Over the Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced
by the World Wrestling Federation, which took place on May 23, 1999, at
the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The show's seven matches
showcased prominent WWF wrestlers, who acted out the franchise's
stories in and out of the ring; however, the wrestling industry mostly
remembered the show for the accidental death of wrestler Owen Hart. In
the main event, The Undertaker defeated Steve Austin in a singles match
(with Shane McMahon as the guest referee) to win the WWF Championship.
Owen Hart was scheduled to face The Godfather for the WWF
Intercontinental Championship during the event. Hart was to make a
superhero-like ring entrance, which would have seen him descend from
the arena rafters into the ring. He was, however, released prematurely
when the harness line malfunctioned, and fell more than 70 feet (21 m)
into the ring and died. Criticism later arose over the WWF's decision
to continue the show after Hart's accident. In court, the Hart family
sued the organization, contending that poor planning of the dangerous
stunt caused Owen's death. The WWF settled the case.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Edge_%281999%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1430:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was captured at the Siege of Compiègne.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Compi%C3%A8gne>
1498:
Girolamo Savonarola of Florence was executed for heresy, uttering
prophecies, sedition, and other crimes.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola>
1706:
War of the Spanish Succession: Led by the Duke of Marlborough, the
allied forces of England, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark defeated the
Franco-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramillies>
1844:
At a meeting at his house in Shiraz, Iran, that lasted from the
previous night to dawn, Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad Shírází proclaimed that he
was "the Báb", after a Shi`a religious concept, marking the beginning
of the Bábí movement, the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1bism>
1934:
American criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and
killed by police on a desolate road near their hideout in Bienville
Parish, Louisiana.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde>
1949:
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany came into effect as
the de facto constitution of West Germany.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_Federal_Republic_of_Germany>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
kiosk (n):
A small enclosed structure, open on one side or with a window, used as
a booth to sell newspapers, cigarettes, etc
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kiosk>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Genius will live and thrive without training, but it does not the less
reward the watering–pot and pruning–knife.
--Margaret Fuller
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller>