K-25 was the Manhattan Project codename for the program that produced
enriched uranium for atomic bombs using the gaseous diffusion method at
the Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in the United
States. When the production facility was built in 1944, the four-story
gaseous diffusion plant (pictured) was the world's largest building,
with over 152,000 square metres (1,640,000 sq ft) of floor space. At
the height of construction, over 25,000 workers were employed on the
site. Slightly enriched uranium from the S-50 thermal diffusion plant in
the form of the highly corrosive uranium hexafluoride was fed into the
K-25 gaseous diffusion plant; its product in turn was fed into the Y-12
electromagnetic plant. The enriched uranium was used in the Little Boy
atomic bomb used in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Production of
enriched uranium ended in 1964, gaseous diffusion ceased in 1985, and
demolition of the facility was completed in 2017. (This article is part
of a featured topic: History of the Manhattan Project.) .
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/History_of_the_Manh…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1769:
Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de
Alcalá, the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of
New Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1>
1931:
Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie signed the nation's first
constitution, intended to officially replace the Fetha Nagast, which had
been the supreme law since the Middle Ages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Constitution_of_Ethiopia>
1950:
Korean War: A Korean People's Army unit massacred thirty-one
U.S. Army prisoners of war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain%E2%80%93Medic_massacre>
2007:
An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 MW struck Niigata Prefecture,
Japan, causing a leak of radioactive gases from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa
Nuclear Power Plant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Ch%C5%ABetsu_offshore_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wristlet:
1. An elastic band worn to keep a glove from slipping off the wrist.
2. A decorative band or bracelet that encircles the wearer's wrist;
especially, a closely knitted one to keep it warm; a muffetee.
3. A small handbag with a short strap for attaching it to the wearer's
wrist.
4. A handcuff.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wristlet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'll be all right. I'm just going through a phase right now.
Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?
--The Catcher in the Rye
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye>
No. 37 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) medium tactical
airlift squadron. It operates Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules aircraft
from RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales. The squadron has seen active
service flying transport aircraft during World War II, the Vietnam War,
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the military intervention against
ISIL. It has also supported Australian operations in Somalia, East
Timor, Bali, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. The squadron was
formed at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria, in July 1943 and became part
of No. 86 (Transport) Wing in 1946, but was disbanded two years later.
In response to Australia's air transport needs during the Vietnam War,
the squadron was re-formed in February 1966, equipped with the C-130E
Hercules (pictured). It converted to the C-130J model in 1999. No. 37
Squadron came under the control of a re-formed No. 86 Wing from 1987
until 2010, when it was transferred to No. 84 Wing.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._37_Squadron_RAAF>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Aboard HMS Bellerophon, Napoleon surrendered to Royal Navy
Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland to finally end the Napoleonic Wars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellerophon_%281786%29>
1966:
Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam began
Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese
Demilitarized Zone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hastings>
1983:
Armenian extremist organization ASALA bombed the Turkish
Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport, killing 8 and injuring 55, as
part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the
Armenian Genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Orly_Airport_attack>
2016:
Organized as the Peace at Home Council, a faction in the
Turkish Armed Forces attempted a coup d'état against the government and
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kombu:
Edible kelp (“a type of brown seaweed”) (from the class Phaeophyceae)
used in East Asian cuisine.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kombu>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In what time does man live? The thinkers have always known that
he does not live in any time at all. The immortality of thoughts and
deeds banishes him to a timeless realm at whose heart an inscrutable
death lies in wait. ... Devoured by the countless demands of the moment,
time slipped away from him; the medium in which the pure melody of his
youth would swell was destroyed. The fulfilled tranquility in which his
late maturity would ripen was stolen from him. It was purloined by
everyday reality, which, with its events, chance occurrences, and
obligations, disrupted the myriad opportunities of youthful time,
immortal time. ... From day to day, second to second, the self preserves
itself, clinging to that instrument: time, the instrument that it was
supposed to play.
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>
Roy Inwood (14 July 1890 – 23 October 1971) was a World War I
Australian soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross. Landing at Anzac
Cove, Gallipoli, in April 1915 with the 10th Battalion of the
Australian Imperial Force, he fought until being evacuated sick to Egypt
in September. He rejoined his unit on the Western Front before the
Battle of Mouquet Farm in August 1916. In 1917 he fought in the Battle
of Lagnicourt and the Second Battle of Bullecourt. His Victoria Cross
was awarded for actions in the Battle of Menin Road, including
eliminating a German machine-gun post. In World War II, he volunteered
to serve in the Citizens Military Forces, reaching the rank of warrant
officer I serving in the Australian Provost Corps and Military Prison
and Detention Barracks Service. After the war he returned to work with
the City of Adelaide, and on his death he was buried with full military
honours in the AIF Cemetery, West Terrace. His medals are displayed in
the Adelaide Town Hall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Inwood>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
The Sedition Act became law, making it a federal crime to
write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the U.S.
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts>
1874:
A fire in Chicago destroyed 812 structures and killed 20
people, leading to reforms in the city's fire prevention and
firefighting efforts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Fire_of_1874>
1987:
More than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-
hour period in Montreal, causing severe flooding and over C$220 million
in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_flood_of_1987>
2016:
A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France,
resulting in the deaths of 86 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Nice_truck_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
l'esprit de l'escalier:
The phenomenon when a conversational rejoinder or remark only occurs to
someone after the opportunity to make it has passed.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/l%27esprit_de_l%27escalier>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I
hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound
to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old
or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that.
Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck
or hard traveling. … I am out to fight those songs to my very last
breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that
will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you
pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color,
what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that
make you take pride in yourself and in your work.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Si Tjonat is a 1929 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia). The silent film was directed by Nelson Wong and produced by
Wong and Jo Eng Sek. It was shot in black and white and starred Ku Fung
May and Herman Sim. Based on the novel (cover pictured) by F. D. J.
Pangemanann, it follows an indigenous man who flees to Batavia (today
Jakarta) and becomes a bandit after killing his fellow villager. After
kidnapping an ethnic Chinese woman, he is defeated and brought to
justice. The story had proved popular with ethnic Chinese readers and
was often adapted to the stage by Betawi troupes as a lenong stage
performance, but the film received mixed reviews. Although it was
intended as a serial, no sequel was ever made; the production house,
Batavia Motion Picture, closed soon afterwards. Several works in the
same genre as Si Tjonat were released, including Si Pitoeng in 1931,
which used the same director and star. The film has probably been lost.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Tjonat>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Wallachian officials adopted Regulamentul Organic (cover
shown), which engendered a period of unprecedented reforms that provided
for the Westernization of the local society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulamentul_Organic>
1942:
World War II: The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was converted
from a battalion to accommodate a larger number of volunteers spurred on
by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Filipino_Infantry_Regiment>
2003:
French DGSE personnel aborted an operation to rescue Colombian
politician Íngrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, later causing a
political scandal when details were leaked to the press.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_14_juillet>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
calvous:
1. (formal, medicine, rare) Lacking most or all of one's hair; bald,
hairless.
2. (botany, rare) Lacking bristles or pappuses.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calvous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ivyed oaks dark shadow falls Oft picking up with wondering
gaze Some little thing of other days Saved from the wreck of time.
--John Clare
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Clare>
Tricholoma pardinum is a gilled mushroom widely distributed across North
America and Europe, as well as parts of Asia. It was first officially
described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1801. The imposing fruit
bodies (mushrooms) of T. pardinum appear in beech woodland in summer
and autumn. The pale grey cap, up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter, is
covered with dark brownish to greyish scales. The gills are whitish, and
are not attached to the stout white to pale grey-brown stalk. The spore
print is white. One of the more toxic members of the genus Tricholoma,
the species has been implicated in many episodes of mushroom poisoning,
probably because it is a large, attractive mushroom with a pleasant
smell and taste, and it bears a superficial resemblance to several
edible species, like Tricholoma terreum. Ingesting T. pardinum—even
in small quantities—results in a severe, persistent gastroenteritis
caused by an unknown mycotoxin.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricholoma_pardinum>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement,
received a revelation recommending plural marriage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Latter_Day_Saint_polygamy>
1920:
The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed, with Soviet
Russia agreeing to recognize an independent Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Peace_Treaty>
1962:
The English rock band the Rolling Stones played their first
concert, at the Marquee Club in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones>
1986:
The Homosexual Law Reform Act became law in New Zealand,
decriminalising consensual homosexual sex.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_Law_Reform_Act_1986>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abeyant:
Being in a state of abeyance; suspended.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abeyant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To
change something, build a new model that makes the existing model
obsolete.
--Buckminster Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller>
Payún Matrú is a shield volcano in the Malargüe Department of Mendoza
Province, Argentina. Activity in its volcanic field commenced at least
2.5 million years ago and continued until about 515 years ago. Payún
Matrú lies in the Payenia volcanic province in the back-arc region of
the Andean Volcanic Belt, formed by the subduction of the Nazca Plate
beneath the South American Plate. The volcano developed over sediments
and volcanic rocks ranging from Mesoproterozoic to Tertiary age. It
consists of a large shield volcano capped off by a 7–8 km
(4.3–5.0 mi) caldera that formed during a large explosive eruption
between 168,000 and 82,000 years ago, along with a compound volcano
3,680–3,797 m (12,073–12,457 ft) high, and scoria cones and lava
flows due west and east from the main shield volcano. One of these lava
flows, the Pleistocene Pampas Onduladas flow, is the longest one in the
world from the Quaternary, at 167–181 km (104–112 mi).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay%C3%BAn_Matr%C3%BA>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
London Waterloo station, Britain's busiest railway station by
passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station>
1914:
USS Nevada, the United States Navy's first "super-
dreadnought", was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_%28BB-36%29>
1960:
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee featuring themes
of racial injustice and the loss of innocence in the Deep South of
America, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird>
2010:
The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple
suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2010_Kampala_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
athanor:
(historical) A furnace or stove designed and used to maintain uniform
heat, primarily used by alchemists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/athanor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than
they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by
talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when
they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your
mouth shut or talk their language.
--To Kill a Mockingbird
<https://en.wikiquote.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird…>
Historically, the British farthing was a continuation of the English
farthing, a coin struck by English monarchs prior to the Act of Union
1707 that was worth a quarter of an old penny (1⁄960 of a pound
sterling). Only pattern farthings were struck under Queen Anne. The coin
was struck intermittently through much of the 18th century, but
counterfeits became so prevalent the Royal Mint ceased striking them
after 1775. The next farthings were the first ones struck by steam
power, in 1799 by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint. The Royal Mint
resumed production in 1821. The farthing was struck regularly under
George IV, William IV and in most years of Queen Victoria's long
reign. The coin continued to be issued in most years of the first half
of the 20th century, and in 1937 it finally received its own design, a
wren (pictured). By the 1950s, inflation had eroded its value. It ceased
to be struck after 1956 and was demonetised in 1961.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_farthing>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India, founded Fort William
College in Fort William, India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_College>
1921:
Irish War of Independence: One day after a truce between the
Irish Republican Army and British forces was agreed, violence broke out
between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281921%29>
1940:
Second World War: The Battle of Britain, in which the Royal Air
Force defended the UK from attacks by the German Luftwaffe, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain>
1973:
John Paul Getty III, grandson of American oil magnate J. Paul
Getty, was kidnapped in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Getty_III>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gorge:
1. (intransitive, reflexive) Often followed by on: To stuff the gorge or
gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities.
2. (transitive) To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large
mouthfuls or quantities.
3. (transitive) To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate.
4. (transitive) To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.); to block up or
obstruct; (US, specifically) of ice: to choke or fill a channel or
passage, causing an obstruction.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gorge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's the rich and powerful, by and large, who glamorize
immorality, but it's the poor and vulnerable who pay the price.
--Robert P. George
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_P._George>
On July 9, 1937, fire gutted a film storage facility (pictured) in
Little Ferry, New Jersey, rented by the American studio 20th Century-
Fox. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several high-
profile fires in film industry laboratories, studios, and vaults,
although the precise causes were often unknown. In Little Ferry, gases
produced by decaying film, subjected to high temperatures and inadequate
ventilation, spontaneously combusted. The fire caused one death and two
injuries, and destroyed all of the archived film in the vaults,
resulting in the complete loss of most of the silent films produced by
the Fox Film Corporation before 1932. Also destroyed were negatives from
Educational Pictures and films of several other studios. The fire
brought attention to the potential for decaying nitrate film to
spontaneously ignite, and to the need for fire safety in film
preservation. Production and use of nitrate film were gradually phased
out in favor of safer alternatives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Fox_vault_fire>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory at the
Battle of Melle enabled their subsequent capture of Ghent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Melle>
1877:
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis
tournament, began in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship>
1955:
Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent
intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto,
calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass
destruction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto>
1995:
Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take
shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in
Navaly, killing at least 147 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaly_church_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hyperparasite:
1. (biology) Any parasite whose host is a parasite.
2. (entomology, specifically) An insect that parasitizes another
parasitic insect.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyperparasite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry for the People rests upon a belief that the art of telling
the truth is a necessary and a healthy way to create powerful, and
positive, connections among people who, otherwise, remain (unknown and
unaware) strangers. The goal is not to kill connections but, rather, to
create and to deepen them among truly different men and women.
--June Jordan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/June_Jordan>
The Hi-Level was a bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used in the
United States. The Budd Company designed it in the 1950s for the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for use on the El Capitan, a
coach-only streamliner which ran daily between Los Angeles and Chicago.
The design was inspired by the dome car, employed in intercity routes in
the Western United States, and by bilevel commuter cars operating in the
Chicago area. Budd built 73 Hi-Level cars between 1952 and 1964. Car
types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars. Most passenger
spaces were on the upper level, which featured a row of windows on both
sides. Boarding was on the lower level; passengers climbed up a center
stairwell to access the upper level. Vestibules on the upper level
permitted passengers to walk between cars. Amtrak inherited the fleet in
1971 and continued to use the cars until their retirement in 2018. The
Superliner, based on the Hi-Level concept, entered service in 1979 and
remains in service.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Level>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1758:
French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at
Fort Carillon on the shore of Lake Champlain in the British colony of
New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carillon>
1962:
Following student protests at Rangoon University, Burmese
general Ne Win ordered the demolition of the historic students' union
building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_Rangoon_University_protests>
2014:
In response to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli
teenagers, Israel launched a military operation into the Hamas-ruled
Gaza Strip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel%E2%80%93Gaza_conflict>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pessimize:
1. (transitive) To take a pessimistic view of; to speak of in a negative
or pessimistic way.
2. (transitive) To make (something) pessimal or the worst; (in a weaker
sense) to make (something, such as a computer program) less efficient.
3. (intransitive) To think like a pessimist; to believe the worst.
4. (intransitive) To become pessimal or the worst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pessimize>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ground on which we’ll unite as Americans is the higher
ground of moral repair. Not Left or Right, or even Democrats or
Republicans. We’ll unite as Americans, having come to realize that
aligning public policy with the goodness in our hearts is our best and
only path forward.
--Marianne Williamson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson>
Maya is the third studio album by British recording artist
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/M.I.A._albums>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
Outraged by the XYZ Affair, the United States rescinded its
treaties with France, resulting in the undeclared Quasi-War, fought
entirely at sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War>
1911:
Four countries signed the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention,
which banned the open-water hunting of seals (example pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Fur_Seal_Convention_of_1911>
1963:
The secret police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief
political adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm,
attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest
during the Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
2012:
The equivalent of five months' rain fell overnight in parts of
Krasnodar Krai, Russia, causing flash floods that killed 171 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Krasnodar_Krai_floods>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hebdomad:
1. (obsolete) A group of seven.
2. A period of seven days; a week.
3. (Gnosticism) A group of seven world-creating archons (supernatural
beings) often regarded as somewhat hostile; also, a term of address for
the Demiurge (“a being sometimes seen as the creator of evil”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hebdomad>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In this complex world, science, the scientific method, and the
consequences of the scientific method are central to everything the
human race is doing and to wherever we are going. If we blow ourselves
up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from
blowing ourselves up, it will be through intelligent application of
science.
--Robert A. Heinlein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein>