In Nevada, U.S. Route 50 runs from the resort communities of Lake Tahoe
eastward to the Utah border near Great Basin National Park. Route 50 is
a transcontinental highway that stretches from West Sacramento,
California, to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada
portion crosses several large desert valleys separated by alpine
forestland, across the Basin and Range province of the Great Basin. It
passes through the state capital in Carson City as well as Fort
Churchill State Historic Park, ghost towns and petroglyph sites. The
route was constructed along a historic corridor, first used for the Pony
Express and Central Overland Route and later for most of State Route 2
(before the U.S. Highway System) and the Lincoln Highway. U.S. Route 50
in Nevada was named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in
1986; they were referring to large desolate areas with few or no signs
of civilization along the route, but Nevada officials seized on the name
as a marketing slogan.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_50_in_Nevada>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1601:
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex led a failed rebellion
against Queen Elizabeth I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex%27s_Rebellion>
1879:
Enraged by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket
spectators rioted and attacked the England cricket team during a match
in Sydney, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Riot_of_1879>
1915:
Film director D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (film
poster pictured) was released, becoming one of the most influential and
controversial films in the history of American cinema.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation>
1971:
Trading began on NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock
exchange.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASDAQ>
2010:
A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan
triggered a series of at least 36 avalanches that buried over 3.5 km
(2.2 mi) of road, killed 171 people and trapped over 2,500 travellers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Salang_avalanches>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
sawpit:
A pit over which lumber is positioned to be sawn with a long two-handled
saw (a pitsaw) by two people, one standing above the timber and the
other in the pit below.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sawpit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived
code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man's life. As we
live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we
should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this
adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole
existence on our willingness to explore and experience.
--Martin Buber
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Buber>