"A Death in the Family" is a 1988 storyline in Batman, an American comic
book published by DC Comics. Written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Jim
Aparo, it is considered one of the most important Batman stories as it
features the death of his sidekick Robin at the hands of his archenemy,
the Joker. Jason Todd, the second character to assume the Robin persona,
was introduced in 1983 to replace Dick Grayson, but became unpopular
among fans. Editor Dennis O'Neil recalled a 1982 Saturday Night Live
sketch in which viewers phoned in, voting to boil or spare Larry the
Lobster. Similarly, DC set up a 900 number to allow fans to decide
Todd's fate, and fans voted to kill him off. Todd's demise had a lasting
effect on Batman stories, pushing the comic-book mythos in a darker
direction. It remains a popular story among readers and has been
reprinted in trade paperback. An animated interactive-film adaptation,
Batman: Death in the Family, was released in 2020.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Death_in_the_Family_%28comics%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1804:
Irish convicts formerly involved at the Battle of Vinegar Hill
during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 began an uprising against British
colonial authorities in New South Wales, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Hill_convict_rebellion>
1837:
Chicago, Illinois, was incorporated as a city after its
population increased in seven years from 200 to more than 4,000.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago>
1943:
The Holocaust: Almost all Jews in Bulgarian-occupied northern
Greece were deported to Treblinka extermination camp to be killed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Bulgarian-occupied_Greece>
2012:
A series of blasts occurred at an arms dump in Brazzaville,
Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people and injuring 2,300
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazzaville_arms_dump_blasts>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
engineer:
1. (military, also figuratively)
2. A soldier engaged in designing or constructing military works for
attack or defence, or other engineering works.
3. (obsolete) A soldier in charge of operating a weapon; an
artilleryman, a gunner.
4. (by extension)
5. A person professionally engaged in the technical design and
construction of large-scale private and public works such as bridges,
buildings, harbours, railways, roads, etc.; a civil engineer.
6. Originally, a person engaged in designing, constructing, or
maintaining engines or machinery; now (more generally), a person
qualified or professionally engaged in any branch of engineering, or
studying to do so.
7. A person trained to operate an engine; an engineman.
8. (chiefly historical) A person who operates a steam engine;
specifically (nautical), a person employed to operate the steam engine
in the engine room of a ship.
9. (US, firefighting) A person who drives or operates a fire engine.
10. (chiefly US, rail transport) A person who drives or operates a
locomotive; a train driver.
11. Preceded by a qualifying word: a person who uses abilities or
knowledge to manipulate events or people.
12. (often derogatory) A person who formulates plots or schemes; a
plotter, a schemer.
13. (transitive)
14. To employ one's abilities and knowledge as an engineer to design,
construct, and/or maintain (something, such as a machine or a
structure), usually for industrial or public use.
15. (specifically) To use genetic engineering to alter or construct (a
DNA sequence), or to alter (an organism).
16. To plan or achieve (a goal) by contrivance or guile; to finagle, to
wangle.
17. (intransitive)
18. To formulate plots or schemes; to plot, to scheme.
19. (rare) To work as an engineer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/engineer>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now, at more than any other point in recent history, the United
Nations is being challenged. If the United Nations has any purpose, it
is to prevent war, it is to condemn war, to stop war. That is our job
here today. It is the job you were sent here to do – not just by your
capitals, but by all of humanity.
--Linda Thomas-Greenfield
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Linda_Thomas-Greenfield>