The Moorgate tube crash occurred on 28 February 1975 on the London Underground's Northern City Line; 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at the line's southern terminus, Moorgate station, and crashed into its end wall. It is the worst peacetime accident on the London Underground. The crash forced the first carriage into the roof of the tunnel; the second carriage collapsed at the front as it collided with the first, and the third rode over the rear of the second. The brakes were not applied and the dead man's handle was still depressed when the train crashed. The inquiry by the Department of the Environment found no fault with the train and concluded that the accident was caused by Leslie Newson, the 56-year-old driver. The post- mortem on Newson showed no medical reason to explain the crash, and a cause has never been established. After the crash, London Underground introduced a new safety system that automatically stops a train that is travelling too fast.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorgate_tube_crash
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaimed a republic, which existed for ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kru%C5%A1evo_Republic
1913:
An agricultural workers' strike in Wheatland degenerated into a riot, becoming one of the first major farm labor confrontations in California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland_hop_riot
1959:
Portuguese state police opened fire on striking dock workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing at least 25 people in a step that led to the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence four years later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidjiguiti_massacre
2005:
Mauritanian president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was overthrown in a military coup while he attended the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Mauritanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
kite: 1. (transitive) To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly. 2. (transitive, slang) To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items. 3. (transitive, video games) To keep ahead of (an enemy) in order to attack repeatedly from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger. 4. (transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”). 5. (transitive, intransitive, banking, slang) To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears. 6. (transitive, intransitive, US, slang, by extension) To steal. 7. (transitive, intransitive, rare) To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite. 8. (intransitive) To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing. 9. (intransitive, figuratively) To move rapidly; to rush. 10. (intransitive, engineering, nautical) To deflect sideways in the water. 11. (intransitive, US, prison slang) To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally into, within, or out of a prison. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kite
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
You can make life a lot harder for yourself by focusing on negative things in your path or making excuses for why things didn't go your way. Or, you can refuse to take things personally, let them go, learn from them, and become the best version of yourself. It's a choice. It's actually your choice. --Tom Brady https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Brady