110px|Shapinsay Graveyard
Shapinsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of
mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from
which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney
Mainland. Balfour Castle, built in the Scottish Baronial style, is one
of the island's most prominent features, a reminder of the Balfour
family's domination of Shapinsay during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Balfours had transformed the island's life by introducing new
agricultural techniques. Other landmarks include a standing stone, an
Iron Age broch, a souterrain and a salt-water shower. With an area of
29.5 square kilometres (11.4 sq mi), Shapinsay is the eighth largest
island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and fertile,
consequently most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has
two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life. As of the 2001
census, Shapinsay has a population of 300. The economy of the island is
primarily based on agriculture with the exception of a few small
businesses that are largely tourism-related. Plans for the construction
of a wind turbine are under consideration. (more...)
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Today's selected anniversaries:
337:
After disposing of all relatives who possibly held a claim to the
throne, Constantine II , Constantius II, and Constans jointly became
Roman Emperors.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constans>
1739:
The Stono Rebellion, at the time the largest slave rebellion to date in
the Thirteen Colonies of British America, erupted near Charleston,
South Carolina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stono_Rebellion>
1939:
World War II: About 3,000 Polish Army forces began a nearly month-long
defense of the Hel Peninsula during the German invasion of Poland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hel>
1969:
The Official Languages Act of Canada came into force, giving both
French and English equal status throughout the Canadian national
government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Languages_Act_%28Canada%29>
1990:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lankan Army massacred at least 184 Tamil
refugees in the Batticaloa District.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Batticaloa_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zealous (adj):
Full of zeal; ardent, fervent; exhibiting enthusiasm or strong passion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zealous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
One thing only is needful: the knowledge of the simple and clear truth
which finds place in every soul that is not stupefied by religious and
scientific superstitions — the truth that for our life one law is valid
— the law of love, which brings the highest happiness to every
individual as well as to all mankind. Free your minds from those
overgrown, mountainous imbecilities which hinder your recognition of
it, and at once the truth will emerge from amid the pseudo-religious
nonsense that has been smothering it: the indubitable, eternal truth
inherent in man, which is one and the same in all the great religions
of the world. It will in due time emerge and make its way to general
recognition, and the nonsense that has obscured it will disappear of
itself, and with it will go the evil from which humanity now suffers.
--Leo Tolstoy
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy>