Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction
and fantasy books (example pictured) and issued many of the best known
science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s. The company was founded
in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher
of mysteries and westerns. It soon branched out into other genres,
publishing its first science fiction title in 1953; this was a
successful innovation, and within a few years, such titles outnumbered
both mysteries and westerns. Ace became known for the tête-bêche
binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not
originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this
"Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres,
bound tête-bêche, until 1973. These have proved attractive to book
collectors, and some rare titles in mint condition command prices up to
$1,000. It was one of the leading science fiction publishers for its
first ten years, but its fortunes began to decline after the death of
owner A. A. Wyn in 1967. Two prominent editors, Donald A. Wollheim and
Terry Carr, left in 1971, and in 1972 Ace was sold to Grosset & Dunlap.
It is now an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Books>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Slavery in the United States was officially abolished when the
Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Con…>
1917:
A ship in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, carrying TNT
and picric acid caught fire after a collision with another ship and
caused the world's largest man-made accidental explosion (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion>
1928:
On the behest of the United States, the Colombian Army
violently suppressed a month-long strike by United Fruit Company
workers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre>
1982:
The Irish National Liberation Army exploded a time bomb in
Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven British Army soldiers and
six civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droppin_Well_bombing>
1988:
The Australian Capital Territory was granted self-government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Australian_Capital_Territory>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Nicholine:
Created by, in the style of, or pertaining to (any of several people
named) Nicholas.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nicholine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The position which believers and unbelievers occupy with regard to their
various forms of faith is very much the same all over the world. The
difficulties which trouble us, have troubled the hearts and minds of men
as far back as we can trace the beginnings of religious life. The great
problems touching the relation of the Finite to the Infinite, of the
human mind as the recipient, and of the Divine Spirit as the source of
truth, are old problems indeed; and while watching their appearance in
different countries, and their treatment under varying circumstances, we
shall be able, I believe, to profit ourselves, both by the errors which
others committed before us, and by the truth which they discovered. We
shall know the rocks that threaten every religion in this changing and
shifting world of ours, and having watched many a storm of religious
controversy and many a shipwreck in distant seas, we shall face with
greater calmness and prudence the troubled waters at home.
--Max Müller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller>
The Golden White-eye is a species of bird in the white-eye family
Zosteropidae. It is the only species within the genus Cleptornis. The
Golden White-eye was once considered to be a honeyeater in the family
Meliphagidae and although it is now known to be a white-eye, its
position within that family is still uncertain. The species is
restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the Northern Mariana
Islands, where it is sympatric (shares its range) and competes with the
related Bridled White-eye. The Golden White-eye has golden plumage and a
pale eye-ring. It feeds on insects, fruit, and nectar and forages in
pairs or small family groups. The bird is monogamous and lays two eggs
in a small cup nest. Fossil evidence shows the Golden White-eye once
also occurred on Tinian and Rota but was extirpated in those locations
through the impact of human activities. Despite its current abundance on
Saipan and Aguijan, and the fact that it has among the highest recorded
densities for any bird, it is nevertheless considered to be critically
endangered. It is threatened by the invasive Brown Tree Snake, which has
recently become established on Saipan; efforts are under way to control
the snakes and breed the white-eye in zoos.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_White-eye>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1484:
Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes
affectibus, giving Dominican Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer explicit
authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus>
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox
arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to arrange the transport of
60 tons of artillery that would be used to strengthen the Siege of
Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_train_of_artillery>
1936:
The 1936 Soviet Constitution, also known as the "Stalin"
constitution, was adopted.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Soviet_Constitution>
1972:
Gough Whitlam took office as the 21st Prime Minister of
Australia and formed a duumvirate with his deputy Lance Barnard, ending
23 years of Liberal-Country Party government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam>
2005:
The Civil Partnership Act came into force, granting civil
partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and responsibilities
identical to civil marriage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Partnership_Act_2004>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
archeress:
A female archer, a woman who shoots an arrow from a bow: Elizabeth
deigned to show her skill as an archeress, to the detriment of the
dappled deer in the wide park beyond (John Berwick Harwood).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/archeress>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The existing scientific concepts cover always only a very limited part
of reality, and the other part that has not yet been understood is
infinite.
--Werner Heisenberg
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg>
Jesse L. Brown (1926–1950) was the first African-American naval
aviator in the United States Navy, and the first naval officer killed in
the Korean War. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to an impoverished
family, Brown had an avid interest in aircraft from a young age. After
graduating as salutatorian of his high school, he enlisted in the US
Navy in 1946 and became a midshipman one year later after finishing a
degree at Ohio State University. He earned his pilot wings on 21 October
1948, and was subsequently assigned to Fighter Squadron 32 aboard the
USS Leyte. At the outset of the Korean War, the Leyte was ordered to
the Korean Peninsula, arriving in October 1950. Brown flew 20 combat
missions before his F4U Corsair aircraft came under fire and crashed on
a remote mountaintop on 4 December 1950 during a mission supporting
ground troops at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Brown died of his
wounds in spite of efforts by wingman Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., who
intentionally crashed his aircraft attempting a rescue and was later
awarded the Medal of Honor. Brown's successes in the segregated US
military were memorialized in several books, and the frigate USS Jesse
L. Brown (FF-1089) was named in his honor.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_L._Brown>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1872:
The American brigantine Mary Celeste was found apparently
abandoned under circumstances which to this day remain unknown.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste>
1893:
First Matabele War: A patrol of British South Africa Company
soldiers was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele
warriors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangani_Patrol>
1954:
The global hamburger fast food chain Burger King, known for its
signature item the Whopper, was founded in Miami, Florida, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Burger_King>
1979:
Bruce George Peter Lee set fire to a family home in Hull,
England; after his arrest he revealed that he had started nine other
fatal fires in the area.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_George_Peter_Lee>
1992:
U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered American troops into
Somalia to help provide humanitarian aid and restore order during the
ongoing Somali Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Task_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
intersperse:
1. To mix two things irregularly, placing things of one kind among things
of other; specifically:
2. To scatter or insert (something) into or among (other things), as Nature
interspersed dandelions among the petunias, or
3. To diversify (something) by placing or inserting other things among
(it), as Nature interspersed the petunias with dandelions.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intersperse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You need to laugh more. Life is filled with too many problems, to not
laugh every day. ... We need to have a sense of humor going into this
because it's too tough without it.
--Ysabella Brave
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ysabella_Brave>
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor
organization representing professional American football players in the
National Football League (NFL). Founded in 1956, it was established to
provide players with formal representation to negotiate compensation and
the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. In the early years of
the NFL, contractual negotiations took place between players and
management; team owners were reluctant to engage in collective
bargaining. A series of strikes and lockouts have occurred throughout
the union's existence largely due to monetary and benefit disputes
between the players and the owners. League rules that punished players
for playing in rival football leagues resulted in litigation; the
success of such lawsuits impelled the NFL to negotiate some work rules
and minimum payments with the NFLPA. It was recognized by the NFL as the
official bargaining agent for players in 1968. In addition to conducting
labor negotiations, the NFLPA represents and protects the rights of
players, ensures that the terms of the collective bargaining agreement
are adhered to by the league and the teams, and negotiates and monitors
retirement and insurance benefits.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Players_Association>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1834:
The German Customs Union instituted the first regular census in
Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_in_Germany>
1854:
At least 22 people were killed and 35 others were injured when
rebelling miners at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria,
Australia, clashed violently with the police and the military.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Rebellion>
1960:
The musical Camelot (Julie Andrews and Richard Burton
pictured), which would become associated with John F. Kennedy's
presidency, opened on Broadway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_(musical)>
1984:
Methyl isocyanate and other toxic chemicals were accidentally
released from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal,
India, causing the world's largest industrial disaster.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster>
1997:
Representatives from 121 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty
banning the use of anti-personnel land mines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_Treaty>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fleeting:
Passing quickly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fleeting>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written
word, to make you hear, to make you feel — it is, before all, to make
you see. That — and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you
shall find there according to your deserts: encouragement, consolation,
fear, charm — all you demand; and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth
for which you have forgotten to ask. in
--The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Nigger_of_the_%27Narcissus%27>
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of
Mahoning County. It also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality
is on the Mahoning River, approximately 65 miles (105 km) southeast of
Cleveland and 61 miles (100 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Youngstown lies 10 miles (16 km) west of the Pennsylvania state line,
midway between New York City and Chicago via Interstate 80. The city was
named for John Young, an early settler from Whitestown, New York, who
established the community's first sawmill and gristmill. Youngstown is
in a region of the United States that is often referred to as the Rust
Belt. Traditionally known as a center of steel production, Youngstown
was forced to redefine itself when the U.S. steel industry fell into
decline in the 1970s, leaving communities throughout the region without
a major industry. Youngstown also falls within the Appalachian Ohio
region, situated amongst the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The
2010 census showed that Youngstown had a total population of 66,982,
making it Ohio's ninth largest city.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youngstown,_Ohio>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1700:
Great Northern War: Swedish forces led by King Charles XII
defeated the Russian army of Tsar Peter the Great at the Battle of
Narva.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Narva_(1700)>
1853:
Russian battleships led by Pavel Nakhimov destroyed an Ottoman
fleet of frigates at the Battle of Sinop, precipitating the Crimean War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War>
1934:
The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman became the first to
officially exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A3_4472_Flying_Scotsman>
1979:
The Wall, a rock opera and concept album by Pink Floyd, was
first released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall>
2007:
Swami Rambhadracharya, a Hindu religious leader, released the
first Braille version of the Bhagavad Gita scripture.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
diapir:
(geology) An intrusion of a ductile rock into an overburden.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diapir>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover
everybody's face but their own.
--Jonathan Swift
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift>
The Cologne War (1583–88) devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a
historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire,
present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany. The war occurred within
the context of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and the subsequent
Counter-Reformation, and concurrently with the Dutch Revolt and the
French Wars of Religion. The conflict tested the principle of
ecclesiastical reservation, which had been included in the religious
Peace of Augsburg (1555). This principle excluded, or "reserved", the
ecclesiastical territories of the Holy Roman Empire from the application
of cuius regio, eius religio, or "who rules, his religion", as the
primary means to determine the religion of a territory. The conflict
coincided with the Dutch Revolt, 1568–1648, encouraging participation
of the rebellious Dutch provinces and the Spanish. The Cologne War
caused the consolidation of Wittelsbach authority in northwestern German
territories and in a Catholic revival on the lower Rhine. Importantly,
it also set a precedent for outside intervention in German religious and
dynastic conflicts.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_War>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1729:
Natchez Indians suddenly revolted against French colonists near
modern-day Natchez, Mississippi, US, killing over 240 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Massacre>
1776:
American Revolutionary War: British reinforcements brought an
end to the Patriot attempt to capture Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Cumberland>
1899:
FC Barcelona, one of the most successful clubs in Spanish
football, was founded by Swiss football pioneer Joan Gamper.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona>
1972:
Atari released Pong (screenshot pictured), one of the first
video games to achieve widespread popularity in both the arcade and home
console markets.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong>
1987:
Korean Air Flight 858 exploded over the Andaman Sea after two
North Korean agents left a time bomb in an overhead compartment, killing
all 115 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_858>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sanguinolent:
Containing or tinged with blood.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sanguinolent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be
fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with
religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger —
according to the way you react to it.
--C. S. Lewis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis>
Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, emetic Russula, or
vomiting Russula, is a basidiomycete mushroom, and the type species of
the genus Russula. It has a red, convex to flat cap up to 8.5 cm
(3.3 in) in diameter, with a cuticle that can be peeled off almost to
the centre. The gills are white to pale cream, and closely spaced. A
smooth white stem measures up to 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and 2.4 cm
(0.9 in) thick. First described in 1774, the mushroom has a wide
distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows on the ground in
damp woodlands in a mycorrhizal association with conifers, especially
pine. The mushroom's common names refer to the gastrointestinal distress
they cause when consumed raw. The flesh is extremely peppery, but this
offensive taste, along with its toxicity, can be removed by parboiling
or pickling. Although it used to be widely eaten in Russia and eastern
European countries, it is generally not recommended for consumption.
There are many similar Russula species that have a red cap with white
stem and gills, some of which can be reliably distinguished from
R. emetica only by microscopic characteristics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_emetica>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1660:
At London's Gresham College, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins,
Christopher Wren and other leading scientists founded a learned society
now known as the Royal Society (coat of arms pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society>
1920:
Thirty-six local Irish Republican Army volunteers killed
seventeen members of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish
Constabulary, marking a turning point in the Irish War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmichael_Ambush>
1971:
Fred Quilt, a leader of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, was
severely beaten by Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Quilt_inquiry>
1979:
Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Antarctica's Mount
Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_New_Zealand_Flight_901>
2002:
Suicide bombers blew up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa,
Kenya, but their colleagues failed in their attempt to bring down an
Arkia Israel Airlines charter flight with surface-to-air-missiles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Mombasa_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ohnosecond:
(humorous) The fraction of time between making a mistake and realizing
it.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ohnosecond>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are the light inside light that fuses into the atoms of our bodies;
we are the fire that whirls across the stellar deeps and dances all
things into being.
--David Zindell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Zindell>
Kappa Kappa Psi is a coeducational fraternity for college and university
band members. The fraternity was founded on November 27, 1919, at
Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, Oklahoma, by
ten band members led by William A. Scroggs and Professor Bohumil
Makovsky, and was incorporated on March 5, 1920. Since its founding,
Kappa Kappa Psi has established several programs for the betterment of
college bands and band music, including the National Intercollegiate
Band, a band that has performed at every national convention of the
fraternity since 1947; and the Commissioning Program, which has
contributed dozens of works to the band repertoire as a national project
and hundreds more from local chapter commissions. The fraternity holds a
close relationship with its sister sorority, Tau Beta Sigma. More than
66,000 men and women have been initiated into Kappa Kappa Psi since
1919, including United States President Bill Clinton, John Philip Sousa,
Neil Armstrong, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_Kappa_Psi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
511:
Upon the death of Clovis, King of the Franks, Gaul was divided
among his four sons: Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlothar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_I>
1727:
The foundation stone of Jerusalem's Church in Berlin was laid.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem%27s_Church>
1940:
Second World War: At the Battle of Cape Spartivento, the Royal
Navy engaged the Regia Marina near Sicily.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Spartivento>
1978:
San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay supervisor
Harvey Milk were assassinated by supervisor Dan White.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscone%E2%80%93Milk_assassinations>
2009:
A bomb exploded under a high-speed train travelling between
Moscow and Saint Petersburg derailing it, killing 28 passengers and
injuring 95 more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nevsky_Express_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
uberly:
(informal) Significantly; very, very much; extremely.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uberly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The brain is waking and with it the mind is returning. It is as if the
Milky Way entered upon some cosmic dance. Swiftly the head mass becomes
an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving
pattern, always a meaningful pattern though never an abiding one; a
shifting harmony of subpatterns. Now as the waking body rouses,
subpatterns of this great harmony of activity stretch down into the
unlit tracks of the stalk-piece of the scheme. Strings of flashing and
travelling sparks engage the lengths of it. This means that the body is
up and rises to meet its waking day.
--Charles Scott Sherrington
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Scott_Sherrington>
Betelgeuse is the eighth brightest star in the night sky and second
brightest in the constellation of Orion, only rarely outshining Rigel.
It is a distinctly reddish, semiregular variable star whose apparent
magnitude varies between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first-
magnitude star. Betelgeuse's name is thought to be derived from the
Arabic يد الجوزاء Yad al-Jauzā' meaning "the Hand of al-
Jauzā'", i.e., Orion. It is classified as a red supergiant of spectral
type M2Iab and is one of the largest and most luminous known stars. If
positioned at the center of the Solar System, its surface would extend
past the asteroid belt, possibly beyond the orbit of Jupiter, at least
wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Less than 10 million
years old, Betelgeuse has evolved rapidly due to its high mass. Ejected
from its birthplace in the Orion OB1 Association, this crimson runaway
has been observed moving through the interstellar medium supersonically
at a speed of 30 km/sec, creating a bow shock over 4 light-years wide.
Now in a late stage of stellar evolution, the supergiant is expected to
proceed through its life cycle before exploding as a type II supernova
within the next million years.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1805:
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the longest and highest aqueduct in
Great Britain, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontcysyllte_Aqueduct>
1917:
Unable to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the
Toronto Blueshirts, the other ice hockey clubs of Canada's National
Hockey Association officially agreed to leave that sports league and to
form a new one: the National Hockey League.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League>
1922:
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to
enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KV62>
1983:
Six robbers broke into the Brink's-MAT warehouse at London
Heathrow Airport and stole three tonnes of gold bullion, much of which
has never been recovered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brink%27s-MAT_robbery>
2011:
U.S.-led NATO forces engaged Pakistani security forces at two
Pakistani military checkposts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border in
a friendly fire incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NATO_attack_in_Pakistan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
frounce:
1. To curl.
2. To crease, wrinkle.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frounce>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I know nothing of man's rights, or woman's rights; human rights are all
that I recognise.
--Sarah Grimké
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sarah_Grimk%C3%A9>
The Grey Cup is the name of both the championship game of the Canadian
Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It
is contested between the winners of the CFL's East and West Divisional
playoffs and is one of Canadian television's largest annual sporting
events. It was commissioned by Governor General Albert Grey, 4th Earl
Grey, to serve as the national championship of Canadian football. The
trophy has been broken several times, stolen twice, held for ransom and
survived a fire. The University of Toronto won the inaugural title in
1909. Typically played in late November, inclement weather has
periodically impacted the Grey Cup game, notably the 1962 "Fog Bowl"
when the contest was postponed due to a lack of visibility. The Toronto
Argonauts have the most Grey Cup victories with 15, while the Edmonton
Eskimos formed the longest dynasty with five consecutive titles between
1978 and 1982. Competition for the Grey Cup has been limited exclusively
to Canadian teams, except for a brief period in the 1990s which saw the
Baltimore Stallions become the only American Grey Cup champion in 1995.
The 100th Grey Cup is being held in Toronto in 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Cup>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1120:
William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of
England, drowned in the White Ship Disaster, leading to a succession
crisis which would bring down the Norman monarchy of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Ship>
1795:
Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland, was
forced to abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth by Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_August_Poniatowski>
1936:
Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan signed the Anti-Comintern
Pact, agreeing that if the Soviet Union attacked one of them, they would
consult each other on what measures to take "to safeguard their common
interests".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Comintern_Pact>
1952:
Korean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle
Hill ended as American and South Korean units abandoned their attempt to
capture the "Iron Triangle".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Triangle_Hill>
2009:
Freak rains caused devastating flooding in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia, killing 122 people and stranding thousands of Hajj pilgrims.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Jeddah_floods>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
weir:
1. An adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water
downstream.
2. A fence placed across a river to catch fish.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/weir>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
You have your thoughts and I have mine. This is the fact and you can't
change it even if you kill me.
--Ba Jin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ba_Jin>