In 2006, the Entertainment Software Rating Board changed the rating of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Teen (13+) to Mature (17+), citing "more detailed depictions of blood and gore" than had been previously considered, and "the presence in the PC version of the game of a locked-out art file that, if accessed by using an apparently unauthorized third party tool,"—the Oblivion Topless Mod—"allows the user to play the game with topless versions of female characters." In response to the new content, the ESRB conducted a new review of Oblivion, showing to its reviewers the content originally submitted by the game's publisher along with the newly disclosed content. The new review resulted in an M rating. The ESRB reported that Bethesda Softworks, the game's developer and publisher, would promptly notify all retailers of the change, issue stickers for retailers and distributors to affix on the product, display the new rating in all following product shipments and marketing, and create a patch for download rendering the topless skin inaccessible. Bethesda complied with the request, but issued a press release declaring their disagreement with the ESRB's rationale. Although certain retailers began to check for ID before selling Oblivion as a result of the change, and the change elicited criticism for the ESRB, the events passed by with little notice from the public at large. Other commentators remarked on the injustice of punishing a company for the actions of independent modders, and one called the event a "pseudo-sequel" to the Hot Coffee minigame controversy.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1770: The pelting of British soldiers with snowballs soon escalated into a riot in Boston, Massachusetts, leaving at least five civilians dead. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre)

1824: Britain officially declared war on Burma, beginning the First Anglo-Burmese War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Burmese_War)

1850: The Britannia Bridge, a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans crossing the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, opened. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Bridge)

1872: American entrepreneur and engineer George Westinghouse patented the air brake for trains to stop more reliably. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/air_brake_%28rail%29)

1946: The term "Iron Curtain" was popularized by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, USA. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Curtain)

1970: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international treaty to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, entered into force. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty)

1999: Paul Okalik was elected as the first Premier of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Okalik)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

viscous: Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/viscous)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask, Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else's vision. -- Penn Jillette (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Penn_Jillette)