The Turban Head eagle was a ten-dollar gold piece, or eagle, struck by
the United States Mint from 1795 to 1804. The piece was designed by
Robert Scot, and was the first in the eagle series, which continued
until the Mint ceased striking gold coins for circulation in 1933. The
common name is a misnomer; Liberty does not wear a turban but a cap,
believed by some to be a pileus or Liberty cap: her hair twisting around
the headgear makes it appear to be a turban. The number of stars on the
obverse was initially intended to be equal to the number of states in
the Union, but with the number at 16, that idea was abandoned in favor
of using 13 stars in honor of the original states. The initial reverse,
featuring an eagle with a wreath in its mouth, proved unpopular and was
replaced by a heraldic eagle. Increases in the price of gold made it
profitable for the coins to be melted down, and in 1804, President
Thomas Jefferson ended coinage of eagles; the denomination was not
struck again for circulation for a third of a century. Four 1804-dated
eagles (one shown), which were struck in 1834 for inclusion in sets of
US coins to be given to foreign potentates, are among the most valuable
US coins.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turban_Head_eagle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1600:
The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most
violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaynaputina>
1937:
An attempt to assassinate Italian Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani in
Addis Ababa failed, triggering a brutal crackdown of Ethiopians over the
following three days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekatit_12>
1942:
World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forcible relocation of over
112,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese people residing in the United
States to internment camps.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment>
1963:
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, a non-fiction book
credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the
United States, was first published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feminine_Mystique>
2006:
A methane explosion in a coal mine in Nueva Rosita, Mexico,
trapped and killed 65 miners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasta_de_Conchos_mine_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tor:
(South-West England) A hill.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everyone must dream. We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming
— well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate. Isn’t
that true?
--Amy Tan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amy_Tan>
The White-bellied Sea Eagle is a large diurnal bird of prey in the
family Accipitridae. A distinctive bird, adults have a white head,
breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the
black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. Like
many raptors, the female is slightly larger than the male, and can
measure up to 90 cm (36 in) long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m
(7 ft), and weigh 4.5 kg (10 lb). The call is a loud goose-like
honking. Resident from India and Sri Lanka through southeast Asia to
Australia on coasts and major waterways, the White-bellied Sea Eagle
breeds and hunts near water, and fish form around half of its diet.
Opportunistic, it consumes carrion and a wide variety of animals.
Although rated of Least Concern globally, it has declined in parts of
southeast Asia such as Thailand, and southeastern Australia. Human
disturbance to its habitat is the main threat, both from direct human
activity near nests which impacts on breeding success, and from removal
of suitable trees for nesting. The White-bellied Sea Eagle is revered by
indigenous people in many parts of Australia, and is the subject of
various folk tales throughout its range.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-bellied_Sea_Eagle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1637:
Eighty Years' War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a
Spanish fleet intercepted an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44
vessels escorted by 6 warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Lizard_Point>
1873:
Vasil Levski (pictured), the national hero of Bulgaria, was
executed in Sofia by Ottoman authorities for his efforts to establish an
independent Bulgarian republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Levski>
1943:
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, delivered the
Sportpalast speech to motivate the German people when the tide of World
War II was turning against Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportpalast_speech>
1957:
Kenyan independence leader Dedan Kimathi, who spearheaded the
Mau Mau Rebellion, was executed by British authorities, who saw him as a
terrorist.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedan_Kimathi>
2001:
American FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for having spied
for Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies over a 22-year period.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
artisanal:
1. Of or pertaining to artisans or the work of artisans.
2. Involving skilled work, with comparatively little reliance on machinery.
3. (of an item, especially a foodstuff) Made by an artisan (skilled
worker).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/artisanal>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Life is not a goal; it is also an instrument, like death, like beauty,
like virtue, like knowledge. Whose instrument? Of that God who fights
for freedom. We are all one, we are all an imperiled essence.
--Nikos Kazantzakis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikos_Kazantzakis>
Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published in April
1950. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar, who felt that
the church was not communicating its message effectively. Simultaneously
disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, he and artist
Frank Hampson created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris
hawked the idea to several publishers, with little success, until Hulton
Press decided to take it on. Following a huge publicity campaign, the
first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front
cover was the comic's most recognisable story, Dan Dare, Pilot of the
Future (pictured). Other popular stories included Riders of the Range
and P.C. 49. Eagle also contained news and sport sections, and
educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery. Amidst a
takeover of the comic's publisher and a series of acrimonious disputes,
Morris left in 1959; Hampson followed shortly thereafter. Although Eagle
continued in various forms, a perceived lowering of editorial standards
preceded plummeting sales, and it was eventually subsumed by its rival,
Lion, in 1969. A relaunched Eagle ran for over 500 issues between 1982
and 1994.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_(comic)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
The U.S. House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as
President and Aaron Burr as Vice President, resolving an electoral tie
in the 1800 U.S. presidential election.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1800>
1872:
Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, collectively
known as Gomburza, were executed in Manila, Philippines, by Spanish
colonial authorities on charges of subversion arising from the 1872
Cavite mutiny.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomburza>
1913:
In the U.S. National Guard's 69th Regiment Armory in New York
City, the Armory Show opened, introducing Americans to avant-garde and
modern art.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armory_Show>
1978:
The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a
bomb at the La Mon restaurant near Belfast, Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mon_restaurant_bombing>
2003:
The London congestion charge, a fee that is levied on motorists
travelling within designated parts of Central London, came into
operation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bebother:
To bring trouble upon.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bebother>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Time is the father of truth, its mother is our mind.
--Giordano Bruno
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno>
The history of Lithuania between 1219 and 1295 covers the establishment
and early history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first Lithuanian
state. In 1219, twenty-one Lithuanian dukes signed a peace treaty with
Galicia–Volhynia – the first proof that the Baltic tribes were
uniting. Despite continuous warfare with two Christian orders, the
Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
was established and gained some control over neighbouring lands that
were vulnerable after the collapse of Kievan Rus'. Mindaugas (modern
commemorative coin pictured) was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253
and is traditionally regarded as the founder of the state. However, in
1261, he broke the peace with the Livonian Order, and his assassination
in 1263 by Treniota ended the early Christian kingdom in Lithuania. It
was a pagan empire for the next 120 years, fighting against the
Teutonic and Livonian Orders during the Northern Crusades. After
Mindaugas' death, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania entered times of relative
instability but did not disintegrate. Vytenis assumed power in 1295, and
during the next twenty years laid solid foundations for the Duchy to
expand and grow.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lithuania_(1219%E2%80%931295)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: Union victory in the Battle of Fort
Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional
Surrender" Grant.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson>
1923:
English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter unsealed
the burial chamber of Tutankhamun (mask pictured), an Egyptian Pharaoh
of the eighteenth dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun>
1961:
The DuSable Museum, the first museum dedicated to the study and
conservation of African American history, culture, and art, was
chartered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuSable_Museum_of_African_American_History>
1983:
The Ash Wednesday fires burned 513,979 acres (2,080 km2) in
South Australia and 518,921 acres (2,100 km2) in Victoria, killing 75
people and injuring 2,676 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_fires>
2005:
The Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the international treaty on
climate change, entered into force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
treknobabble:
A kind of technobabble particular to the Star Trek universe, with a
particularly heavy emphasis on configurations of pseudoscientific
particles and waves.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/treknobabble>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words
are slippery and thought is viscous.
--Henry Adams
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams>
"We Can Do It!" is an American wartime propaganda poster produced by J.
Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric to boost worker morale.
The poster is generally thought to be based on a black-and-white wire
service photograph taken of a Michigan factory worker named Geraldine
Hoff. During World War II the image was strictly internal to
Westinghouse, displayed only during February 1943, and was not for
recruitment but to exhort already-hired women to work harder. It was
rediscovered in the early 1980s and widely reproduced in many forms,
often called "We Can Do It!" but also called "Rosie the Riveter" after
the iconic figure of a strong female war production worker. The "We Can
Do It!" image was used to promote feminism and other political issues
beginning in the 1980s. The image made the cover of the Smithsonian
magazine in 1994 and was fashioned into a US first-class mail stamp in
1999. It was incorporated in 2008 into campaign materials for several US
politicians, and was reworked by an artist in 2010 to celebrate the
first woman becoming prime minister of Australia. The poster is one of
the ten most-requested images at the National Archives and Records
Administration.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Can_Do_It!>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1898:
The United States Navy battleship USS Maine exploded and sank
in Havana, Cuba (wreckage pictured), killing more than 260 people and
precipitating the Spanish–American War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)>
1949:
Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux began excavations
at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves in the West Bank region of Jordan, the
location of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran_Caves>
1965:
Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag, replacing the Canadian Red
Ensign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada>
1979:
Don Dunstan resigned as Premier of South Australia, ending a
decade of sweeping social liberalisation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dunstan>
2003:
In one of the largest anti-war rallies in history, millions
around the world in approximately 800 cities took part in protests
against the impending invasion of Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15,_2003_anti-war_protest>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bridge the gap:
(idiomatic) To serve as or create a connection between two disconnected
or disparate things.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bridge_the_gap>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is the business of the future to be dangerous; and it is among the
merits of science that it equips the future for its duties.
--Alfred North Whitehead
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead>
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is a song by American recording
artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha
Fierce (2008). It was the album's lead single alongside "If I Were a
Boy", contrasting Knowles' persona as herself and her aggressive onstage
alter ego Sasha Fierce. Inspired by her secret marriage to Jay-Z in
April 2008, the song explores men's unwillingness to commit, a topic
that motivated Knowles to write "Single Ladies". It is a dance-pop song
with R&B;, dancehall, disco and bounce influences. According to the
lyrics, the female protagonist is in a club to celebrate after a recent
end to a poor relationship; her former lover is also present. The song
and the repeated refrain, "If you like it then you should have put a
ring on it", are directed to him. Critics praised the song for its
smooth production. "Single Ladies" won three Grammy Awards, including
Song of the Year. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100
chart. The accompanying music video was shot in black-and-white and
features the J-Setting dance choreography inspired by "Mexican
Breakfast", a 1969 routine choreographed by Bob Fosse. The award-winning
video has been parodied and imitated around the world.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Ladies_(Put_a_Ring_on_It)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1835:
The members of the original Quorum of the Twelve of the Latter
Day Saint movement were selected by the the Three Witnesses (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_of_the_Twelve>
1919:
The first serious armed conflict of the Polish–Soviet War
took place near present-day Biaroza, Belarus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War>
1924:
The Computing Tabulating Recording Company renamed itself to
International Business Machines, one of the world's largest companies by
market capitalization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM>
1943:
World War II: General Hans-Jurgen von Arnim's Fifth Panzer Army
launched a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sidi_Bou_Zid>
2011:
As a part of the Arab Spring, the still ongoing Bahraini
uprising, began with a Day of Rage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_Rage_(Bahrain)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
elope:
(intransitive, of an unmarried person) To run away secretly for the
purpose of getting married with one's intended spouse; to marry in a
quick or private fashion, especially without a public period of
engagement.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elope>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If thou must love me, let it be for nought Except for love's sake only.
Do not say "I love her for her smile — her look — her way Of
speaking gently, — for a trick of thought That falls in well with
mine, and certes brought A sense of pleasant ease on such a day" — For
these things in themselves, Beloved, may Be changed, or change for thee,
— and love, so wrought, May be unwrought so. Neither love me for Thine
own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry, — A creature might forget to
weep, who bore Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby! But love me
for love's sake, that evermore Thou may'st love on, through love's
eternity.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning>
The United States Assay Commission was an agency of the United States
government from 1792 to 1980. Its function was to annually supervise the
testing of the gold, silver, and (in its final years) base metal coins
produced by the United States Mint to ensure that they met
specifications. The Mint Act of 1792 authorized the Assay Commission.
Beginning in 1797, it met in most years at the Philadelphia Mint. Each
year, the President of the United States appointed unpaid members, who
would gather in Philadelphia to ensure the weight and fineness of silver
and gold coins issued the previous year were to specifications. Although
some members were designated by statute, for the most part the
commission, which was freshly appointed each year, consisted of
prominent Americans, including numismatists. Appointment to the Assay
Commission was eagerly sought after—for one thing, commissioners
received a commemorative medal, different each year, and, with the
exception of the 1977 issue which was sold to the general public,
extremely rare. In 1971, the commission met, but for the first time had
no gold or silver to test, with the end of silver coinage for
circulation. Beginning in 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed no
members of the public to the commission, and in 1980, he signed
legislation abolishing it.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Assay_Commission>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1660:
The five-year-old Charles XI became King of Sweden.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XI_of_Sweden>
1867:
Work began on the covering of the Senne (pictured), burying the
polluted main waterway in Brussels to allow urban renewal in the centre
of the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covering_of_the_Senne>
1945:
World War II: The Allies began their strategic bombing of
Dresden, Saxony, Germany, resulting in a lethal firestorm which killed
tens of thousands of civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II>
1961:
American geode prospectors discovered what they claimed was a
500,000-year-old rock with a spark plug encased inside it.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_artifact>
1978:
A bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, the site of
the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, killing three people and
injuring eleven others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Hilton_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
troika:
1. A Russian carriage drawn by a team of three horses abreast.
2. A party or group of three.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/troika>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In love there are no penalties and no payments, and what is given is
indistinguishable from what is received.
--Eleanor Farjeon
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Farjeon>
Liverpool Football Club's participation in European competitions
organised by Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) began in
1964. Since then, Liverpool have won eleven European trophies, making
them Britain's most successful team in UEFA competitions. They have won
the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) five
times, the UEFA Europa League (formerly known as the UEFA Cup) three
times, and the UEFA Super Cup three times. Liverpool qualified for
European competitions for 21 consecutive seasons until the 1985
European Cup Final, the occasion of the Heysel Stadium disaster,
following which the club was banned from Europe for six seasons. Since
being readmitted, they have qualified for the Champions League eight
times and the UEFA Cup seven times. As a result of their victory in the
2005 UEFA Champions League Final, Liverpool won the European Champion
Clubs' Cup trophy (pictured) outright. Bob Paisley is the club's most
successful manager in Europe, with five trophies. Liverpool's biggest
win in Europe is an 11–0 victory over Strømsgodset in the 1974–75
European Cup Winners' Cup. In European competitions, Jamie Carragher
holds the club record for the most appearances, with 139, and Steven
Gerrard is the club's record goalscorer, with 38 goals.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._in_European_football>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1541:
Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago, today
the capital of Chile, as Santiago del Nuevo Extremo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago>
1855:
Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was
founded as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the United
States' first agricultural college.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University>
1912:
Xinhai Revolution: Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated
under a deal brokered by military official and politician Yuan Shikai,
formally replacing the Qing Dynasty with a new republic in China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi>
1974:
Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was arrested and
subsequently deported from the Soviet Union for writing The Gulag
Archipelago, an exposé of the Soviet forced labour camp system.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn>
2001:
NASA's robotic space probe NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros
(pictured), becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/433_Eros>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snappish:
Exhibiting irritation or impatience; curt; irascible.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snappish>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my
idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the
difference, is no democracy.
--Abraham Lincoln
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln>
Interstate 80 Business (BL-80) is a business loop of Interstate 80 that
serves as the main street for the towns of West Wendover, Nevada, and
Wendover, Utah, along a roadway named Wendover Boulevard. A line painted
on the street marks the Nevada–Utah border. The road, which is 2.26
miles (3.64 km) long, passes West Wendover City Hall and the
Peppermill, Montego Bay Resort and Wendover Nugget casinos. A portion of
the Nevada segment of BL-80 is concurrent with U.S. Route 93 Alternate,
and the entire portion in Utah is coterminous with Utah State Route 58.
Wendover Boulevard was completed in 1925 as part of the Victory Highway
across America, and was opened by governors George H. Dern of Utah and
James G. Scrugham of Nevada and the Secretary of Agriculture, William M.
Jardine. In 1926, it became part of U.S. Route 40, which connected
California to New Jersey via Nevada and Utah. The Nevada Department of
Transportation applied to the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials for the business loop designation in the early
1980s. The designation has never been approved, despite business loop
signs being posted in both states, as Utah has not submitted a request
as required by the association.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_80_Business_(West_Wendover,_Nevada…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1826:
Swaminarayan wrote the Shikshapatri, a book of 212 verses that
serves as the basis of Swaminarayan Hinduism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaminarayan>
1858:
Fourteen-year-old peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous reported
the first of eighteen Marian apparitions in Lourdes, France, resulting
in the town becoming a major site for pilgrimages by Catholics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes_apparitions>
1929:
To help settle the "Roman Question", Italy and the Holy See of
the Roman Catholic Church signed the Lateran Treaty to establish Vatican
City as an independent sovereign enclave within Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty>
1938:
The BBC aired an adaptation of Karel Čapek's play R.U.R., the
first science fiction television programme ever broadcast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.R.>
2008:
Rebel East Timorese soldiers invaded the homes of President
José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, seriously wounding
the former.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_East_Timorese_assassination_attempts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gourmandise:
To eat food in a gluttonous manner; to gorge; to make a pig of oneself.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gourmandise>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is not necessary to succeed in order to persevere. As long as there
is a margin of hope, however narrow, we have no choice but to base all
our action on that margin.
--Leó Szilárd
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
The 2005 Qeshm earthquake was a powerful seismic event that occurred on
November 27, 2005, on the sparsely populated Qeshm Island (pictured) off
Southern Iran. It killed 13 people and devastated 13 villages. It was
Iran's second major earthquake of 2005, following that at Zarand in
February. The epicenter was about 1,500 kilometers (932 mi) south of
Tehran. The earthquake registered 5.8 on the moment magnitude scale.
More than 400 minor aftershocks followed the main quake, 36 of which
were greater than magnitude 2.5. The earthquake occurred in a remote
area during the middle of the day, limiting the number of fatalities.
Iranian relief efforts were effective and largely adequate, leading the
country to decline offers of support from other nations and UNICEF.
Qeshm Island is part of the Simply Folded Belt, the most seismically
active part of the Zagros fold and thrust belt. Similar to most
earthquakes in the area, the 2005 event resulted from reverse slip
faulting. Since Iran lies in such a seismically active area, there is a
high risk of destructive earthquakes; 1 in 3,000 deaths are
attributable to earthquakes. One geophysicist has cited the lack of
strict building codes as a serious concern.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Qeshm_earthquake>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1258:
Hulagu Khan and the Mongols sacked and burned Baghdad, a
cultural and commercial centre of the Islamic world at the time, ending
the rule of the Abbasid caliphate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Baghdad_(1258)>
1567:
After an explosion destroyed the house in Kirk o' Field,
Edinburgh, where he was staying, the strangled body of Henry Stuart,
Lord Darnley, the King consort of Scotland, was found in a nearby
orchard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Stuart,_Lord_Darnley>
1930:
The Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang launched the failed Yen Bai mutiny
in the hope of ending French colonial rule in Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yen_Bai_mutiny>
1939:
Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists concluded their conquest of
Catalonia and sealed the border with France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia_Offensive>
2008:
The Namdaemun gate in Seoul, the first of South Korea's
National Treasures, was severely damaged by arson (damage pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Namdaemun_fire>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
ophidian:
Of or pertaining to the suborder Serpentes; of, related to, or
characteristic of a snake or serpent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ophidian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
--Christ
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christ>