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Compton Mackenzie

Whisky Galore! is a British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios and released on 16 June 1949, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. The directorial debut of Alexander Mackendrick, it was based on the 1947 novel Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie (pictured), and written by Mackenzie and Angus MacPhail. Inspired by the 1941 wreck of the SS Politician, the story concerns a shipwreck off a fictional Scottish island. The islanders, who have run out of whisky because of wartime rationing, salvage cases of it from the ship, against the opposition of the local Customs and Excise men. Like other Ealing comedies, Whisky Galore! explores the actions of a small group facing and overcoming a more powerful opponent. The film was well received on release; renamed Tight Little Island, it became the first film from the studios to achieve box office success in the US. It was followed by Rockets Galore!, a sequel. A remake was released in 2016. (Full article...)

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George Kunkel

... that George Kunkel (pictured) portrayed a mountaineer in The Chalice of Courage (1915), the first film to depict assisted suicide?
... that Uhtred became Earl of Bamburgh after his victory at the siege of Durham, even though his father seems to have still been living?
... that Eddie Halliwell was voted into the top 20 of the DJ Mag poll of the most popular disc jockeys for four consecutive years?
... that in the year after its establishment, the provincial legislature of Bali annulled all local laws banning inter-caste marriage?
... that Northwestern women's lacrosse player Izzy Scane led the country in points, missed a season with a torn ACL, then led the country in points again?
... that a 2018 documentary film explores blockchain as a means to give stateless refugees official identities?
... that academic Bunny Mellor served as a secret agent alongside Peter Fleming?
... that the budget for the first season of The Last of Us exceeded that of each of the first five seasons of Game of Thrones?
... that the North Korean propaganda song "Friendly Father" went viral on TikTok, with some users comparing it to songs by ABBA?

In the news

Saulos Chilima

A fire in a residential building in Kuwait City's suburb of Mangaf kills at least fifty people.
A plane crash near Chikangawa, Malawi, kills nine people, including Vice President Saulos Chilima (pictured).
In tennis, Iga Świątek wins the women's singles and Carlos Alcaraz wins the men's singles titles at the French Open.
In the Indian general election, the National Democratic Alliance, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is re-elected with a reduced majority.

On this day

June 16: First day of Eid al-Adha (Islam, 2024)

James Joyce

632 – The final king of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, Yazdegerd III, ascended the throne at the age of eight.
1819 – A strong earthquake in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India, caused a local zone of uplift that dammed the Nara River, which was later named the Allah Bund ('Dam of God').
1904 – Irish author James Joyce (pictured) began a relationship with Nora Barnacle, and subsequently used the date to set the actions for his 1922 novel Ulysses, commemorated as Bloomsday.
1936 – A Junkers Ju 52 aircraft of Norwegian Air Lines crashed into a mountainside near Hyllestad, Norway, killing all seven people on board.
1997 – The English rock band Radiohead released their landmark third album OK Computer in the United Kingdom.

John Cheke (b. 1514)
Tomás Yepes (d. 1674)
Helen Traubel (b. 1899)
Tony Gwynn (d. 2014)

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Today's featured picture

The almond (Prunus amygdalus) is a species of tree in the family Rosaceae, the family named after roses. It prospers in a moderate Mediterranean climate with cool winter weather, and is native to Iran and surrounding countries, although it is rarely now found wild in its original setting. The fruit of the almond is a drupe, consisting of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed; botanically, it is not considered a true nut. It is used extensively as a culinary nut, however, and is cultivated worldwide. Around 80% of the world's almond supply is produced in the US state of California. This photograph shows an almond drupe in shell, shell cracked open, unshelled and blanched seed.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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