The nuckelavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian mythology that combines equine and human elements. The name of this most horrible of all the demons of the Scottish islands may be a progenitor of that by which the Devil is sometimes known, Old Nick. Though accounts describing the creature's appearance are inconsistent, its abilities are well- documented. The nuckelavee's breath can wilt crops and sicken livestock, and the creature has been held responsible for droughts and epidemics on land despite its being predominantly a sea-dweller. In common with many other sea monsters, it is unable to tolerate fresh water; therefore, those it is pursuing have only to cross a river or stream to be rid of it. The nuckelavee is kept in confinement during the summer months by the Mither o' the Sea, an ancient Orcadian divine and the only one able to control it. This mythological creature may have originated as a composite of a water horse from Celtic mythology and a creature imported by Norsemen.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuckelavee
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolution: Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech to the House of Burgesses of Virginia, urging military action against the British Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty,_or_give_me_death!
1848:
Scottish settlers on the John Wickliffe, captained by William Cargill, arrived at what is now Port Chalmers in the Otago Region of New Zealand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cargill
1888:
Led by William McGregor, ten football clubs met in London for the purpose of founding The Football League, the oldest league competition in world football. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGregor_(football)
1931:
Bhagat Singh, one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement, and two others were executed by British authorities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh
1991:
The Sierra Leone Civil War began when the Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invaded Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
selah: (biblical) A word occurring between verses or paragraphs in parts of the Hebrew Bible, namely in Habakkuk and the Psalms, perhaps indicating a pause for contemplation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/selah
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
You could never teach other people anything that mattered. The important things they had to learn for themselves, almost always by making mistakes, so that the lessons arrived too late to help. Experience was in that sense useless. It was precisely what could not be passed along in a lesson or an equation. --Kim Stanley Robinson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinson
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