The American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) is a smooth-skinned ray-
finned freshwater fish that is the only living species of the paddlefish
family. The fish is often considered a relict species as it retains some
morphological traits of its early ancestors, including a mostly
cartilaginous skeleton and a paddle-shaped rostrum extending from its
cranium for roughly one-third its body length. It is also considered a
highly derived fish due to its novel adaptations, such as filter
feeding. The planktivorous fish averages 5 ft (1.5 m) in length, and
has a heterocercal tail fin resembling that of sharks. It is native to
the Mississippi River basin, with a range extending to the Great Lakes,
but is now considered vulnerable due to overfishing, poaching, habitat
destruction, and pollution, and its naturally occurring populations have
died off in most of its peripheral range, including New York and
Pennsylvania.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_paddlefish>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1891:
Chilean Civil War: The armored frigate Blanco Encalada was sunk
at the Battle of Caldera Bay, the first ironclad warship lost to a self-
propelled torpedo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Caldera_Bay>
1927:
Cardiff City defeated Arsenal 1–0 in the FA Cup Final (match
programme pictured), the only time the FA Cup has been won by a non-
English team.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1927_FA_Cup_Final>
1942:
Second World War: In retaliation for the Royal Air Force's
bombing of Lübeck, the Luftwaffe began a series of air raids across
England, beginning with Exeter.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baedeker_Blitz>
2019:
A landslide triggered the collapse of a jade mine in Hpakant,
Myanmar, resulting in six confirmed deaths and presumed dozens more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2019_Hpakant_jade_mine_collapse>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Gramarye:
(literary, Arthurian, rare) The island of Britain.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gramarye>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our work to date has detailed a horror story of violations
perpetrated against civilians. First and foremost, this senseless war
must stop. But as the fighting shows no sign of abating, it is vital
that all parties to the conflict give clear instructions to their
combatants to strictly respect international humanitarian law and
international human rights law. … This means distinguishing between
civilian and military objects. It means not targeting or deliberately
killing civilians. It means not committing sexual violence. People,
including prisoners of war, must not be tortured. Civilians, prisoners
and others hors de combat must be treated humanely. … Those in command
of armed forces must make it clear to their fighters that anyone found
to have been involved in such violations will be prosecuted and held
accountable.
--Michelle Bachelet
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michelle_Bachelet>
Regine Velasquez (born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer and
actress. Her career began with wins in the television talent show Ang
Bagong Kampeon in 1984 and the Asia Pacific Singing Contest in 1989. Her
1987 debut album Regine was guided by Viva Records executive Vic del
Rosario and producer Ronnie Henares. With PolyGram Records, she achieved
commercial success in Asia with her albums Listen Without Prejudice
(1994), My Love Emotion (1995), and Retro (1997). Velasquez played the
female lead in the romantic comedies Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw (2000), Till I
Met You (2006), and Paano Kita Iibigin (2007), and in the primetime
television series Forever in My Heart (2004), Diva (2010), I Heart You,
Pare! (2011), and Poor Señorita (2016). She won a Star Award for
playing an intellectually disabled woman in the anthology series
Maalaala Mo Kaya (2001) and a Golden Screen Award for playing a
document forger in the comedy Of All the Things (2012). (This article
is part of a featured topic: Overview of Regine Velasquez.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Overview_of_Regine_…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1622:
Anglo-Persian forces combined to capture the Portuguese
garrison at Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Persian_capture_of_Ormuz>
1864:
The U.S. Congress authorized the creation of a two-cent coin,
the first U.S. currency to bear the phrase "In God We Trust".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Trust>
1945:
About 600 prisoners of the Jasenovac concentration camp in the
Independent State of Croatia revolted, but only 80 managed to escape
while the remainder were killed by the Ustaše regime.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasenovac_concentration_camp>
2004:
Flammable cargo exploded at a railway station in Ryongchon,
North Korea, killing at least 54 people and injuring more than a
thousand others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryongchon_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
agrology:
1. (rare) A subdiscipline of agronomy (the science of utilizing animals,
plants, and soils) and of soil science which addresses the influence of
edaphic (soil-related) conditions on crop production for optimizing it.
2. (chiefly Canada) The science and art of agriculture.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/agrology>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Further escalation of the war, whether by accident or design,
threatens all of humanity. Raising the alert of Russian nuclear forces
is a bone-chilling development. The prospect of nuclear conflict, once
unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility. … It’s
time to stop the horror unleashed on the people of Ukraine and get on
the path of diplomacy and peace. I have been in close contact with a
number of countries — including China, France, Germany, India, Israel
and Turkey — on mediation efforts to bring an end to this war. The
appeals for peace must be heard. This tragedy must stop. It is never
too late for diplomacy and dialogue. We need an immediate cessation of
hostilities and serious negotiations based on the principles of the UN
Charter and international law. We need peace. Peace for the people of
Ukraine. Peace for the world. We need peace now.
--António Guterres
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Guterres>
John Watts Young (1930–2018) was an American astronaut, naval officer
and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. On April 21, 1972,
he became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as commander of
Apollo 16. He flew on four different classes of spacecraft: the Gemini
capsule, the Apollo command and service module, the Apollo lunar module,
and the Space Shuttle. Young served in the U.S. Navy as an aviator, and
graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. He set multiple world
time-to-climb records, and was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut
Group 2 in 1962. He flew on Gemini 3 in 1965, and commanded
Gemini 10 in 1966. He flew as the command module pilot on Apollo 10 in
1969. After that, he commanded Apollo 16, and spent three days on the
lunar surface exploring the Descartes Highlands with Charles Duke. Young
also commanded STS-1, the Space Shuttle program's first launch, in 1981,
and STS-9 in 1983. He retired from NASA in 2004. (This article is part
of a featured topic: NASA Astronaut Group 2.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/NASA_Astronaut_Grou…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1509:
Henry VIII became King of England, following the death of his
father Henry VII, eventually becoming a significant figure in the
history of the English monarchy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII>
1925 or 1926:
Al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina, the site of the mausoleum
of four of the Twelve Imams of Shia Islam, was demolished by Wahhabis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_of_al-Baqi>
1962:
The Century 21 Exposition, the first world's fair in the
United States since World War II, opened in Seattle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_21_Exposition>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hector:
1. (transitive) To dominate or intimidate in a blustering way; to bully,
to domineer.
2. (intransitive) To behave like a hector or bully; to bluster, to
swagger; to bully.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hector>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The
purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now,
have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev
regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine,
as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes
against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.
It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory. We do not intend
to impose anything on anyone by force. … The current events have
nothing to do with a desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and
the Ukrainian people. … I would now like to say something very
important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these
developments from the outside. No matter who tries to stand in our way
or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they
must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences
will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.
--Vladimir Putin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin>
Nicoll Highway MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station
on the Circle Line in Singapore. Located underneath Republic Avenue near
the Kallang River, the station serves commercial and residential
developments along Nicoll Highway such as the Golden Mile Complex and
The Concourse. During its construction, a section of the tunnels and the
segment of the highway above caved in on 20 April 2004, killing four
people. Following an investigation, which found human error and
organisational failures as causes of the collapse, the station was
relocated. Alongside the other stations on Stages 1 and 2 of the Circle
Line, Nicoll Highway station opened on 17 April 2010. Designed by ONG &
ONG, the station is 21.5 metres (71 ft) deep and has a black and grey
scheme. Nicoll Highway station features the public artwork Re-claiming
the Peripherals by Khiew Huey Chian, consisting of four reliefs
depicting wild plants, displayed over the platform doors (example
pictured).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicoll_Highway_MRT_station>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1828:
French explorer René Caillié reached Timbuktu in present-day
Mali, and later received a 9,000-franc prize from the Société de
Géographie for being the first European to return with a description of
the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Cailli%C3%A9>
1914:
A fire and a gun battle between the Colorado National Guard and
striking coal miners led to 17 deaths in the Ludlow Massacre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre>
1968:
Enoch Powell, a British Conservative member of Parliament, made
a controversial speech in opposition to immigration and anti-
discrimination legislation, resulting in his removal from the shadow
cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Blood_speech>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nauplius:
(zoology) A crustacean larva that has three pairs of locomotive organs
(corresponding to antennules, antennae, and mandibles), a median eye,
and little or no segmentation of the body.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nauplius>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am determined … to see to it that a change is made in the
relationship between Germany and Poland that shall ensure a peaceful co-
existence. In this I am resolved to continue to fight until either the
present Polish government is willing to continue to bring about this
change or until another Polish Government is ready to do so. I am
resolved to remove from the German frontiers the element of uncertainty,
the everlasting atmosphere of conditions resembling civil war. … I
will not war against women and children. I have ordered my air force to
restrict itself to attacks on military objectives. If, however, the
enemy thinks he can form that draw carte blanche on his side to fight by
the other methods he will receive an answer that will deprive him of
hearing and sight. … Whoever departs from the rules of humane warfare
can only expect that we shall do the same. I will continue this
struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its
rights are secured.
--Adolf Hitler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler>
The Minute Man is an 1874 sculpture by Daniel Chester French located in
Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts. The
statue depicts a minuteman stepping away from his plow to join the
patriot forces at the Battle of Concord, with a musket in his hand. Cast
from ten bronze cannons, it was unveiled on April 19, 1875, during the
centennial celebration of the Battle of Concord. It received critical
acclaim and continues to be praised by commentators. The pose resembles
that of the Apollo Belvedere and it was assumed that the pose was
transposed from this, but modern art historians have shown that the
Apollo Belvedere was only one of several statues used in French's
research. The statue has been a symbol for the suffragettes, the United
States National Guard and the Air National Guard, and has been used on
the Lexington–Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar and the
Massachusetts state quarter coins.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Minute_Man>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
The American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of
Lexington and Concord in the British colony of Massachusetts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Lexington_and_Concord>
1903:
Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Kishinev, the capital of
Bessarabia Governorate, causing the death of nearly 50 Jews and focusing
worldwide attention on the persecution of Jews in Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishinev_pogrom>
1956:
American actress Grace Kelly became the princess consort of
Monaco upon her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly>
1975:
South Vietnamese forces withdrew from the town of Xuân Lộc
in the last major battle of the Vietnam War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Xu%C3%A2n_L%E1%BB%99c>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Bronx cheer:
(US, idiomatic) Synonym of raspberry (“a sound intended to resemble
flatulence made by blowing air out of the mouth while the tongue is
protruding from and pressed against the lips, used humorously or to
express disdain or scorn”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bronx_cheer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle
for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A very
large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.
No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight. We
will defend ourselves. We will do it daily. We will not give up anything
Ukrainian, and we do not need what’s not ours.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
The Sei pezzi per pianoforte ('Six pieces for piano'), assigned
catalogue number P 044, is a set of six solo piano pieces composed by
the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi between 1903 and 1905. These
predominantly salonesque pieces are eclectic, drawing influence from
different musical styles and composers, particularly music of earlier
periods. The pieces have various musical forms and were composed
separately and later published together between 1905 and 1907 in a set
under the same title for editorial reasons; Respighi had not composed
them as a suite, and therefore did not intend to have uniformity among
the pieces. Styles present in the set include Baroque, Impressionism,
Classicism, and Romanticism. The set, under Bongiovanni, became his
first published work. Five of the six pieces are derived from earlier
works by Respighi, and only one of them, the "Canone", has an extant
manuscript.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sei_pezzi_per_pianoforte>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
World War I: Hit by ground fire, French aviation pioneer Roland
Garros landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Garros_%28aviator%29>
1938:
Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster of DC Comics,
made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic
book.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Comics_1>
1949:
The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force, declaring
Ireland a republic and terminating its membership in the British
Commonwealth of Nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland>
2019:
The United States Department of Justice released a redacted
version of the Mueller report about the investigation to Congress and
the public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_report>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
footbath:
1. The act of soaking or washing the feet.
2. A small basin or bath designed for soaking or washing the feet.
3. A liquid mixture, often medicinal, for soaking or washing the feet
with.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/footbath>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Russia calls it a "military operation", and not a war. But look
what happened in Bucha. It's clear that is not even a war. It's a
genocide. They just killed people, not soldiers, people. They just shot
people in the streets. People were riding bicycles, taking the bus, or
just walking down the street. There were corpses lying in the streets.
These were not soldiers. They were civilians.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Seleucus VI Epiphanes (c. 115 – 94 BC) was a Seleucid monarch who
reigned as King of Syria between 96 and 94 BC during the Hellenistic
period. He was the son of Antiochus VIII and his Egyptian wife
Tryphaena. A period of civil war between his father and his uncle
Antiochus IX ended in 96 BC when his father was assassinated.
Antiochus IX then occupied the capital Antioch while Seleucus VI
established his power base in western Cilicia. After his uncle was
killed, Seleucus VI became the master of the capital but shared Syria
with his brother Demetrius III and his cousin Antiochus X. According
to the ancient historian Appian, Seleucus VI was a violent ruler. He
taxed his dominions extensively to support his wars, and resisted
allowing the cities a measure of autonomy, as former kings allowed. His
reign did not last long; in 94 BC, he was expelled from Antioch by
Antiochus X, who followed him to the Cilician city of Mopsuestia, where
his attempts to raise money led to riots that eventually claimed his
life.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucus_VI_Epiphanes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1797:
French Revolutionary Wars: British forces commanded by
Lieutenant-General Ralph Abercromby invaded the Spanish colonial port of
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_%281797%29>
1907:
Minas Geraes, the first of three Brazilian dreadnought
battleships, was laid down, sparking a vastly expensive South American
naval arms race with Argentina and Chile.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_dreadnought_race>
1951:
The Peak District was designated the first national park in the
United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_District>
1971:
Ustaše-affiliated Croatian separatists attacked the Yugoslav
embassy in Stockholm, fatally shooting the ambassador, Vladimir
Rolović.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Yugoslav_Embassy_shooting>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
implacable:
1. Not able to be placated or appeased.
2. Impossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable.
3. Adamant; immovable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implacable>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and
shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly.
--Gospel of John
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John>
Apollo 16 (April 16–27, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the
United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth
and next-to-last to land on the Moon. The mission was crewed by John
Young, Commander; Charles Duke, Lunar Module Pilot; and Ken Mattingly,
Command Module Pilot. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
on April 16, 1972 (pictured), Apollo 16 experienced a number of minor
glitches en route to the Moon. These culminated with a problem with the
spaceship's main engine that resulted in a six-hour delay in the Moon
landing. Young and Duke explored the Descartes Highlands, a site thought
volcanic, although this proved to be not so. Mattingly orbited the Moon
in the command and service module, taking photos and operating
scientific instruments. During the return trip to Earth, Mattingly
performed a one-hour spacewalk to retrieve several film cassettes from
the exterior of the service module. Apollo 16 returned safely to Earth
on April 27, 1972.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
New Zealand Wars: A minor Māori chief was accidentally shot by
a junior British Army officer in the settlement of Whanganui on New
Zealand's North Island, triggering the Whanganui campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whanganui_campaign>
1912:
American pilot Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly
across the English Channel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Quimby>
1963:
In response to an open letter written by white clergymen,
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail in defence
of the strategy of nonviolent resistance against racism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail>
2001:
India and Bangladesh began a six-day conflict over their
disputed border, which ended in a stalemate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Bangladesh%E2%80%93India_border_clashes>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
boiling frog:
(idiomatic, often attributively) A person who, or thing which, is in a
gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril until
it is too late.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boiling_frog>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are in the days preceding Easter. We are preparing to
celebrate the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death —
over sin and death — not over someone and against someone else. But
today, there is a war. Why do we want to win like this, according to the
way of the world? There are only losses this way. Why not allow Him to
win? Christ bore his cross to free us from the dominion of evil. He died
so that life, love, peace may reign. Let the weapons be put down! Let
the Easter truce begin. But not to reload the weapons and pick up the
fighting again — no! — a truce that will lead to peace, through real
negotiation that is also willing to make some sacrifice for the good of
the people. Indeed, what victory is there in planting a flag on a pile
of rubble?
--Pope Francis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>
The 4th Army was a Royal Yugoslav Army formation mobilised prior to the
German-led invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II.
It initially consisted of three infantry divisions, one brigade-strength
detachment, one horse cavalry regiment and one independent infantry
regiment. It was responsible for defending a large section of the
Yugoslav–Hungarian border, being deployed behind the Drava river
between Varaždin and Slatina. Like all Yugoslav formations at the time,
the 4th Army had serious deficiencies in both mobility and firepower,
and it was only partially mobilised when the invasion began on 6 April
1941. The 4th Army put up scattered resistance, but began to withdraw
southwards on 9 April, and on 10 April it ceased to exist as an
operational formation. The remains of the 4th Army were ordered to stop
fighting on 15 April, and the Yugoslav Supreme Command surrendered
unconditionally, effective on 18 April. (This article is part of a
featured topic: 1st Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia).).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/1st_Army_Group_%28K…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1632:
Thirty Years' War: A Swedish–German army defeated the forces
of the Catholic League at the Battle of Rain, mortally wounding their
commander Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rain>
1912:
More than 1,500 people on the Titanic died when the passenger
liner sank after colliding with an iceberg southeast of Newfoundland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_Titanic>
1922:
U.S. senator John B. Kendrick introduced a resolution calling
for an investigation of a secret land deal involving U.S. president
Warren G. Harding's administration, leading to the Teapot Dome scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal>
1952:
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range, subsonic, jet-
powered, strategic bomber operated by the U.S. Air Force for most of the
aircraft's history, made its first flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Titanic:
1. (not comparable) Of or relating to the Titans, a race of giant gods
in Greek mythology.
2. (by extension)
3. (comparable) Having great size, or great force, power, or strength.
4. (not comparable) Of a conflict or contest: involving equally powerful
participants.
5. The R.M.S. Titanic, an ocean liner, supposedly unsinkable, that sank
on its maiden voyage on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.
6. A venture that fails spectacularly, especially one perceived as
overconfident.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Titanic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
From time immemorial to the present day, mankind has been looking
for heroes. People always appreciate heroes. They always support those
who are brave. And always feel who is fighting for the good. During the
50 days of this war, Ukraine became a hero for the whole free world. For
those who have the courage to call a spade a spade. For those who are
not poisoned by propaganda. You have all become heroes. All Ukrainian
men and women who withstood and do not give up. And who will win. Who
will return peace to Ukraine.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
The history of the Nashville Sounds, a Minor League Baseball team, began
in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1978, after Larry Schmittou and a group of
American investors purchased the rights to operate an expansion
franchise of the Double-A level Southern League. Home games were played
at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of
2014. In 2015, they moved to the new First Horizon Park (pictured) on
the site of the former Sulphur Dell ballpark. They won the league's
championship in 1979 as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and in 1982
as an affiliate of the New York Yankees. Before the 1985 season, the
owners bought the Evansville Triplets, a Triple-A team, and relocated
them to Nashville as the Triple-A Sounds. They joined the Triple-A
Pacific Coast League in 1998 and won its championship in 2005 as an
affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2021, they were placed in the
Triple-A East, which became the International League in 2022.
(This article is part of a featured topic: Nashville Sounds.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Nashville_Sounds>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1471:
Wars of the Roses: The Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the
Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet, killing Richard Neville, Earl of
Warwick.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Barnet>
1908:
The first Hauser Dam in the U.S. state of Montana failed,
causing severe flooding and damage downstream.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauser_Dam>
1945:
World War II: The German town of Friesoythe was razed by the
4th Canadian Division on the orders of Major General Christopher Vokes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razing_of_Friesoythe>
1999:
A storm dropped around 500,000 tonnes of hailstones on Sydney
(examples pictured) and the east coast of New South Wales, causing about
A$2.3 billion in damages, the costliest natural disaster in Australian
insurance history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Sydney_hailstorm>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kingmaker:
1. (politics) Someone who has strong influence over the choice of a
leader.
2. (by extension, game theory) A player who is unable to win but
powerful enough to decide which of the other viable players will
eventually win.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kingmaker>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ukrainians did not believe in war — we believed in civilized
dialogue. But when the attack took place, we did not become a
"frightened crowd," as the enemy had hoped. No. We became an organized
community. At once, the political and other controversies that exist in
every society disappeared. Everyone came together to protect their home.
I see examples every day, and I never get tired of writing about it.
--Olena Zelenska
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Olena_Zelenska>