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>
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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>
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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>
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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>