The 2005 United States Grand Prix was the ninth race and only American race of the 2005 Formula One season. Held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was won by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher (pictured). In the days before the race, several Michelin tyres suffered failures on the speedway's resurfaced track. Michelin advised its seven customer teams (representing 14 cars in the race) that without a reduction in speed in the last turn of the speedway, the tyres provided for the race would only be safe for 10 laps—but Formula One rules in 2005 prohibited tyre changes during the race. Unable to come to a compromise with the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the Michelin teams decided not to participate. They completed the parade lap to avoid sanctions, but retired to the pits before the race started; only the six cars from teams using Bridgestone tyres (Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi) competed. The race generated negative publicity for the sport, especially in the US, a market in which Formula One had struggled to establish itself over the preceding 20 years.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1269:

Louis IX of France imposed a fine of ten livres of silver on Jews found in public without a yellow badge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_badge

1816:

The Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, rival fur- trading companies, engaged in a violent confrontation in present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Seven_Oaks

1944:

World War II: The navies of the United States and Imperial Japan engaged each other off the Mariana Islands in the Philippine Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Philippine_Sea

1987:

Basque separatist group ETA detonated a car bomb at the Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona, killing 21 people and injuring 45 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Hipercor_bombing

2010:

The royal wedding between Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling (both pictured) took place in Stockholm Cathedral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Victoria,_Crown_Princess_of_Sweden,_and_Daniel_Westling

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

salad dodger: (informal) An overweight person. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salad_dodger

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is a strong argument for democracy that governments regulated by principles of accountability, respect for public opinion and the supremacy of just laws are more likely than an all-powerful ruler or ruling class, uninhibited by the need to honour the will of the people, to observe the traditional duties of Buddhist kingship. Traditional values serve both to justify and to decipher popular expectations of democratic government.   --Aung San Suu Kyi https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi