootings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
calumny:
1. (countable) A false accusation or charge brought to tarnish another's
reputation or standing.
2. (uncountable) Falsifications or misrepresentations intended to
disparage or discredit another.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calumny>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The human soul is on its journey from the law to love, from
discipline to liberation, from the moral plane to the spiritual.
--Rabindranath Tagore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore>
Mark Saunders was a British barrister who struggled with depression and
alcoholism. On 6 May 2008 he repeatedly fired a shotgun from a window
of his home in Markham Square, London. When armed police arrived,
Saunders fired at their vehicle (example pictured) and a siege began.
Saunders fired twice more and police returned fire, slightly wounding
him. Saunders then waved the shotgun out of a window in the direction of
a group of police officers; seven officers fired eleven shots, of which
at least five struck him. Saunders was pronounced dead at a waiting
ambulance. An inquest was held where the jury returned a verdict of
lawful killing, but found several flaws in the police handling of the
incident. They did not consider that any of these significantly
contributed to the outcome. They could not decide whether Saunders had
intentionally provoked a lethal response ("suicide by cop"). In 2010,
the Metropolitan Police created a unit of senior officers to manage
similar incidents.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mark_Saunders>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
Construction began on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the official
residence of the king of Thailand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace>
1882:
Irish civil servants Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick
Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of the radical Irish National
Invincibles in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park_Murders>
1941:
American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the
United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involvement with them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope>
1991:
Time magazine published the article "The Thriving Cult of Greed
and Power" by Richard Behar criticizing the Church of Scientology,
leading to years of legal conflict.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thriving_Cult_of_Greed_and_Power>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
staid:
1. Not capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.
2. (rare) Always fixed in the same location; stationary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/staid>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Come holy harlequin! Shake the world and shock the hypocrite
Rock, love, carry it away, turn it upside down. Let the feast of love
begin, Let the hungry all come in, Rock, love, carry it away, turn it
upside down.
--Sydney Carter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_Carter>