The pairs' figure skating competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics was held on February 9 and 11 at the Salt Lake Ice Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Originally, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia won the gold, while Jamie Salé and David Pelletier of Canada won the silver, and Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China won the bronze. However, allegations of misconduct led to one judge's scores being discarded; Salé and Pelletier were also awarded gold medals, while the Russians were allowed to keep theirs. In a joint press conference, the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee announced that Marie-Reine Le Gougne, the French judge implicated in collusion, was guilty of misconduct and immediately suspended. In 2004, the ISU voted to retire the 6.0 judging system. As a result, the ISU Judging System was created, in which skaters are scored based on a technical evaluation of the required elements. (Full article...).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating_at_the_2002_Winter_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Pair_skating

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1775:

King George III issued a proclamation that declared elements of the American colonies of Great Britain to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamation_of_Rebellion

1960:

Congo Crisis: In order to stop the secession of South Kasai from the Republic of Congo, Armée Nationale Congolaise forces launched an invasion of South Kasai. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_South_Kasai

2006:

Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natascha_Kampusch

2011:

A 5.8 MW earthquake struck the Piedmont region of Virginia, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Virginia_earthquake

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

fug: 1. (countable, uncountable, informal, originally UK, dialectal and school slang) A heavy, musty, stuffy, or unpleasant atmosphere, usually in a crowded or poorly ventilated area. 2. (countable, figurative) A state of chaos or confusion; a daze. 3. (transitive) 4. To create a fug (“heavy, musty, stuffy, or unpleasant atmosphere”; etymology 1, noun sense 1) in (a place). 5. To surround (someone or something) with a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1). 6. To put (someone or something) into a fug (“daze”; etymology 1, noun sense 2); to confuse, to daze. 7. (intransitive) 8. To create a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1). 9. Sometimes followed by up: to be surrounded by a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1), for example, in an enclosed, stuffy place. [...] 10. About Word of the Day 11. Nominate a word 12. Leave feedback https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fug

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The Radical creed, as I understand it, is this: We have not abandoned our old belief in liberty, justice, and Self-help, but we say that under certain conditions the people cannot help themselves, and that then they should be helped by the State representing directly the whole people. In giving this State help, we make three conditions: first, the matter must be one of primary social importance; next, it must be proved to be practicable; thirdly, the State interference must not diminish self- reliance. Even if the chance should arise of removing a great social evil, nothing must be done to weaken those habits of individual self- reliance and voluntary association which have built up the greatness of the English people. --Arnold Toynbee https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arnold_Toynbee