The 1991 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season since 1984 in
which no hurricanes developed from tropical waves, which are the source
for most North Atlantic tropical cyclones. The most significant storm of
the season was Hurricane Bob (satellite image shown), which at the time
was among the ten costliest United States hurricanes. After brushing the
Outer Banks of North Carolina and Long Island in New York, the hurricane
made landfall on Rhode Island. It caused $1.5 billion in damage, mostly
in Massachusetts, and 17 fatalities. The strongest hurricane of the
season was Claudette, with reported peak winds of 135 mph (215 km/h)
near Bermuda. Hurricane Grace, the final named storm of the season,
contributed to the development of a powerful nor'easter known as the
Perfect Storm that caused $200 million in damage and 13 deaths from
Puerto Rico to Canada. The nor'easter later transitioned into a
hurricane over the Gulf Stream, finally dissipating over Nova Scotia on
November 2.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Atlantic_hurricane_season>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1816:
The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of
today's Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft,
which was depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the
Medusa (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa>
1962:
The first Walmart store, now the largest company in the world
by revenue, opened in Rogers, Arkansas, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart>
1976:
More than a year after the end of the Vietnam War, North and
South Vietnam officially united under communist rule to form the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam>
2013:
The International Astronomical Union announced that the fourth
and fifth moons of Pluto would be named Kerberos and Styx respectively.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_%28moon%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tinge:
1. (transitive) To add a small amount of colour; to tint; (by extension)
to add a small amount of some other thing.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To affect or alter slightly, particularly
due to the actual or metaphorical influence of some element or thing.
3. (intransitive) To change slightly in shade due to the addition of
colour; (by extension) to change slightly in quality due to the addition
of some other thing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tinge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any knowledge that doesn't lead to new questions quickly dies
out: it fails to maintain the temperature required for sustaining life.
--Wisława Szymborska
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wis%C5%82awa_Szymborska>
British National (Overseas) is a class of British nationality that was
granted by voluntary registration to British Dependent Territories
citizens who were Hong Kong residents prior to the transfer of
sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997. Individuals with this nationality
are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British
citizens. They are subject to immigration controls when entering the
United Kingdom and do not have the automatic right of abode there or in
Hong Kong, but all would have had permanent resident status in Hong Kong
when they acquired this status. This nationality gives its holders
favoured status when resident in the United Kingdom and confers
eligibility to vote, obtain citizenship under a simplified process, and
serve in public office or reserved government positions. About 169,000
individuals currently hold active British passports with this status and
may request consular protection when travelling abroad, except in Hong
Kong, mainland China, and Macau.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_%28Overseas%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
As per the British North America Act, the Province of Canada,
New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined into confederation to create the
modern nation of Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Confederation>
1935:
The first Grant Park Music Festival, the United States' only
annual free outdoor classical music concert series, was held in
Chicago's Grant Park.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Park_Music_Festival>
1979:
Sony introduced the Walkman portable audio player, changing
music listening habits by allowing people to listen to their own choice
of music on the move.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkman>
1999:
Legislative governance of Scotland was transferred from the
Scottish Office in Westminster to the Scottish Parliament.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
motlopi:
The shepherd tree or shepherd's tree (Boscia albitrunca), an evergreen
tree native to southern and tropical Africa which is one of the most
important forage trees of the Kalahari.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/motlopi>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Truth comes from the mouths of fools and children: I wish every
good mind which feels an inclination for satire would reflect that the
finest satirist always has something of both in him.
--Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georg_Christoph_Lichtenberg>
Scoops was a weekly British science fiction magazine in tabloid format
that was published by Arthur Pearson (pictured) for 20 issues in 1934.
Its editor was Haydn Dimmock, who also edited The Scout, a weekly
magazine for boys. Scoops was launched as a boy's paper, and it was not
until several issues had appeared that Dimmock discovered there was an
adult audience for science fiction. Circulation was poor, and Dimmock
attempted to change the magazine's focus to more mature material. He
reprinted Arthur Conan Doyle's The Poison Belt, improved the cover art,
and obtained fiction from the British science fiction writers John
Russell Fearn and Maurice Hugi. Pearson cancelled Scoops because of poor
sales. The failure of the magazine contributed to the belief that
Britain could not support a science fiction magazine, and it was not
until 1937, with Tales of Wonder, that another attempt was made.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoops_%28magazine%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1860:
Seven months after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the
Origin of Species, several prominent British scientists and philosophers
participated in an evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_Oxford_evolution_debate>
1934:
Adolf Hitler violently purged members of the Sturmabteilung
(SA), its leader Ernst Röhm, and other political rivals in the Night of
the Long Knives, executing at least 85 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives>
1972:
The International Time Bureau added the first leap second to
the Coordinated Universal Time time scale.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_second>
2009:
Schoolgirl Bahia Bakari was the sole survivor when Yemenia
Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean killing 152 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenia_Flight_626>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
plat:
1. A plot of land; a lot.
2. A map showing the boundaries of real properties (delineating one or
more plots of land), especially one that forms part of a legal document.
3. (obsolete) A plot, a scheme.
4. (transitive) To create a plat; to lay out property lots and streets;
to map. […]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plat>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What I'm saying here is not, I agree, poetry, as poems should be
written rarely and reluctantly, under unbearable duress and only with
the hope that good spirits, not evil ones, choose us for their
instrument.
--Czesław Miłosz
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz>
Crater is a small constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere,
one of 48 listed by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy. It depicts a
krater, a type of cup used by the Greeks to water down wine, perched on
the back of Hydra, the water snake, to its south and west. It has been
associated with the mythological god Apollo. It is also bordered by Leo
and Virgo to the north, Corvus to the east, and Sextans to the
northwest. There is no star brighter than third magnitude in the
constellation. Its two brightest stars, Delta Crateris of magnitude 3.56
and Alpha Crateris of magnitude 4.07, are ageing orange giant stars that
are cooler and larger than the Sun. Beta Crateris is a binary star
system composed of a white giant star and a white dwarf. Seven star
systems have been found to host planets. A few galaxies, including
Crater 2 and NGC 3981, and a quasar lie within the borders of the
constellation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_%28constellation%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
Canada's worst railway accident took place when a passenger
train fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River near
present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster>
1927:
The United States Army Air Corps aircraft Bird of Paradise
landed at Wheeler Field on the Hawaiian island of Oahu to complete the
first transpacific flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_of_Paradise_%28aircraft%29>
1974:
Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female acting President
of Argentina, replacing her ill husband Juan, who died two days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Mart%C3%ADnez_de_Per%C3%B3n>
1995:
The Shuttle–Mir Program began when Space Shuttle Atlantis
became the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station
Mir.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle%E2%80%93Mir_Program>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
citerior:
(literary) Chiefly in place names: situated on the nearer side.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/citerior>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man
contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
--Antoine de Saint Exupéry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry>
The Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar is a half dollar
commemorative coin struck by the United States Mint in 1937, though it
bears the date 1936. Designed by William Marks Simpson and Marjory Emory
Simpson, the coin commemorates the 200th anniversary of Norfolk being
designated as a royal borough, and the 100th anniversary of it becoming
a city. Virginia Senator Carter Glass sponsored a bill for a Norfolk
half dollar, but it was amended in committee to provide for
commemorative medals instead. Unaware of the change, Glass and other
advocates shepherded it through Congress. A bill calling for coins was
passed in 1937, but by then, the anniversaries had passed, and sales
were poorer than hoped; almost a third of the coins could not be sold.
The Norfolk half dollar is the only U.S. coin to depict the British
crown, shown on the reverse on the city's ceremonial mace.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk,_Virginia,_Bicentennial_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1914:
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of
Hohenberg, were assassinated by a Yugoslav nationalist named Gavrilo
Princip in Sarajevo, sparking the outbreak of World War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavrilo_Princip>
1969:
In response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York
City, groups of gay and transgender people began to riot, a watershed
event for the worldwide gay rights movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots>
1989:
President Slobodan Milošević gave a speech in which he
described the possibility of "armed battles" in the future of Serbia's
national development.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan_speech>
2009:
Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was ousted by a local military
coup following his attempt to hold a referendum to rewrite the
constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
onager:
1. The Asiatic wild ass or hemione (Equus hemionus), an animal of the
horse family native to Asia; specifically, the Persian onager, Persian
wild ass, or Persian zebra (Equus hemionus onager).
2. (military, historical) A military engine acting like a sling which
threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket powered by the torsion from a
bundle of ropes or sinews operated by machinery; a torsion catapult.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/onager>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let's not be dazzled by the sententious glitter with which error
and lying often cover themselves. Society is not created by the crowd,
and bodies come together in vain when hearts reject each other. The
truly sociable man is more difficult in his relationships than others;
those which consist only in false appearances cannot suit him. He
prefers to live far from wicked men without thinking about them, than to
see them and hate them. He prefers to flee his enemy rather than seek
him out to harm him. A person who knows no other society than that of
the heart will not seek his society in your circles.
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau>
Coprinellus micaceus is a common species of fungus in the family
Psathyrellaceae with a cosmopolitan distribution. The species typically
grows in dense clusters on or near rotting hardwood tree stumps or
underground tree roots. Depending on their stage of development, the
tawny-brown mushroom caps may range in shape from oval to bell-shaped to
convex, and reach diameters up to 3 cm (1.2 in). In young specimens,
the cap surface is coated with a fine layer of reflective mica-like
cells, inspiring the species name as well as the common names "mica
cap", "shiny cap", and "glistening inky cap". A few hours after
collection, the gills will start to dissolve into a black, inky, spore-
laden liquid. The fruit bodies are edible before the gills blacken and
dissolve, and cooking will stop the process. Chemical analysis of the
fruit bodies has revealed the presence of antibacterial and enzyme-
inhibiting compounds.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinellus_micaceus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
One day after surrendering at the Battle of Hakodate, Enomoto
Takeaki turned over Goryōkaku to Japanese forces, signaling the
collapse of the Republic of Ezo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ezo>
1905:
The crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin began a mutiny
against their oppressive officers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Potemkin>
1989:
The International Labour Organization Convention 169, a major
binding international convention concerning indigenous peoples, and a
forerunner of the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
was adopted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_and_Tribal_Peoples_Convention,_1989>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lour:
1. (intransitive) To frown; to look sullen.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To be dark, gloomy, and threatening, as
clouds; of the sky: to be covered with dark and threatening clouds; to
show threatening signs of approach, as a tempest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lour>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life. If it
be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards
it, then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.
--Helen Keller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller>
A bank robbery was committed by Bolsheviks on 26 June 1907 in the city
of Tiflis, Russian Empire, what is now Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.
Planned by Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Maxim Litvinov, Leonid Krasin,
and Alexander Bogdanov, it was carried out by revolutionaries led by
Stalin's early associate Kamo. The attack killed forty people and
injured fifty others; the robbers escaped with 341,000 rubles. The
Bolsheviks were unable to use most of the large banknotes they had
stolen because the serial numbers were known to the police. Lenin
thought of a plan to have the notes cashed simultaneously throughout
Europe, but this strategy failed. Kamo was imprisoned for this and other
crimes, but was released after the Russian Revolution; no other major
conspirator was ever tried. After his death, Kamo was buried under a
monument constructed near the robbery site, but the grave and monument
have since been removed.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907_Tiflis_bank_robbery>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
Bangui (city centre pictured), the capital and largest city of
the Central African Republic, was founded in French Congo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangui>
1906:
The 1906 French Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix motor racing
competition, was held outside Le Mans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_French_Grand_Prix>
1936:
The first prototype of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first fully
controllable helicopter, made its maiden flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_61>
2013:
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act,
granting federal recognition to same-sex marriage; furthermore, it
struck down Proposition 8, legalizing same-sex marriage in California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollingsworth_v._Perry>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
indri:
One of the largest living lemurs, Indri indri, which is native to
Madagascar.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/indri>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally
found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things.
--Chesty Puller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller>
Raymond Leane (1878–1962) was an Australian Army brigadier general.
Twice decorated for gallantry, he was wounded three times during the
Gallipoli campaign of World War I, and temporarily commanded the 11th
Battalion there before the Australian force was withdrawn to Egypt.
Leane led the 48th Battalion in fighting on the Western Front from 1916
to 1918 before commanding the 12th Brigade during the last part of the
war. He was described by the Australian Official War Historian, Charles
Bean, as "the foremost fighting leader" in the Australian Imperial
Force. Leane was also called "the head of the most famous family of
soldiers in Australian history", as four of his brothers and six of his
nephews served in World War I, with two of each being killed. After the
war, he served as Commissioner of the South Australia Police from 1920
to 1944, for which he was knighted in 1945.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Leane>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1678:
Venetian mathematician Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first
woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Cornaro_Piscopia>
1940:
World War II: The evacuation of nearly 200,000 Allied soldiers
from French ports was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aerial>
1950:
The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre-
dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War>
2009:
Singer Michael Jackson died as a result of the combination of
drugs in his body.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Michael_Jackson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
a mite:
(informal) To a small extent; in a small amount; rather.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_mite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In a Society in which there is no law, and in theory no
compulsion, the only arbiter of behaviour is public opinion. But public
opinion, because of the tremendous urge to conformity in gregarious
animals, is less tolerant than any system of law. When human beings are
governed by "thou shalt not", the individual can practise a certain
amount of eccentricity: when they are supposedly governed by "love" or
"reason", he is under continuous pressure to make him behave and think
in exactly the same way as everyone else.
--George Orwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell>
Shergar (1978–1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred
racehorse. In 1981 Shergar ran in six races, winning five of them. In
June that year he won the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths—the longest
winning margin in the race's history. Three weeks later he won the Irish
Sweeps Derby by four lengths; a month after that he won the King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes by four lengths. He was retired to
the Ballymany Stud in County Kildare, Ireland, but was stolen by an
armed gang in February 1983. In 1999 Sean O'Callaghan, a former member
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, published details of the theft
and said it was an operation to raise money for arms. An investigation
by The Sunday Telegraph concluded that the horse was shot four days
after the theft. No arrests were made for the theft, and Shergar's body
was never recovered. In his honour the Shergar Cup was inaugurated in
1999.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shergar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée under Napoleon
crossed the Neman river, marking the start of their invasion of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia>
1880:
"O Canada" (audio featured), today the national anthem of
Canada, was first performed in Quebec City, during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste
Day banquet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Canada>
1939:
The first of the Thai cultural mandates was issued, officially
changing the country's name from Siam to Thailand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cultural_mandates>
1994:
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed at
Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane County, Washington, killing all four
crew members, and later providing a case study on the importance of
compliance with safety regulations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Fairchild_Air_Force_Base_B-52_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adynaton:
(rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to
express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adynaton>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Idiot, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in
human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot's
activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but
"pervades and regulates the whole." He has the last word in everything;
his decision is unappealable. He sets the fashions and opinion of taste,
dictates the limitations of speech and circumscribes conduct with a
dead-line.
--Ambrose Bierce
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce>
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies is a music
reference book by American music journalist and essayist Robert
Christgau (pictured). It was first published in October 1981 by Ticknor
& Fields. Covering a variety of genres with a focus on rock music, the
book compiles approximately 3,000 capsule album reviews, most of which
were originally written for his "Consumer Guide" column in The Village
Voice throughout the 1970s. Many of the older reviews were rewritten for
the guide to reflect his matured perspective and style, informed by an
interest in the aesthetic and political dimensions of popular music and
a desire to communicate his ideas to readers in an entertaining,
provocative way. The guide was critically well received, with praise
given for its extensive discography, Christgau's judgment, and colorful
writing. A staple of rock-era reference works, it became a source for
popular music studies and a guide for fellow critics, record collectors,
and music shops.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christgau%27s_Record_Guide:_Rock_Albums_of_th…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Stand Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender in
the American Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_Watie>
1926:
The College Board administered the first SAT, a major
standardized test for university and college admissions in the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT>
1985:
A bomb attributed to the Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa
destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329
on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182>
2016:
Citizens of the United Kingdom voted to support a non-binding
resolution to leave the European Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ithyphallic:
1. (historical, Ancient Rome) Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that
was carried in bacchic processions.
2. (specifically) Of a poem or song: having the metre of an ode sung in
honour of the bacchic phallus.
3. Of or pertaining to an upward pointing, erect penis; (specifically)
of an artistic depiction of a deity or other figure: possessing an erect
penis.
4. (by extension) Lascivious, obscene.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ithyphallic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
People with real power never fear of losing it. People with
control think of little else.
--Joss Whedon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon>