The oceanic whitetip shark is a large requiem shark inhabiting tropical and warm temperate seas. It has a stocky body with long, white-tipped, rounded fins. The species is typically solitary but can congregate around food concentrations. It is found worldwide between 45°N and 43°S latitudes in deep, open oceans. Bony fish and cephalopods are the main components of its diet. Females give live birth after a gestation period of nine to twelve months. Though slow-moving, it is opportunistic, aggressive, and reputed to be dangerous to shipwreck survivors. The shark was once extremely common and widely distributed; up to the 16th century, mariners noted that this species was the most common ship-following shark. The species has now been listed as critically endangered, and recent studies show steeply declining populations worldwide as the sharks are harvested for their fins and meat, like many other shark species.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_whitetip_shark
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1877:
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis tournament, began in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship
1896:
Politician William Jennings Bryan made his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism, considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Gold_speech
1958:
An earthquake struck Lituya Bay, Alaska; the subsequent megatsunami, the largest in modern times, reached an elevation of 1,720 ft (524 m). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_earthquake_and_megatsunami
1962:
In a seminal moment for pop art, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_Soup_Cans
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
berth: 1. (nautical) Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore. 2. (by extension) A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor. 3. (by extension) A room in a vessel in which the officers or company mess (“eat together”) and reside; also, a room or other place in a vessel for storage. 4. (by extension) A place on a vessel to sleep, especially a bed on the side of a cabin. 5. (by extension) A job or position on a vessel. 6. (by extension) 7. An assigned place for a person in (chiefly historical) a horse-drawn coach or other means of transportation, or (military) in a barracks. 8. A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc. 9. (road transport) A place for a vehicle on land to park. 10. (figurative) 11. An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good. 12. Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety. 13. (chiefly nautical, slang) A proper place for a thing. 14. (sports) 15. A position or seed in a tournament bracket. 16. A position on a field of play. 17. (transitive) 18. (nautical) To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel). 19. (specifically, astronautics) To use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock. 20. (by extension, chiefly passive voice) To assign (someone) a berth (noun sense 1.3 or sense 2.2) or place to sleep on a vessel, a train, etc. 21. (figurative) To provide (someone) with a berth (noun sense 3.3) or appointment, job, or position. 22. (intransitive) 23. (reflexive, nautical) Of a vessel: to move into a berth. 24. (by extension) Of a person: to occupy a berth. [...] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/berth
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Any artist will tell you he's really only interested in the stuff he's doing now. He will, always. It's true, and it should be like that. --David Hockney https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Hockney