Macedonia was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and
Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece.
The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the Argead dynasty,
followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient
Macedonians, it originated on the northeastern part of the Greek
peninsula. Before the 4th century BC, it was a small kingdom outside of
the area dominated by the city-states of Athens, Sparta and Thebes, and
briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia. During the reign of the Argead
king Philip II (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and
the Thracians' Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy, and
defeated Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea. His son Alexander
the Great, commanding the whole of Greece, destroyed Thebes after the
city revolted. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest, he
overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered as far as the Indus River.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_%28ancient_kingdom%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre established the Cult
of the Supreme Being as the new state religion of the French First
Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_the_Supreme_Being>
1940:
A three-day debate began in the British House of Commons, which
resulted in Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain being replaced by Winston
Churchill.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Debate>
1960:
Cold War: Nikita Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union was
holding American pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose spy plane had been
shot down six days earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident>
2010:
A draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome was published,
demonstrating that today's modern humans have Neanderthal ancestors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbreeding_between_archaic_and_modern_huma…>
_____________________________
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:
Men are generally more honest in their private than in their
public capacity, and will go greater lengths to serve a party, than when
their own private interest is alone concerned. Honour is a great check
upon mankind: But where a considerable body of men act together, this
check is, in a great measure, removed; since a man is sure to be
approved of by his own party, for what promotes the common interest; and
he soon learns to despise the clamours of adversaries.
--David Hume
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hume>
Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from
1939 to 1943 and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to
Astounding Science Fiction, also edited by Campbell; many authors and
illustrators contributed to both. Campbell wanted to publish a fantasy
magazine with more finesse and humor than Weird Tales, the leading
fantasy magazine in the 1930s. Campbell required his authors to avoid
simplistic horror fiction and insisted that the fantasy elements be
developed logically. Notable stories included several well-received
novels by L. Ron Hubbard and Fritz Leiber's "Two Sought Adventure", the
first in his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series. Unknown was forced to a
bimonthly schedule in 1941 by poor sales, and cancelled in 1943 when
wartime paper shortages forced Campbell to choose between turning
Astounding into a bimonthly or ending Unknown. The magazine is generally
regarded as the finest fantasy fiction magazine ever published, despite
the fact that it was not commercially successful.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_%28magazine%29>
_______________________________
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>
1937:
The German airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed
(newsreel featured) during an attempt to dock at Lakehurst Naval Air
Station in New Jersey, killing 36 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg>
1941:
American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the
United Service Organizations, beginning a career that lasted 50 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope>
2010:
Exacerbated by high-frequency traders using strategies that
have since been banned, major U.S. stock indices dropped nearly
9 percent and quickly rebounded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_flash_crash>
_____________________________
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:
If we judge by wealth and power, our times are the best of times;
if the times have made us willing to judge by wealth and power, they are
the worst of times.
--Randall Jarrell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Randall_Jarrell>
God of War: Ascension is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Santa
Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the
PlayStation 3 console. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is the
seventh installment in the God of War series and prequel to the entire
series. The player controls Kratos, the former servant of the Greek god
of war Ares, who tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and daughter.
In response to this tragedy, Kratos renounced Ares, breaking his blood
oath to the god. He was then imprisoned and tortured by the three
Furies, the guardians of honor and enforcers of punishment, who he
confronts after escaping with the aid of Orkos. The gameplay is similar
to previous installments, focusing on combo-based combat and quick time
events. The game also features magical attacks, puzzles, and platforming
elements. It is the only installment to include a multiplayer mode,
which is online-only for both competitive and cooperative play.
Ascension received generally favorable reviews from critics, although
the story was deemed to be less compelling than previous entries.
(This article is part of a featured topic: God of War franchise.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/God_of_War_franchise>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1904:
Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first
perfect game in modern professional baseball.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Young%27s_perfect_game>
1945:
World War II: The citizens of Prague spontaneously rose up
against the city's German occupiers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_uprising>
1980:
The British Special Air Service recaptured the Iranian embassy
in London after a six-day siege by Iranian Arab separatists.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Embassy_siege>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lustrum:
1. (Ancient Rome, religion, historical) A ceremonial purification of all
the people, performed every five years after the taking of the census; a
lustration.
2. (by extension, literary) A period of five years.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lustrum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is within us a moral instinct which forbids us to rejoice
at the death of even an enemy.
--Henryk Sienkiewicz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henryk_Sienkiewicz>
Lactarius torminosus, the woolly milkcap, is a large agaric fungus.
First described scientifically by Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774, it
is a common species, found in North Africa, northern Asia, Europe, and
North America. It grows on the roots of various trees, most commonly
birch in mixed forests. The cap of the L. torminosus mushroom, up to
10 cm (3.9 in) wide, is convex with a central depression. A blend of
pink and ochre hues, the cap sometimes has concentric zones of
alternating lighter and darker shades. On the underside are narrow
flesh-colored gills, crowded closely together. The cylindrical stem is a
pale flesh color with a delicately downy surface, up to 8 cm (3.1 in)
long and 0.6–2 cm (0.2–0.8 in) thick. When cut or injured, the
mushroom oozes a bitter white latex. The species is highly irritating to
the digestive system when eaten raw, but is valued for its peppery
flavor in Russia and Finland after being cooked to destroy its toxins.
(Full article...) .
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactarius_torminosus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1974:
An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in
the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb a peak higher than
8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaslu>
1990:
The Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR declared the restoration
of Latvia's independence, stating that the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and
the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 were illegal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Restoration_of_Independence_of_the_Rep…>
2000:
Ken Livingstone took office as the first mayor of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Livingstone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
walking carpet:
(slang, derogatory or humorous) An exceptionally hairy person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/walking_carpet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Advanced cultures are usually sophisticated enough, or have been
sophisticated enough at some point in their pasts, to realize that foxes
shouldn't be relied on to guard henhouses.
--Jane Jacobs
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs>
Catopsbaatar was a rodent-like mammal in the order Multituberculata that
lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about
72 million years ago. The first fossils were collected in the early
1970s, and the species received its own genus (Catopsbaatar, Greek and
Mongolian for 'visible hero') in 1994. Five skulls, one molar, and one
skeleton with a skull are known. The skull of Catopsbaatar was up to
70 mm (2.8 in) long, heavy-set and wide, with the zygomatic arches
strongly expanded to the sides. The ankles had spurs like those of the
male platypus and echidna, but apparently without the platypus's venom
canal. The spurs of Catopsbaatar and other Mesozoic mammals may have
been used for protection against theropod dinosaurs and other predators.
Like other members of its order, this species probably gave live birth,
and the presence of hair indicates it was warmblooded. Its fossils were
found in the Red Beds of Hermiin Tsav and the Barun Goyot Formation in
Mongolia.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catopsbaatar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1616:
The Treaty of Loudun was signed, ending a war that originally
began as a power struggle for the French throne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Loudun>
1920:
Russian Civil War: Relying on Red Army troops in neighboring
Azerbaijan, the Bolsheviks attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Georgia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Georgian_coup_attempt>
1945:
Second World War: The German ocean liner Cap Arcona, afloat in
the Bay of Lübeck with thousands of concentration camp survivors on
board, was attacked and sunk by the Royal Air Force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cap_Arcona>
1960:
The Off-Broadway show The Fantasticks premiered, eventually
becoming the world's longest-running musical, with 17,162 performances
across 42 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantasticks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
legman:
1. (originally US) A person hired to carrying out errands or (often)
menial tasks, frequently requiring travel from place to place; an errand
boy or errand girl, a runner.
2. (originally US, journalism) A reporter who frequently travels to
conduct research, interview witnesses, etc.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legman>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice.
--Niccolò Machiavelli
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli>
The Waterloo Bay massacre was a clash between European settlers and
Aboriginal Australians that took place on the cliffs of Waterloo Bay
near Elliston, South Australia, in late May 1849. Part of the
Australian frontier wars, it is likely that it resulted in the deaths of
tens or scores of Aboriginal people. In the lead-up, three European
settlers were killed by Aboriginal people, and one Aboriginal person was
killed and five others were poisoned by European settlers. Local
Aboriginal people have oral history traditions that a large-scale
massacre occurred. While older European accounts suggest that the event
was exaggerated into a myth over time, it has now been concluded that
the stories are founded in fact, and that some form of punitive action
did take place. In 2017, the District Council of Elliston erected a
memorial (pictured) to acknowledge what occurred, and received a
national award for their work in memorialising the massacre.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Bay_massacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
The Treaty of Wuchale was signed, ending the Italo-Ethiopian
War, but differences in translation later led to another war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo-Ethiopian_War_of_1887%E2%80%931889>
1945:
World War II: General Helmuth Weidling, the German commander of
Berlin, surrendered to Soviet forces led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov,
ending the Battle of Berlin (aftermath pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin>
1995:
Croatian War of Independence: Serb forces began rocket attacks
on the Croatian capital Zagreb, killing 7 people and injuring around 200
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreb_rocket_attacks>
2011:
The Conservative Party of Canada won enough seats in the
federal election to establish their first majority government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Canadian_federal_election>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
turn turtle:
1. (intransitive) Especially of a boat or ship, or some other vehicle:
to turn upside down.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To fail; to go belly up.
3. (intransitive, surfing) To roll upside down with one's surfboard
(usually a longboard) to allow a wave, especially a wave that has
already broken, to pass over.
4. (intransitive, historical) To capture a turtle by turning it on to
its back.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turn_turtle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Realists are, as a rule, only men in the rut of routine who are
incapable of transcending a narrow circle of antiquated notions. But
their adverse opinion does carry some weight and can do great harm to a
new project — at least until the innovation is strong enough to push
the "realists" and their moldy notions aside.
--Theodore Herzl
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Herzl>
James A. Ryder (1800–1860) was an American Catholic priest who led
several Jesuit institutions. He studied at Georgetown College before
entering the Society of Jesus in 1815. Ryder was then sent to Italy,
where he studied and taught theology. He continued as a professor upon
his return to the United States in 1829, and became the president of
Georgetown on May 1, 1840. He established the university's observatory
and liquidated its debt, while gaining a reputation as a talented
preacher. For two years of his term, he was also the provincial superior
of the Jesuits' Maryland Province. In 1845, Ryder became the second
president of the College of the Holy Cross. He then returned to
Georgetown as president in 1848, where he oversaw construction of a new
Holy Trinity Church and accepted a group of physicians to form a School
of Medicine. Ryder then assisted in founding Saint Joseph's College in
Philadelphia, and became its president in 1856. From 1857 until his
death, he preached and did pastoral work.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Ryder>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1625:
Dutch–Portuguese War: Portuguese and Spanish forces
recaptured the Brazilian city of Bahia, which had previously been
captured by the Dutch Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recapture_of_Bahia>
1786:
The Marriage of Figaro (audio featured), an opera buffa by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marriage_of_Figaro>
1950:
Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive
the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks>
1974:
Argentine president Juan Perón expelled Montoneros from a
demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, forcing the group to
become a clandestine organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_Montoneros_from_Plaza_de_Mayo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
synaesthesia:
1. (neurology, psychology) A neurological or psychological phenomenon
whereby a particular sensory stimulus triggers a second kind of
sensation.
2. (by extension) The association of one sensory perception with, or
description of it in terms of, a different perception that is not
experienced at the same time.
3. (art, literature) A literary or artistic device whereby one kind of
sensation is described in the terms of another.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/synaesthesia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn
vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence,
arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor,
blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into
justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely
required no character.
--Catch-22
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Catch-22>
Isopogon anemonifolius is a shrub of the family Proteaceae which is
native to eastern New South Wales in Australia. It occurs naturally in
woodland, open forest, and heathland on sandstone soils. Described in
1796 by Richard Salisbury, I. anemonifolius usually ranges between 1
and 1.5 metres (3 1⁄4 and 5 feet) in height, generally being smaller
in exposed heathland. Its leaves are divided and narrow, though broader
than those of the related Isopogon anethifolius, and have a purplish
tinge during the cooler months. The yellow flowers appear during late
spring or early summer and are displayed prominently. They are followed
by round grey cones, which give the plant its common name drumsticks.
The small hairy seeds are found in the old flower parts. A long-lived
plant (up to 60 years), I. anemonifolius resprouts from its woody base
after bushfire. It grows readily in the garden if located in a sunny or
partly shaded spot with sandy soil and good drainage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopogon_anemonifolius>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1598:
King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, granting
freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Nantes>
1927:
The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opened near
Alderson, West Virginia, as the first federal prison for women in the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Prison_Camp,_Alderson>
1945:
World War II: As Allied forces closed in on Berlin, Adolf
Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker one day
after their marriage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Adolf_Hitler>
2000:
Faustina Kowalska (portrait shown), a Polish nun whose
apparitions of Jesus inspired the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy,
was canonized by Pope John Paul II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faustina_Kowalska>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
desiccate:
1. (transitive) To remove moisture from; to dry.
2. (transitive) To preserve by drying.
3. (intransitive, rare) To become dry; to dry up.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/desiccate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Life does not forgive weakness.
--Adolf Hitler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler>
The Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar is a fifty-cent piece struck by
the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935 as a commemorative coin.
The coin was designed by Chester Beach. Its obverse depicts the Half
Moon, flagship of Henry Hudson, after whom the city of Hudson is named.
In addition to showing the ship, the coin displays a version of the
Hudson city seal, with Neptune riding a whale, a design that has drawn
commentary. Although the city of Hudson was a relatively small
municipality, legislation to issue a coin in honor of its
150th anniversary went through Congress without opposition and was
signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, becoming the Act of May 2,
1935. Most of the coins were likely bought by coin dealers, leaving few
for collectors, with the result that prices spiked from the $1 cost at
the time of issue. This caused collector anger, but did not lower the
coin's value, which has continued to increase in the 80-plus years since
it was struck..
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
A rockslide buried the Canadian mining town of Frank under more
than 110 million tonnes (120 million short tons) of rock, killing at
least 70 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide>
1945:
The Holocaust: The U.S. Army liberated Dachau, the first Nazi
concentration camp, and killed German prisoners of war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_liberation_reprisals>
1970:
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese forces began the Cambodian
campaign, aiming to attack North Vietnamese jungle bases.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_campaign>
2015:
The ringleaders of the Bali Nine were executed in Indonesia for
attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin to Australia in 2005.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Nine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
curate's egg:
(idiomatic) A thing which has good and bad parts, but is overall spoilt
by the bad.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/curate%27s_egg>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whatever is right can be achieved through the irresistible power
of awakened and informed public opinion. Our object, therefore, is not
to enquire whether a thing can be done, but whether it ought to be done,
to so exert the forces of publicity that public opinion will compel it
be done.
--William Randolph Hearst
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Randolph_Hearst>
Alf Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English
football player and manager. As England manager from 1963 to 1974, he
guided them to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Knighted in 1967, he
also managed his country to third place in the 1968 European
Championship and the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup and the 1972
European Championship. As a player, he was a defender and a member of
England's 1950 World Cup squad, and a part of the Tottenham Hotspur side
that won the English League championship in the 1950–51 season. A
statue of Ramsey was dedicated at the reconstructed Wembley Stadium in
2009, and various honours have been afforded to him for his eight years
as Ipswich Town manager. He is the first person to be inducted twice
into the English Football Hall of Fame: in 2002 in recognition of his
achievements as a manager, and again in 2010 for his achievements as a
player. He remains widely regarded as one of British football's all-time
great managers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alf_Ramsey>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
About 1,300 miles (2,100 km) west of Tahiti, Fletcher
Christian, acting lieutenant on board the Royal Navy ship Bounty, led a
mutiny against the commander, William Bligh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty>
1923:
The 1923 FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham
United was held on the opening day (crowd and police pictured) of the
Empire Stadium in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_FA_Cup_Final>
2008:
The 1,388-foot-tall (423.2 m) Trump International Hotel and
Tower in Chicago, the building with the world's highest residence above
ground level at the time, held its grand opening.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_International_Hotel_and_Tower_%28Chicag…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bounty:
1. (uncountable) Generosity; also (countable) an act of generosity.
2. (countable) Something given liberally; a gift.
3. (countable) A reward for some specific act, especially one given by
an authority or a government.
4. (specifically) A monetary reward for capturing (or, in the past,
killing) a person accused or convicted of a crime and who is at large;
also, a similar reward for capturing or killing an animal which is
dangerous or causing a nuisance.
5. (military, historical) Money paid to a person when becoming a member
of the armed forces, or as a reward for some service therein.
6. (countable, figuratively) An abundance or wealth.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bounty>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The secret of the demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audience
so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he.
--Karl Kraus
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Kraus>