Kelenken is a genus of phorusrhacid, an extinct group of large,
predatory birds, which lived in what is now Argentina about 15 million
years ago. The only known specimen was discovered by high school student
Guillermo Aguirre-Zabala in Patagonia, and was made the holotype of the
new genus and species Kelenken guillermoi in 2007. The generic name
references a spirit in Tehuelche mythology, and the specific name honors
its discoverer. The holotype consists of a nearly complete skull, a
lower leg bone and a toe bone. The discovery of Kelenken clarified the
anatomy of large phorusrhacids: flightless birds with long hind limbs,
small wings, huge skulls and hooked beaks. At 716 mm (28.2 in) long,
the skull of Kelenken is the largest known of any bird. Kelenken is
thought to have been about 3 m (10 ft) tall and exceeded 100 kg
(220 lb) in weight. It differs from its relatives in its larger size,
length of its beak and details of its skull. It is thought to have been
a fast-running ground predator.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelenken>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1964:
South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh entered into a
triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện
Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, both of whom had been involved in plots to
unseat Khánh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_V%C4%83n_Minh>
1990:
American musician Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the most
influential guitarists in the revival of blues in the 1980s, was killed
in a helicopter crash.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Stevie_Ray_Vaughan>
2003:
Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years,
passing within approximately 55,758,000 km (34,650,000 mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars>
2009:
The Myanmar military junta and ethnic armies began three days
of violent clashes in the region of Kokang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Kokang_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
withdraw:
1. (transitive)
2. To draw or pull (something) away or back from its original position
or situation.
3. To remove (someone or (reflexive, archaic) oneself) from a position
or situation; specifically (military), to remove (soldiers) from a
battle or position where they are stationed.
4. (archaic) To draw or pull (a bolt, curtain, veil, or other object)
aside.
5. To take away or take back (something previously given or permitted);
to remove, to retract.
6. To cause or help (someone) to stop taking an addictive drug or
substance; to dry out.
7. To take (one's eyes) off something; to look away.
8. (figuratively)
9. To disregard (something) as belonging to a certain group.
10. To remove (a topic) from discussion or inquiry.
11. To stop (a course of action, proceedings, etc.)
12. To take back (a comment, something written, etc.); to recant, to
retract.
13. (archaic or obsolete) To distract or divert (someone) from a course
of action, a goal, etc.
14. (banking, finance) To extract (money) from a bank account or other
financial deposit.
15. (intransitive)
16. Chiefly followed by from: to leave a place, someone's presence,
etc., to go to another room or place.
17. (specifically, military) Of soldiers: to leave a battle or position
where they are stationed; to retreat.
18. Chiefly followed by from: to stop taking part in some activity;
also, to remove oneself from the company of others, from publicity, etc.
19. To stop talking to or interacting with other people and start
thinking thoughts not related to what is happening.
20. To stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to undergo
withdrawal.
21. Of a man: to remove the penis from a partner's body orifice before
ejaculation; to engage in coitus interruptus.
22. An act of drawing back or removing; a removal, a withdrawal or
withdrawing.
23. (law) Synonym of withdraught (“a dismissal of a lawsuit with
prejudice based on a plaintiff's withdrawal of the suit; a retraxit;
also, a fine imposed on a plaintiff for such a dismissal”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/withdraw>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Open your polling places to all your people. Allow men and women
to register and vote whatever the color of their skin. Extend the
rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land. There is no
constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain.
There is no moral issue. It is wrong — deadly wrong — to deny any of
your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no
issue of States rights or national rights. There is only the struggle
for human rights. We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right
of every American to vote in every election that he may desire to
participate in. … We have already waited a hundred years and more, and
the time for waiting is gone.
--Lyndon B. Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson>