Acrocanthosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that existed in what
is now North America during the Aptian and early Albian stages of the
Early Cretaceous. Like most dinosaur genera, Acrocanthosaurus contains
only a single species, A. atokensis. Its fossil remains are found
mainly in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Texas, although teeth
attributed to Acrocanthosaurus have been found as far east as Maryland.
Acrocanthosaurus was a bipedal predator, best known for the high neural
spines on many of its vertebrae, which most likely supported a ridge of
muscle over the animal's neck, back and hips. Approaching 12 meters
(40 ft) in length, and weighing up to 6.17 metric tons (6.8 short
tons), it was the largest theropod in its ecosystem and likely an apex
predator, possibly preying on large sauropods and ornithopods.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrocanthosaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1830:
The Book of Mormon, the defining sacred text of the Latter Day Saint
movement, was first published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon>
1953:
Jonas Salk announced the successful test of his polio vaccine on a
small group of adults and children.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/polio_vaccine>
1974:
A group of peasant women in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, used
their bodies to surround trees in order to prevent loggers from felling
them, giving rise to the Chipko movement.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipko_movement>
1979:
By signing the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, Egypt became the first Arab
country to officially recognize Israel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt%E2%80%93Israel_Peace_Treaty>
2010:
An explosion allegedly caused by a North Korean torpedo sank the South
Korean warship ROKS Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKS_Cheonan_sinking>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
seam allowance (n):
(sewing) That part of the material or fabric added to the dimensions of
a sewing pattern outside the seam
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/seam_allowance>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have kept hidden in the instep arch
Of an old cedar at the waterside
A broken drinking goblet like the
Grail
Under a spell so the wrong ones can't find it,
So can't get saved,
as Saint Mark says they mustn't.
(I stole the goblet from the children's playhouse.)
Here are your
waters and your watering place.
Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.
--Robert Frost
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Frost>
Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals,
guitars, piano), Jonny Greenwood (guitars, keyboards, other
instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitars, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood
(bass, synthesizers) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion). Radiohead
released their first single, "Creep", in 1992. The song was initially
unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the
release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead's third
album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater international
fame. Featuring an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, OK
Computer is often acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s. Kid A
(2000) and Amnesiac (2001) marked an evolution in Radiohead's musical
style, as the group incorporated experimental electronic music,
Krautrock and jazz influences. Radiohead's work has appeared in a large
number of listener polls and critics' lists. While the band's earlier
albums were influential on British rock and pop music, musicians in a
wide variety of genres have been influenced by their later work.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
421:
According to legend, the city of Venice (in modern Italy) was founded
exactly at the stroke of noon with the dedication of the first church,
that of San Giacomo at the islet of Rialto.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice>
1821:
Metropolitan Germanos of Patras raised the Greek flag in the Monastery
of Agia Lavra to symbolically mark the beginning of the Greek War of
Independence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_War_of_Independence>
1911:
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City killed more than
140 garment workers, many of whom could not escape the burning building
because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire>
1949:
The Soviet Union began mass deportations of over 90,000 people from the
Baltic states to Siberia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Priboi>
1975:
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot and killed by his nephew Faisal
bin Musa'id.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_of_Saudi_Arabia>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
double act (n):
A comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship
between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin
and profession, but often with drastically different personalities or
behavior
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/double_act>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We have come more and more under the dominance of mechanics and
sacrificed living humanity to the dead rhythm of the machine without
most of us even being conscious of the monstrosity of the procedure.
Hence we frequently deal with such matters with indifference and in
cold blood as if we handled dead things and not the destinies of men.
--Rudolf Rocker
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudolf_Rocker>
Joseph Barbera (1911–2006) was an influential American animator,
director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist. Born in New
York City, after working odd jobs and as a banker, Barbera joined Van
Beuren Studios in 1932 and subsequently Terrytoons in 1936. He met his
lifelong collaborator William Hanna while working for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1937 and soon began producing animated shorts
such as the Tom and Jerry series. In 1957, after MGM dissolved their
animation department, they co-founded Hanna–Barbera, which became the
most successful television animation studio in the business, producing
programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Top Cat,
The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, The Smurfs, Wacky
Races and Yogi Bear. Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards and
eight Emmy Awards and their shows have a global audience of over
300 million people, with translations in more than 20 languages.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Barbera>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1603:
After Queen Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace, King James VI of
Scotland acceded to the throne of England, Wales and Ireland, becoming
James I of England and unifying the crowns of the four kingdoms for the
first time.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_I_of_England>
1869:
The last of Māori leader Titokowaru's forces surrendered to the New
Zealand government, ending his uprising.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titokowaru%27s_War>
1882:
German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis , a bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tuberculosis>
1980:
One day after giving a sermon in which he made a plea to Salvadoran
soldiers to stop carrying out the government's repression and
violations of basic human rights, Archbishop Óscar Romero was
assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Romero>
2008:
The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party, led by Jigme Thinley, won 45 out
of 47 seats in the National Assembly of Bhutan in the country's
first-ever general election.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_general_election%2C_2008>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nidify (v):
To make a nest
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nidify>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Love is enough: though the World be a-waning
And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
Though
the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover
The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
Though the
hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,
And this day draw a veil over all deeds passed over,
Yet their
hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;
The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
These lips and
these eyes of the loved and the lover.
--William Morris
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Morris>
Jimmy McAleer (1864–1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and
stockholder in Major League Baseball who helped establish the American
League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the
Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis
Browns, and Washington Senators. Shortly before his retirement, he
became a major shareholder in the Boston Red Sox. His career ended
abruptly. During his brief tenure as co-owner of the Red Sox, McAleer
quarreled with longtime friend and colleague Ban Johnson, president of
the American League. McAleer's rift with Johnson, along with his sudden
retirement, damaged his professional reputation, and he received little
recognition for his contributions to baseball. Today, he is most often
remembered for initiating the customary request that the President of
the United States throw out the first ball of the season.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_McAleer>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1879:
Fighting in the War of the Pacific between Chile and a
Peruvian–Bolivian alliance, opened with the Battle of Topáter.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Pacific>
1905:
1,500 Cretans, led by Eleftherios Venizelos , met at the village of
Theriso to call for the island's unification with Greece, beginning the
Theriso revolt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theriso_revolt>
1931:
Bhagat Singh, one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian
independence movement, and two others were executed by British
authorities.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh>
1991:
The Sierra Leone Civil War began when the Revolutionary United Front,
with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National
Patriotic Front of Liberia, invaded Sierra Leone in an attempt to
overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War>
2001:
The Russian Federal Space Agency forced the space station Mir to
deorbit and crash into the Pacific Ocean.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deorbit_of_Mir>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
couch potato (n):
A person who spends a lot of time sitting or lying down, often watching
television, eating snacks, and drinking alcohol
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/couch_potato>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Society must be organized in such a way that man's social, loving
nature is not separated from his social existence, but becomes one with
it. If it is true, as I have tried to show, that love is the only sane
and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence, then any
society which excludes, relatively, the development of love, must in
the long run perish of its own contradiction with the basic necessities
of human nature.
--Erich Fromm
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erich_Fromm>
The Pied Currawong is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to
eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species
in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and
Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are
recognised. It is a robust crow-like bird averaging around 48 cm
(19 in) in length, black or sooty grey-black in plumage with white
undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill. The male
and female are similar in appearance. Known for its melodious calls,
the species' name currawong is of indigenous origin. Within its range,
the Pied Currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at
higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. It
is omnivorous, with a diet that includes a wide variety of berries and
seeds, invertebrates, bird eggs and juvenile birds. It is a predator
which has adapted well to urbanization and can be found in parks and
gardens as well as rural woodland. The habitat includes all kinds of
forested areas, although mature forests are preferred for breeding.
Roosting, nesting and the bulk of foraging take place in trees, in
contrast with the ground foraging behaviour of its relative the
Australian Magpie.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Currawong>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1638:
The Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Anne Hutchinson from its ranks
for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson>
1736:
Under orders from Shah of Iran Nader Shah to plunder Delhi, India,
Persian troops killed at least 20,000 Indians, forcing Mughal Emperor
Muhammad Shah to beg for mercy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah>
1913:
Phan Xich Long, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, was arrested
for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina,
which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Xich_Long>
1984:
In what would be the longest and costliest criminal trial in United
States history, teachers at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach,
California, were falsely charged with satanic ritual abuse of
schoolchildren.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial>
1995:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov of the Soyuz programme returned from
the Mir space station after 437 days in space, setting a record for the
longest spaceflight.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jiggery-pokery (n):
Trickery or misrepresentation; hanky panky or skulduggery
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jiggery-pokery>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To communicate through silence is a link between the thoughts of man.
--Marcel Marceau
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau>
John Michael Wright (1617–1694) was a British portrait painter in the
Baroque style. Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter
George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable reputation as an artist
and scholar during a long sojourn in Rome. There he was admitted to the
Accademia di San Luca, and was associated with some of the leading
artists of his generation. He was engaged by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm
of Austria, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, to acquire
artworks in Oliver Cromwell's England in 1655. He took up permanent
residence in England from 1656, and served as court painter before and
after the English Restoration. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he was a
favourite of the restored Stuart court, a client of both Charles II and
James II, and was a witness to many of the political manoeuvrings of
the era. In the final years of the Stuart monarchy he returned to Rome
as part of an embassy to Pope Innocent XI. Wright is currently rated as
one of the leading indigenous British painters of his generation and
largely for the distinctive realism in his portraiture. Perhaps due to
the unusually cosmopolitan nature of his experience, he was favoured by
patrons at the highest level of society in an age in which foreign
artists were usually preferred. Wright's paintings of royalty and
aristocracy are included amongst the collections of many leading
galleries today.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Wright>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1909:
The remains of the Báb, one of three central figures of the Bahá'í
Faith, were interred in Haifa, Israel, by `Abdu'l-Bahá, who had
retrieved them from Persia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b>
1943:
World War II: Wermacht officer Rudolf Christoph von Gersdorff
attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing, but had to
abort the plan and defuse the bombs at the last minute.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Christoph_Freiherr_von_Gersdorff>
1946:
The Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League signed Kenny
Washington, making him the first African American player in the league
since 1933.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Washington_%28American_football%29>
2002:
British schoolgirl Amanda Dowler was abducted on her way home from
Heathside School in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, resulting in nationwide
media attention and a police investigation involving over 100 officers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Amanda_Dowler>
2006:
A man using a hammer smashed the statue of Phra Phrom in the Erawan
Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, and was subsequently beaten to death by
bystanders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erawan_Shrine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
armigerous (adj):
Entitled to bear a coat of arms
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/armigerous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In the scenery of spring,
nothing is better, nothing worse;
The flowering branches are
of
themselves, some short, some long.
--Ryōkan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ry%C5%8Dkan>
William of Tyre (c. 1130–1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler.
He grew up in Jerusalem at the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
which had been established in 1099 after the First Crusade, and he
spent twenty years studying the liberal arts and canon law in the
universities of Europe. Following William's return to Jerusalem in
1165, King Amalric I made him an ambassador to the Byzantine Empire.
William became tutor to the king's son, the future King Baldwin IV,
whom William discovered to be a leper. After Amalric's death William
became chancellor and archbishop of Tyre, two of the highest offices in
the kingdom, and in 1179 William led the eastern delegation to the
Third Council of the Lateran. As he was involved in the dynastic
struggle that developed during Baldwin IV's reign, his importance waned
when a rival faction gained control of royal affairs. He was passed
over for the prestigious Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and died in
obscurity, probably in 1186. William wrote an account of the Lateran
Council and a history of the Islamic states from the time of Muhammad.
Neither work survives. He is famous today as the author of a history of
the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the only source for the history of
twelfth-century Jerusalem written by a native.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Tyre>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
235:
Maximinus Thrax succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire, the first
of the so-called barracks emperors who gained power by virtue of his
command of the army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Thrax>
1602:
The Dutch East India Company was established.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company>
1923:
Arts Club of Chicago hosted the opening of Pablo Picasso's first United
States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming
an early proponent of modern art in the U.S.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_Club_of_Chicago>
1944:
World War II: Four thousand U.S. Marines made a landing on Emirau
Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part of
Operation Cartwheel.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_on_Emirau>
1987:
The antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT) became the first antiviral
medication approved for use against HIV and AIDS.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zidovudine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
question the question (v):
To ask that a proposed question’s presuppositions be explicitly
justified, especially as a preliminary to answering it
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/question_the_question>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the
helm.
--Henrik Ibsen
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henrik_Ibsen>
Seattle Sounders FC is a Major League Soccer (MLS) team based in
Seattle, Washington, that plays its home matches at Qwest Field. It was
established in November 2007 as an MLS expansion team. The league's
15th team, Sounders FC played the first match of its inaugural season
on March 19, 2009. During their first two seasons every home game was
sold out, they set a new MLS record for average match attendance, and
they sold the most season tickets in the league. Seattle finished both
seasons with a winning record and qualified for the MLS playoffs. In
2009 Sounders FC became the second expansion team in MLS history to win
the U.S. Open Cup, and in 2010 became the first ever MLS team to repeat
as Open Cup champions. Fans selected the Sounders name for the club
through an online poll in 2008, making the Seattle Sounders FC the
third Seattle soccer team to bear the moniker.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Sounders_FC>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1279:
The Song Dynasty in Imperial China ended with a victory by the Yuan
Dynasty at the Battle of Yamen off the coast of Xinhui, Guangdong
Province.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yamen>
1687:
The search for the mouth of the Mississippi River led by French
explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle ended with a mutiny
and his murder in present-day Texas.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9-Robert_Cavelier%2C_Sieur_de_La_Salle>
1915:
Pluto was photographed for the first time, 15 years before it was
officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto>
1945:
World War II: A single Japanese aircraft bombed the American aircraft
carrier USS Franklin , killing over 700 of her crew and crippling the
ship.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Franklin_%28CV-13%29>
1978:
In response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the United Nations
called on Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from Lebanon, and
established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_425>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ruthlessly (adv):
In a ruthless manner; with cruelty; without pity or compassion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruthlessly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Cease, Man, to mourn, to weep, to wail; enjoy thy shining hour of sun;
We dance along Death's icy brink, but is the dance less full of fun?
--Richard Francis Burton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton>
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a 2003 documentary centered on
the April 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, which saw President Hugo
Chávez temporarily removed from office. Focusing on the role of
Venezuela's private media, the film examines several key incidents: the
protest march and violence that provided the impetus for Chávez's
ousting, the opposition's formation of an interim government, and
Chávez's dramatic return. Given direct access to the president, Irish
filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain intended to make a
fly-on-the-wall biography; they spent seven months filming in
Venezuela, following Chávez and interviewing citizens. As the coup
unfolded, Bartley and Ó Briain captured footage of protesters and the
erupting violence on the streets of the capital, Caracas. Later, they
filmed many of the political upheavals in the presidential palace. The
film was positively received by mainstream critics and won several
awards. Reviewers cited the filmmakers' unprecedented proximity to key
events and praised the film for its "riveting narrative". Criticism
focused on its lack of context and pro-Chávez bias, a perception which
has led to disputes over its neutrality and accuracy; particular
attention is paid to its framing of the violence of 11–13 April, the
filmmakers' editing of the timeline, and the alleged omission of
incidents and personnel. The film is variously cited as an accurate
portrayal or a misrepresentation of the events of April 2002.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Televised_%28film%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1241:
Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelmed the Polish armies of
Sandomierz and Kraków provinces in the Battle of Chmielnik and
plundered the abandoned city of Kraków.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chmielnik>
1913:
King George I of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki by Alexandros
Schinas, who had no apparent motive.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece>
1925:
The Tri-State Tornado spawned in Missouri, traveled over 219 miles
(352 km) across Illinois and Indiana, and killed 695 along the way,
making it the tornado with the longest continuous track ever recorded
in the world and the deadliest in U.S. history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-State_Tornado>
1970:
The National Assembly of Cambodia ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk as
head of state, and Prime Minister Lon Nol invoked emergency powers to
take over.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_coup_of_1970>
1996:
The deadliest fire in Philippine history burned a nightclub in Quezon
City, Philippines, leaving 162 dead.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_Disco_Club_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
friable (adj):
Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/friable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am inventing a language which must necessarily burst forth from a
very new poetics, that could be defined in a couple of words: Paint,
not the thing, but the effect it produces.
--Stéphane Mallarmé
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Mallarm%C3%A9>
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S.
state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide
irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with
two powerplants. The Third Powerplant was built by 1974 to increase its
electric potential. It is the largest electric power-producing facility
in the United States. The dam's power plants fueled the growing
industries of the Northwest U.S. during World War II. Between 1967 and
1974, the Third Powerplant was constructed in conjunction with the dam
and in addition to the original two power houses. Through a series of
upgrades and the installation of pump-generators, the dam now supplies
four power stations with an installed capacity of 6,809 MW. The
reservoir is called Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake, named after the
United States President who presided over the authorization and
completion of the dam. The dam has also prevented the migration of
salmon and other fish upstream to spawn, interrupting their habitat and
reproductive cycle.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Coulee_Dam>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
44 BC:
Dictator Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic was stabbed to death by
Marcus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar>
1776:
South Carolina became the first of England's North American colonies to
declare its independence.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Carolina>
1917:
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was forced to abdicate in the February
Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia>
1943:
World War II: German forces recaptured Kharkov after four days of
house-to-house fighting against Soviet troops, ending the month-long
Third Battle of Kharkov.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Kharkov>
1985:
The company Symbolics became the first ever entity, individual or party
to register a .com top-level domain name: symbolics.com.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.com>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
misanthropic (adj):
Hating or disliking mankind
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/misanthropic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the
acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society
will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of
education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In
the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior
industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to
protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural
and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles,
gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the
potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers,
mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of
securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the
injustice of their government.
--Andrew Jackson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson>