The Cleveland Centennial half dollar is a commemorative United States
half dollar, dated 1936, issued to mark the 100th anniversary of
Cleveland, Ohio, as an incorporated city, and in commemoration of the
Great Lakes Exposition, held in Cleveland that year. In the mid-1930s,
commemorative coins were increasing in value, and Cincinnati businessman
Thomas G. Melish, a coin collector, lobbied Congress to authorize
several new issues, for which he would be the sole distributor. He was
successful with the Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar and the
Cleveland piece, and profited from both. Brenda Putnam designed the
Cleveland coin, which was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts after
suggestions by sculptor Lee Lawrie. Melish distributed the Cleveland
coins through the exposition, at local banks, and by mail order from his
office in Cincinnati. Sales were good, and the full authorized mintage
of 50,000 was struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Centennial_half_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1821:
On the island of Hispaniola, General José Núñez de Cáceres
established the Republic of Spanish Haiti, which only lasted three
months.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Spanish_Haiti>
1941:
The Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the United
States Air Force, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Patrol>
1971:
A period of political and economic reforms known as the
Croatian Spring came to an end as the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
decided to purge the reformist leadership of Croatia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Spring>
1991:
A referendum to ratify the 24 August Act of Declaration of
Independence of Ukraine passed with more than 92 percent of the votes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Ukrainian_independence_referendum>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tip of the iceberg:
(idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part
encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tip_of_the_iceberg>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin
tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one’s soul;
when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are
born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood.
--Josephine Baker
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker>
John McGraw (1873–1934) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player and
manager who managed the New York Giants for almost thirty years
(1902–1932). He was also the third baseman of the 1890s Baltimore
Orioles. The Orioles, who won three National League (NL) pennants, were
noted for their innovative, aggressive play, perfecting the hit and run
and popularizing the Baltimore chop. They also sought to win by
intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. After one season with the
St. Louis Cardinals (1900), McGraw returned to Baltimore as player and
manager of the new Orioles of the American League (AL). He jumped to the
Giants in 1902, taking several Orioles players with him. Through his
many years managing the Giants, McGraw exerted control on players and
team, and saw great success, winning ten pennants (tied for most by a
manager) and three World Series; his total of 2,763 victories ranks
third among MLB managers. McGraw has been called one of the greatest
managers in baseball history.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGraw>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1936:
English mathematician Alan Turing published details of the
Turing machine (model pictured), a basic abstract symbol-manipulating
hypothetical device that can simulate the logic of any computer
algorithm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing>
1954:
The first verified case of a human being injured by an
extraterrestrial object took place in Sylacauga, Alabama, when a
meteorite crashed through a roof and hit a sleeping woman.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylacauga_%28meteorite%29>
2005:
John Sentamu was enthroned as Archbishop of York, becoming the
first black person to serve as an archbishop in the Church of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sentamu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
laird:
1. (chiefly Scotland) The owner of a Scottish estate; a member of the
landed gentry, a landowner.
2. (chiefly Scotland, historical) Often in the form Laird of, followed
by a patronymic: a Scottish clan chief.
3. (transitive, Scotland) Chiefly as laird it over: to behave like a
laird, particularly to act haughtily or to domineer; to lord (it over).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/laird>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is nothing in this world constant, but inconstancy.
--Jonathan Swift
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift>
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat and the only Panthera species
native to the Americas. With a body length of 1.12 to 1.85 m (3 ft
8 in to 6 ft 1 in) and a weight of 56 to 96 kg (123 to 212 lb), it
is the third-largest cat species in the world. Its coat is covered by
spots that transition to rosettes on the sides. The jaguar's range
extends from the southern U.S. through Mexico and across much of Central
America to Paraguay and northern Argentina. It inhabits forested and
open terrain, but prefers dense jungle. It is adept at swimming and is
largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush apex predator. The
wild jaguar population is thought to have declined since the late 1990s,
and is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and
human–wildlife conflict. Since 2002, it has been listed as a near-
threatened species on the IUCN Red List. The jaguar has featured
prominently in indigenous cultures of the Americas, including the Maya
and Aztec civilizations.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
American Revolutionary War: British reinforcements brought an
end to the Patriot attempt to capture Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Cumberland_%281776%29>
1890:
The National Diet of Japan (pictured in session), a bicameral
legislature modelled after both the German Reichstag and the British
Westminster system, first met in Tokyo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Diet>
2007:
During their trial for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, Philippine
soldiers led by Senator Antonio Trillanes mutinied and seized a
conference room in The Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Peninsula_siege>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
endow:
1. (transitive, archaic or obsolete) To provide with a dower (“the
portion that a widow receives from her deceased husband's property”) or
a dowry (“property given to a bride”).
2. (transitive) To give property to (someone) as a gift; specifically,
to provide (a person or institution) with support in the form of a
permanent fund of money or other benefits.
3. (transitive) Followed by with, or rarely by of: to enrich or furnish
with some faculty or quality.
4. (transitive) Usually in the passive: to naturally furnish (with
something).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/endow>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There's a place for us, Somewhere a place for us Peace and quiet
and open air wait for us, Somewhere. There's a time for us, Some day a
time for us Time together with time to spare, time to look, time to
care, Someday. Somewhere we'll find a new way of living. We'll find a
way of forgiving, Somewhere.
--West Side Story
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/West_Side_Story_%281961_film%29>
The British depended on complex logistical arrangements to recapture the
Falkland Islands in 1982, as the British forces were operating 13,000
kilometres (8,000 mi) from home. The Royal Navy's ships were augmented
by ships taken up from trade (STUFT), and a base was developed on remote
Ascension Island. The 3rd Commando Brigade was landed in May on East
Falkland, but struggled to build up its supplies as the Argentine air
forces made repeated attacks on ships. SS Atlantic Conveyor was struck
by a missile, and sank with Chinook and Wessex helicopters (example
pictured) on board, along with vital stores. This forced the 3rd
Commando Brigade to yomp across East Falkland. Forward Brigade
Maintenance Areas (FBMAs) were established, and ammunition was delivered
to gun positions by helicopters to enable the artillery to support the
attacks on the mountains ringing Port Stanley. The successful conclusion
of these battles resulted in the surrender of the Argentine forces in
June.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_logistics_in_the_Falklands_War>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1660:
At London's Gresham College, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins,
Christopher Wren and other leading scientists founded a learned society
now known as the Royal Society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society>
1943:
World War II: U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, British
prime minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet premier Joseph Stalin (all
three pictured) met at the Tehran Conference to discuss war strategy
against the Axis powers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran_Conference>
1987:
South African Airways Flight 295 suffered a catastrophic in-
flight fire and crashed into the Indian Ocean east of Mauritius, killing
all 159 on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Airways_Flight_295>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
turducken:
(US, cooking) A dish, usually roasted, consisting of a deboned turkey
stuffed with a deboned duck that has been stuffed with a small deboned
chicken, and also containing stuffing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/turducken>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
You must love those you lead before you can be an effective
leader. You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but
you cannot lead without it.
--Eric Shinseki
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Shinseki>
A carillon is a pitched percussion instrument housed in a bell tower and
played with a keyboard. Consisting of at least 23 cast bronze bells in
fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order, carillons are usually
owned by churches, universities, or municipalities. The bells are struck
with clappers connected to a keyboard of wooden batons played with the
hands and pedals played with the feet. They are among the world's
heaviest instruments, usually between 4.5 and 15 metric tons (5.0 and
16.5 short tons). The tuned carillon was invented in the Netherlands in
1644, cast by Jacob van Eyck and the Hemony brothers. Today, most are
found in and around Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France,
though nearly 200 are in North America. Almost all existing carillons
were built in the 20th century. In 2014, UNESCO recognized the carillon
cultures of the Netherlands and Belgium as part of their intangible
cultural heritage.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1703:
The great storm of 1703, one of the most severe storms to
strike southern Great Britain, destroyed the first Eddystone Lighthouse
off Plymouth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_storm_of_1703>
1945:
A consortium of twenty-two U.S. charities founded CARE with the
purpose of delivering food aid to Europe in the aftermath of World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Care_International>
2001:
The Hubble Space Telescope detected sodium in the atmosphere of
the extrasolar planet HD 209458 b (artist's impression pictured), the
first planetary atmosphere outside our solar system to be measured.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_209458_b>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
potluck:
1. (dated) A meal, especially one offered to a guest, consisting of
whatever food is available.
2. (by extension) Whatever is available in a particular situation.
3. (originally Canada, US) A shared meal consisting of whatever guests
have brought (sometimes without prior arrangement); a potlatch; also, a
dish of food brought to such a meal.
4. (obsolete) The last draft or portion of an alcoholic beverage in a
pot or other drinking vessel.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/potluck>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Have you ever been experienced? Not necessarily stoned, but
beautiful.
--Jimi Hendrix
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix>
"Fuck the Millennium", sometimes "***k the Millennium", is a protest
song by 2K—Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. The duo are better known as
the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (the JAMs) or the KLF. The song was
built around the KLF and Acid Brass's versions of "What Time Is Love?",
and premiered at 2K's "1997" event, held at London's Barbican Centre on
17 September 1997 and directed by Ken Campbell. 2K's lifespan was
billed as the duration of the live event's performance—23 minutes. The
song was released as a comeback single to mark the tenth anniversary of
Drummond and Cauty's first collaborations; however, the performance and
single were also in part intended to mock the notion of the comeback.
The song reached number 28 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1997.
Drummond and Cauty's promotional campaign also involved plans to
construct a 150-foot-high (46 m) pyramid from bricks; it was never
built.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck_the_Millennium>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1852:
A massive earthquake struck the Dutch East Indies, creating a
tsunami that caused major damage, washing away many villages, ships and
residents.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1852_Banda_Sea_earthquake>
1983:
Six robbers broke into a Brink's-Mat warehouse at Heathrow
Airport in London and stole £26 million in gold, diamonds and cash.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brink%27s-Mat_robbery>
2011:
U.S.-led NATO forces engaged Pakistani security forces at two
Pakistani military checkposts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border in
a friendly fire incident.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NATO_attack_in_Pakistan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
double life:
1. An existence or life that has two aspects, particularly when one of
them is regarded as embarrassing, immoral, or unlawful and thus kept
hidden from a person's family, friends, and work colleagues.
2. The hidden, or more unusual, aspect of a person's life.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/double_life>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
How sweet, how passing sweet, is solitude! But grant me still a
friend in my retreat Whom I may whisper — solitude is sweet.
--William Cowper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Cowper>
B. Max Mehl (1884–1957) was a prominent coin dealer in the U.S. for
more than 50 years. He was born in Congress Poland, which was then part
of Imperial Russia, but his family moved to present-day Lithuania, and
then to the U.S.; Mehl lived in Fort Worth for most of his life. He
started selling coins as a teenager, and joined the American Numismatic
Association aged 18. By 1910 he was one of the most prominent dealers in
the U.S. His customers included Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston
Churchill. He auctioned coins from the collections of prominent
numismatists, and he was the first dealer to advertise in non-specialist
publications, helping to broaden the hobby's appeal. To generate
interest and sell his books, he offered to buy a 1913 Liberty Head
nickel for $50, knowing there were none in circulation. His great
auction sales were in the 1940s, but he later became less active, dying
in 1957. He was elected to the Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1974, and the
CoinFacts Dealer Hall of Fame in 2010.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Max_Mehl>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1678:
Trunajaya rebellion: After a series of difficult marches,
allied Mataram and Dutch troops successfully assaulted the rebel
stronghold of Kediri in eastern Java.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1678_Kediri_campaign>
1936:
Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan signed the Anti-Comintern
Pact, agreeing that, if the Soviet Union attacked one of them, they
would consult each other on what measures to take to "safeguard their
common interests".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Comintern_Pact>
1975:
Upon Suriname's independence from the Netherlands, Johan
Ferrier became its first president.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Ferrier>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vinous:
1. Pertaining to or having the characteristics of wine.
2. Involving the use of wine.
3. Having the colour of red wine; vinaceous.
4. Tending to drink wine excessively.
5. Affected by the drinking of wine.
6. Induced by the drinking of wine.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vinous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am grateful for what I am & have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.
It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite — only
a sense of existence. Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this
for the next 1000 years, & exhaust it. How sweet to think of! My
extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is
no danger of worm or rot for a long while. My breath is sweet to me. O
how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my
bank can drain it — for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.
--Henry David Thoreau
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau>
Uturuncu is a dormant volcano in the Sur Lípez Province of Bolivia that
has active fumaroles between its two summits. Its name means "jaguar" in
Quechua. The highest mountain in southwestern Bolivia, it rises to
6,008 metres (19,711 ft) within the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex,
a province of large volcanoes and calderas which over the last few
million years have emplaced about 10,000 km3 (2,000 cu mi) of
ignimbrites in large eruptions. Uturuncu's last eruption was about
250,000 years ago. Although it has no glaciers at present, it shows
traces of a former glaciation. Underneath it lies the Altiplano–Puna
Magma Body, a large sill formed by partially molten rocks. Since 1992,
satellite observations have indicated a large area of regional uplift
centered on Uturuncu, which may indicate magma intrusion under the
volcano. This might be a prelude to large-scale volcanic activity,
including supervolcanic activity and caldera formation.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uturuncu>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1859:
British naturalist Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species
was first published, and sold out its initial print run on the first
day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species>
1941:
The Holocaust: The Theresienstadt Ghetto was founded as a
waystation to Nazi extermination camps and a "retirement settlement" for
elderly and prominent Jews to mislead their communities about the Final
Solution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresienstadt_Ghetto>
1971:
After collecting a ransom payout of $200,000, D. B. Cooper
(depicted) parachuted out of the rear stairway of the airplane he had
hijacked over the Pacific Northwest and disappeared.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper>
2015:
A Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 after
the latter allegedly strayed into Turkish airspace and ignored warnings
to change course.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Russian_Sukhoi_Su-24_shootdown>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
slimeball:
1. (biology) A round lump made up of or coated with slime or a slime-
like substance such as mucus.
2. (helminthology, specifically) A mucus-coated lump containing the
cercariae (“parasitic larvae”) of a liver fluke (of the phylum
Platyhelminthes).
3. (originally US, colloquial, derogatory) A person who is regarded as
slimy (that is, sneaky or underhanded) or otherwise undesirable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/slimeball>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have laboured carefully, not to mock, lament, or execrate human
actions, but to understand them.
--Baruch Spinoza
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza>
The Short Symphony, or Symphony No. 2, is a symphony written by the
American composer Aaron Copland from 1931 to 1933. The name derives from
its short length of only 15 minutes. The work is dedicated to Copland's
friend, the Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chávez (pictured).
The composition contains complex rhythms and polyharmonies, and
incorporates the composer's emerging interest in serialism and Mexican
music. Copland later arranged the work as a sextet. The symphony was not
widely performed during Copland's lifetime, largely due to the piece's
rhythmic difficulties. After Serge Koussevitzky and Leopold Stokowski
both declined to conduct the premiere, Chávez agreed to deliver it in
1934 in Mexico City. Though Copland thought of the Short Symphony as
"one of the best things I ever wrote", some critics found it to be
fragmented and cacophonous. Others agreed with Copland's assessment,
describing the symphony as a masterpiece and a significant work in both
Copland's career and modernist music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Symphony>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England, for
killing a police officer while helping two Irish nationalists escape
from police custody.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Martyrs>
1924:
The New York Times published evidence from Edwin Hubble stating
that the Andromeda Nebula, previously believed to be part of the Milky
Way, is in fact another galaxy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble>
1976:
Jacques Mayol became the first person to freedive to a depth of
100 metres (330 ft).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Mayol>
2011:
Arab Spring: After 11 months of protests in Yemen, President
Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to transfer power to Vice President Abdrabbuh
Mansur Hadi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdrabbuh_Mansur_Hadi>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
intraordinary:
(rare, nonstandard) Falling within normal parameters; normal, ordinary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intraordinary>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will always hold to those principles by which I have been
raised … To seek understanding before taking action, yet to trust my
instincts when action is called for. Never to avoid danger from fear,
never to seek out danger for its own sake. Never to conform to fashion
from fear of eccentricity, never to be eccentric from fear of
conformity. … To hold myself to higher standards of conduct than I
hold another. To never strike without cause, and, when there is cause,
to strike for the heart.
--Steven Brust
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Brust>
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott
Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the
novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with
mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession with his former
lover, Daisy Buchanan. The book was inspired by a youthful romance
Fitzgerald had with socialite Ginevra King, and the riotous parties he
attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922. The Great Gatsby received
favorable reviews but was a commercial disappointment, selling fewer
than 20,000 copies in the first six months. At the time of the author's
death in 1940, he believed himself to be a failure and his work
forgotten. During World War II, the novel surged in popularity when the
Council on Books in Wartime distributed free copies to American soldiers
serving overseas. This newfound popularity launched a critical re-
examination, and now the book is widely considered to be a literary
masterwork.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1718:
The pirate Blackbeard was killed in battle by a boarding party
of British sailors off the coast of North Carolina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbeard>
1908:
The Congress of Manastir standardized the Albanian alphabet, a
date commemorated as Alphabet Day in Albania, Kosovo and North
Macedonia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Manastir>
1928:
Boléro, French composer Maurice Ravel's most famous musical
composition, premiered at the Paris Opéra.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol%C3%A9ro>
1971:
In Britain's worst mountaineering tragedy, the Cairngorm
Plateau disaster, five teenage students and one of their leaders were
found dead from exposure in the Scottish Highlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairngorm_Plateau_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
grace note:
1. (music) A musical note, indicated on a score in smaller type with or
without a slash through it, played to ornament the melody rather than as
part of it. Its note value does not count as part of the total time
value of the measure it appears in.
2. (figuratively) Something that decorates, embellishes, or ornaments; a
finishing touch.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grace_note>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What another would have done as well as you, do not do it. What
another would have said as well as you, do not say it; what another
would have written as well, do not write it. Be faithful to that which
exists nowhere but in yourself — and thus make yourself indispensable.
--André Gide
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Gide>