Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from
ballroom dancing. A team consists of one woman and one man. Ice dance
originated as recreational social skating: couples and friends would
skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances. By the early 1900s it
was popular in this form around the world. The first international ice
dance competition took place as a special event at the World Figure
Skating Championships in 1950 in London. Ice dance was formally added
to the World Championships in 1952 and became an Olympic medal sport in
1976. Dominated by British teams in the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet teams
until the 1990s, and North American teams in the 2000s, the discipline
lost much of its integrity as a sport in the late 1990s and early 2000s
after a series of judging scandals. Ice dance has certain elements that
competitors are required to perform in specific ways, including the
dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and
choreographic elements.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dance>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
The precursor of Michigan State University in East Lansing was
founded as the United States' first agricultural college.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University>
1947:
The French fashion company Dior unveiled its New Look
collection (suit pictured), which revolutionized women's dress and re-
established Paris as the centre of the fashion world after World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dior>
1968:
Vietnam War: Unarmed citizens in the villages of Phong Nhị
and Phong Nhất were massacred, allegedly by South Korean Marines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phong_Nh%E1%BB%8B_and_Phong_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_mass…>
2016:
In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church
and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International
Airport in Cuba.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_of_Pope_Francis_and_Patriar…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Darwinian:
1. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
2. Of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English
biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his
theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of
inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete,
survive, and reproduce.
3. (by extension) Of or pertaining to Darwinism, which includes the
theories of Charles Darwin and other scientists.
4. (by extension) Competitive, especially in a ruthless manner.
5. (by extension) Exhibiting an ability to adapt or develop in order to
survive; adaptable.
6. (chiefly historical) Of or pertaining to the philosophical and
scientific views, or poetic style, of the natural philosopher,
physiologist, and poet Erasmus Darwin.
7. Of or pertaining to Darwin, the capital city of the Northern
Territory, Australia.
8. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
9. An adherent of Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of species, or
of Darwinism.
10. (obsolete, rare) An adherent of the philosophical and scientific
views, or poetic style, of Erasmus Darwin.
11. A native or resident of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Darwinian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
More brain, O Lord, more brain! or we shall mar Utterly this
fair garden we might win.
--George Meredith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Meredith>
Melville Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was the eighth
chief justice of the United States. Born in Augusta, Maine, he graduated
from Bowdoin College and practiced law in Chicago. In 1888, President
Grover Cleveland appointed him to the Supreme Court. Fuller gained a
reputation for collegiality and competent administrative skills. His
jurisprudence was staunchly conservative: he favored free enterprise and
opposed broad federal power. Fuller wrote the majority opinion in
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., which held that the federal income
tax was unconstitutional. He joined the majority opinion in Plessy v.
Ferguson, which upheld state-mandated racial segregation, and in
Lochner v. New York, which struck down economic regulations on the
grounds that they violated the freedom of contract. Many of his
decisions were later overruled, and the majority of scholars have been
critical of the Fuller Court's jurisprudence. He served as chief justice
until his death in 1910.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_Fuller>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1584:
Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded the town of
Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived colonies at the Strait of
Magellan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_attempt_of_the_Strait_of…>
1840:
La fille du régiment (audio featured), an opéra comique by
Gaetano Donizetti, premiered in Paris to highly negative reviews but
later became a success.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_fille_du_r%C3%A9giment>
1919:
Friedrich Ebert was elected the provisional president of
Germany by the Weimar National Assembly.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ebert>
2008:
Rebel East Timorese soldiers invaded the homes of President
José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, seriously wounding
the former.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_East_Timorese_assassination_attempts>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
radium:
1. The chemical element (symbol Ra) with an atomic number of 88. It is a
soft, shiny and silvery radioactive alkaline earth metal.
2. (textiles, dated) A type of cloth woven from silk or synthetic yarn,
often with a shiny appearance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/radium>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The most important step in getting a job done is the recognition
of the problem. Once I recognize a problem I usually can think of
someone who can work it out better than I could.
--Leó Szilárd
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a 2011 role-playing video game developed and
published by Square Enix. XIII-2 is a direct sequel to the 2009 role-
playing game Final Fantasy XIII and part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis
subseries. Development of the game began in early 2010 and involved many
of the key designers from the previous game. It includes modified
features from the previous game, including fast-paced combat and a
customizable "Paradigm" system. The development team wanted to improve
on the gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII, while making the story's tone
more mysterious and darker than the previous game. The new game's plot
features heavy use of time travel, allowing players to jump between
different time periods in the same location. The game was first released
on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and later ported to Microsoft
Windows, iOS, and Android. Final Fantasy XIII-2 received generally
positive reviews from critics. The game was the fifth-best selling game
of 2011 in Japan, and was followed by a sequel, Lightning Returns: Final
Fantasy XIII.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII-2>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1763:
Britain, France, and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris to end
the Seven Years' War, significantly reducing the size of the French
colonial empire while at the same time marking the beginning of an
extensive period of British dominance outside of Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_%281763%29>
1906:
The Royal Navy battleship HMS Dreadnought was launched,
representing such a marked advance in naval technology that her name
came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_%281906%29>
1962:
The first solo exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein opened, and it
included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben Day
dots, speech balloons, and comic imagery sourcing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_Mickey>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pulse:
1. (uncountable) Annual leguminous plants (such as beans, lentils, and
peas) yielding grains or seeds used as food for humans or animals;
(countable) such a plant; a legume.
2. (uncountable) Edible grains or seeds from leguminous plants,
especially in a mature, dry condition; (countable) a specific kind of
such a grain or seed.
3. (physiology)
4. A normally regular beat felt when arteries near the skin (for
example, at the neck or wrist) are depressed, caused by the heart
pumping blood through them.
5. The nature or rate of this beat as an indication of a person's
health.
6. (figuratively) A beat or throb; also, a repeated sequence of such
beats or throbs.
7. (figuratively) The focus of energy or vigour of an activity, place,
or thing; also, the feeling of bustle, busyness, or energy in a place;
the heartbeat.
8. (chiefly biology, chemistry) An (increased) amount of a substance
(such as a drug or an isotopic label) given over a short time.
9. (cooking, chiefly attributively) A setting on a food processor which
causes it to work in a series of short bursts rather than continuously,
in order to break up ingredients without liquidizing them; also, a use
of this setting.
10. (music, prosody) The beat or tactus of a piece of music or verse;
also, a repeated sequence of such beats.
11. (physics)
12. A brief burst of electromagnetic energy, such as light, radio waves,
etc.
13. Synonym of autosoliton (“a stable solitary localized structure that
arises in nonlinear spatially extended dissipative systems due to
mechanisms of self-organization”)
14. (also electronics) A brief increase in the strength of an electrical
signal; an impulse.
15. (transitive, also figuratively) To emit or impel (something) in
pulses or waves.
16. (transitive, chiefly biology, chemistry) To give to (something,
especially a cell culture) an (increased) amount of a substance, such as
a drug or an isotopic label, over a short time.
17. (transitive, cooking) To operate a food processor on (some
ingredient) in short bursts, to break it up without liquidizing it.
18. (transitive, electronics, physics)
19. To apply an electric current or signal that varies in strength to
(something).
20. To manipulate (an electric current, electromagnetic wave, etc.) so
that it is emitted in pulses.
21. (intransitive, chiefly figuratively and literary) To expand and
contract repeatedly, like an artery when blood is flowing though it, or
the heart; to beat, to throb, to vibrate, to pulsate.
22. (intransitive, figuratively) Of an activity, place, or thing: to
bustle with energy and liveliness; to pulsate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pulse>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How sickness enlarges the dimensions of a man's self to himself!
he is his own exclusive object. Supreme selfishness is inculcated upon
him as his only duty.
--Charles Lamb
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lamb>
Apollo 5 was the uncrewed first flight of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM),
which would later carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The liftoff of
the Saturn IB rocket bearing LM-1 (pictured), the first LM, from Cape
Kennedy followed long delays, due in part to setbacks in development of
the LM at Grumman, the manufacturer. The original rocket was taken down
during the delays and replaced with the one atop which the Apollo 1
fire that killed three astronauts had taken place. LM-1 arrived at the
Kennedy Space Center in June 1967; the following months were occupied in
testing. After further delays, the countdown began on January 21, 1968,
with launch the following day. Although due to programming problems a
mission different from that originally planned was executed, the
mission was successful enough that a contemplated second uncrewed
mission to test the LM was cancelled, advancing NASA's plans to land an
astronaut on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, with a safe return to
Earth.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_5>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
A series of hoof-like marks in the snow continuing through the
countryside for some 40 to 100 miles (60 to 160 km) were discovered in
Devon, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Footprints>
1913:
A meteor procession was visible across much of eastern North
and South America, leading astronomers to conclude that the body had
been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913_Great_Meteor_Procession>
1964:
As Beatlemania swept the U.S., the Beatles made their first
appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show before a record-breaking audience,
beginning a musical phenomenon known as the British Invasion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Invasion>
1976:
The Australian Defence Force was formed by the integration of
the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Australian
Air Force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Defence_Force>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gassy:
1. Having the nature of, or containing, gas.
2. (specifically) Of a beverage: containing dissolved gas (usually
carbon dioxide); fizzy.
3. (specifically) Of a person: tending to burp; burpy.
4. (specifically) Of a person: tending to release flatus; flatulent.
5. Of food or drink: tending to cause flatulence.
6. (figuratively, informal) Tending to be long-winded or wordy,
especially in a boastful and vain manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gassy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Truth is not spoken in anger. Truth is spoken, if it ever comes
to be spoken, in love.
--J. M. Coetzee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee>
Why Marx Was Right is a 2011 book by the British academic Terry Eagleton
(pictured) on the philosopher Karl Marx, and Marxism. Eagleton outlines
ten objections to Marxism that he attempts to refute. These include that
it is irrelevant, determinist, utopian, authoritarian and opposed to
reform. Eagleton says class struggle is central to Marxism and history
is viewed as a series of modes of production that describe the nature
and organisation of labour. He describes how revolution could lead to
socialism in which the working class have control and make the state
obsolete. He explores the failures of the Soviet Union and other
communist countries. The book was published in 2011 and reprinted in
2018, 200 years after Marx's birth. Critics gave mixed feedback on the
prose style, although the commentary on historical materialism was
praised. The book was criticised for its defence of the Soviet Union and
other Marxist states.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Marx_Was_Right>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1879:
Angered by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket
spectators rioted and attacked the England team during a match in
Sydney, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Riot_of_1879>
1910:
Newspaper and magazine publisher William D. Boyce established
the Boy Scouts of America, expanding the Scout Movement into the United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Scouts_of_America>
1965:
After taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision just
after taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport,
Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing
all 84 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_663>
2010:
A freak storm triggered a series of avalanches that buried more
than 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of road near the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan,
killing 175 people and trapping more than 2,500 travellers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Salang_avalanches>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pipe:
1. (music) A wind instrument consisting of a tube, often lined with
holes to allow for adjustment in pitch, sounded by blowing into the
tube. […]
2. A rigid tube that transports water, steam, or other fluid, as used in
plumbing and numerous other applications. […]
3. (Australia, colloquial, now historical) An anonymous satire or essay,
insulting and frequently libellous, written on a piece of paper which
was rolled up and left somewhere public where it could be found and thus
spread, to embarrass the author's enemies.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pipe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is the glistening and softly spoken lie; the amiable fallacy;
the patriotic lie of the historian, the provident lie of the politician,
the zealous lie of the partisan, the merciful lie of the friend, and the
careless lie of each man to himself, that cast that black mystery over
humanity, through which we thank any man who pierces, as we would thank
one who dug a well in a desert.
--John Ruskin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Ruskin>
Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my joy), BWV 227, is a motet by J. S. Bach.
In eleven movements for up to five voices, it is his longest and most
musically complex motet. It is named after the 1653 Lutheran hymn "Jesu,
meine Freude" by Johann Franck; the hymn's six stanzas form the motet's
odd-numbered movements. Bach used the hymn tune by Johann Crüger in
five different chorale settings (example pictured). The hymn's text
focuses on an emotional bond to Jesus, complementing the doctrinal text
from the Epistle to the Romans used for the even-numbered movements.
Jesu, meine Freude is one of the few works by Bach for five vocal parts,
in a structure of symmetries on different layers. It is unclear when the
motet was written. Bach scholar Christoph Wolff believed that Bach may
have compiled it to educate his choir in composition techniques and
theology; an earlier theory that it was written for a 1723 funeral in
Leipzig is now discredited. In 1927, it became the first of Bach motets
to be recorded.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesu,_meine_Freude,_BWV_227>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1813:
Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched French and British frigates
fought for four hours at the Îles de Los off the Guinean coast,
resulting in a stalemate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_7_February_1813>
1900:
A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco fell ill with the bubonic
plague in the first epidemic of the disease in the continental United
States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_plague_of_1900%E2%80%931904>
1992:
The Maastricht Treaty, which led to the formation of the
European Union, was signed by the member states of the European
Communities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht_Treaty>
1997:
Steve Jobs returned to Apple Inc. as a consultant after the
company's acquisition of his technology startup NeXT.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Dickensian:
1. Of, pertaining to, or created by the English author Charles Dickens.
2. Similar to Dickens' writing style, especially in commenting on
society, or in using emotion, humour, or rich descriptions.
3. Reminiscent of the environments and situations most commonly
portrayed in Dickens' writings, such as poverty, social injustice, and
other aspects of Victorian England.
4. A person who admires or studies the works of Charles Dickens.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dickensian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was
beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving —
HOW NOT TO DO IT.
--Charles Dickens
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens>
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Final was a football match that took
place on 8 February 2015 to determine the winner of that year's African
football championship. The match was held at the Estadio de Bata
(pictured) in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, and was contested by Ghana and
Ivory Coast. The final was 0–0 at the end of normal time, and there
were also no goals in extra time, with few clear-cut chances for either
team. With the match finishing level, it was decided by a penalty shoot-
out. After every outfield player had taken a shot the score was tied at
8–8. The match was then decided by Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry,
who saved an attempt from his Ghana counterpart Brimah Razak and then
scored himself past Razak to give Ivory Coast a 9–8 shoot-out win and
the title. The victory was Ivory Coast's second Africa Cup of Nations
victory and lifted them from third to second place among African nations
in the FIFA World Rankings. Ghana's Afriyie Acquah was named the man of
the match.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_Final>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1840:
British representatives and Māori chiefs first signed the
Treaty of Waitangi, widely regarded to be the founding document of New
Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi>
1952:
Elizabeth II became the queen regnant of the United Kingdom,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon upon
the death of her father, King George VI.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_VI>
1976:
Lockheed Corporation president Carl Kotchian admitted that the
company had paid out approximately US$3 million in bribes to the office
of Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals>
2018:
The SpaceX launch vehicle Falcon Heavy made its maiden flight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Heavy_test_flight>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
koha:
1. (New Zealand) A Māori tradition of reciprocal giving of gifts.
2. (New Zealand, by extension) A voluntary donation given for a service
that has been provided.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/koha>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
With the destructive power of today's weapons, keeping the peace
is not just a goal; it's a sacred obligation. But maintaining peace
requires more than sincerity and idealism — more than optimism and
good will. As you know well, peace is a product of hard, strenuous labor
by those dedicated to its preservation. It requires realism, not wishful
thinking.
--Ronald Reagan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan>
New Zealand nationality law details the conditions by which a person may
hold New Zealand nationality. Regulations apply to the Realm of New
Zealand, which consists of the country of New Zealand itself, the Cook
Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency. All persons born in the
Realm before 2006 were automatically citizens at birth regardless of the
nationalities of their parents. Since that year, individuals born in the
Realm only receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent is
already a citizen or entitled to live in New Zealand indefinitely
(meaning permanent residents of New Zealand or of Australia, and
citizens of Australia). Foreigners living in the Realm may be granted
citizenship after becoming permanent residents. New Zealand is a former
British colony and its residents were previously British subjects. While
New Zealanders are no longer British, they continue to hold favoured
status when living in the United Kingdom; they are eligible to vote in
British elections and serve in public office there.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_nationality_law>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
Charles XIV John succeeded to the thrones of Sweden and Norway
as the first monarch of the House of Bernadotte.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIV_John>
1861:
In a speech before the U.S. Congress, Representative John
Edward Bouligny refused to join his fellow Louisiana congressmen in
heeding the state's secession convention and resigning.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edward_Bouligny>
1913:
Greek military aviators Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis
Moraitinis performed the first naval air mission in history, with a
Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristeidis_Moraitinis_%28aviator%29>
2004:
Twenty-three cocklers were drowned by an incoming tide in
Morecambe Bay, England, prompting the establishment of the British
government's Gangmasters Licensing Authority.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morecambe_Bay_cockling_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
who would have thunk it:
(colloquial, sometimes sarcastic) A rhetorical question used to express
incredulity: who would have guessed it?; who would have thought that
would happen?
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/who_would_have_thunk_it>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are those in our party who believe that as the presiding
officer over the joint session of Congress, that I possessed unilateral
authority to reject electoral college votes. And I heard this week,
President Trump said I had the right to "overturn the election". But
President Trump is wrong — I had no right to overturn the election.
The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people
alone. And frankly there is no idea more un-American than the notion
that any one person could choose the American president. Under the
Constitution, I had no right to change the outcome of our election.
--Mike Pence
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Pence>
Nodar Kumaritashvili (1988–2010) was a Georgian luge athlete who
suffered a fatal crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter
Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, on the day of the
opening ceremony. He became the fourth athlete to die from practice at
any of the Winter Olympics, and the seventh athlete to die from practice
or competition at any of the Olympic Games. Kumaritashvili, who first
participated in luge when he was 13, came from a family of seasoned
lugers: his grandfather had introduced the sport to the Soviet republic
of Georgia, and both his father and uncle had competed when they were
younger, with his uncle later serving as the head of the Georgian Luge
Federation. Kumaritashvili himself began competing in the 2008–09 Luge
World Cup. He had also been a student at Georgian Technical University,
where he earned an economics degree in 2009 while adhering to a strict
training regimen and participating in competitions.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodar_Kumaritashvili>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1820:
Chilean War of Independence: Chilean forces captured the city
of Valdivia and its harbour, depriving the Spanish Empire of an
important naval base.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Valdivia>
1899:
The Philippine–American War began when an American soldier,
under orders to keep insurgents away from his unit's encampment, fired
on a Filipino soldier in Manila.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_%281899%29>
1975:
Haicheng, China, was struck by a 7.3 ML earthquake, but the
death toll was relatively low thanks to evacuations ordered by the
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Haicheng_earthquake>
2015:
Shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, the crew of
TransAsia Airways Flight 235 shut down the wrong engine in response to
a flameout, leading to a crash that resulted in 43 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransAsia_Airways_Flight_235>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carcinoma:
1. (countable) An invasive malignant tumour derived from epithelial
tissue that tends to metastasize to other areas of the body.
2. (obsolete, countable) A form of cancer; (uncountable) cancer in
general as a disease.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carcinoma>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We remain vigilant. We remain prepared. Last night's operation
took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield. And it sent a strong
message to terrorists around the world: We will come after you and find
you. Once again, today, we continue our unceasing effort to keep the
American people safe and to strengthen the security of our Allies and
partners around the world. I want to thank you all. And may God bless
you. And may God protect our troops.
--Joe Biden
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden>
Bluey is an Australian animated television series for preschoolers that
has aired on ABC Kids since October 2018. Created by Joe Brumm, the
series follows Bluey, an anthropomorphic six-year-old Blue Heeler puppy
(example pictured) who engages in imaginative play with her father
Bandit, mother Chilli, and younger sister Bingo. The characters of Bluey
each represent a particular dog breed, some of which are drawn from
Brumm's personal life; he had a Blue Heeler named Bluey throughout his
childhood. Overarching themes include family, growing up, and Australian
culture. The program was created and is produced in Queensland; its
capital city of Brisbane inspired the show's setting. Bluey won a Logie
Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program in 2019 as well as an
International Emmy Kids Award. It has been praised by television critics
for its depiction of modern everyday family life, constructive
parenting messages and the role of Bandit as a positive father figure.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluey_%282018_TV_series%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1852:
The Argentine Confederation was defeated in the Platine War by
an alliance consisting of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of
Entre Ríos and Corrientes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platine_War>
1918:
At 11,675 ft (3,559 m) long, the Twin Peaks Tunnel in San
Francisco opened as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at the
time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks_Tunnel>
1998:
A U.S. Marines Corps EA-6B Prowler inadvertently severed a
cable supporting a cable-car gondola in Cavalese, Italy, killing 20
passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Cavalese_cable_car_crash>
2010:
An edition of L'Homme qui marche I, a bronze sculpture by
Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, was sold for £65 million, setting
the record for the most expensive sculpture sold at auction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Homme_qui_marche_I>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
flare:
1. (transitive) To cause to burn.
2. (transitive) To cause inflammation; to inflame.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To open outward in shape.
4. (transitive, intransitive, aviation) To (operate an aircraft to)
transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
5. (intransitive) To blaze brightly.
6. (intransitive) To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit
a dazzling or painfully bright light.
7. (intransitive, figuratively) To shine out with gaudy colours; to be
offensively bright or showy.
8. (intransitive, figuratively) To suddenly happen or intensify.
9. (intransitive, figuratively) To suddenly erupt in anger.
10. (intransitive, obsolete) To be exposed to too much light.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flare>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The state of conformity is an imitation of grace. By a strange
mystery — which is connected with the power of the social element —
a profession can confer on quite ordinary men in their exercise of it,
virtues which, if they were extended to all circumstances of life, would
make of them heroes or saints.
--Simone Weil
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil>