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[[File:|180px|Ceilings of the Central Hall at the Natural History Museum, London ]]

The decorated ceilings of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, were designed by the museum's architect Alfred Waterhouse, and were unveiled at the building's opening in 1881. The ceiling of the large Central Hall (pictured) consists of 162 panels, 108 of which depict plants considered significant to the history of the museum, to the British Empire or to the museum's visitors. The remaining 54 are highly stylised decorative botanical paintings. The ceiling of the smaller North Hall consists of 36 panels, 18 of which depict plants growing in the British Isles. Both ceilings make extensive use of gilding for visual effect. Built of lath and plaster to save costs, the ceilings are unusually fragile and require extensive maintenance and restoration. Since 2016 the skeleton of a blue whale has been suspended from the ceiling of the Central Hall. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Francis L. Sampson

... that German soldiers did not believe that Francis L. Sampson (pictured) was a non-combatant after his capture during the D-Day landings, because they had never seen a paratrooper chaplain before?
... that the hips of some 19th-century Fijian young women were tattooed with veiqia when they reached puberty?
... that the myth of Shunten, the legendary first king of Chūzan, was used to justify the 1872 annexation of Okinawa?
... that two best-seller lists initially classified The Children's Book of Virtues as non-fiction, but later moved it to their fiction charts?
... that Bahamian basketball player Waltiea Rolle moved to the United States at the age of 13 after being noticed while walking home from school?
... that the U.S. Air Force considered a bomber version of the F-22 Raptor known as the FB-22?
... that a new soccer team in Boise, Idaho, plans to play at a converted horse racing track?
... that geologist Gilbert Wilson was the fifth Wilson at school, so he was known as "Quintus"?
... that a medieval town in Poland disappeared?

In the news

Max Verstappen

Israel and Hezbollah agree to a 60-day ceasefire to halt the war in Lebanon.
In motorsport, Max Verstappen (pictured) wins the Formula One World Championship.
Following parliamentary elections, the Seimas elects Gintautas Paluckas as the prime minister of Lithuania.
The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif in its investigation of war crimes in Palestine.

On this day

November 28: Thanksgiving in the United States (2024); Bukovina Day in Romania

Skanderbeg

1443 – Having deserted the Ottoman army, Skanderbeg (pictured) arrived in the Albanian city of Krujë and, using a forged letter from Sultan Murad II to the governor of Krujë, became lord of the city.
1895 – The Chicago Times-Herald race, the first automobile race in the U.S., was held in Chicago.
1903 – SS Petriana struck a reef near Point Nepean, leading to Australia's first major oil spill and a debate over the White Australia policy.
2016 – LaMia Flight 2933 crashed near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 people, many of whom were players from Chapecoense Football Club.

Manuel I Komnenos (b. 1118)
Magnus Olsen (b. 1878)
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (d. 1962)
Helen of Greece and Denmark (d. 1982)

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Today's featured picture

The ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, as well as in parts of Belize and Guatemala. It is a relative of the North American wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), although it is somewhat smaller. The body feathers of both sexes are a mixture of bronze and green iridescent color, with neither sex possessing the beard typically found in wild turkeys. Tail feathers of both sexes are bluish-grey with an eye-shaped, blue-bronze spot near the end with a bright gold tip. These spots, or ocelli (for which the ocellated turkey is named) have been likened to the patterning typically found on peafowl. This ocellated turkey was photographed near Tikal in the Petén region of Guatemala.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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