Go Man Go (1953–1983) was an American Quarter Horse stallion and race horse.
He was named World Champion Quarter Running Horse three times in a row, one
of only two horses to achieve that distinction. Go Man Go was considered to
be of difficult temperament. While waiting in the starting gate for his very
first race, he threw his jockey, broke down the gate, and ran alone around
the track. He was eventually caught and went on to win the race. He retired
from racing in 1960. During his five years of competition he had 27 wins and
brought earnings of more than $86,000 ($634,000 in 2007 dollars). Neither of
his parents raced. His sire (father), the Thoroughbred stallion Top Deck,
was bred by the King Ranch. His dam (mother) hailed from Louisiana; Go Man
Go is thought to have gained his swiftness on the track from her. For the
first years of his racing career, Go Man Go's owner faced difficulty in
registering him with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), a matter
that remained unresolved until 1958. Go Man Go went on to sire two All
American Futurity winners and seven Champion Quarter Running Horses. He was
inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, along with two of his
offspring. His daughters also produced, or were the mothers of, a number of
race winners, including the Hall of Fame member Kaweah Bar.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Man_Go
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Francis, Duke of Guise retook Calais, England's last continental possession,
for France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calais)
1610:
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first observed three of Jupiter's natural
satellites through his telescope: Io, Europa, and Callisto.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei)
1785:
Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries became the first
to cross the English Channel by balloon.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel)
1924:
The International Hockey Federation, the global governing body for field
hockey, was founded in Paris in response to the sport's omission from the
1924 Summer Olympics.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Hockey_Federation)
1979:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia fell to the People's Army of Vietnam, effectively
ending the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nephric (adj) Relating to or connected with a kidney.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nephric)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you preserve the
habitat in which it dwells. Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will
exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it. So conservation
means that you have to preserve forest and grassland, river and lake, even
the sea itself. This is not only vital for the preservation of animal life
generally, but for the future existence of man himself — a point that seems
to escape many people. --Gerald Durrell
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gerald_Durrell)
Frank Macfarlane Burnet (1899 – 1985) was an Australian virologist best
known for his contributions to immunology. He conducted pioneering research
on bacteriophages and viruses at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute,
Melbourne, and served as director of the Institute from 1944 to 1965.
Burnet's research on viruses resulted in significant discoveries concerning
their nature and replication and their interaction with the immune system.
>From the mid-1950s, he worked extensively in immunology and was a major
contributor to the theory of clonal selection, which explains how
lymphocytes target antigens for destruction. Burnet and Peter Medawar were
co-recipients of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
demonstrating acquired immune tolerance. This research provided the
experimental basis for inducing immune tolerance—the platform for developing
methods of transplanting solid organs. Burnet left the Walter and Eliza Hall
Institute in 1965, and continued to work at the University of Melbourne
until his official retirement in 1978. During his working life he wrote 31
books and monographs and more than 500 scientific papers.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Macfarlane_Burnet
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1661:
Thomas Venner and the Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempted to seize
control of London from the newly restored government of Charles II.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Monarchists)
1781:
At the Battle of Jersey, British forces stopped France's last attempt to
militarily invade Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English
Channel.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jersey)
1838:
Samuel Morse and his assistant Alfred Vail successfully tested the
electrical telegraph for the first time at Speedwell Ironworks in
Morristown, New Jersey, USA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_telegraph)
1907:
Italian educator Maria Montessori opened her first school and day care
center for working class children in Rome.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori)
1995:
A suspicious fire in a Manila flat led to the foiling of the Bojinka Plot, a
precursor to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bojinka_Plot)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
interject (v) 1. To insert something between other things.
2. To interpose oneself; to intervene.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/interject)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we
kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love. --Khalil
Gibran
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Khalil_Gibran)
The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex on the
Columbia River in south-central Washington operated by the United States
government. Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, it was
home to the B-Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in
the world. During the Cold War, the project was expanded to include nine
nuclear reactors and five massive plutonium processing complexes, which
produced plutonium for most of the 60,000 weapons in the U.S. nuclear
arsenal. Nuclear technology developed rapidly during this period, and
Hanford scientists produced many notable technological achievements.
However, many of the early safety procedures and waste disposal practices
were inadequate. Government documents have since confirmed that Hanford's
operations released significant amounts of radioactive materials to the air
and to the Columbia River, threatening the health of residents and
ecosystems. Today, Hanford is the most contaminated nuclear site in the
United States and is the focus of the nation's largest environmental cleanup
effort. While most of the current activity at the site is related to the
cleanup project, Hanford also hosts a commercial nuclear power plant, the
Columbia Generating Station, and various centers for scientific research and
development.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1477:
Burgundian Wars: Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, died at the Battle
of Nancy, eventually leading to the partition of Burgundy between France and
the House of Habsburg.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nancy)
1527:
Felix Manz, co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren Anabaptist
congregation in Zürich, was executed by drowning, becoming one of the first
martyrs of the Radical Reformation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Manz)
1968:
Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, beginning a period of
political liberalization known as the Prague Spring that still enabled the
Communist Party to maintain real power.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Spring)
1975:
The Tasman Bridge, crossing the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania,
Australia, was struck by the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, killing seven of
the ship's crewmen and five motorists on the bridge.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasman_Bridge_disaster)
2005:
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System, was discovered by
a team led by Michael E. Brown using images originally taken on October 21,
2003 at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, USA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_%28dwarf_planet%29>
)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pannier (n) 1. A large basket or bag fastened, usually in pairs, to the
back of a bicycle or pack animal, or carried in pairs over the shoulders.
2. A decorative basket for the display of flowers or
fruits.
3. One of a pair of hoops formerly used to expand the
volume of a woman's skirt to either side.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pannier)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A dreaded society is not a civilized society. The most progressive and
powerful society in the civilized sense, is a society which has recognized
its ethos, and come to terms with the past and the present, with religion
and science, with modernism and mysticism, with materialism and
spirituality; a society free of tension, a society rich in culture. Such a
society cannot come with hocus-pocus formulas and with fraud. It has to flow
from the depth of a divine search. --Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zulfikar_Ali_Bhutto)
The Battle of Red Cliffs was a decisive battle at the end of the Han
Dynasty, immediately prior to the period of the Three Kingdoms in China in
the northern winter of 208 CE between the allied forces of the southern
warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and the numerically superior forces of the
northern warlord Cao Cao. Liu Bei and Sun Quan successfully frustrated Cao
Cao's effort to conquer the land south of the Yangtze River and reunite the
territory of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The allied victory at Red Cliffs
ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, gave them control of the
Yangtze, and provided a line of defence that was the basis for the later
creation of the two southern kingdoms of Shu Han and Eastern Wu. For these
reasons, it is considered a decisive battle in Chinese history. Descriptions
of the battle differ widely on details; in fact, even the location of battle
is still fiercely debated. The most detailed account of the battle comes
from the biography of Zhou Yu in the 3rd-century historical text Records of
Three Kingdoms. An exaggerated and romanticised account is also a central
event in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Great Classical
Novels of Chinese literature.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Red_Cliffs
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1698:
Most of London's Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of the English
monarchs dating from 1530, was destroyed by fire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Whitehall)
1854:
Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang discovered the McDonald
Islands, an uninhabited, barren island located in the Southern Ocean about
two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands)
1884:
The Fabian Society, an intellectual movement whose purpose is to advance the
socialist cause by gradualist and reformist methods rather than
revolutionary means, was founded in London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Society)
1973:
Last of the Summer Wine, the longest running sitcom in the world, premiered
as an episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_of_the_Summer_Wine)
1989:
In the Second Gulf of Sidra incident over the Gulf of Sidra in the
Mediterranean Sea, two American F-14A Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23
Flogger Es that appeared to be attempting to engage them.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Sidra_incident_(1989)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Sidra_incident_%281989%29>
)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
affable (adj) 1. Friendly, courteous, sociable; receiving others kindly
and conversing with them in a free and friendly manner.
2. Mild; benign.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/affable)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The main Business of natural Philosophy is to argue from Phenomena without
feigning Hypotheses, and to deduce Causes from Effects, till we come to the
very first Cause, which certainly is not mechanical. --Isaac Newton
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton)
The Guardian of Education was the first successful periodical dedicated to
reviewing children's literature in Britain. It was edited by
eighteenth-century educationalist, children's author, and Sunday School
advocate Sarah Trimmer and was published from June 1802 until September 1806
by J. Hatchard and F. C. and J. Rivington. The journal offered child-rearing
advice and assessments of contemporary educational theories and Trimmer even
proffered her own educational theory after evaluating the major works of the
day. Fearing the influence of French revolutionary ideals, particularly
those of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Trimmer emphasized orthodox
Anglicanism and encouraged the perpetuation of the contemporary social and
political order. Despite her conservatism, however, she agreed with Rousseau
and other progressive educational reformers on many issues, such as the
damaging effects of rote learning and the irrationalism of fairy tales. The
Guardian of Education was the first periodical to review children's books
seriously and with a distinctive set of criteria. Trimmer's reviews were
carefully thought out; they influenced publishers and authors to alter the
content of their books, helped to define the new genre of children's
literature, and greatly affected the sales of children's books.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian_of_Education
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1521:
Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, excommunicating
Martin Luther from the Roman Catholic Church after Luther refused to retract
41 of his 95 theses.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_X)
1749:
Benning Wentworth, Governor of the New Hampshire Colony, began to issue the
New Hampshire Grants on land which was also claimed by New York, and is now
Vermont.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Grants)
1848:
Joseph Jenkins Roberts began his term as the first President of Liberia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jenkins_Roberts)
1888:
The 91-cm refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San Jose,
California, USA, at the time the largest telescope in the world, was used
for the first time.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_Observatory)
1959:
The Alaska Territory, an organized incorporated territory of the United
States, became the 49th state of the union, and the first U.S. state outside
of the 48 contiguous states.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Territory)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
reminisce (v) 1. To recall the past in a private moment, often fondly or
nostalgically.
2. To talk or write about memories of the past,
especially pleasant memories.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reminisce)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or
small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands,
those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task,
though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can
still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.
--"Gandalf" in The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King by J. R. R.
Tolkien
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien)
Richard Cordray (born 1959) is an American politician of the Democratic
Party who has served as the State Treasurer of Ohio. In November 2008, he
was elected to serve as Ohio Attorney General starting January 8, 2009, for
the remainder of the unexpired term ending January 2011. Prior to his
election as State Treasurer, Cordray served as the Treasurer of Franklin
County, Ohio. He has previously served as a member of the Ohio House of
Representatives (1991–1993) and as the first Ohio State Solicitor
(1993–1994). Cordray was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, 1981–83.
Later, he was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review, and
subsequently served as a law clerk for the United States Supreme Court. In
1987 he became an undefeated five-time Jeopardy! champion. In 1993 he was
appointed by the office of the Ohio Attorney General as the first Ohio State
Solicitor. His experience as Solicitor has led to him arguing six cases
before the United States Supreme Court, where he had previously clerked. In
1994, Cordray left his appointed position to pursue private practice law
before becoming Franklin County Treasurer in 2002. Cordray won re-election
as Franklin County Treasurer before being elected State Treasurer in 2006.
Throughout most of his career he has continued to teach courses at law
schools.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cordray
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
366:
The Alamanni, an alliance of west Germanic tribes, crossed the frozen Rhine
in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamanni)
533:
Mercurius became Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a regnal name upon
elevation to the papacy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_II)
1492:
The Reconquista: The Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King
Ferdinand II of Aragon, expelled Abu 'abd-Allah Muhammad XII of Granada, the
last of the Moorish rulers, from the Iberian Peninsula.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_XII_of_Granada)
1942:
In the largest espionage case in United States history, 33 members of a
German spy ring led by former South African Boer soldier and adventurer
Fritz Joubert Duquesne were convicted by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Joubert_Duquesne)
1959:
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of
the Moon, was launched by the Vostok rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
near Tyuratam, Kazakh SSR.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_1)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
contretemps (n) An unforeseen, inopportune, or embarrassing event.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contretemps)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for
themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when
they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and
ignore other fields, they grow less wise — even in their own field.
--Isaac Asimov
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov)
Beyond Fantasy Fiction was a US fantasy fiction magazine edited by H. L.
Gold, of which only ten issues were published, from 1953 to 1955. Although
not a commercial success, it included several significant short stories by
distinguished authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Philip K.
Dick. The publication has been described by critics as a successor to the
tradition of Unknown, a fantasy magazine that folded in 1943 and was noted
for printing fantasy with a rational basis, such as stories about werewolves
with a scientific explanation. A selection of stories from Beyond was
published in paperback form in 1963, also under the title Beyond. James
Gunn, a historian of science fiction, regarded the magazine as the best of
the fantasy magazines launched in the early 1950s, and science fiction
encyclopediast Donald H. Tuck felt it printed very good material. Not every
critic felt Beyond was completely successful, however; P. Schuyler Miller,
in a 1963 review, commented that the stories were most successful when they
did not try to emulate Unknown.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Fantasy_Fiction
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the dwarf planet Ceres, naming
it after the Roman goddess of growing plants.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28dwarf_planet%29>
)
1801:
The Kingdom of Ireland formally merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain,
adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1800)
1808:
As a result of the lobbying efforts by the Abolitionist Movement, the
importation of slaves into the United States was officially banned.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism)
1901:
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia,
Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of
Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Australia)
1995:
The World Trade Organization, the international organization designed to
supervise and liberalize international trade, came into being to replace the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
reiterate (v) 1. To say or do (something) for a second time, such as for
emphasis.
2. To say or do (something) repeatedly.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reiterate)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who
reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote, and brings to birth in
us also the creative impulse. --E. M. Forster
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._M._Forster)
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery was a three-part project initiated in
November 1786 by engraver and publisher John Boydell in an effort to foster
a school of British history painting. Boydell planned to focus on an
illustrated edition of William Shakespeare's plays and a folio of prints,
but during the 1790s the London gallery that showed the original paintings
emerged as the project's most popular element. Boydell decided to publish a
grand illustrated edition of Shakespeare's plays that would showcase the
talents of British painters and engravers. He chose the noted scholar and
Shakespeare editor George Steevens to oversee the edition, which was
released between 1791 and 1803. The press reported weekly on the building of
Boydell's gallery, designed by George Dance the Younger, on a site in Pall
Mall. Boydell commissioned works from famous painters of the day, such as
Joshua Reynolds, and the folio of engravings proved the enterprise's most
lasting legacy. However, the long delay in publishing the prints and the
illustrated edition prompted criticism. Because they were hurried, and many
illustrations had to be done by lesser artists, the final products of
Boydell's venture were judged to be disappointing. The project caused the
Boydell firm to become insolvent, and they were forced to sell the gallery
at a lottery.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boydell_Shakespeare_Gallery
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed
an attack by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French
Canadian support.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_(1775)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_%281775%29>
)
1857:
Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the British colony of
Canada.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa)
1960:
The farthing, a British coin first minted in England in the 13th century,
ceased to be legal tender.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthing_(British_coin)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthing_%28British_coin%29>
)
1963:
The Central African Federation officially collapsed, eventually to become
Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland)
1972:
American baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to
deliver aid to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
disco ball (n) A mirrored sphere designed to slowly rotate while suspended
from the ceiling.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disco_ball)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
For my part I have never avoided the influence of others. I would have
considered it cowardice and a lack of sincerity toward myself. --Henri
Matisse
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse)
Gunnhild, Mother of Kings (c. 910 - c. 980) was the wife of Erik Bloodaxe
(king of Norway 930–34, "king" of Orkney c. 937–54, and king of Jórvík
948–49 and 952–54). Gunnhild is a prominent figure in many Norse sagas,
including Fagrskinna, Egil's Saga, Njal's Saga, and Heimskringla. Many of
the details of her life are disputed, including her parentage. Gunnhild
lived during a time of great change in Norway. Her father-in-law Harald
Fairhair had recently united much of Norway under his rule. Shortly after
his death, Gunnhild and her husband were overthrown and exiled. She spent
much of the rest of her life in exile in Orkney, Jorvik and Denmark. A
number of her many children with Erik became co-rulers of Norway in the late
tenth century. What details of her life are known come largely from
Icelandic sources; because the Icelanders were generally hostile to her and
her husband, scholars regard some of the more negative episodes reported in
them as suspect.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnhild,_Mother_of_Kings
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1853:
Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought approximately 29,600 square miles
(77,000 km2) of land south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande from
Mexico for US$10 million.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase)
1896:
Philippine Revolution: Nationalist José Rizal was executed by a firing squad
in Manila after Spanish authorities convicted him of rebellion, sedition,
and conspiracy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal)
1922:
The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, legalizing the creation of a union
of several Soviet republics in the form of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, was ratified.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Creation_of_the_USSR)
1927:
The Ginza Line, the oldest underground subway line in the Far East, opened
in Tokyo.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metro_Ginza_Line)
1947:
King Michael I was forced to abdicate as Romania became a People's Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_I_of_Romania)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
jubilantly (adv) With jubilation or triumph.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jubilantly)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The greatest book is not the one whose message engraves itself on the brain,
as a telegraphic message engraves itself on the ticker-tape, but the one
whose vital impact opens up other viewpoints, and from writer to reader
spreads the fire that is fed by the various essences, until it becomes a
vast conflagration leaping from forest to forest. --Romain Rolland
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Romain_Rolland)
The Thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times.
Native to Australia and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in
the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus,
although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating
back to the early Miocene. The Thylacine became extinct on the Australian
mainland thousands of years before European settlement of the continent, but
it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several endemic species,
including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is
generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have
been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its
habitat. Despite being officially classified as extinct, sightings are still
reported. An apex predator, it was not related to placental mammals, but
because of convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and
adaptations. The Thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in
both sexes (the other is the Water Opossum). The male Thylacine had a pouch
that acted as a protective sheath, protecting the male's external
reproductive organs while running through thick brush.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1170:
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was slain in his own cathedral by
four knights of Henry II of England.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket)
1845:
The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States, with much of the
territory becoming the state of Texas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas)
1860:
To counter the French Navy's La Gloire, the world's first ironclad warship,
the British Royal Navy launched the world's first iron-hulled armoured
battleship, HMS Warrior.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warrior_(1860)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warrior_%281860%29>
)
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected as the provisional President of the Republic of
China by representatives from provinces in Nanjing.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen)
1993:
The Tian Tan Buddha, the world's tallest outdoor bronze statue of the seated
Buddha, was completed.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hogan (n) A one-room Navajo dwelling or ceremonial lodge.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hogan)
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of
all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all
other work is but preparation. --Rainer Maria Rilke
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke)