The Oort cloud (artist's rendering pictured) is a hypothesized
spherical cloud of comets that may lie nearly a light-year from the
Sun. It is thought to comprise two separate regions: a spherical outer
Oort cloud and a disc-shaped inner Oort cloud, or Hills cloud; the
outer extent of the cloud defines the boundary of the Solar System.
Objects in the Oort cloud are largely composed of ices, such as water,
ammonia, and methane and are thought to have formed close to the Sun,
later being scattered into space by the gravitational effects of the
giant planets early in the Solar System's evolution. Although no
confirmed direct observations of the Oort cloud have been made,
astronomers believe that it is the source of all long-period and
Halley-type comets entering the inner Solar System, as well as many of
the Centaurs and Jupiter-family comets.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1786:
Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat completed the first recorded
ascent of Mont Blanc in the Alps, an act considered to be the birth of
modern mountaineering.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc>
1918:
The Battle of Amiens began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the
Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines
that ultimately led to the end of World War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens_%281918%29>
1929:
German airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin embarked on a flight to
circumnavigate the world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_127_Graf_Zeppelin>
1967:
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand founded
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN>
1988:
The 8888 Uprising, a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and
riots against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme
Party in Burma, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8888_Uprising>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obesogenic (adj):
That causes obesity
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obesogenic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions
of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to
dream.
--Shirley Jackson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shirley_Jackson>
90px|The Norslunda Runestone, bearing runic inscription U 419, which
mentions the personal name Kylfingr
The Kylfings were a people of uncertain origin who were active in
Northern Europe during the Viking Age. They were active from roughly
the late ninth century through the early twelfth century and could be
found in areas of Lapland, Russia, and the Byzantine Empire that were
frequented by Scandinavian traders, raiders and mercenaries. Scholars
differ on whether the Kylfings were ethnically Finnic or Norse. Their
geographic origin is also disputed; Denmark, Sweden and the Eastern
Baltic are put forward as candidates. Whether the name Kylfing denotes
a particular tribal, socio-political, or economic grouping is a matter
of much debate. They are mentioned on Old Norse runestone inscriptions,
sagas, and poetry, as well as Byzantine records and Rus' law-codes, in
which they were afforded significant economic and social privileges.
According to the sagas, the Kylfings opposed the consolidation of
Norway under Harald Fairhair and participated in the pivotal Battle of
Hafrsfjord. After Harald's victory in that battle, they are described
in the sagas as having raided in Finnmark and elsewhere in northern
Norway and having fought against Harald's lieutenants such as Thorolf
Kveldulfsson. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylfings>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1461:
Ming Chinese general Cao Qin staged a failed coup against the Tianshun
Emperor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellion_of_Cao_Qin>
1679:
Le Griffon, a brigantine built by René-Robert de LaSalle , became the
first sailing ship to navigate the upper Great Lakes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Griffon>
1794:
U.S. President George Washington invoked the Militia Law of 1792 to
suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Law_of_1792>
1927:
The official opening ceremony of the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie,
Ontario, and Buffalo, New York, at the east end of Lake Erie was held
two months after it opened to the public.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Bridge>
1933:
An estimated 3,000 Assyrians were slaughtered by Iraqi troops during
the Simele massacre in the Dahuk and Mosul districts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simele_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
peely-wally (adj):
(chiefly Scotland) Pale and sickly-looking; pasty
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peely-wally>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The real struggle is not between the right and the left but between the
party of the thoughtful and the party of the jerks.
--Jimmy Wales
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales>
130px|HMS Lion
HMS Lion was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her
class. Lion served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet's battlecruisers
throughout World War I, except when she was being refitted or under
repair. She sank the German light cruiser Köln during the Battle of
Heligoland Bight and served as Vice Admiral Beatty's flagship at the
battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland. She was so badly damaged at the
first of these battles that she had to be towed back to port by the
battlecruiser Indomitable and was under repair for more than two
months. During the Battle of Jutland she suffered a serious propellant
fire that could have destroyed the ship if not for the bravery of Royal
Marine Major Francis Harvey, who posthumously received the Victoria
Cross for having ordered the magazine flooded. She spent the rest of
the war on uneventful patrols in the North Sea. She was put into
reserve in 1920 and sold for scrap in 1924 under the terms of the
Washington Naval Treaty. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1538:
Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada founded a European
urban settlement in what is today Bogotá, Colombia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1>
1806:
The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by its last emperor Francis II
during the aftermath of the War of the Third Coalition.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor>
1945:
World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force bomber Enola Gay dropped an
atomic bomb named Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan, killing as many as
140,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay>
1964:
American researcher Donald Currey had a bristlecone pine tree known as
Prometheus cut down, only to find that it was the oldest known
non-clonal organism ever discovered, at least 4,862 years old at the
time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_%28tree%29>
1996:
NASA announced that the meteorite known as ALH 84001 , discovered in
the Allan Hills of Antarctica, may contain evidence of life on Mars.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Hills_84001>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
coffle (n):
A line of people or animals fastened together, especially a chain of
slaves or prisoners
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coffle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men, my brothers, men the workers, ever reaping something new:
That which they have done but earnest of the things that they shall
do:
For I dipped into the future, far as human eye could see,
Saw the
Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be;
Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,
Pilots
of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales;
Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a ghastly dew
>From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue;
Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing warm,
With the standards of the peoples plunging through the thunderstorm;
Till the war-drum throbbed no longer, and the battle-flags were
furled
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.
There the
common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe,
And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapped in universal law.
--Alfred Tennyson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Tennyson>
120px|Dengue virus
Dengue fever is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue
virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a
characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. Dengue is
transmitted by several species of mosquito within the Aedes genus,
principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection
with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only
short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a
different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is
no vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number
of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites. Treatment of acute dengue
is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or
moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more
severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically
since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly.
Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause
and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue
has become a worldwide problem since the Second World War and is
endemic in more than 110 countries. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1772:
Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of
Poland to help restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe
among those three countries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Partition_of_Poland>
1858:
American businessman and financier Cyrus West Field and his colleagues
completed the first transatlantic telegraph cable, crossing the
Atlantic Ocean from Valentia Island in Ireland to Heart's Content,
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transatlantic_telegraph_cable>
1925:
The Welsh political party Plaid Cymru was founded with the goals of
promoting the Welsh language and the political independence of the
Welsh nation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Plaid_Cymru>
1981:
U.S. President Ronald Reagan fired the 11,345 striking members of the
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization en masse.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organizat…>
1995:
Operation Storm: Croatian forces recovered the town of Knin from the
Republic of Serbian Krajina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knin>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inveigh (v):
To complain loudly, to give voice to one's criticism (against
something)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inveigh>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Tis true, my form is something odd
but blaming me, is blaming God.
Could I create myself anew
I
would not fail in pleasing you.
--Joseph Merrick
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Merrick>
The Double Seven Day scuffle was a physical altercation on July 7,
1963, in Saigon, South Vietnam. The secret police of Ngô Đình Nhu—the
brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm—attacked a group of American
journalists who were covering Buddhist protests. Peter Arnett of the
Associated Press was punched on the nose, but the quarrel quickly ended
after David Halberstam of The New York Times, being much taller than
Nhu's men, counterattacked and caused the secret police to retreat.
Arnett and his colleague, Malcolm Browne, were later accosted by police
and taken away for questioning on suspicion of attacking police
officers. After their release, the journalists went to the US embassy
in Saigon to complain about their treatment and asked for US government
protection. Their appeals were dismissed, as was a direct appeal to the
White House. Vietnamese Buddhists reacted to the incident by contending
that Diệm’s men were planning to assassinate monks, while Madame Ngô
Đình Nhu repeated earlier claims that the US government had been trying
to overthrow her brother-in-law. Photographs of Arnett's bloodied face,
published in newspapers worldwide, drew further negative attention to
the behaviour of the Diệm régime amidst the backdrop of the Buddhist
crisis. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1327:
First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas led a raid into
Weardale and almost killed Edward III of England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stanhope_Park>
1903:
Italian cardinal Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto was elected to become Pope
Pius X.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_X>
1964:
A second U.S. Navy destroyer was reportedly attacked by North
Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, sparking Congress to authorize
the use of military force in Southeast Asia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident>
1992:
Yōhei Kōno , Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, issued a formal apology
for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_women>
2007:
Airport police officer María del Luján Telpuk discovered a suitcase
containing an undeclared amount of US$800,000 as it went through an
x-ray machine in Buenos Aires' Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, sparking an
international scandal involving Venezuela and Argentina known as
"Maletinazo".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_del_Luj%C3%A1n_Telpuk>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inverecund (adj):
Immodest; shameless
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inverecund>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Contrary to the rumours that you've heard, I was not born in a manger.
I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El, to
save the planet Earth.
--Barack Obama
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama>
100px|Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866–1944) was an American jurist who served
as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of
Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his handling
of the Black Sox scandal (in which members of the Chicago White Sox
conspired to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series); he expelled
eight players from organized baseball and repeatedly refused their
reinstatement requests. His firm actions and iron rule over baseball in
the near quarter-century of his commissionership are generally credited
with restoring public confidence in the game. As a judge, Landis had
received national attention in 1907 when he fined Standard Oil of
Indiana more than $29 million. During and after World War I, Landis, an
ardent patriot, presided over a number of high-profile trials of draft
resisters and others whom he saw as opposing the war effort. He dealt
out heavy sentences to the defendants, though some of the convictions
were reversed on appeal; other sentences were commuted. Landis's
decisions in the Black Sox matter remain controversial: advocates of
Black Sox "Shoeless Joe" Jackson and Buck Weaver contend that he was
overly harsh with them. (more...)
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planet
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenesaw_Mountain_Landis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1929:
Jiddu Krishnamurti, tapped to be the messianic "World Teacher", shocked
the Theosophy movement by dissolving the Order of the Star, the
organisation established to support him.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Star_in_the_East>
1936:
African American athlete Jesse Owens won the first of his four gold
medals at the Summer Olympics in Berlin, dashing Nazi leaders' hopes of
Aryan domination.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens>
1940:
World War II: Italy began their invasion of British Somaliland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_conquest_of_British_Somaliland>
2005:
President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was overthrown in a
military coup while he was attending the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi
Arabia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maaouya_Ould_Sid%27Ahmed_Taya>
2007:
Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga was
captured after having been on the run following a conviction for
kidnapping.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Iturriaga>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
garçonnière (n):
A bachelor pad
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gar%C3%A7onni%C3%A8re>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Perhaps there was no limit, there might, quite likely, be no such
condition as the ultimate; there might be no time when any creature or
any group of creatures could stop at any certain point and say, this is
as far as we can go, there is no use of trying to go farther. For each
new development produced, as side effects, so many other possibilities,
so many other roads to travel, that with each step one took down any
given road there were more paths to follow. There'd never be an end, he
thought — no end to anything.
--Clifford D. Simak
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Clifford_D._Simak>
120px|The Temple of Isis at Philae
Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and
commemoration of pharaohs in ancient Egypt. Within them the Egyptians
performed the central functions of Egyptian religion: giving offerings
to the gods, reenacting their mythological interactions through
festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos. These rituals were seen
as necessary for the gods to continue to uphold the divine order of the
universe. Most of the populace was forbidden from entering temples'
most sacred areas, but temples were still important religious sites for
all classes of Egyptians. Temples are among the largest and most
enduring examples of Egyptian architecture, with their elements
arranged and decorated according to complex patterns of religious
symbolism. A large temple owned sizable tracts of land and employed
thousands of laymen to supply its needs. Some temples have become
world-famous tourist attractions that contribute significantly to the
modern Egyptian economy. Egyptologists continue to study the surviving
temples, as they are invaluable sources of information about ancient
Egyptian society. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_temple>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1610:
English sea explorer Henry Hudson sailed into what it is now known as
Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage to
reach the Pacific Ocean.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay>
1897:
Anglo-Afghan wars: The Siege of Malakand ended when a relief column was
able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial
India's North West Frontier Province.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malakand>
1923:
Calvin Coolidge became the 30th President of the United States after
Warren G. Harding suffered a fatal heart attack.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge>
1932:
At the California Institute of Technology, Carl David Anderson proved
the existence of antimatter when he discovered the positron.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/positron>
1989:
The Indian Peace Keeping Force began killing 64 minority Sri Lankan
Tamil civilians over a two-day period in Valvettiturai, Sri Lanka.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Valvettiturai_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
throw up (v):
1. To build or erect (something) in haste.
2. To give up, abandon (something).
3. To vomit
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throw_up>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One writes out of one thing only — one's own experience. Everything
depends on how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last
drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give. This is the only real
concern of the artist, to recreate out of the disorder of life that
order which is art.
--James Baldwin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Baldwin>
150px|Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
Period of what is now North America, about 75 million years ago. A
member of the Hadrosaurid or duck-billed dinosaurs, it was a
plant-eater that walked on two legs or all four. Three species are
recognized: P. walkeri, P. tubicen, and the short-crested P.
cyrtocristatus. Remains are known from Alberta, New Mexico, and Utah.
It is known for its large, elaborate cranial crest, which forms a long
curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull. The crest's
purpose has been debated by scientists; possible functions include
thermoregulation, visual recognition of both species and sex, and
trumpeting. The genus was first described in 1922 by William Parks from
a skull and partial skeleton in Alberta. Only a handful of good
specimens are known. (more...)
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasaurolophus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1291:
Three Swiss cantons signed the Federal Charter to create the Old Swiss
Confederacy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_the_Old_Swiss_Confederacy>
1801:
First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captured the
Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of
modern-day Libya.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_1_August_1801>
1944:
World War II: The Polish Home Army began the Warsaw Uprising in Warsaw
against the Nazi occupation of Poland, a rebellion that lasted 63 days
until it was quelled by the Germans.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising>
1984:
Commercial peat-cutters discovered the preserved bog body of a man,
called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, North West England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindow_Man>
2007:
Bridge 9340, carrying Interstate 35 across the Mississippi River in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, suffered a catastrophic failure and
collapsed , killing 13 people and injuring 145.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sixth sense (n):
A sense beyond the known bodily senses; a source of extrasensory
perception, preternatural awareness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sixth_sense>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is — or seems to be — a wise sort of thing, to realise that all that
happens to a man in this life is only by way of joke, especially his
misfortunes, if he have them. And it is also worth bearing in mind,
that the joke is passed round pretty liberally & impartially, so that
not very many are entitled to fancy that they in particular are getting
the worst of it.
--Herman Melville
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville>
120px|Photograph of the planet Neptune (large, background) and its moon
Triton (small, foreground), taken by [[Voyager 2 as it entered the
outer Solar System]]
The definition of planet has comprised many different things. Over
the millennia, use of the term was never strict and its meaning has
blurred to include or exclude a variety of objects. By the end of the
19th century, the word planet had settled into a comfortable working
term. It applied only to objects in the Solar System; a number small
enough that any differences could be dealt with on an individual basis.
After 1992 however, astronomers began to discover many additional
objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, as well as hundreds of objects
orbiting other stars. These discoveries not only increased the number
of potential planets, but expanded their variety and peculiarity. The
issue of a clear definition for planet came to a head in 2005 with the
discovery of the trans-Neptunian object Eris, a body larger than the
smallest then-accepted planet, Pluto. In its 2006 response, the
International Astronomical Union released its decision on the matter.
This definition, which applies only to the Solar System, states that a
planet is a body that orbits the Sun, is massive enough for its own
gravity to make it round, and has "cleared its neighbourhood" of
smaller objects around its orbit. Under this new definition, Pluto,
along with the other trans-Neptunian objects, does not qualify as a
planet. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1201:
John Komnenos the Fat briefly seized the throne of the Byzantine Empire
from Alexios III Angelos, but he was soon caught and executed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_the_Fat>
1917:
World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in West
Flanders, Belgium, with the Allied Powers aiming to force German troops
to withdraw from the Channel Ports.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele>
1941:
The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring
ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to settle "the final solution of
the Jewish question".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution>
1991:
The Soviet Union and United States signed the bilteral START I treaty,
the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history, which
eventually removed 80% of all strategic nuclear weapons then in
existence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/START_I>
2006:
Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred
the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%932008_Cuban_transfer_of_presidenti…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
orography (n):
The scientific study of mountains, or the mountainous features of a
given region
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orography>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that
crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are
lying around. That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop
alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available
until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.
--Milton Friedman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman>
100px|Australian Imperial Force light horsemen, 1914
The use of horses in World War I reflected a transitional period in
the evolution of armed conflict. Cavalry units were initially
considered essential, but the vulnerability of the horse to modern
machine gun and artillery fire eventually fostered interest in
mechanized forces. All of the major combatants in World War I began the
conflict with cavalry forces. Germany and Austria–Hungary stopped using
them on the Western Front soon after the war began, but they continued
to be deployed in a limited fashion on the Eastern Front well into the
war. On the Allied side, the United Kingdom used mounted infantry and
cavalry charges throughout the war, but the United States used cavalry
for only a short time. Horses were mainly used for reconnaissance and
for carrying messengers, as well as to pull artillery, ambulances, and
supply wagons. The presence of horses often increased morale among the
soldiers at the front, but contributed to disease and poor sanitation
in camps. The value of horses was such that by 1917 it was made known
to some troops that the loss of a horse was of greater tactical concern
than the loss of a human soldier. Ultimately, the Allied blockade
prevented the Central Powers from importing horses to replace those
lost, which contributed to Germany's defeat. (more...)
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_World_War_I>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
762:
Al-Mansur, the Caliph of Islam, founded the city of Baghdad to be the
capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Baghdad>
1811:
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla , an early leader of the Mexican War of
Independence, was executed by Spanish authorities.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla>
1865:
Off the coast of Crescent City, California, the steamship Brother
Jonathan, carrying a large shipment of gold coins that would not be
retrieved until 1996, struck an uncharted rock and sank, killing 225
people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Jonathan_%28steamer%29>
1930:
Uruguay defeated Argentina, 4–2, in front of their home crowd at
Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to win the first Football World Cup.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup>
2006:
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force attacked a three-story building near
the South Lebanese village of Qana, killing at least 28 civilians,
including 16 children.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qana_airstrike>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
gravid (adj):
Pregnant (now especially of animals)
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravid>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and moon were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to
be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou — THOU art Being and
Breath,
And what THOU art may never be destroyed.
--Emily Brontë
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB>