Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, characterized by two pairs of
continuously growing incisors, one pair in the upper and one in the
lower jaw. About forty percent of all mammal species are rodents, and
they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica. They
are the most diversified mammalian order, including mice, rats,
squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters,
and can be found in a variety of habitats, including manmade
environments. There are arboreal, burrowing, and semi-aquatic species.
While the largest species, the capybara, can weigh as much as 66 kg
(146 lb), many rodents weigh less than 100 g (3.5 oz) and have robust
bodies, short limbs and long tails. They use their sharp incisors to
gnaw food, defend themselves, and shape their habitat. Most eat seeds or
other plant material. Many species live in societies with complex forms
of communication. Rodents can be monogamous, polygynous, or promiscuous.
The rodent fossil record dates back to the Paleocene on the
supercontinent of Laurasia.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
853:
Byzantine–Arab Wars: The Byzantine navy sacked and plundered
the port city of Damietta on the Nile Delta, whose garrison was absent
at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Damietta_(853)>
1826:
HMS Beagle departed on her first voyage from Plymouth for a
hydrographic survey of the Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions of
South America.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle>
1915:
Lassen Peak, in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern
California, violently erupted, the only volcanic eruption in the
contiguous U.S. in the 20th century until Mount St. Helens in 1980.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassen_Peak>
1915:
Five trains were involved in the United Kingdom's deadliest
train crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring
246 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_disaster>
1945:
The United States Army formed a plan to evacuate German
scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket
technology.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
sangfroid:
Composure, self-possession or imperturbability especially when in a
dangerous situation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sangfroid>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you
were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some
difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact.
--A Study in Scarlet
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes#A_Study_in_Scarlet_.281887.29>