Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 June 13

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From today's featured article

Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, is a bioluminescent gilled mushroom that occurs primarily in southern Australia and Tasmania, and has been reported from India. The cream-coloured fan- or funnel-shaped caps, up to 30 cm (12 in) across, have shades of orange, brown, purple, or bluish-black. The white or cream gills run down the length of the stalk, which is up to 8 cm (3 in) long and tapers in thickness to the base. The fungus is both saprotrophic and parasitic, and its fruit bodies are generally found growing in overlapping clusters on a wide variety of dead or dying trees. First described scientifically in 1844, O. nidiformis (from Latin for 'nest-shaped') was known by several names before Orson K. Miller Jr. assigned its current name in 1994. Similar in appearance to the common edible oyster mushrooms, O. nidiformis is poisonous, with compounds called illudins that can produce severe cramps and vomiting. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Gold-striped frog

... that the gold-striped frog (pictured) sometimes breeds inside an active nest of leafcutter ants?
... that H. M. Hook, the first mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, drowned while searching for silver mines?
... that Singaporean authorities hope that the Mandai Wildlife Bridge will reduce the risk of animals such as Sunda pangolins and leopard cats becoming roadkill?
... that Fannie Flagg set her 2010 comedy-mystery novel I Still Dream About You in Birmingham, Alabama, because she wanted "to write a Valentine to my hometown"?
... that Temple Memorial Park, named after Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple, was given to the people of South Shields in recognition of their military contributions at sea in World War II?
... that Martin Luther King Jr. used the phrase "justice too long delayed is justice denied" in his Letter from Birmingham Jail?
... that the song "Running", which was set to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, was sung by a German-born singer of Greek and American ancestry?
... that the Northern Irish historian A. T. Q. Stewart once said that Irish history was "too short, too narrow, upside down and it leans all over to one side"?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Pierre Nkurunziza

Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza (pictured) dies in office at the age of 55.
Russian president Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after a diesel spill near Norilsk.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 make their first crewed launch for NASA.
Protests and riots break out across the United States and elsewhere following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On this day

June 13: Queen's Official Birthday in Tuvalu and the United Kingdom (2020)

Black Eagle Falls, Montana

313 – The Edict of Milan, an agreement between Constantine the Great and Licinius to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire, was posted in Nicomedia.
1805 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: Meriwether Lewis became the first white American to sight the Great Falls (Black Eagle Falls pictured) of the Missouri River.
1944 – Second World War: At the Battle of Villers-Bocage, German tank commander Michael Wittmann destroyed around 30 Allied vehicles in less than 15 minutes.
1970 – "The Long and Winding Road" became the Beatles' twentieth and final number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
2019 – Two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman amidst heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.

Charles Algernon Parsons (b. 1854)
Karl Blossfeldt (b. 1865)
Fran Allison (d. 1989)

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Today's featured picture

Poesaka Terpendam (Buried Treasure) is a film from the Dutch East Indies produced by Tan's Film and starring Roekiah, Djoemala, and Kartolo. Roekiah was a favourite with Indonesian audiences and likened to Dorothy Lamour and Janet Gaynor. It seems likely that the film has been lost; following a fire in 1952 in Produksi Film Negara's storage facility, many old films shot on nitrate were deliberately destroyed.

This advertisement for Poesaka Terpendam was published in the magazine Poestaka Timoer ahead of the film's debut on October 22, 1941. The caption below the illustration, in Indonesian, translates to: "Frightening! Shocking! Great fights! Funny! Heart-pulling! The acting of Roekia, Indonesia's greatest fan-favourite movie star, will make viewers awed and satisfied, and Kartolo's foolery will make all viewers laugh without end!"

Advertisement credit: Tan's Film; restored by Chris Woodrich

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