Grasshoppers are insects in the suborder Caelifera, probably the oldest
living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early
Triassic around 250 million years ago. They are typically ground-
dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which enable them to escape
from threats by leaping vigorously. Defences against their many
predators include camouflage, flight, and brilliantly coloured wing-
flashes that can startle or distract an assailant. Some species have
warning coloration. Grasshoppers share the order Orthoptera with
crickets and their allies in the other suborder Ensifera. Some
grasshopper species can change colour and behaviour to form locust
swarms that can destroy crops and cause famine over wide areas. Even in
smaller numbers, the insects can be serious pests. They are used as food
in some countries, including Mexico and Indonesia. They feature in art,
symbolism and literature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
The University of Notre Dame was founded by Rev. Edward Sorin,
of the Congregation of Holy Cross, as an all-male institution in South
Bend, Indiana, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Notre_Dame>
1943:
Second World War: The British troop ship HMT Rohna was sunk in
the Mediterranean by a Luftwaffe bomb, killing more than 1,100 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMT_Rohna>
1983:
Six robbers broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse at Heathrow
Airport in London and stole three long tons (3,000 kilograms) of gold
bullion, much of which has never been recovered.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brink%27s-Mat_robbery>
2008:
A coordinated group of shooting and bombing attacks across
Mumbai began, ultimately killing at least 174 people and wounding more
than 300 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
illustrious:
Admired, distinguished, respected, or well-known, especially due to past
achievements or noble qualities.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/illustrious>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The French Revolution liberated people from the power of the
aristocrats. But the bourgeoisie that took over represented the
exploitation of man by man, and had to be destroyed — as in the
Russian Revolution, which then degenerated into totalitarianism,
Stalinism, and genocide. The more you make revolutions, the worse it
gets. Man is driven by evil instincts that are often stronger than moral
laws … there is a higher order, but man can separate himself from it
because he is free — which is what we have done. We have lost the
sense of this higher order, and things will get worse and worse,
culminating perhaps in a nuclear holocaust — the destruction predicted
in the Apocalyptic texts. Only our apocalypse will be absurd and
ridiculous because it will not be related to any transcendence. Modern
man is a puppet, a jumping jack.
--Eugène Ionesco
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionesco>
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