The history of aluminium in human usage goes back at least 2,500 years,
when its compound alum was used for dyeing and fire-resistant coating.
During the Middle Ages, alum was traded in international commerce. In
the Age of Enlightenment, the earth of alum, alumina, was shown to be an
oxide of a new metal which was then discovered in the 1820s. Pure
aluminium remained scarce until industrial production began in 1856;
since the 1886 discovery of the Hall–Héroult process, production has
grown exponentially. Engineering and construction applications began in
the first half of the 20th century; aluminium was a vital strategic
resource for aviation during both world wars. In 1954, it surpassed
copper as the most produced non-ferrous metal. In the following decades,
aluminium production spread throughout the world, and the metal became
an exchange commodity and gained usage in transportation and packaging.
Aluminium production in the 21st century exceeds that of all other non-
ferrous metals combined.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aluminium>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1776:
Virginia statesman Richard Henry Lee presented a resolution to
the Second Continental Congress, which called for the Thirteen Colonies
to declare independence from Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Resolution>
1917:
First World War: The British Army detonated 19 ammonal mines
under the German lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest non-nuclear man-
made explosion in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_%281917%29>
1969:
The rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve
Winwood and Ginger Baker, played their only UK show in Hyde Park in
front of 100,000 fans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Faith>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
merit:
1. (transitive) To deserve, to earn.
2. (intransitive) To be deserving or worthy.
3. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To reward.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/merit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
My Poem is life, and not finished. It shall never be finished.
My Poem is life, and can grow.
--Gwendolyn Brooks
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks>