The 1995 Aigio earthquake struck Western Greece near the coastal city of
Aigio at 03:15:48 local time (00:15:48 UTC) on 15 June 1995. It
measured 6.4–6.5 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw). The horizontal
peak ground acceleration reached 0.54 g and ground velocity peaked at
52 cm/s (20 in/s), the strongest ground motion ever recorded in
Greece. Fifteen minutes later, a large aftershock caused further damage.
Faulting occurred on either the Aigion fault or one offshore. Other
faults in the region have the potential to produce earthquakes up to
Mw 6.9. The quake caused $660 million of damage. The collapse of
buildings left 26 dead and up to 200 injured. Several countries and
organizations provided disaster aid, including search and rescue and
refugee assistance, medical supplies, temporary shelter and water
treatment equipment. The Greek government issued loans for Aigio's
rebuilding. There was concern over the lack of a warning, as officials
had been told that a major earthquake would occur.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Aigio_earthquake>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1929:
Jiddu Krishnamurti, believed by some Theosophists to be a
likely candidate for the messianic "World Teacher", dissolved the Order
of the Star, the organisation established to support him.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Star_in_the_East>
1940:
World War II: Italian forces began a conquest of British
Somaliland, capturing the region in 16 days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_invasion_of_British_Somaliland>
1977:
Tandy Corporation announced the TRS-80, one of the world's
first mass-produced personal computers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80>
2005:
Mauritanian president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was
overthrown in a military coup while he attended the funeral of King Fahd
of Saudi Arabia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Mauritanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rinky-dink:
1. Of poor quality; amateurish, shoddy, small-time.
2. Old-fashioned, tired; also, shabby, worn-out.
3. Crooked, dishonest, underhanded.
4. (music) Alternative form of rinky-tink (“tinkling and tinny”)
5. (countable) A person regarded as contemptible or insignificant.
6. An amateur or someone who is underqualified.
7. Someone who operates unethically; specifically, a small-time conman
or crook.
8. (countable) Something that is not up to acceptable standards;
something regarded as being of low quality.
9. (countable) A miscellaneous object or thing; a thingy.
10. (archaic, uncountable) Deceptive or underhanded rigmarole;
deception, trickery; (countable) often preceded by the: an instance of
this; a deception, swindle, a trick.
11. (uncountable, music) Alternative form of rinky-tink (“a tinkling,
tinny style of music; honky-tonk”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rinky-dink>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Constitution is quite clear about the role of the vice
president in the counting of electoral votes. It essentially says the
vice president presides over a joint session of Congress where the
electoral votes that are certified by the states shall be opened and
shall be counted. And irrespective of the indictment, I want the
American people to know that I had no right to overturn the election.
And that on that day, President Trump asked me to put him over the
Constitution. But I chose the Constitution and I always will. … I
really do believe that anyone who puts themself over the Constitution
should never be president of the United States. And anyone who asks
someone else to put themselves over the Constitution should never be
president of the United States again.
--Mike Pence
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Pence>
"My Man" is a song by American singer Tamar Braxton (pictured) for her
fifth studio album Bluebird of Happiness (2017). Braxton and Cory Rooney
wrote the song, which was produced by Bob Robinson. It was released as
the album's lead single on April 27, 2017, through Tamartian Land, an
independent record label Braxton created in partnership with eOne
Entertainment. An R&B; and soul song, it is about infidelity and was
based on Braxton's parents and their divorce after her father's affair.
Critics considered it a highlight of Bluebird of Happiness and praised
Braxton's vocals. It peaked at number three on Billboard's Adult R&B;
Songs chart and number twenty-one on their Hot R&B; Songs chart.
Laurieann Gibson directed the music video, portraying Braxton
confronting her lover with a mistress in a hotel room. Braxton's
performance of the song at the BET Awards 2017 was praised as one of the
event's highlights, although some critics believed that she was lip
syncing.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Man_%28Tamar_Braxton_song%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1100:
While on a hunting trip in the New Forest, King William II of
England was killed by an arrow through the lung loosed by one of his own
men.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_II_of_England>
1790:
The first United States census was officially completed, with
the nation's residential population enumerated to be 3,929,214.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1790_United_States_census>
1920:
Nepalese author Krishna Lal Adhikari was sentenced to nine
years in prison for publishing a book about the cultivation of corn.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makaiko_Kheti>
1973:
A flash fire killed 50 people at a leisure centre in Douglas,
Isle of Man.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerland_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
roly-poly:
1. (countable)
2. A toy that rights itself when pushed over.
3. (informal) A short, plump person (especially a child).
4. (gymnastics) A forward roll or sideways roll.
5. (Australia) Synonym of tumbleweed (“any plant which habitually breaks
away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is
driven by the wind from place to place”); specifically, the prickly
Russian thistle (Kali tragus or Salsola tragus).
6. (Britain, also attributively) A baked or steamed pudding made from
suet pastry which is spread with fruit or jam (or occasionally other
fillings) and then rolled up.
7. (Canada, US) In full roly-poly bug: a small terrestrial invertebrate
which tends to roll into a ball when disturbed, such as a woodlouse
(suborder Oniscidea, especially a pill bug (family Armadillidiidae) or a
sowbug (family Porcellionidae)) or a pill millipede (superorder
Oniscomorpha).
8. (obsolete) A mischievous or worthless person; a scoundrel, a rascal.
9. (uncountable, historical) An activity or game involving rolling.
10. (games) A game involving people (usually children) rolling down a
slope.
11. (games) A game in which balls are rolled along the floor to knock
down pins, or bowled into holes, or thrown into hats placed on the
ground.
12. (gaming) Synonym of roulette (“a game of chance in which a small
ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered
red and black spaces, the one on which it stops indicating the result of
a variety of wagers permitted by the game”) [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roly-poly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The attack on our nation's capital on January 6, 2021, was an
unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in
the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at
obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation's
process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the
presidential election. The men and women of law enforcement who
defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6 are heroes. They're patriots, and
they are the very best of us. They did not just defend a building or the
people sheltering in it. They put their lives on the line to defend who
we are as a country and as a people. They defended the very institutions
and principles that define the United States. Since the attack on our
Capitol, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring
accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that
day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment, and our
investigation of other individuals continues.
--Jack Smith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Smith_%28lawyer%29>
Edward Dando (c. 1803 – 1832) was a thief who overate at food
stalls and inns, then revealed that he had no money to pay. He was
particularly fond of oysters, once eating 300 in a sitting (cartoon
pictured). Dando began his thefts in about 1826 and was arrested at
least as early as 1828. Most of his activity was in London or Kent. He
would often leave a house of correction, go on an eating spree the same
day, be arrested straight away, and be put back in prison. He was put in
solitary confinement at least once after he stole the rations of fellow
prisoners. In August 1832, Dando caught cholera in prison and died. His
death, like his exploits, was widely and sympathetically reported in the
press. His name entered the public argot as a term for one who eats
excessively and does not pay. He was the subject of numerous poems and
ballads. William Makepeace Thackeray wrote a short story loosely based
on Dando, which was made into a play. Charles Dickens also wrote about
Dando, comparing him to Alexander the Great.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Dando>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
902:
Arab–Byzantine wars: Led by Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid
forces captured the Byzantine stronghold of Taormina, concluding the
Muslim conquest of Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Sicily>
1774:
British scientist Joseph Priestley liberated oxygen gas,
corroborating the discovery of the element by German-Swedish chemist
Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen>
1892:
Belgian carillonneur Jef Denyn hosted the world's first
carillon concert at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon>
1911:
Harriet Quimby became the first woman to earn an Aero Club of
America aviator certificate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Quimby>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hither and thither:
1. To here and to there, one place after another; in different
directions.
2. (figuratively) In a disorderly manner.
3. (intransitive, archaic) To move here and then there; to move in
different directions.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hither_and_thither>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my
friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed
making art for you.
--Paul Reubens
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Reubens>
Christopher Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker.
Known for his Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is
considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century, and has been
nominated for five Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards and
six Golden Globe Awards. His films have grossed $5 billion worldwide,
and include The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), The Prestige (2006),
Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017) and Oppenheimer
(2023). Inception earned Nolan two Oscar nominations – Best Picture
and Best Original Screenplay. For Dunkirk, he also earned two Oscar
nominations, including his first for Best Director. He has co-written
several of his films with his brother Jonathan, and runs the production
company Syncopy Inc. with his wife Emma Thomas. In 2015, he was listed
as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, and in
2019, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for
his contributions to film.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Off the coast of Crescent City, California, the steamer Brother
Jonathan (depicted) struck an uncharted rock and sank, killing 225
people; its cargo of gold coins was not retrieved until 1996.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Jonathan_%28steamer%29>
1930:
In Montevideo, the Uruguay national football team won the first
FIFA World Cup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup>
1950:
At the height of a political crisis known as the royal
question, four workers were shot dead by the Belgian Gendarmerie at a
strike in Grâce-Berleur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_question>
2006:
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force attacked a three-story
building near the Lebanese village of Qana, killing at least 28
civilians, including 16 children.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Qana_airstrike>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
albethey:
(nonstandard, rare) Used when introducing information referring to a
plural phrase: alternative form of albeit
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/albethey>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We're the first and the last, ooh, After the blast. Chips of
Plutonium Are twinkling in every lung. I love my Beloved, ooh, All
and everywhere, Only the fools blew it. You and me Knew life itself
is Breathing …
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>
The six Galeb-class minelayers were originally built as minesweepers for
the Imperial German Navy. In July 1921, they were purchased for the
Royal Navy of the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes (from 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Re-armed, they were
mainly used for training and "show the flag" cruises. Reclassified as
minelayers by 1936, they laid mines off the Yugoslav coast just before
the April 1941 Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, which probably resulted in
the sinking of two Yugoslav merchant ships. All six were captured and
put into Italian service escorting convoys in the Mediterranean Sea. All
but one were lost or sunk during the war. The last escaped into Allied
hands in September 1943 and was returned to the Yugoslav navy-in-exile
at Malta in December. It was transferred to the new Yugoslav Navy after
the war and helped clear thousands of mines laid in Yugoslav waters,
being finally disposed of in 1962. (This article is part of a featured
topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Ships_of_the_Royal_…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1900:
Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci assassinated King
Umberto I of Italy in Monza.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Bresci>
1914:
The Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay in
the U.S. state of Massachusetts, opened on a limited basis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Canal>
1954:
The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R.
Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, was published by
Allen & Unwin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings>
1981:
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million
watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at
St Paul's Cathedral in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spen…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
duopoly:
1. (economics) An economic condition in which two sellers exert (most of
the) control over the market of a commodity.
2. (by extension)
3. The domination of a field of endeavour by two entities or people.
4. (broadcasting) A situation in which two or more radio or television
stations in the same city or community share common ownership.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/duopoly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have an A-bomb and a whole series of it, and we have a whole
series of Super bombs, and what more do you want, mermaids?
--Isidor Isaac Rabi
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isidor_Isaac_Rabi>
The European rock pipit (Anthus petrosus) is a small species of songbird
that breeds in western Europe on rocky coasts. It has streaked greyish-
brown upperparts and buff underparts, and is similar in appearance to
other European pipits. There are three subspecies, of which only the
Fennoscandian form is migratory, wintering in shoreline habitats further
south in Europe and northwest Africa. The rock pipit is territorial at
least in the breeding season, and remains so year-round where it is
resident. Males will sometimes enter an adjacent territory to assist the
resident in repelling an intruder, behaviour only otherwise known from
an African fiddler crab. Rock pipits construct a cup nest under coastal
vegetation or in cliff crevices and lay four to six speckled pale grey
eggs which hatch in about two weeks. The pipits feed mainly on small
invertebrates picked off the rocks or from shallow water, and
occasionally catch insects in flight. The bird's population is large and
stable.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_rock_pipit>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1821:
Peruvian War of Independence: Argentine general José de San
Martín declared the independence of Peru from the Spanish Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADn>
1917:
In New York City, the NAACP and church and community leaders
organized a silent march (newsreel footage featured) of at least 8,000
people to protest violence directed towards African Americans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Parade>
1976:
An earthquake registering 7.6 Mw, one of the deadliest in
history, devastated Tangshan, China, and killed at least 240,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tangshan_earthquake>
2001:
At the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan,
Australian Ian Thorpe became the first swimmer to win six gold medals
at a single FINA world championship.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Thorpe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
urbane:
1. Of a person (usually a man): having refined manners; courteous,
polite, suave.
2. Of an act, expression, etc.: suited to a person of refined manners;
elegant, sophisticated.
3. Obsolete spelling of urban (“of, pertaining to, or characteristic of
a city or town, or life in such a place; living in a city or town;
having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/urbane>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Not only do I hate violence, but I firmly believe that the fight
against it is not hopeless. I realize that the task is difficult. I
realize that, only too often in the course of history, it has happened
that what appeared at first to be a great success in the fight against
violence was followed by a defeat. I do not overlook the fact that the
new age of violence which was opened by the two World wars is by no
means at an end. Nazism and Fascism are thoroughly beaten, but I must
admit that their defeat does not mean that barbarism and brutality have
been defeated. On the contrary, it is no use closing our eyes to the
fact that these hateful ideas achieved something like a victory in
defeat. I have to admit that Hitler succeeded in degrading the moral
standards of our Western world, and that in the world of today there is
more violence and brutal force than would have been tolerated even in
the decade after the first World war. And we must face the possibility
that our civilization may ultimately be destroyed by those new weapons
which Hitlerism wished upon us, perhaps even within the first decade
after the second World war; for no doubt the spirit of Hitlerism won its
greatest victory over us when, after its defeat, we used the weapons
which the threat of Nazism had induced us to develop.
--Karl Popper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Popper>
The Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector is a connector freeway in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is a 2.37-mile (3.81 km) extension of the
Atlantic City Expressway, connecting it to Route 87 and Brigantine via
the Marina district of Atlantic City. It is locally known as "the
Tunnel" due to its tunnel underneath the Westside neighborhood. It is a
state highway owned and operated by the South Jersey Transportation
Authority. Proposals for a similar road date to 1964; planning began in
1995 after businessman Steve Wynn proposed a new casino in the Marina
district. It was supported by Governor Christine Todd Whitman and Mayor
Jim Whelan, but opposed by residents whose homes would be destroyed, and
competing casino owner Donald Trump, who filed lawsuits. Its
construction took almost three years and it opened in July 2001 at a
total cost of $330 million. The connector serves up to 30,000 vehicles
daily, and it has brought business to the casinos in the Marina
district.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_City%E2%80%93Brigantine_Connector>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1225:
Saint Mary's Church on Gotland, later to become Visby
Cathedral, was consecrated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visby_Cathedral>
1943:
As the Surprise Hurricane struck Texas, a United States Army
Air Forces pilot made the first reconnaissance flight into a hurricane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Surprise_Hurricane>
1953:
An armistice was signed to end hostilities in the Korean War,
officially making the division of Korea indefinite by creating a 4 km
wide (2.5 mi) demilitarized zone across the Korean Peninsula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Armistice_Agreement>
2010:
Police in Tokyo found the mummified remains of Sogen Kato,
thought to have died in 1978, leading to widespread inquiries into the
status of isolated elderly people in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogen_Kato>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
green belt:
1. Senses relating to an area of land with plants on it.
2. A strip of land with plants in a place which is otherwise bare.
3. A strip of land on which trees are planted to protect against
desertification, soil erosion, etc.
4. (urban studies)
5. A strip of land next to a building, open space, road, etc., with
plants on it, intended for exercise or recreation.
6. (chiefly Britain) An area of agricultural land around an urban area
that is protected from large-scale building.
7. (martial arts)
8. A belt which is green in colour worn by a person who has achieved a
certain (usually intermediate) level of skill in a martial art,
especially judo or karate; also, the level of skill represented by this
belt.
9. A person who has earned the rank of green belt in a martial art.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/green_belt>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Oh, I love you God, I love you I'd kill a dragon for you. I'll
die But I will rise And I will return The Phoenix from the flame I
have learned. I will rise And you'll see me return Being what I am
There is no other Troy For me to burn.
--Sinéad O'Connor
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sin%C3%A9ad_O%27Connor>
Mick Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter. He
was born and grew up in Dartford, joining the rock band the Rolling
Stones in 1962 as the lead vocalist and a founder member. His
songwriting partnership with Keith Richards is one of history's most
successful. A pioneer of the modern music industry, Jagger has been
widely described as one of the most popular and influential frontmen in
rock music history. Notorious for his romantic involvements and illicit
drug use, he has often been portrayed as a countercultural figure. His
performance style has been studied by academics and is the inspiration
for the song "Moves like Jagger". He has released four solo albums and
starred in two films. With the Stones, he was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, and into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
As either a Stones member or a solo artist, he has reached No. 1 on the
UK and US singles charts thirteen times, and the top 40 seventy times.
He was knighted in 2003.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Jagger>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1882:
Boer mercenaries established the Republic of Stellaland (later
flag pictured) in land claimed by the United Kingdom as part of British
Bechuanaland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaland>
1953:
In Short Creek, Arizona, police conducted a mass arrest of
approximately 400 Mormon fundamentalists for polygamy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Creek_raid>
1993:
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashed into a mountain during a
failed attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea, leading to the
deaths of 68 of the people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_733>
2012:
The New Irish Republican Army was formed from a merger of a
number of dissident republican militant groups.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Irish_Republican_Army>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rejig:
1. To rearrange or tweak (something), especially in order to improve it
or make it suitable for some purpose.
2. (dated) To provide (a place, etc.) with new equipment or machinery;
to reequip, to refit.
3. (mining) To separate or sort (ore) again in a jigger or sieve.
4. (chiefly Britain) A rearrangement, a reorganization.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rejig>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Try to understand me. Nothing is impossible.
--Gracie Allen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gracie_Allen>
Dish-bearers and butlers were thegns who acted as personal attendants of
kings in Anglo-Saxon England. Royal feasts played an important role in
consolidating community and hierarchy among the elite, and dish-bearers
and butlers served the food and drinks at these meals. Thegns were
substantial landowners who occupied the third lay (non-religious) rank
of the aristocracy in English society, after the king and ealdormen.
Dish-bearers and butlers ranked above ordinary thegns in lists of
witnesses to charters, and they probably also carried out diverse
military and administrative duties as required by the king. No dish-
bearer or butler is known to have served in the reigns of two different
kings, suggesting that the position was a personal one which ended with
the king's death. Some went on to have illustrious careers as ealdormen,
but most never rose higher than thegn. In the later Anglo-Saxon period,
queens (example depicted) and æthelings (sons of kings) also had dish-
bearers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dish-bearers_and_butlers_in_Anglo-Saxon_Engla…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1591:
Eighty Years' War: Dutch and English forces relieved the siege
of Knodsenburg in the Spanish Netherlands, having defeated the Duke of
Parma's army in the field.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Knodsenburg>
1893:
The Corinth Canal was formally opened, bisecting the narrow
Isthmus of Corinth in Greece to connect the Ionian Sea's Gulf of Corinth
with the Aegean Sea's Saronic Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth_Canal>
1950:
Korean War: After American troops withdrew, North Korean forces
captured the village of Yongdong in South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yongdong>
2007:
Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of
India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratibha_Patil>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
caddie:
1. (Scotland)
2. (also attributively, obsolete) Synonym of cadet (“a gentleman (often
a younger son from a noble family) who joined the military without a
commission as a career”)
3. (by extension, archaic) A young man; a boy, a lad; specifically
(derogatory), one regarded as of low social status; a ragamuffin.
4. (by extension, historical) A person engaged to run errands such as
carrying goods and messages; a commissionaire, an errand boy or errand
girl, a gofer; specifically, a member of an organized group of such
persons working in large Scottish cities and towns in the early 18th
century.
5. (by extension, golf, also attributively) A person hired to assist a
golfer by carrying their golf clubs and providing advice.
6. (intransitive, golf) Chiefly followed by for: to serve as a caddie
(noun sense 2) for a golfer. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caddie>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
A just society must strive with all its might to right wrongs
even if righting wrongs is a highly perilous undertaking. But if it is
to survive, a just society must be strong and resolute enough to deal
swiftly and relentlessly with those who would mistake its good will for
weakness.
--Eric Hoffer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer>
American logistics in the Normandy campaign played a key role in the
success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northwest Europe
during World War II. By June 1944, some 1,526,965 US troops were in
the UK, of whom 459,511 were in the Services of Supply. The First United
States Army was supported over the Omaha and Utah Beaches, and through
the Mulberry artificial port at Omaha that was specially constructed for
the purpose. The Mulberry port was abandoned after it was damaged by a
storm on 19–22 June. During the first seven weeks after D-Day, the
advance was much slower than the Overlord plan had anticipated, and the
lodgment area much smaller. The nature of the fighting in the Normandy
bocage country created shortages of certain items, particularly
artillery and mortar ammunition, and there were unexpectedly high rates
of loss of bazookas, Browning automatic rifles, and M7 grenade
launchers.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_logistics_in_the_Normandy_campaign>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1920:
Franco-Syrian War: At the Battle of Maysalun forces of the Arab
Kingdom of Syria were defeated by a French army moving to occupy the
territory allocated to them by the San Remo conference.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maysalun>
1923:
The Treaty of Lausanne was signed to settle part of the
partition of the Ottoman Empire, establishing the boundaries of Greece,
Bulgaria and Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne>
1967:
During a speech in Montreal, French president Charles de Gaulle
declared "Long live free Quebec!", a statement that was interpreted as
support for Quebec independence from Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vive_le_Qu%C3%A9bec_libre>
1998:
A gunman entered the United States Capitol and opened fire,
killing two police officers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_Capitol_shooting>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
virtual:
1. In effect or essence, rather than in fact or reality; also, imitated,
simulated.
2. For practical purposes, though not technically; almost complete, very
near.
3. (computing)
4. Operating using a computer and/or online rather than physically
present.
5. Simulated in a computer and/or online.
6. (object-oriented programming) Of a class member: capable of being
overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.
7. (mechanics) Pertaining to a theoretical infinitesimal velocity in a
mechanical system that does not violate the system's constraints; also,
of other physical quantities: resulting from such a velocity.
8. (physics)
9. Pertaining to a theoretical quality of something which would produce
an observable effect if counteracting factors such as friction are
disregarded; specifically, of a head of water: producing a certain
pressure if friction, etc., is disregarded.
10. (optics) Chiefly in virtual focus: of a focus or point: from which
light or other radiation apparently emanates; also, of an image:
produced by light that appears to diverge from a point beyond the
reflecting or refracting surface.
11. (particle physics) Pertaining to particles in temporary existence
due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
12. (quantum mechanics) Of a quantum state: having an intermediate,
short-lived, and unobservable nature.
13. (obsolete)
14. Having efficacy or power due to some natural qualities.
15. (specifically, also figuratively) Of a plant or other thing: having
strong healing powers; virtuous.
16. Having the power of acting without the agency of some material or
measurable thing; possessing invisible efficacy.
17. Producing, or able to produce, some result; effective, efficacious.
18. Synonym of virtuous (“full of virtue; having excellent moral
character”)
19. (uncountable) Preceded by the: that which is imitated or simulated
rather than existing in fact or reality; (countable) an instance of
this.
20. (uncountable) That which is simulated in a computer and/or online;
virtual reality; (countable) an instance of this; specifically
(gambling), a computer simulation of a real-world sport such as horse
racing.
21. (countable, programming) A virtual (adjective sense 3.3) member
function of a class.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/virtual>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Heaven is not reached at a single bound; But we build the ladder
by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we
mount to its summit round by round.
--Josiah Gilbert Holland
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josiah_Gilbert_Holland>