Interstate 675 (I-675) is a 7.7-mile-long (12.4 km) auxiliary
Interstate Highway, state trunkline highway and loop route in the US
state of Michigan. Splitting from I-75 and US Highway 23, which run
north concurrently along the eastern side of Saginaw, I-675 heads west
into the downtown area and spans the Saginaw River on the Henry G. Marsh
Bridge. After an interchange with M-58, the Interstate turns northward,
then runs northeasterly to connect back to I-75. The Marsh Bridge was
constructed as an alternative to the Zilwaukee Bridge, which is just
southeast of this junction on I-75 over the Saginaw; the I-75 bridge was
until 1988 a drawbridge that would impede traffic on the freeway for up
to four hours at a time. Construction of I-675 started in 1969 and the
freeway opened in 1971. Sections near downtown were reconstructed from
2009 through 2011 to update one of the freeway's interchanges and to
rebuild the Marsh Bridge.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_675_%28Michigan%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1573:
A peace treaty brought the Ottoman–Venetian War to an end,
ceding Cyprus from the Republic of Venice to the Ottoman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Venetian_War_%281570%E2%80%93…>
1900:
The German ocean liner SSÂ Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the
first ship to send a wireless telegraph message to an onshore receiver.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Kaiser_Wilhelm_der_Grosse>
1945:
World War II: At the beginning of the Battle of Remagen, Allied
forces unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge, which possibly
hastened the war's conclusion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Remagen>
1965:
Unarmed civil rights activists marching from Selma to
Montgomery, Alabama, were attacked by police on "Bloody Sunday".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_to_Montgomery_marches>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nervous:
1. Easily agitated or alarmed; edgy, on edge.
2. Apprehensive, anxious, hesitant, worried.
3. Relating to or affecting the nerves.
4. (archaic) Having nerves; nervose.
5. (obsolete) Showing nervous strength; sinewy, vigorous.
6. (obsolete) Of a piece of writing: forceful, powerful.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nervous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 A mind which has once imbibed a taste for scientific inquiry, and
has learnt the habit of applying its principles readily to the cases
which occur, has within itself an inexhaustible source of pure and
exciting contemplations. … Accustomed to trace the operation of
general causes, and the exemplification of general laws, in
circumstances where the uninformed and unenquiring eye perceives neither
novelty nor beauty, he walks in the midst of wonders. Â
--John Herschel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Herschel>
The water pipit (Anthus spinoletta) is a small songbird which breeds in
the mountains of Southern Europe and Southern Asia eastwards to China.
It is a short-distance migrant; many birds move to lower altitudes or
wet open lowlands in winter. In breeding plumage it has greyish-brown
upperparts, weakly streaked with darker brown, and pale pink-buff
underparts fading to whitish on the lower belly. The head is grey with a
broad white eyebrow, and the outer tail feathers are white. The winter
colours are duller, with more brown. Water pipits construct a cup-like
nest on the ground under vegetation or in cliff crevices and lay four to
six speckled greyish-white eggs, which hatch in about two weeks with
about two more weeks until the chicks fledge. Although pipits
occasionally catch insects in flight, they feed mainly on small
invertebrates picked off the ground or vegetation, and also on some
plant material. The species population is large and stable overall.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_pipit>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1853:
Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata premiered at La Fenice in Venice,
but the performance was considered so bad that it caused him to revise
portions of the opera.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata>
1930:
Organized by the Communist International, hundreds of thousands
of people in major cities around the world marched to protest mass
unemployment associated with the Great Depression.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Unemployment_Day>
1943:
World War II: National Liberation Front forces defeated Italian
occupiers in the Battle of Fardykambos, a major sign of the Greek
Resistance's growth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fardykambos>
1967:
Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defected to the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Alliluyeva>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
periodic table:
(chemistry) A tabular chart of the chemical elements according to their
atomic numbers so that elements with similar properties are in the same
group (column).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/periodic_table>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 When everything has to be right, something isn't. Â
--Stanisław Jerzy Lec
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Jerzy_Lec>
J. R. Kealoha (died March 5, 1877) was a Native Hawaiian who fought in
the American Civil War at a time when the Kingdom of Hawaii was an
independent nation. He enlisted in the 41st United States Colored
Infantry (USCT), formed in Pennsylvania. Participating in the Siege of
Petersburg, he met the Hawaiʻi-born Colonel Samuel Armstrong, who
recorded their encounter. With the 41st USCT, Kealoha was present at the
surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia on April 9,
1865. He returned to Hawaiʻi, where he died and was buried in an
unmarked grave in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery. In 2010, Kealoha and more
than 100 other Native Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-born "Hawaiʻi Sons of the
Civil War" were commemorated with a bronze plaque erected along the
memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in
Honolulu. In 2014, a grave marker (pictured) was dedicated over
Kealoha's burial site.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Kealoha>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1770:
American Revolution: British soldiers fired into a crowd
(engraving shown) in Boston, killing five people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre>
1825:
Roberto CofresÃ, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates,
was apprehended after his flagship sloop Anne was captured by
authorities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_the_sloop_Anne>
1960:
Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took his iconic photograph
Guerrillero Heroico of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrillero_Heroico>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
dekulakize:
(transitive, historical) Usually with reference to the Soviet Union and
communist Eastern Europe: to dispossess (a kulak, that is, a prosperous
peasant) of his or her property and/or rights.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dekulakize>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We shall use only peaceful means and we shall not permit any
other kind of method. Â
--Zhou Enlai
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zhou_Enlai>
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author
Ursula K. Le Guin (pictured). First published by the small press
Parnassus in 1968, it is considered a classic of fantasy and of
children's literature. Set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea, the
story centers around a gifted mage named Ged. His prickly nature drives
him into a duel with an older pupil at a school of wizardry, during
which his spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks
him. The novel follows his journey to be free of the creature. Often
described as a coming-of-age story, the book explores Ged's process of
learning to cope with power and come to terms with death. Taoist themes
are reflected in a fundamental balance in the universe of Earthsea,
which wizards are supposed to maintain. Margaret Atwood called the novel
one of the "wellsprings" of fantasy literature. It was followed by five
other volumes sharing a setting; the six works are collectively known as
the Earthsea Cycle.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard_of_Earthsea>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1890:
The Forth Bridge, a railway bridge connecting Edinburgh to Fife
over the Firth of Forth, opened, becoming an internationally recognised
Scottish landmark.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge>
1966:
During an interview, John Lennon of the Beatles argued that the
band had become "more popular than Jesus".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus>
1990:
College basketball player Hank Gathers died after collapsing
during a West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game in Los Angeles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gathers>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
not to put too fine a point on it:
(idiomatic) Used to apologize for a possibly impolite statement one is
making.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/not_to_put_too_fine_a_point_on_it>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the
worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever
be good enough — that we should try again. No. We should not. Focused
on process, our creative life retains a sense of adventure. Focused on
product, the same creative life can feel foolish or barren. Â
--Julia Cameron
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julia_Cameron>
Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder which begins during
childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by tics (video shown) such
as blinking, coughing, sniffing, or facial movements that are a somewhat
suppressible response to an unwanted urge. Once considered rare,
Tourette's occurs in about 1% of people under eighteen, although many go
undiagnosed or never seek medical care. There is no specific test for
diagnosis and Tourette's is not always correctly identified because most
cases are mild. Extreme cases in adulthood are rare and Tourette's does
not affect intelligence or life expectancy. Education is an integral
part of management of the syndrome, and explanation and reassurance are
often sufficient. The cause is believed to involve environmental and
unknown genetic factors. The condition was named for Georges Gilles de
la Tourette, who published an account of nine patients in 1885.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette_syndrome>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1820:
The U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, which
balanced the admission of Missouri as a slave state with that of Maine
as a free state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Compromise>
1891:
Shoshone National Forest, in the U.S. state of Wyoming, was
established as the country's first national forest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshone_National_Forest>
1945:
A Polish Home Army unit massacred at least 150 Ukrainian
civilians in Pawłokoma, Poland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paw%C5%82okoma_massacre>
1972:
The British rock band Jethro Tull released Thick as a Brick, a
concept album supposedly adapted from an epic poem by an eight-year-old
boy named Gerald Bostock.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thick_as_a_Brick>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
triangulation:
1. (uncountable, surveying) A technique in which distances and
directions are estimated from an accurately measured baseline and the
principles of trigonometry; (countable) an instance of the use of this
technique.
2. (countable, surveying) The network of triangles so obtained, that are
the basis of a chart or map.
3. (countable, chess) A delaying move in which the king moves in a
triangular path to force the advance of a pawn.
4. (countable, geometry) A subdivision of a planar object into
triangles, and by extension the subdivision of a higher-dimension
geometric object into simplices.
5. (uncountable, navigation, seismology) A process by which an unknown
location is found using three known distances from known locations.
6. (uncountable, politics) The practice of repositioning one's group or
oneself on the political spectrum in an attempt to capture the centre.
7. (uncountable, qualitative research) The use of three (or more)
researchers to interview the same people or to evaluate the same
evidence to reduce the impact of individual bias.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/triangulation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Persuasion, indeed, is a kind of force. It consists in showing a
person the consequences of his actions. It is, in a word, force applied
through the mind. Â
--James Fitzjames Stephen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Fitzjames_Stephen>
Palmyra is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria.
Inhabited since the Neolithic period, it entered recorded history in the
early second millennium BC. Palmyra became part of the Roman Empire in
the first century AD. Palmyrene merchants established colonies along the
Silk Road and the city grew wealthy from trade caravans. Many monumental
projects were erected, such as the Great Colonnade, the Temple of Bel,
and distinctive tower tombs. Palmyra reached the apex of its power in
the 260s, when its king Odaenathus defeated the Persian emperor
Shapur I. After Odaenathus's assassination in 267, his widow Zenobia
rebelled against Rome and conquered the Roman East. Palmyra was
destroyed in 273 by the Roman emperor Aurelian. Restored on a smaller
scale, it remained a minor trading center until it was sacked by the
Timurids in 1400 and became a small village. During the Syrian civil war
in 2015, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant destroyed large parts
of the ancient city.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmyra>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
French inventor Claude Chappe and his brothers first
demonstrated the optical telegraph, a system that conveys information by
means of visual signals, using towers (replica pictured) with pivoting
crossarms.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_telegraph>
1901:
U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation and once the
world's largest producers of steel, was founded by financier J. P.
Morgan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel>
1943:
World War II: Australian and U.S. air forces attacked and
destroyed a large Japanese naval convoy in the Bismarck Sea, north of
Papua New Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bismarck_Sea>
1995:
Researchers at Fermilab in Illinois announced the discovery of
the top quark, the most massive of all observed elementary particles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_quark>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
conversely:
1. (often conjunctive) With a reversed relationship.
2. (conjunctive, loosely) From another point of view; on the other hand.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/conversely>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if
wrong, to be set right. Â
--Carl Schurz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Schurz>
The König class was a group of four battleships built for the Imperial
German Navy on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of
König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf, and Kronprinz (pictured). The
Königs were an improvement over the preceding Kaiser class, mounting
ten 30.5Â cm (12Â in) SKÂ L/50 guns in five twin turrets. Two turrets
were mounted forward of the main superstructure in a superfiring pair,
the third was placed on the centerline amidships, and the fourth and
fifth turrets were aft, also in a superfiring pair. This allowed all 10
guns to fire in a large arc. The most powerful warships of the German
High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a
unit throughout World War I. The ships took part in the Battle of
Jutland, where they acted as the German vanguard. They survived the war
and were interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918. All four ships were
scuttled on 21 June 1919. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Battleships of Germany.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Battleships_of_Germ…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1896:
French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the principle of
radioactive decay when he exposed photographic plates to uranium salts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Becquerel>
1936:
Hoover Dam, straddling the Arizona–Nevada border on the
Colorado River, was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam>
1950:
In a trial lasting less than 90 minutes, German–British
physicist Klaus Fuchs was convicted of violating the Official Secrets
Act by supplying information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet
Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Fuchs>
2014:
A group of knife-wielding terrorists attacked passengers at
Kunming railway station in Kunming, China, leaving 31 victims dead and
more than 140 others injured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pendragon:
Also capitalized as Pendragon: a title assumed by the ancient British
chiefs when called to lead other chiefs: chief war leader, dictator, or
king.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pendragon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I am neither a saint nor a theologian. To me, good works are
more important than theology. We all know that religion has been
historically, and still is today, a cause of great evil as well as great
good in human affairs. We have seen terrible wars and terrible
persecutions conducted in the name of religion. We have also seen large
numbers of people inspired by religion to lives of heroic virtue,
bringing education and medical care to the poor, helping to abolish
slavery and spread peace among nations. Religion amplifies the good and
evil tendencies of individual souls. Religion will always remain a
powerful force in the history of our species. To me, the meaning of
progress in religion is simply this, that as we move from the past to
the future the good works inspired by religion should more and more
prevail over the evil. Â
--Freeman Dyson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson>
The Zoo TV Tour (29 February 1992 – 10 December 1993) was a concert
tour by Irish rock band U2. Supporting their 1991 album Achtung Baby,
the tour visited North America, Europe, Oceania, and Japan. In contrast
to U2's previously austere stage setups, Zoo TV shows were elaborate
multimedia events, satirising television and media oversaturation by
attempting to instill sensory overload in the audience. The stages
featured dozens of video screens as well as Trabants as lighting
fixtures. Concerts included channel surfing, prank calls, a belly
dancer, and transmissions from war-torn Sarajevo. On stage, Bono
portrayed characters such as "The Fly" (pictured), "Mirror Ball Man",
and "MacPhisto". Zoo TV was the highest-grossing North American tour of
1992 and sold 5.3Â million tickets overall. Continuing their 1990s
reinvention that began with Achtung Baby and Zoo TV, U2 recorded the
album Zooropa during a break in the tour. Many critics gave the tour
high praise as a memorable spectacle.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_TV_Tour>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1768:
A group of Polish nobles established the Bar Confederation to
defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth against Russian influence and King Stanisław II Augustus
(portrait shown).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Confederation>
1960:
The deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history struck the city of
Agadir, killing at least 12,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Agadir_earthquake>
1980:
La Bougie du Sapeur, a humorous French newspaper that is
published only on leap day, printed its first issue.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Bougie_du_Sapeur>
2008:
Belgian author Misha Defonseca admitted that her bestselling
memoir about surviving the Holocaust was in fact a literary forgery.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misha:_A_M%C3%A9moire_of_the_Holocaust_Years>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
leap day:
The extra day in a leap year, currently February 29th in countries that
use the Gregorian calendar and February 24th in the few communities
using the Julian calendar.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leap_day>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 ⨀ To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are
all different in the way we perceive the world and use this
understanding as a guide to our communication with others. Â
--Anthony Robbins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Robbins>
The 15th Tank Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army fought in the Soviet
invasion of Poland in 1939 during World War II, participating in the
capture of Grodno and the Augustów Forest. The tank corps was re-formed
in 1942 under Major General Vasily Koptsov as part of the 3rd Guards
Tank Army (Soviet Guards insignia pictured) and saw combat in the
Kozelsk Offensive, taking heavy losses in proportion to the territory
gained. The corps was transferred to the southern front in the
Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive during January 1943, where it helped
encircle thousands of Axis troops around the river Don. In February
1943, the unit fought in Operation Star, capturing the key city of
Kharkov in eastern Ukraine. After the Soviet advance outran its supply
lines, the corps was worn down and virtually destroyed by a German
counteroffensive in the Third Battle of Kharkov. It was later rebuilt as
part of the 3rd Guards Tank Army and fought in Operation Kutuzov.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Tank_Corps>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1897:
Ranavalona III, the last sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of
Madagascar, was deposed by French military forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranavalona_III>
1904:
The most successful football club in Portugal, S.L. Benfica,
was founded in Lisbon as Sport Lisboa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.L._Benfica>
1963:
Chicago alderman Benjamin F. Lewis was murdered in his office
by unknown assailants two days after having been reelected.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_F._Lewis>
1985:
The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launched a
mortar attack on a Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Newry, Northern
Ireland, killing nine people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Newry_mortar_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carbonado:
1. (dated) Meat or fish that has been scored and broiled. […]
2. A dark, non-transparent, impure form of polycrystalline diamond (also
containing graphite and amorphous carbon) used in drilling.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carbonado>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Let us give Nature a chance; she knows her business better than
we do. Â
--Michel de Montaigne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne>