The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard- spotted coat pattern. It includes a wide range of body types because of the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. The color pattern of the Appaloosa is of great interest to those who study equine coat color genetics, as it and several other physical characteristics are linked to the leopard complex mutation (LP). Artwork depicting prehistoric horses with leopard spotting existed in cave paintings. The Nez Perce people of the United States Pacific Northwest developed the original American breed. It is best known as a stock horse used in a number of western riding disciplines, but is also a versatile breed with representatives seen in many other types of equestrian activity. The Nez Perce lost most of their horses after the Nez Perce War in 1877. A small number of dedicated breeders preserved the Appaloosa as a distinct breed until the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was formed as the breed registry in 1938.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appaloosa

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1910:

The Portuguese Republican Party organised a coup d'etat, deposed the constitutional monarchy and implanted a republican regime in Portugal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_October_1910_revolution

1930:

The British airship R101 crashed in France en route to India on its maiden voyage, killing 48 passengers and crew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R101

1962:

Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, was released. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._No_(film)

1970:

Members of the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, sparking the October Crisis in Montreal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Crisis

1975:

Dirty War: The guerrilla group Montoneros carried out Operation Primicia, a terrorist attack in which they hijacked an Aerolíneas Argentinas flight, captured the Formosa International Airport, and attacked a military regiment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Primicia

1986:

The British newspaper The Sunday Times published a story by Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, revealing details of Israel's nuclear capability. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

amber: 1. Translucent fossilized tree resin, generally yellow or orange but sometimes blue, often used as jewelry. 2. (in British English) The middle light in a set of three traffic lights, between the red and the green lights. 3. (in biology, biochemistry and genetics) The RNA codon UAG, which stops the third stage of protein production, translation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amber

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Periods of history when values undergo a fundamental shift are certainly not unprecedented. … The distinguishing features of such transitional periods are a mixing and blending of cultures and a plurality or parallelism of intellectual and spiritual worlds. These are periods when all consistent value systems collapse, when cultures distant in time and space are discovered or rediscovered. They are periods when there is a tendency to quote, to imitate, and to amplify, rather than to state with authority or integrate. New meaning is gradually born from the encounter, or the intersection, of many different elements. … an amalgamation of cultures is taking place. I see it as proof that something is happening, something is being born, that we are in a phase when one age is succeeding another, when everything is possible. --Václav Havel https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel