Nostradamus was one of the world's most famous authors of prophecies. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, which consists of one unrhymed and 941 rhymed quatrains, grouped into nine sets of 100 and one of 42, called "Centuries". Since the time of publication of the book, a virtual cult has grown around Nostradamus and his Propheties. With each succeeding major disaster, such as that of 9/11, people have sought (always after the event) to find a quatrain (or two) that "predicts" it — usually taking considerable liberties either with the original text or with the event itself. Yet, to date, no one is known to have succeeded in using any specific quatrain to predict any event whatsoever in advance. Nevertheless, interest in the work of this prominent figure of the French Renaissance is still considerable, especially in the media and in popular culture, and the prophecies have in some cases been assimilated to the results of applying the alleged Bible code, as well as to other purported prophetic works.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1669: Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys recorded the last entry in his diary. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys)

1678: The Godiva procession in Coventry, England began. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva)

1889: The South Fork Dam on Lake Conemaugh in Pennsylvania, USA failed, killing over 2,200 people in the Johnstown Flood. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood)

1916: The German Kaiserliche Marine and British Royal Navy clashed in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle during World War I. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland)

1970: The Ancash earthquake devastated various coastal towns in Peru and resulted in a massive avalanche on the north side of Nevado Huascarán, burying the town of Yungay. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Ancash_earthquake)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

I am for those that have never been master'd, For men and women whose tempers have never been master'd, For those whom laws, theories, conventions, can never master. -- Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman)