New York State Route 22 is a north–south state highway in eastern New
York in the United States. It runs parallel to the state's eastern edge
from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton
County. At 337 miles (542 km), it is the state's longest north–south
route. The southernmost section of the road connected New York City to
White Plains in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Route 22 in
its modern form was established in 1930 as one of the principal routes
from New York City to Canada. It is a two-lane road passing through
small villages and hamlets, as well as the city of Plattsburgh in the
north, lower Westchester County, and the heavily populated borough of
The Bronx. The rural landscapes include picturesque reservoirs of the
New York City watershed, dairy farms in the Taconic Mountains and the
Berkshires, and the undeveloped, heavily forested Adirondack Park along
the shores of Lake Champlain. An 86-mile (138Â km) section from Fort Ann
to Keeseville is part of the Lakes to Locks Passage, an All-American
Road.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_22>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1704:
War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led
Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blenheim>
1868:
A major earthquake near Arica, Peru (now in Chile), caused an
estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused
considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Arica_earthquake>
1918:
Opha May Johnson became the first woman to enlist in the United
States Marine Corps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opha_May_Johnson>
1977:
Members of the UK's far-right National Front party (NF) clashed
with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests
and at least 111 injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lewisham>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
freewheeling:
Unbounded by rules or conventions; unrestrained.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/freewheeling>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 A writer is in the end not his books, but his myth. And that myth
is in the keeping of others. Â
--V. S. Naipaul
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul>
Banksia telmatiaea, the swamp fox banksia, is a shrub that grows in
marshes and swamps along the lower west coast of Australia. It is an
upright bush up to 2Â m (7Â ft) tall, with narrow leaves and a pale
brown flower spike, which can produce profuse quantities of nectar. The
leaves have a green upper surface and white hairy undersurface. First
collected in the 1840s, it was not published as a separate species until
1981; as with several other similar species it was previously included
in B. sphaerocarpa (fox banksia). The shrub grows amongst scrubland in
seasonally wet lowland areas of the coastal sandplain between
Badgingarra and Serpentine in Western Australia. Reports suggest that
it is pollinated by a variety of birds and small mammals, but not much
is known of the ecology or conservation biology of this little-studied
species. Like many members of the series Abietinae, it has not been
considered to have much horticultural potential and is rarely
cultivated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_telmatiaea>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1883:
The last known quagga (example pictured), a subspecies of the
plains zebra, died at the Natura Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga>
1914:
World War I: Despite the Belgian victory in the Battle of
Halen, they were ultimately unable to stop the German invasion of
Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Halen>
1948:
About 600 unarmed Pashtuns in the North-West Frontier Province
of Pakistan, protesting the arrests of the leaders of the Khudai
Khidmatgar movement, were massacred by police and militia forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babrra_massacre>
1990:
American paleontologist Sue Hendrickson found the most complete
skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered near Faith, South
Dakota, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_%28dinosaur%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
juvenile:
1. A prepubescent child.
2. A person younger than the age of majority; a minor.
3. (criminal law) A person younger than the age of full criminal
responsibility, such that the person either cannot be held criminally
liable or is subject to less severe forms of punishment.
4. (literature) A publication for young adult readers.
5. (theater) An actor playing a child's role.
6. (zoology) A sexually immature animal.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/juvenile>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I learned at a very early age that what kind of social system or
political system prevails is very important. Not just for your well-
being, but for your very survival. Because, you know, I could have been
killed by the Nazis. I could have wasted my life under the Communists.
So, that's what led me to this idea of an open society. And that is the
idea that is motivating me. Â
--George Soros
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Soros>
James B. Longacre (August 11, 1794 – January 1, 1869) was the Chief
Engraver of the United States Mint (1844–1869). He was born in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, becoming an apprentice in an engraving
firm. He portrayed some of the leading men of his day in illustrations;
support from some, such as John C. Calhoun, led to his federal
appointment. In Longacre's first years, the Philadelphia Mint was
dominated by Director Robert M. Patterson and Chief Coiner Franklin
Peale, who resented Longacre's appointment. Peale and Patterson nearly
got Longacre fired, but the chief engraver convinced Treasury Secretary
William M. Meredith that he should be retained. In 1856, Longacre
designed the Flying Eagle cent, but the coin proved difficult to strike,
leading to the Indian Head cent three years later. He died in 1869,
succeeded by William Barber. Longacre's coins are generally well-
regarded today, though sometimes criticized for lack of artistic
advancement.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B._Longacre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1492:
The first papal conclave held in the Sistine Chapel elected
Roderic Borja as Pope Alexander VI to succeed Pope Innocent VIII.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_conclave,_1492>
1952:
King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to health
reasons and was succeeded by his eldest son Hussein.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussein_of_Jordan>
1973:
At a party in the recreation room of a New York City apartment
building, DJ Kool Herc began rapping during an extended break, laying
the foundation for hip-hop music.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Kool_Herc>
2012:
At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a
pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_East_Azerbaijan_earthquakes>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
whip-smart:
(Canada, US, informal) Very intelligent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whip-smart>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting,
For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of
absent mindedness is more than any line, Since direction counts for
nothing when the gods set up a sign. Â
--Nathalia Crane
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathalia_Crane>
Helicopter 66 (US Navy bureau no. 152711) was a Sikorsky Sea King used
for the water recovery of many of NASA's Apollo astronauts, including
those returning from the first manned moon landing in 1969. Space
historian Dwayne A. Day has called it "one of the most famous, or at
least most iconic, helicopters in history". Delivered to the navy in
1967, Helicopter 66 was in the inventory of U.S. Navy Helicopter Anti-
Submarine Squadron Four for the duration of its active life. One of its
pilots, Donald S. Jones, went on to command the United States Third
Fleet. It transported the Shah of Iran during his 1973 visit to the
aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Later re-numbered Helicopter 740, it
crashed in the Pacific Ocean in 1975 during a training exercise, having
logged more than 3,200 hours of service. It was the subject of a 1969
song by Manuela and was made into a die-cast model by Dinky Toys.
Replicas of "Old 66" are on display at the USS Hornet Museum and the USS
Midway Museum.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_66>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: USAAF bomber Bockscar dropped a "Fat Man" atomic
bomb on Nagasaki, Japan (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man>
1956:
An estimated 20,000 women marched on Pretoria, South Africa, to
protest the introduction of the Apartheid pass laws for black women in
1952.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_March_%28South_Africa%29>
1988:
Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los
Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial player transactions in
ice hockey history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Gretzky>
2001:
A suicide bomber attacked a Sbarro pizza restaurant in
Jerusalem, killing 15 people and wounding 130 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sbarro_restaurant_suicide_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ang moh:
(Singapore, Malaysia, informal, possibly mildly derogatory) A white
person, especially one perceived as a foreigner rather than a local
inhabitant.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ang_moh>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I dreamed I was an animal In a human world Now when I hear big
sounds I cry like a little girl I'm talking about connections Between
here and there All things exist at once Seems more than we can bear.
Â
--Happy Rhodes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Happy_Rhodes>
SMS Wörth was one of four German pre-dreadnought battleships of the
Brandenburg class, the first ocean-going battleships built by the
Imperial German Navy. Laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel,
the ship was launched on 6 August 1892 and commissioned into the fleet
in October 1893. Like her sister ships, Wörth carried six heavy guns
rather than the standard four. She was named for the Battle of Wörth
fought in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. Wörth participated in
the normal peacetime routine of training cruises and exercises. She took
part in the German naval expedition to China in 1900 to suppress the
Boxer Rebellion but saw little direct action, since the siege of Peking
had already been lifted by the time the fleet arrived. Obsolete by the
start of World War I, the battleship served as a coastal defense ship
for the first two years of the war, but saw no action. Wörth was
reduced to a barracks ship by 1916, and was scrapped in the port of
Danzig in 1919.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_W%C3%B6rth>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1964:
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act
into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting
practices that had been responsible for widespread disfranchisement of
African Americans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965>
1997:
On approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in
Guam, Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into a hill, killing 228 of the 254
people aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_801>
2008:
Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was
ousted from power by a group of high-ranking generals that he had
dismissed from office several hours earlier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mauritanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
2011:
Following the death of a Tottenham man by the Metropolitan
Police of London, thousands of mostly young males rioted in several
London boroughs and in cities and towns across England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
klaxon:
A loud electric alarm or horn.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/klaxon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Know ye not then the Riddling of the Bards? Confusion, and
illusion, and relation, Elusion, and occasion, and evasion? I mock
thee not but as thou mockest me, And all that see thee, for thou art
not who Thou seemest, but I know thee who thou art. And now thou goest
up to mock the King, Who cannot brook the shadow of any lie. Â
--Idylls of the King
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Idylls_of_the_King>
The Huguenot-Walloon half dollar is a commemorative coin issued by the
United States Bureau of the Mint in 1924. It marks the 300th anniversary
of the voyage of the Nieuw Nederland. Many of the passengers were
Protestants, Huguenots from France or Walloons from Belgium; they became
early settlers of New York State and the surrounding areas. A bill to
authorize the coin passed through Congress without opposition in 1923
and was signed by President Warren G. Harding. Sketches were prepared by
Rev. John Baer Stoudt and converted to plaster models by the Mint's
chief engraver, George T. Morgan. Of the 300,000 coins authorized by
Congress, fewer than half were actually struck, and of these, 55,000
were returned to the Mint and released into circulation. The coin
excited some controversy because of its sponsorship by a religious
group. The coins are currently valued in the hundreds of dollars,
depending on condition.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenot-Walloon_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1600:
Scottish nobleman John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was killed
during what was most likely a failed attempt to kidnap King James VI.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruthven,_3rd_Earl_of_Gowrie>
1888:
Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip,
driving 106Â km (66Â mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz
Patent-Motorwagen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz>
1916:
First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine
Campaign began with a victory in the Battle of Romani.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Romani>
1962:
Actress and model Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home in
Brentwood, Los Angeles, an event that has become the center of one of
the most debated conspiracy theories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Marilyn_Monroe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ark at ee:
1. (Bristol and West Country, informal) Listen to you; listen to
yourself; listen to it.
2. (Bristol and West Country, informal) Used to draw attention to
something or someone.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ark_at_ee>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I have said repeatedly that as poetry is the highest speech of
man, it can not only accept and contain, but in the end express best
everything in the world, or in himself, that he discovers. It will
absorb and transmute, as it always has done, and glorify, all that we
can know. This has always been, and always will be, poetry’s office.
Â
--Conrad Aiken
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Conrad_Aiken>
The history of Norwich City Football Club stretches back to 1902. Based
in Norfolk, England, the association football club spent 15Â years as a
semi-professional team in the Southern League before admission to The
Football League in 1920. For most of the next 50Â years, Norwich City
F.C. sat in Division Three (South), then the bottom tier. The club made
the FA Cup semi-finals in 1959, and won its first major trophy, the
League Cup, in 1962. Norwich finally reached the pinnacle of the league
structure in 1972, with their first promotion to the top tier. Since
then, they have acquired a reputation as a "yo-yo club", with
22Â seasons in the top league and 15 in the second tier. During this
period the club has a long list of achievements: claiming the League Cup
in 1985, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1989 and 1992, finishing
fifth, fourth and third in the top division, and beating Bayern Munich
in the UEFA Cup.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Norwich_City_F.C.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
A cataclysmic eruption of Mount Asama, one of the most active
volcanoes in Japan, killed roughly 1,400 people and exacerbated a
famine, resulting in another 20,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Asama>
1914:
First World War: Adhering to the terms in the 1839 Treaty of
London, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in response to the
latter's invasion of Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_%281839%29>
1964:
A second U.S. Navy destroyer was reportedly attacked by North
Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize
the use of military force in Southeast Asia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident>
1995:
The Croatian Army initiated Operation Storm, the last major
battle of the Croatian War of Independence and the largest European land
battle since the Second World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Storm>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
luminary:
1. One who is an inspiration to others; one who has achieved success in
their chosen field; a leading light.
2. (archaic) A body that gives light; especially, one of the heavenly
bodies.
3. (archaic) An artificial light; an illumination.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/luminary>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Should we understand the last 25 years of global integration as
nothing more than a detour from the previous inevitable cycle of history
— where might makes right, and politics is a hostile competition
between tribes and races and religions, and nations compete in a zero-
sum game, constantly teetering on the edge of conflict until full-blown
war breaks out? Is that what we think? Let me tell you what I believe.
I believe in Nelson Mandela’s vision. I believe in a vision shared by
Gandhi and King and Abraham Lincoln. I believe in a vision of equality
and justice and freedom and multi-racial democracy, built on the premise
that all people are created equal, and they’re endowed by our creator
with certain inalienable rights. And I believe that a world governed by
such principles is possible and that it can achieve more peace and more
cooperation in pursuit of a common good. That’s what I believe. And I
believe we have no choice but to move forward; that those of us who
believe in democracy and civil rights and a common humanity have a
better story to tell. Â
--Barack Obama
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama>