In mathematics, a regular polytope is a geometric figure with a high degree of symmetry. Examples in two dimensions include the square, the regular pentagon and hexagon, and so on. In three dimensions the regular polytopes include the cube, the dodecahedron, and in fact all the Platonic solids. There exist examples in higher dimensions also. Circles and spheres, although highly symmetric, are not considered regular polytopes because they do not have flat faces. See the section history of discovery for a more precise definition of regular polytopes. The strong symmetry of the regular polytopes gives them an aesthetic quality that piques the interest of non-mathematicians and mathematicians alike.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_polytope
Today's selected anniversaries:
1307 William Tell, a legendary marksman in Switzerland, successfully shot an apple on the head of his son with a single bolt from his crossbow. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell)
1905 Prince Carl of Denmark became Haakon VII, the first King of Norway after the personal union of Sweden-Norway was dissolved. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haakon_VII_of_Norway)
1959 Ben-Hur, a film based on a bestselling historical novel by Lew Wallace, premiered in New York City. It went on to win an unprecedented eleven Academy Awards. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben%2dHur)
1978 Jim Jones led more than 900 members of the People's Temple to a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown)
1985 Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson, was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes)
Wikiquote of the day:
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." ~ Henry David Thoreau (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau)