John Martin Scripps (1959–1996) was a British spree killer who
murdered three tourists—Gerard Lowe in Singapore, and Sheila and Darin
Damude in Thailand—with another three unconfirmed victims. He posed as
a tourist himself when committing the murders, for which British
tabloids nickname him "the tourist from Hell". He would stay in the same
hotels as his victims in a room near theirs. Once he had an excuse to be
in their rooms, he would use an electroshock weapon to immobilise them
before killing them. Martin was arrested in Singapore when he returned
there after murdering the Damudes. Photographs of decomposed body parts
were shown as evidence during his trial, making it "one of the most
grisly" ever heard in Singapore. He defended himself by saying that
Lowe's death had been an accident and that a friend of his had killed
the Damudes. The judge did not believe Martin's account of events and
sentenced him to death by hanging, making him the first Briton in
Singapore since Singapore's independence to be given the death penalty.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Martin_Scripps>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
With the first use of his new 1.2 m (3.9 ft) telescope, then
the largest in the world, William Herschel discovered a new moon of
Saturn, which was later named Enceladus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enceladus_(moon)>
1845:
The first issue of the popular science magazine Scientific
American (cover pictured) was published, currently the oldest
continuously published magazine in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_American>
1901:
Silliman University in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines,
became the first American private school to be founded in the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silliman_University>
1909:
A military coup d'etat against the government of Dimitrios
Rallis began in the Goudi neighbourhood of Athens, Greece.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goudi_coup>
1955:
African American teenager Emmett Till was murdered near Money,
Mississippi, for flirting with a white woman, energizing the nascent
American Civil Rights Movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
battle of the sexes:
(game theory) A situation in which two people want to do different
things, but do them together.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/battle_of_the_sexes>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The best among our writers are doing their accustomed work of mirroring
what is deep in the spirit of our time; if chaos appears in those
mirrors, we must have faith that in the future, as always in the past,
that chaos will slowly reveal itself as a new aspect of order.
--Robertson Davies
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies>
The Gobrecht dollar, minted from 1836 to 1839, was the first silver
dollar struck for circulation by the United States Mint after production
of that denomination was officially halted in 1806. In 1835, Director of
the United States Mint Robert M. Patterson began an attempt to redesign
the nation's coinage. Christian Gobrecht was hired as an engraver. On
August 1, Patterson wrote a letter to Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully
laying out his plans for the dollar coin. He also asked Titian Peale to
create a design for the coin. Sully created an obverse design depicting
a seated representation of Liberty and Peale a reverse depicting a
soaring bald eagle. After the designs were created and trials struck,
production of the working dies began in September 1836. After a small
quantity was struck for circulation, the Mint received complaints
regarding the prominent placement of Gobrecht's name on the dollar, and
the design was modified to incorporate his name in a less conspicuous
position. In January 1837, the legal standard for the percentage of
precious metal in silver coins was changed from 89.2% to 90%, and the
Gobrecht dollars struck after that point reflect this change. In total,
1,900 Gobrecht dollars were struck during the official production run.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobrecht_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1832:
Black Hawk (pictured), leader of the Sauk tribe of Native
Americans, surrendered to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War>
1927:
Five Canadian women filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court
of Canada, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North
America Act, 1867, include female persons," to which the court
eventually replied that it does not.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_(Canada)>
1957:
The Constitution of Malaya came into force, three days before
the Federation of Malaya achieved formal independence from the United
Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malaysia>
1979:
In two separate attacks, IRA bombs killed 18 British soldiers
near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, and British admiral Louis
Mountbatten and three others in County Sligo, Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mountbatten,_1st_Earl_Mountbatten_of_Bu…>
2003:
The planet Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly
60,000 years: 55,758,006 kilometres (34,646,419 mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars>
2003:
The first round of six-party talks to find a peaceful
resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean
nuclear weapons program opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-party_talks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
anglicism:
A word or other feature originating in the English language that has
been borrowed by another language.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anglicism>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is easier to discover a deficiency in individuals, in states, and in
providence, than to see their real import or value.
--Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel>
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was
a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II from 25 August to 7
September 1942. Japanese naval troops, known as Kaigun Rikusentai,
attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on
the eastern tip of New Guinea. The Japanese miscalculated the size of
the garrison and initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to
one battalion on 25 August. Meanwhile the Allies, forewarned by
intelligence from Ultra, had heavily reinforced the garrison. Despite
suffering a significant setback at the outset, when part of the invasion
force had its landing craft destroyed by Allied aircraft as they
attempted to land on the coast behind the Australian defenders, the
Japanese quickly pushed inland and began their advance towards the
airfields. Heavy fighting followed as they came up against Australian
Militia and the veteran Second Australian Imperial Force units. Allied
air superiority helped tip the balance. Finding themselves outnumbered,
lacking supplies and suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese were
compelled to withdraw their forces. The battle is considered to be the
first in the Pacific campaign in which Allied troops decisively defeated
Japanese land forces.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1346:
Hundred Years' War: English forces established the military
supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow
and armoured knights at the Battle of Crécy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cr%C3%A9cy>
1748:
The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the
Pennsylvania Ministerium, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Ministerium>
1810:
Juan José Castelli ordered the execution of Santiago de
Liniers, during the Argentine War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Liniers,_1st_Count_of_Buenos_Aires>
1883:
The largest explosion in human history took place when an
eruption destroyed the volcanic island of Krakatoa (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa>
1968:
The U.S. Democratic Party's National Convention began at the
International Amphitheatre in Chicago, sparking four days of clashes
between anti–Vietnam War protesters and police.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention>
1977:
The National Assembly of Quebec declared French to be the only
official language of Quebec.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_French_Language>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
paradigm shift:
A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new
one, necessitated when new scientific discoveries produce anomalies in
the current paradigm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paradigm_shift>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men
rather than for what unites them.
--John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Buchan,_1st_Baron_Tweedsmuir>
Herne Hill railway station is a passenger railway station in Lambeth,
South London. Opened on 25 August 1862 by the London, Chatham and Dover
Railway, the station was an important interchange for passengers
travelling between London and continental Europe for many decades;
direct rail services were available to the Kent coast and London
Victoria, the City of London and King's Cross. The arrival of the
railways transformed Herne Hill from a wealthy suburb with large
residential estates into a densely populated urban area; the number of
residents increased five-fold in the decade after the station’s
opening as workers took advantage of the fast and cheap trains to
central London (some services cost as little as a penny per journey).
Today, the station is served by two commuter routes and used by more
than 2.6 million passengers a year. The original building, which is
still in use, has been praised for its architectural quality and was
Grade II listed in 1998.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herne_Hill_railway_station>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1248:
Ommen in the Netherlands received city rights and fortification
rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht, after the town was
pillaged at least twice by a local robber baron.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ommen>
1580:
War of the Portuguese Succession: The army of the pretender to
the Portuguese throne, António, Prior of Crato (pictured), was routed
in the Battle of Alcântara, ending his short-lived reign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alc%C3%A2ntara_(1580)>
1939:
The United Kingdom and Poland entered into a military alliance
for mutual assistance in case of military invasion by "a European
Power".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Polish_military_alliance>
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base
at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay>
1945:
Armed supporters of the Communist Party of China killed
American military intelligence officer and Baptist missionary John Birch
as he was leading a mission to reach Allied personnel in a Japanese
prison camp.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_(missionary)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
draculin:
(organic chemistry) A glycoprotein with anticoagulant properties, found
in the saliva of vampire bats.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/draculin>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whate'er of us lives in the hearts of others Is our truest and
profoundest self.
--Johann Gottfried Herder
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Herder>
Aiphanes is a genus of spiny palms which is native to tropical regions
of South and Central America and the Caribbean. There are about 26
species in the genus, ranging in size from understorey shrubs with
subterranean stems to subcanopy trees as tall as 20 metres (66 ft).
Most have pinnately compound leaves (leaves which are divided into
leaflets arranged feather-like, in pairs along a central axis); one
species has entire leaves. Stems, leaves and sometimes even the fruit
are covered with spines. Plants flower repeatedly over the course of
their lifespan and have separate male and female flowers, although these
are borne together on the same inflorescence. Although records of
pollinators are limited, most species appear to be pollinated by
insects. The fruit are eaten by several birds and mammals, including at
least two species of Amazon parrots.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiphanes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
49 BC:
Caesar's Civil War: Forces loyal to Julius Caesar led by Gaius
Scribonius Curio were crushingly defeated by Pompeian Republicans under
Publius Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bagradas_River_(49_BC)>
1456:
The oldest known version of the Gutenberg Bible, the first
major book produced on a printing press, was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible>
1821:
The Treaty of Córdoba was signed in Córdoba, Veracruz,
ratifying the Plan of Iguala and concluding Mexico's War of Independence
from Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_War_of_Independence>
1942:
World War II: Bombers from the United States aircraft carrier
Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel,
Solomon Islands, helping to lead to an Allied victory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons>
1992:
Hurricane Andrew made landfall in South Florida, the third most
powerful Category 5 system to hit the United States during the 20th
century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
provident:
With care and consideration for the future; foresightly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/provident>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One thinker no less brilliant than the heresiarch himself, but in the
orthodox tradition, advanced a most daring hypothesis. This felicitous
supposition declared that there is only one Individual, and that this
indivisible Individual is every one of the separate beings in the
universe, and that those beings are the instruments and masks of
divinity itself.
--Jorge Luis Borges
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges>
The Olmec colossal heads consist of at least seventeen monumental stone
representations of human male heads sculpted from large basalt boulders.
The heads date from at least before 900 BC and are a distinctive feature
of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature men
with fleshy cheeks, flat noses and slightly crossed eyes; their physical
characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the
inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the
Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz; given that the extremely
large slabs of stone used in their production were transported over
large distances, presumably involving a great deal of people and
resources, it is thought that finished monuments represent portraits of
powerful individual Olmec rulers; each is given a distinctive headdress.
The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec
centres, but the method and logistics used to transport the stone to
these sites remain unclear. The discovery of a colossal head at Tres
Zapotes in the 19th century spurred the first archaeological
investigations of Olmec culture by Matthew Stirling in 1938. Dating the
monuments remains difficult due to the movement of many from their
original context prior to archaeological investigation. Most have been
dated to the Early Preclassic period (1500–1000 BC) with some to the
Middle Preclassic (1000–400 BC) period.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olmec_colossal_heads>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1305:
After a show trial, William Wallace (pictured), leader of the
Scottish resistance against England during the Wars of Scottish
Independence, was executed in London's Smithfield Market.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wallace>
1572:
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, a wave of Catholic mob
violence against the Huguenots, began, lasting for several months and
resulting in an estimated tens of thousands deaths across France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bartholomew%27s_Day_massacre>
1839:
As it prepared for war against China's Qing Dynasty, an ensuing
conflict that became known as the First Opium War, Britain captured the
port of Hong Kong.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War>
1943:
World War II: The decisive Soviet victory in the Battle of
Kursk gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the
war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk>
2006:
Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of 10 in
Vienna, escaped from her captor Wolfgang Priklopil after eight years in
captivity.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natascha_Kampusch>
2007:
The skeletal remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of
Russia, and his sister Anastasia were found near Yekaterinburg, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
malleate:
To beat into shape with a hammer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malleate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life
that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that
goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
--Arnold Toynbee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arnold_Toynbee>
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars
of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House
of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th
century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the
Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the
first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty by his victory and subsequent
marriage to a Yorkist princess. His opponent Richard III, the last king
of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Historians consider
Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it one
of the defining moments of English history. Richard's reign began in
1483 when he seized the throne from his twelve-year-old nephew
Edward V; the boy and his younger brother soon disappeared. Meanwhile,
Henry Tudor, a descendant of the House of Lancaster, also laid claim to
the throne. Henry's first attempt to invade England in 1483 was
frustrated by a storm, but his second arrived unopposed on 1 August
1485 on the southwest coast of Wales. Marching inland, Henry gathered
support as he made for London. Richard hurriedly mustered his troops and
intercepted Henry's army south of the town of Market Bosworth in
Leicestershire.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1639:
The East India Company bought a small strip of land on what is
today Chennai, the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, from
the King of the Vijayanagara Empire, Peda Venkata Raya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai>
1777:
American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold used a devious ruse
to convince the British that a much larger force was arriving, causing
them to abandon the Siege of Fort Stanwix (reconstructed fort pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Stanwix>
1910:
Japan annexed Korea with the signing of the Japan–Korea
Annexation Treaty, beginning a period of Japanese rule of Korea that
lasted until the end of World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_Treaty_of_1910>
1989:
The Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune
and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Neptune>
2006:
Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashed near the Russian border
over eastern Ukraine, killing all 170 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulkovo_Aviation_Enterprise_Flight_612>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eat one's Wheaties:
(US and Canada, idiomatic) To prepare or fortify oneself for an activity
requiring exertion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eat_one%27s_Wheaties>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The picture-story involves a joint operation of the brain, the eye and
the heart. The objective of this joint operation is to depict the
content of some event which is in the process of unfolding, and to
communicate impressions. Sometimes a single event can be so rich in
itself and its facets that it is necessary to move all around it in your
search for the solution to the problems it poses — for the world is
movement, and you cannot be stationary in your attitude toward something
that is moving. Sometimes you light upon the picture in seconds; it
might also require hours or days. But there is no standard plan, no
pattern from which to work.
--Henri Cartier-Bresson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson>
USS New Ironsides was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the
United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was
commissioned midway through the war on 21 August 1862. She spent most of
her career blockading the Confederate ports of Charleston, South
Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina in 1863–65, and bombarded the
fortifications defending Charleston during the First and Second Battles
of Charleston Harbor. At the end of 1864 and the beginning of 1865 New
Ironsides bombarded the defenses of Wilmington in the First and Second
Battles of Fort Fisher. Although she was struck many times by
Confederate shells, gunfire never significantly damaged the ship or
injured the crew. Her only casualty in combat occurred when she was
struck by a spar torpedo carried by the Confederate torpedo boat David.
Eight crewmen were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during
the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in 1865. The ship was placed in reserve
after the war but was destroyed by fire in 1866.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_New_Ironsides>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
Jacobite risings: Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king
James VII of Scotland clashed with a government regiment of Covenanters
supporting William of Orange, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral,
Dunkeld, Scotland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkeld>
1858:
The first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen
A. Douglas, candidates for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate,
was held in Ottawa, Illinois.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%E2%80%93Douglas_debates>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army lost the Battle of the
Tenaru, the first of its three major land offensives during the
Guadalcanal Campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Tenaru>
1986:
A limnic eruption of a cloud of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos
in Cameroon killed up to 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby
villages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos>
1992:
United States Marshals engaged a fugitive in a shootout at Ruby
Ridge, Idaho, beginning a twelve-day siege.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eunoia:
1. (rhetoric) Goodwill towards an audience, either perceived or real; the
perception that the speaker has the audience's interest at heart.
2. (medicine, psychology) A state of normal adult mental health.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eunoia>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have no respect for people who deliberately try to be weird to attract
attention, but if that's who you honestly are, you shouldn't try to
"normalize yourself".
--Alicia Witt
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alicia_Witt>
The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders were a series of trials
held from 1949 to 1958 in which leaders of the Communist Party of the
United States (CPUSA) were accused of violating the Smith Act, a 1940
statute that set penalties for advocating the violent overthrow of the
government. The prosecution argued that the CPUSA's policies promoted
violent revolution; the defendants countered that they advocated a
peaceful transition to socialism, and that the First Amendment's
guarantee of free speech and association protected their membership in a
political party. The first trial in 1949 prosecuted the top leaders of
the party and was featured in the national headlines. After a ten month
trial, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to five year
prison terms. The judge also sent all five defense attorneys to jail for
contempt of court. Prosecutors then tried over 100 additional CPUSA
officers for violating the Smith Act. Some were tried solely because
they were members of the CPUSA. Many defendants had difficulty finding
attorneys to represent them. Prosecutions came to an end following the
US Supreme Court's 1957 Yates v. United States decision, which held that
defendants could be prosecuted only for their actions, not for their
beliefs. Membership in the CPUSA plummeted due to the trials, and never
recovered.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Act_trials_of_Communist_Party_leaders>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
636:
Rashidun forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid took control of Syria
and Palestine in the Battle of Yarmouk, marking the first great wave of
Muslim conquests after the death of Muhammad.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yarmouk>
1710:
War of the Spanish Succession: The Spanish-Bourbon army
commanded by the Marquis de Bay was soundly defeated by a multinational
army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saragossa>
1882:
The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
was first performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture>
1988:
Fires in the United States' Yellowstone National Park destroyed
more than 150,000 acres (610 km2), the single-worst day of the
conflagration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988>
1989:
The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South
Australia, was completed, becoming the world's longest and fastest
guided busway with buses travelling a total of 12 km (7.5 mi) at
maximum speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph) (example pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Bahn_Busway>
2008:
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take off from Madrid's
Barajas Airport, killing 154 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disembogue:
1. To come out into the open sea from a river etc.
2. (of a river or waters) To pour out, to debouch; to flow out through a
narrow opening into a larger space.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disembogue>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Futurists and common sense concur that a substantial change, worldwide,
in life style and moral guidelines will soon become an absolute
necessity.
--Roger Wolcott Sperry
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry>
The Rus' Khaganate was a polity that flourished during a poorly
documented period in the history of Eastern Europe (roughly the late 8th
and early to mid-9th centuries AD). A predecessor to the Rurik Dynasty
and the Kievan Rus', the Rus' Khaganate was a state (or a cluster of
city-states) set up by a people called Rus', who might have been
Norsemen (Vikings, Varangians), in what is today northern Russia. The
region's population at that time was composed of Baltic, Slavic, Finnic,
Turkic and Norse peoples. The region was also a place of operations for
Varangians, eastern Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and pirates.
According to contemporaneous sources, the population centers of the
region, which may have included the proto-towns of Holmgard (Novgorod),
Aldeigja (Ladoga), Lyubsha, Alaborg, Sarskoye Gorodishche, and Timerevo,
were under the rule of a monarch or monarchs using the Old Turkic title
Khagan. The Rus' Khaganate period marked the genesis of a distinct Rus'
ethnos, and its successor states would include Kievan Rus' and later
states from which modern Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine evolved.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rus%27_Khaganate>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1612:
The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire
village of Samlesbury, were accused of practising witchcraft in one of
the most famous witch trials in English history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samlesbury_witches>
1812:
War of 1812: American Navy frigate USS Constitution defeated
British Royal Navy frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia,
Canada, earning her nickname "Old Ironsides".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution_vs_HMS_Guerriere>
1929:
The highly influential American radio comedy show Amos 'n' Andy
(stars Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll pictured) made its debut.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_%27n%27_Andy>
1942:
Second World War: Allied forces suffered over 3,000 casualties
when they unsuccessfully raided the German-occupied port of Dieppe,
France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid>
2003:
A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded over 130
others on a crowded public bus in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in
Jerusalem.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_HaNavi_bus_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
clemency:
1. The gentle or kind exercise of power; leniency, mercy; compassion in
judging or punishing.
2. (now rare) Mildness of weather.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/clemency>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'm not smart. I try to observe. Millions saw the apple fall but Newton
was the one who asked why.
--Bernard Baruch
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Baruch>