A Song Flung Up to Heaven is the sixth book in a series of
autobiographies by author Maya Angelou (pictured). Set between 1965 and
1968, it begins where her previous book All God's Children Need
Traveling Shoes ends, with her return to the United States from Accra,
Ghana, where she had lived for four years. The assassinations of
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. frame the beginning and end of
the book. Angelou describes how she dealt with these events and the
sweeping changes both in the country and in her personal life, and how
she coped with her return home. The book ends with Angelou writing the
opening lines to her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings. Angelou wrote Song in 2002, sixteen years after All God's
Children. By that time she had received recognition as an author, poet
and spokesperson. A recorded version of the book received the Grammy
Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2003. (This article is part of a
featured topic: Maya Angelou autobiographies.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Maya_Angelou_autobi…>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1520:
Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Exsurge Domine, censuring 41
propositions from Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses and subsequent
writings, and threatening him with excommunication unless he recanted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exsurge_Domine>
1920:
Three African-American circus workers were lynched by a mob in
Duluth, Minnesota (memorial pictured), a crime that shocked the country
for having taken place in the Northern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duluth_lynchings>
1996:
The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a
truck bomb in the commercial centre of Manchester, England, injuring
more than 200 people and causing widespread damage to buildings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing>
2012:
American acrobat Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk a
tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nik_Wallenda>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Magna Carta:
1. (law, historical) A charter granted by King John to the barons at
Runnymede in 1215, which is one of the bases of English constitutional
tradition; a physical copy of this charter, or a later version.
2. (figuratively) A landmark document that sets out rights or important
principles.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Magna_Carta>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We believe in only the government we need, but we insist on all
the government we need. We believe in a government that is
characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes
beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to do things that we know
we can't do. We believe in a government strong enough to use words like
"love" and "compassion" and smart enough to convert our noblest
aspirations into practical realities. We believe in encouraging the
talented, but we believe that while survival of the fittest may be a
good working description of the process of evolution, a government of
humans should elevate itself to a higher order. Â
--Mario Cuomo
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mario_Cuomo>
Operation Inmate was an attack by the British Pacific Fleet against
Japanese positions on the isolated islands of Truk Atoll in the central
Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. On 14 June 1945, British
aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMSÂ Implacable conducted a series of
raids against Japanese positions. The next morning, several islands were
bombarded by British and Canadian cruisers, though with little success.
Further air strikes took place in the afternoon and night of 15 June
before the Allied force returned to its base. The attacks were conducted
to provide combat experience ahead of the fleet's involvement in more
demanding operations off the Japanese home islands. The attack was
considered successful by the Allies, with ships and air units gaining
useful experience while suffering two fatalities and the loss of seven
aircraft to combat and accidents. The damage to the Japanese facilities
in the atoll was modest.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Inmate>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1821:
The Funj Sultanate, in present-day Sudan, was conquered by
Egypt without a fight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funj_Sultanate>
1900:
The second of the German Naval Laws was passed, doubling the
size of the Imperial German Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Naval_Laws>
1940:
The Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, demanding
that the Red Army be allowed to enter the country and form a pro-Soviet
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_ultimatum_to_Lithuania>
2017:
A fire severely damaged Grenfell Tower in North Kensington,
London, killing 72 people and destroying 151 homes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bloviation:
(US, possibly originally Ohio, informal) A boastful or pompous manner of
speaking or writing; a lengthy discourse delivered in that manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bloviation>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I think I’ve done more for the black community than any other
President — and let’s take a pass on Abraham Lincoln, because he did
good — but although it’s always questionable — you know, in other
words, the end result. Â
--Donald Trump
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Trump>
Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, is a bioluminescent gilled
mushroom that occurs primarily in southern Australia and Tasmania, and
has been reported from India. The cream-coloured fan- or funnel-shaped
caps, up to 30Â cm (12Â in) across, have shades of orange, brown,
purple, or bluish-black. The white or cream gills run down the length of
the stalk, which is up to 8Â cm (3Â in) long and tapers in thickness to
the base. The fungus is both saprotrophic and parasitic, and its fruit
bodies are generally found growing in overlapping clusters on a wide
variety of dead or dying trees. First described scientifically in 1844,
O. nidiformis (from Latin for 'nest-shaped') was known by several names
before Orson K. Miller Jr. assigned its current name in 1994. Similar in
appearance to the common edible oyster mushrooms, O. nidiformis is
poisonous, with compounds called illudins that can produce severe cramps
and vomiting.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omphalotus_nidiformis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1805:
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Meriwether Lewis became the first
white American to sight the Great Falls (Black Eagle Falls pictured) of
the Missouri River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Falls_%28Missouri_River%29>
1944:
Second World War: At the Battle of Villers-Bocage, German tank
commander Michael Wittmann destroyed around 30 Allied vehicles in less
than 15Â minutes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wittmann>
1970:
"The Long and Winding Road" became the Beatles' twentieth and
final number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_and_Winding_Road>
2019:
Two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman amidst
heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2019_Gulf_of_Oman_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
nitrox:
1. (metallurgy) An industrial process for case hardening (imparting
greater surface hardness to) metal objects, involving nitrocarburizing
(the diffusion of carbon and nitrogen into the metal) followed by
oxidation.
2. (underwater diving) A mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, the nitrogen
content being lower than what is normally present in air, which is used
in place of air as a breathing gas.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nitrox>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 A powerful class by terror, rhetoric, and organised
sentimentality, may drive their people to war but the day draws near
when they cannot keep them there. Â
--The Autobiography of William Butler Yeats
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_William_Butler_Yeats>
The First Silesian War was a conflict between Prussia and Austria
lasting from 1740 to 1742, which resulted in Prussia's seizure of most
of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was
fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia and was part of the wider
War of the Austrian Succession. The war commenced in late 1740 with an
invasion of Habsburg Silesia when Maria Theresa's contested succession
to the Habsburg Monarchy provided an opportunity for Prussia to expand.
It ended in a Prussian victory with the 1742 Treaty of Berlin. The War
of the Austrian Succession continued, and would draw Austria and Prussia
into the Second Silesian War only two years later, which also ended in
Prussian control of Silesia. The First Silesian War marked the
unexpected defeat of the Habsburg Monarchy by a lesser German power and
initiated the Austria–Prussia rivalry that would shape German politics
for more than a century. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Silesian Wars.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Silesian_Wars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
Prince Afonso died at the age of two, leaving his father
Pedro II, the last emperor of Brazil, without a male heir.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso,_Prince_Imperial_of_Brazil>
1920:
During their national convention in Chicago, Republican Party
leaders gathered in negotiations at The Blackstone Hotel to select their
presidential candidate, leading to the phrase "smoke-filled room".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blackstone_Hotel>
1955:
Two cars collided during a running of the 24Â Hours of Le Mans,
resulting in 84 deaths making it the deadliest accident in motorsport
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster>
2007:
Mudslides caused by heavy monsoon rainfall and exacerbated by
hill cutting killed at least 128 people in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chittagong_mudslides>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
esquamulose:
(botany, mycology) Not covered in scales or scale-like objects; having a
smooth skin or outer covering.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esquamulose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Thy praise or dispraise is to me alike; One doth not stroke me,
nor the other strike. Â
--Ben Jonson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson>
Samuel J. Randall (1828–1890) was an American politician who served as
a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for
Pennsylvania from 1863 to 1890. He was elected to the Philadelphia
Common Council in 1852 and then to the Pennsylvania State Senate in
1858. Randall served in a Union cavalry unit in the American Civil War,
before winning a seat in the federal House of Representatives in 1862.
He was reelected every two years thereafter until his death. Randall
became known as a staunch defender of protective tariffs, designed to
assist domestic producers of manufactured goods. His defense of smaller,
less centralized government raised his profile among House Democrats,
and he served as speaker from 1876 until 1881. He was considered a
possible nominee for President in 1880 and 1884. He also served as head
of the House Appropriations Committee. (This article is part of a
featured topic: 1880 United States presidential election.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/1880_United_States_…>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1868:
Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia, was assassinated in the
park of Košutnjak in Belgrade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihailo_Obrenovi%C4%87>
1918:
World War I: Italian torpedo boats sank the Austro-Hungarian
dreadnought SMS Szent István off the Dalmatian coast, killing 89 of
the crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Szent_Istv%C3%A1n>
1957:
Led by John Diefenbaker, the Progressive Conservative Party won
a plurality of House of Commons seats in the Canadian federal election.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Canadian_federal_election>
2008:
War in Afghanistan: A U.S. airstrike resulted in the reported
deaths of eleven paramilitary members of the Pakistani Frontier Corps
and eight Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal areas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gora_Prai_airstrike>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fillip:
1. (archaic) The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb
and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
2. A smart strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by
other means.
3. (by extension) Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time
it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy.
4. (by extension) Something that excites or stimulates.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fillip>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 For the first time in history, the human species as a whole has
gone into politics. Everyone is in the act, and there is no telling what
may come of it. Â
--Saul Bellow
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Saul_Bellow>
All Souls is an American paranormal hospital drama television series
created by Stuart Gillard and Stephen Tolkin and inspired by Lars von
Trier's miniseries The Kingdom. It originally aired for a six-episode
season on UPN in 2001. The series follows the medical staff of the
haunted teaching hospital All Souls. While working as a medical intern,
Dr. Mitchell Grace, portrayed by Grayson McCouch (pictured), discovers
that the doctors are running unethical experiments on their patients.
Filming took place in Montreal, Canada, in a working psychiatric
hospital. All Souls had low viewership, and has not been released on
home video or through streaming services. Critical response was
primarily positive; commentators praised its use of horror and
paranormal elements. Critics had mixed reviews for the show's content
and style when compared to other horror and science-fiction television
series, such as The X-Files and the work of American writer Stephen
King.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_%28TV_series%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1523:
Parisian printer Simon de Colines was fined for printing
Biblical commentary by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples without obtaining
prior approval from theologians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_de_Colines>
1856:
The first company of Mormon pioneers, transporting their
possessions in handcarts, left Iowa City, Iowa, for Salt Lake City,
Utah.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_handcart_pioneers>
1928:
Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew landed
the Southern Cross in Brisbane, completing the first ever transpacific
flight from the United States to Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Cross_%28aircraft%29>
2010:
A child suicide bomber attacked a wedding in Nadahan,
Afghanistan, killing at least 40 people and injuring at least 70 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadahan_wedding_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
ennead:
1. (obsolete) The number nine.
2. (rare) Any grouping or system containing nine objects.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ennead>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 So kiss me Kate, Thou lovely loon, E'er we start on our
honeymoon. Â
--Cole Porter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cole_Porter>
Mary van Kleeck (1883–1972) was an American social scientist and
social feminist who advocated for scientific management and a planned
economy. She began her career in the settlement movement, investigating
women's labor in New York City. In 1916 she became the director of the
Russell Sage Foundation's Department of Industrial Studies, which she
led for over 30 years. During World War I, she was appointed by U.S.
president Woodrow Wilson to lead the development of workplace standards
for women entering the labor force. After the war, she led the creation
of the Women's Bureau, a federal agency that advocates for women in the
workforce. By the 1930s, van Kleeck had become a socialist, arguing that
central planning of economies was the most effective way to protect
labor rights. During the Great Depression, she became a prominent left-
wing critic of capitalism and the New Deal.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_van_Kleeck>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
Laki, a volcanic fissure in Iceland, began an eight-month
eruption, triggering major famine and causing massive fluoride
poisoning.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki>
1950:
Thomas Blamey became the only Australian to attain the rank of
field marshal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blamey>
1995:
Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf released the first
version of PHP, the most popular server-side language for websites.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP>
2007:
A major storm caused the bulk carrier MVÂ Pasha Bulker to run
aground in New South Wales, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Drake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
polynya:
(hydrology, oceanography) A naturally formed area of open water
surrounded by sea ice, especially in the Arctic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polynya>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 In an extreme view, the world can be seen as only connections,
nothing else. We think of a dictionary as the repository of meaning, but
it defines words only in terms of other words. I liked the idea that a
piece of information is really defined only by what it's related to, and
how it's related. There really is little else to meaning. The structure
is everything. There are billions of neurons in our brains, but what are
neurons? Just cells. The brain has no knowledge until connections are
made between neurons. All that we know, all that we are, comes from the
way our neurons are connected. Â
--Tim Berners-Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee>
1
0
June 7: Wolf
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
07 Jun '20
07 Jun '20
The wolf (Canis lupus) is a large canine native to Eurasia and North
America. It is the largest extant member of Canidae, males averaging
40Â kg (88Â lb) and females 37Â kg (82Â lb). On average, wolves measure
105–160 cm (41–63 in) in length and 80–85 cm (31–33 in) at
shoulder height. Compared to coyotes and jackals, wolves have more
pointed ears and muzzles, as well as shorter torsos and longer tails.
The fur of a wolf is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black. Up
to 38 subspecies have been recognized, including the domestic dog.
Wolves live in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair accompanied
by their offspring. Fights over territory are among the principal causes
of mortality. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds primarily on
large wild hooved mammals, though it also eats smaller animals,
livestock, carrion, and garbage. Most recorded wolf attacks on people
have been attributed to rabies. They have been both respected and feared
in human societies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1832:
The Reform Act, which is widely credited with launching modern
democracy in the United Kingdom, received royal assent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Act_1832>
1900:
American temperance activist Carrie Nation entered a saloon in
Kiowa, Kansas, and destroyed its stock of alcoholic beverages with
rocks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Nation>
1981:
The Israeli Air Force attacked and disabled the Osirak nuclear
reactor, under the assumption that it was about to start producing
plutonium to further an Iraqi nuclear-weapons program.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera>
1998:
Three white supremacists murdered James Byrd Jr., an African
American, by chaining him behind a pickup truck and dragging him along
an asphalt road in Jasper, Texas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Byrd_Jr.>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
merit:
1. (transitive) To deserve, to earn.
2. (intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.
3. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To reward.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/merit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.Â
We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way
they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it,
protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well fought
lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same. And if you and
I don't do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling
our children and our children's children what it once was like in
America when men were free. Â
--Ronald Reagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan>