In fiction, the planet Mars, fourth from the Sun, has appeared as a
setting in at least 5,000 works, portrayed differently as planetary
science has advanced. It became the most popular celestial object in
fiction in the late 1800s as it became clear there is no life on the
Moon. Mars then was a setting for utopian fiction. The War of the Worlds
(1897), H. G. Wells's novel about an invasion of Earth by sinister
Martians, had a major influence on science fiction. After 1900, life on
Mars was often depicted as decadent, as in Edgar Rice Burroughs's
Barsoom series. Exotic life appeared in stories like Stanley G.
Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey". Later in the 20th century, Mars
colonization became a popular theme, as it became clear Mars is
lifeless, though some works, like Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles,
feature native life. Terraforming Mars became a major theme in works
like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, and some works depict an
initial expedition to the planet.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_in_fiction>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1888:
The body of Mary Ann Nichols, the alleged first victim of an
unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (depicted), was
found in Buck's Row, London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper>
1942:
The Matagorda hurricane, the most intense and costliest
tropical cyclone of the 1942 Atlantic hurricane season, dissipated after
causing $26.5 million in damages and eight deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942_Matagorda_hurricane>
1969:
On the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1969, an event
attended by approximately 150,000 people over three days, Bob Dylan
appeared in his first gig in three years.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Wight_Festival_1969>
2019:
A sightseeing helicopter crashed in the mountains of
Skoddevarre in Alta, Norway, killing all six people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Alta_helicopter_crash>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
kampung:
1. (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore) A traditional village.
2. (Singapore) A district or suburb where a former village once stood.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kampung>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The real story can never be told. It is untellable. The real (as
real) is inaccessible, being gone in time. There is no point in glancing
at the past, in summoning it up, in re-examining it, except on behalf of
art — that is, the meaningful-real.
--William Saroyan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Saroyan>
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