Wikipedia:Recent additions/2006/October

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Did you know...

31 October 2006

16:05, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the seemingly irrational composition of El Greco's painting Opening of the Fifth Seal (pictured) is a result of it being trimmed by about two meters in 1880?
...that Providence, Ohio became a ghost town in the mid-nineteenth century after suffering both a catastrophic fire and a cholera epidemic?
...that the Rhodes blood libel — the accusation that the Jews of Rhodes ritually murdered a Christian boy in 1840 — enjoyed active support from the consuls of several European countries?
...that in 1994, a wild Bottlenose dolphin in Brazil named Tião killed one man and seriously injured a second after they had been harassing the animal?
...that temperance leader William E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson lost his right eye after he was captured by a mob of medical students and paraded through the streets of London?
...that Daniel Pearl returned as cinematographer for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, nearly thirty years after filming the original?

30 October 2006

23:59, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Shell Service Station (pictured) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was chosen for the National Register of Historic Places as an example of folly architecture, and over $50,000 has been spent restoring it to its original condition?
...that Metop-A is the first polar orbiting meteorological satellite launched by Europe, and is the second largest Earth observation satellite built in Europe, after ENVISAT?
...that during the Mexican-American War, a revolt by the Californio and Mexican residents of Los Angeles forced American Marines to surrender Fort Moore?
...that the McLean County Courthouse and Square in Bloomington, Illinois, a Registered Historic Place, is home to multiple historic buildings built from the 1850s to the 1920s, including the old county courthouse, constructed in 1903?
...that the early musical influences of Austrian jazz-fusion guitarist Alex Machacek, who has been praised by legends like John McLaughlin, included heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and KISS?
...that the Valley Forge Pilgrimage, held every year since 1913, is the oldest annual Scouting event in the United States?
...that, despite the name, Mrs. Chippy, the ship's cat on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was actually male?

13:42, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Main Market Square (pictured) in Kraków is one of the biggest medieval market squares in Europe?
... that Matthew Robinson, older brother of Baseball Hall of Fame member Jackie Robinson, was a world-class sprinter and won a silver medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin?
...that the outside of the Great Western Hospital in Swindon is covered in 7600 m² (9090 sq yd) of cream-coloured precast concrete cladding panels, each weighing around 14 tonnes?
...that Hood Mountain in California has high canopy mixed oak forests, pygmy forests and expanses of rock outcrop, and also has a vulnerable plant species named for it?
...that Peotone Mill, a windmill built in 1871, was donated to the village of Peotone, Illinois in 1982 after being idle for nearly a century, and was registered on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in the same year?
...that Scottish socialist John McGovern was the treasurer of the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation, but later became an Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament?
...that the history of the late Roman and early Byzantine empires published by British historian Arnold Hugh Martin Jones in 1964 is still considered the definitive narrative of that period?

03:38, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Charles Edward Magoon (pictured) was appointed as Minister to Panama while already serving as the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, to prevent any further disagreements between those two offices?
...that the Black Book, a dissident manuscript, was written by Sudanese in a covert cell, who later helped form the rebel Justice and Equality Movement?
...that Milt Gross, writer of comics that used Yiddish-inflected English, also wrote a 1930 "silent" graphic novel He Done Her Wrong: The Great American Novel and Not a Word in It — No Music, Too?
...that RAF Wing Commander George Salaman was the last Englishman to be imprisoned in the Tower of London when he impersonated a Luftwaffe officer to entrap the imprisoned Rudolf Hess?
...that the Peoria State Hospital grounds are said to be haunted by the ghost of "Old Book" who possessed the form of a graveyard elm tree?
...that the Count d'Orsay's poodle inspired Edwin Landseer to paint Laying Down The Law?

29 October 2006

18:17, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Sail Rock (pictured) is a federally protected natural monument, located among village health resorts on the eastern shore of the Black Sea in Krasnodar Krai, Russia?
...that Domenico Pino, an Italian General of Division in Napoleon's Grande Armée, married a ballerina and sold the villa in Como that she inherited from her rich first husband to Caroline of Brunswick?
...that Duxton Hill in Singapore used to be a notorious slum area with brothels, opium and gambling dens, but now belongs to a conservation area known as Tanjong Pagar?
...that Tropical Storm Bertha, the second tropical storm of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, was one of only 3 tropical cyclones to make landfall on both Louisiana and Texas, with the others being Allison (2001) and Fern (1971)?
...that jury nullification became a recognised part of Scots law after Carnegie of Finhaven was found not guilty in his 1728 trial of murdering Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne?
...that in the 1970s, Tatar painter Baqi Urmançe painted Islamic calligraphy in the Soviet Union, something which was prohibited?

01:11, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

...that The Wild Goose? (pictured) was a handwritten newspaper read aloud to entertain and encourage the last convicts transported to Australia?
...that the Tent City of Persepolis of the 2,500 year celebration of Iran's monarchy was inspired by the 1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting between Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England?
...that The Cenotaph was Singapore's first major war memorial built in memory of the people who gave their lives in World War I, and was unveiled by the young Prince Edward of Wales, later King Edward VIII?
...that purple drank is a mix of codeine-containing cough syrup and soda that was popularized by Southern rap songs, and was implicated in the overdose of a popular rap producer?
...that Roald Dahl Plass, a plaza in Cardiff Bay, has been used as the setting for both Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood?
... that the Longfin Bannerfish can clean parasites off other fish?

28 October 2006

12:47, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Battle of Vyazma (pictured) had a disconcerting impact on the entire Grande Armée, as it spread disorder to the center of Napoleon’s long retreating column of troops?
...that Ming Hsieh, whose parents were persecuted under the Cultural Revolution, began learning electrical engineering from his father and went on to develop biometric technology that made him one of the richest people in the world?
...that National Park Seminary, in Forest Glen, Maryland, opened in 1894 as a finishing school, and that its architecturally whimsical campus was annexed by Walter Reed Army Hospital in 1942?
...that ocular ischemic syndrome, due to arterial hypoperfusion, could be an early warning sign of impending stroke?
...that the Råbjerg Mile, a giant sand dune, drifts across Jutland, Denmark at a rate of up to 18 metres a year?
...that The Pizza Tapes contain the only known version of Jerry Garcia performing Amazing Grace which was only played after Tony Rice's wife requested it?

27 October 2006

22:19, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

... that the Rus merchants travelling along the Volga trade route (pictured) brought goods from Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia as far as Baghdad?
... that a reservation, in international law, lets a State avoid or modify an obligation in a signed treaty?
... that the USMC Sergeant Major Gilbert "Hashmark" Johnson received his nickname because of wearing on the sleeve of his uniform three diagonal stripes (hashmarks), indicating successful previous enlistments?
... that Orsten, fossil-bearing lagerstätten in Sweden and elsewhere, are called "stinking stones" from organic content that has been preserved since the Cambrian Period?
... that Mars' south polar ice cap may be melting due to regional climate change?
... that Queen Anula of Sri Lanka is believed to have been the first female monarch in Asia?
... that the Old Stone Church is a historic Presbyterian church located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the oldest building on Public Square?
... that speed skater Joey Cheek was the first person to officially play the online game Darfur is Dying?

00:17, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

... that Fort Randolph (pictured) was an American Revolutionary War fort where Cornstalk, a Shawnee chief, was murdered in 1777?
... that a body part involved in a seizure can be paralyzed for minutes to days in an event known as Todd's paresis?
... that a crow-stepped gable is a roof slope design arising in the Middle Ages which was decorative, but also facilitated access to chimneys for maintenance?
... that the Alba Bible, one of the earliest translations of the Old Testament into a Romance language, was commissioned with the express intent of promoting tolerance between Christians and Jews?
...that Communist Romania's first Finance Minister, Vasile Luca, arrested in 1952 for having opposed the devaluation of the Romanian leu, was rehabilitated five years after his death in prison?
...that Shō Shōken wrote the first history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in 1650?
...that Albert Tillman was the co-founder of the National Association of Underwater Instructors and developed the first university-level recreation and leisure studies program in the United States?

26 October 2006

08:02, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

... that Lady Sybil Grant (pictured), the eldest daughter of the British Prime Minister Lord Dalmeny, in her later years, became an eccentric, spending most of her time in a caravan or up a tree, communicating to her butler through a megaphone?
... that pop singer Jasmine Trias is a descendant of Mariano Trias, the Vice President of the Tejeros Convention?
... that in 1971, a Damascus school founded by Ozar Hatorah, a Jewish religious education organisation, was named by Syria as having the highest grades in the country?
... that wealthy ship-owner Henry Hayman Toulmin gave away his 1860s U.K. shipping empire because none of his three sons were interested in following in their father's footsteps?
...that John Wilson Danenhower, survivor of an Arctic expedition whose ship was crushed by ice, later committed suicide due to the grounding of the ship which was to be his first command?
...that Lee McClung, a College Football Hall of Famer, also served as Treasurer of the United States, advocating the withdrawal of worn, dirty banknotes on sanitary grounds?

25 October 2006

23:57, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

... that the constructor of two Polish submarines, Kazimierz Leski (pictured), became a spy during World War II and travelled across Europe disguised as a German general?
... that, at the conclusion of the Siege of Kiev by the Pechenegs in 968, the leaders of the two armies shook hands and exchanged their armour?
... that the vast Mongol Empire that once stretched from East Asia to Romania was brought down by the Red Turban Rebellion?
...that the Waterberg is a UNESCO designated Biosphere, where cattle overgrazing is being reversed to allow giraffe, rhino and Blue Wildebeest to repopulate?
...that during the French Revolution, an effigy of Thomas Paine was burned before the door of the religious radical Rev. Joshua Toulmin?
...that Consumer Reports had their food testing done at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1950's thanks to a negotiated deal with the food technology department chair Carl R. Fellers?

08:09, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Stonehaven Tolbooth

... that the Stonehaven Tolbooth (pictured) attained its greatest notoriety when three local Episcopalian clergymen were imprisoned for holding services for more than nine people, a limit established to discourage the Episcopalian religion in the mid 1700s?
... that, in hyperbolic geometry, hypercycles are curves with constant distance from a straight line but are not themselves straight?
... that British free market economist Ralph Harris, considered to be an architect of Thatcherism, became a life peer shortly after Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, but sat on the cross-benches in the House of Lords to show his political independence?
... that the location for Janesville Mall was chosen so that shoppers could leave by taking a right-hand turn, as the developers' research showed that women preferred right-handed turns?
...that the Urdu movement, which sought to establish Urdu as the lingua franca of the Muslim communities of India, emerged from the fall of the Mughal Empire and became an integral part of the Pakistan movement?

00:40, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

... that, as a consequence of their victory in the Second Battle of Polotsk (pictured), the Russian army captured the French supply depot at Vitebsk and broke Napoleon's northern front in Russia?
... that knismesis and gargalesis are the scientific terms used to describe the two different sensations produced by tickling?
... that cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke showed that human beings are born with many innate skills?
... that the town of Hueyapan in the Mexican state of Morelos was conquered by the female conquistador Maria de Estrada?
...that after receiving global media attention for pulling her kittens out of a burning garage, Scarlett the cat and her kittens received 7000 adoption requests?
...that the film Joshua Then and Now was Canada's entry to the 1985 Cannes Film Festival?

24 October 2006

08:11, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

... that among the editors of Robotnik (pictured), an underground newspaper of the Polish Socialist Party, were Józef Piłsudski, future dictator of Poland, and Stanisław Wojciechowski, future president of Poland?
... that the Medici giraffe was the last live giraffe seen in Europe for almost 400 years?
... that Göran Malmqvist is a Swedish sinologist who in 1974 published a popular book called Chinese is not difficult?
... that during one of the Caspian expeditions of the Rus, the city of Barda in Azerbaijan was saved from complete destruction only by an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus?
...that the monkey Ramu from the Indian state of Orissa was kept behind bars for five years on the charge of disturbing communal harmony?
...that the Challenge Yves du Manoir, a French Rugby union competition which ran from 1931 to 2003, was created by Racing Club de France with the support of CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde and AS Montferrandaise?
...that before Umberto Meoli became an economic historian, he fought in the Italian resistance movement and was once imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist government?

01:10, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

... that the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge (pictured) is the first segmentally constructed concrete arch bridge in the United States?
... that Keong Saik Road in Chinatown, Singapore was formerly a red-light district in the 1960s but is now the site of many boutique hotels?
... that pioneering research on time-temperature canning conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Samuel Cate Prescott was never patented?
... that in 1919, the discharge of the chief of police of Berlin led to a general strike and accompanying fighting known as the Spartacist uprising, in which over 500,000 workers took part?

23 October 2006

15:34, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

... that detachments of Royal Marines and of seamen from the Royal Navy were formed into Naval Brigades (pictured) to undertake operations on shore in the Crimean War, the Second Opium War, the Indian Mutiny, the Zulu War and Boer War, and the Boxer Rebellion?
... that Daumantas of Pskov, a Lithuanian dynast involved in the assassination of the first Lithuanian king, was later canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and became a patron saint of Pskov?
... that Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, the son of professional wrestler Road Warrior Animal, is the first Buckeyes scholarship football player from Minnesota since 1933?
... that Eilhart von Oberge's German poem Tristrant, dating to the late 12th century, is the earliest complete version of the Tristan and Iseult legend in any language?
... that both Herbert Witherspoon and Göran Gentele died before the opening nights of their first seasons as general directors of the Metropolitan Opera?

02:36, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
... that the Ch'onma-ho is a little known, indigenously produced North Korean tank; information on which has proven to be elusive even to the U.S. government?
...that British Labour Party Member of Parliament Martin Flannery was a Communist until the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was crushed by the Soviet Union, but remained on the far left?
...that Bamse was a St. Bernard dog that became the heroic mascot of the Free Norwegian Forces during the Second World War?
...that Wollaston Lake is the largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions?
... that Katsu! is a shout used in Zen Buddhism to induce enlightenment, as well as in the martial arts to focus one's energy?
...that the first Howell Melon Festival became famous when it sent the Howell Melon Queen to visit President Eisenhower?

22 October 2006

10:41, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

... that the World's Largest Texas Flag, measuring 23 metres by 38 metres (75 feet by 125 feet), is unfurled on the field by members of Alpha Phi Omega before Texas Longhorn football games?
...that British lawyer Sir Robert Megarry was tried at the Old Bailey in 1954 for submitting false income tax returns, but later went on to become a High Court judge, Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Division and then Vice-Chancellor of the Supreme Court?
...that Antwone Fisher was born in a woman's prison in which his mother was incarcerated?
...that last week's first-ever football meeting between the University of Miami and Florida International University was marred by a massive brawl that led to the suspension of 31 players?
...that between 1944 and 1962, up to 186,000 inmates passed through approximately 100 forced labour camps in Communist Bulgaria?
...that, according to an oriental ritual, the deceased citizens of ancient Prinias, Crete were beheaded and then cremated, while their heads were buried separately?

21 October 2006

18:15, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Ying Fo Fui Kun was the first Hakka clan association in Singapore, and its clan house at Telok Ayer (pictured) was gazetted as a national monument in 1998?
...that the 1989 Glasnost Bowl was an attempt to schedule an American college football game in the Soviet Union?
...that the rococo manor house at Damsgård, near Bergen, Norway, is one of the best preserved wooden 18th century structures in Europe?
...that doubt exists about exactly where in Ontario at least two of the three known specimens of the extinct epiphytic moss Neomacounia nitida were collected in the 1860s?
...that Soviet Russia recognized the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in the 1920 Treaty of Moscow, in exchange for the promise not to grant asylum on Georgian soil to troops of powers hostile to the Soviet republic?

20 October 2006

13:29, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Carolina Dogs (pictured) employ a whip-like motion whilst pack hunting snakes?
...that innovative Indian film director Ritwik Ghatak's first feature film Nagarik premiered after his death, twenty-four years after it was made?
...that Mury, a protest song by Jacek Kaczmarski about events in Catalonia, became the unofficial anthem of Solidarity?
...that Iliaş of Moldavia, Jagiello's brother-in-law, lost his throne and was blinded following Poland's withdrawal from Moldavian affairs?
...that Phil Fondacaro, an actor with dwarfism, portrayed the only Ewok to die on-screen in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi?

03:30, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

...that color change in leaves (pictured) during autumn is caused by reduced levels of the green pigment chlorophyll?
...that Edward Palmer, an early-19th century utopian socialist, advocated the complete abolition of money?
...that groundbreaking on Christ's Resurrection Church in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1934 was marked by the placement of a symbolic stone brought from Jerusalem's Mount of Olives?
...that sanitation deficiencies are thought to be responsible for about 14,000 deaths per day at present, and were a major cause of 25 million deaths from the plague in Europe in 1348?
...that, according to Ahmed ibn Fadlan, the supreme ruler of the Rus' Khaganate "had no duties other than to make love to his slave girls, drink, and give himself up to pleasure"?
...that the Martyrs' Cemetery holds the remains of both Iraqi insurgents and civilians killed during the First Battle of Fallujah in 2004?

19 October 2006

19:26, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Hong San See, a Chinese temple and national monument in Singapore, was sited on a small hill for good feng shui and once commanded a good view of the sea?
...that the Tamworth Pig is a rare breed of swine which has such a high bristle density that, unlike most pigs, it almost never suffers sunburn?
...that in 1998 Vishnu Bhagwat became the first service chief in independent India to be fired?
...that Susan L. Hefle's research led to the development of commercialized ELISA testing for food allergens?
...that Juditha triumphans is an oratorio by Antonio Vivaldi, narrating the story of the Jewish widow Judith, who beheaded the invading Assyrian general Holofernes after he fell in love with her; and that all characters were interpreted by orphan female singers?
...that modified starch is added to processed frozen foods to prevent them from dripping when defrosted?
...that rock and roll pioneer Chan Romero wrote the 1959 hit, "Hippy Hippy Shake" which was covered by The Beatles?

00:57, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the four large housing cooperatives that make up Cooperative Village on the Lower East Side of Manhattan were sponsored and financed by trade unions with ties to the Socialist Party of America?
...that vulvar cancer accounts for about 4% of all gynecological cancers?
...that Swedish goalkeeper Karl Svensson was given his nickname Rio-Kalle after two heroic matches in the 1950 FIFA World Cup that were actually played in São Paulo and not in Rio de Janeiro?
...that the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet is an offshoot of the Phoenician alphabet that was used to write the Hebrew language from about the 10th century BCE until it fell out of use in the 5th century BCE?
...that Ravensburg State Park in Pennsylvania, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, is named for the ravens that still roost there?
...that noted Bengali writer Rajnarayan Basu was a tutor of Asia's first Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore?

18 October 2006

14:39, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Smith Flyer (pictured) was an automobile formed out of a wooden plank, two bucket seats, a driving mechanism and a power unit?
...that if you ever responded to a shaky telemarketing or sweepstakes solicitation, chances are that you have been placed into a sucker list and in the future you will be approached with a reloading scam?
...that British athlete Don Thompson was nicknamed "Il Topolino" (Italian for "Little Mouse") when he raced to victory in the 50km walk at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while wearing a képi and sunglasses ?
...that Leonarda Cianciulli, the "Soap-Maker of Correggio", murdered three women and turned their bodies into soap and tea cakes?
...that Semuliki National Park in Uganda is one of the richest areas of floral and faunal diversity in Africa?
...that the Laura Spence Affair was a major UK political row started over comments made by British Chancellor Gordon Brown accusing Oxford University of elitism?

07:58, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Fighting Solidarity (pictured), created in response to the martial law in Poland of 1982, was among the most radical splinters of Solidarity?
...that Jules Porgès was a financier central to the rise of the Randlords who controlled the diamond and gold mining industries in South Africa from the 1870s?
...that Birdcage Walk in the City of Westminster, London, is named after the Royal Menagerie and Aviary which was located beside it in the reign of Kings James I and expanded by Charles II?
...that the Partition of Midnapore to divide Midnapore, India's most populous district, was achieved 81 years after the first attempt in 1921?
...that the "Shakespeare Lady", a schizophrenic street performer in Downtown New Haven, Connecticut, has her own trading card?
...that the needle-exchange programme John Turvey helped create in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside eventually became North America's first safe injection site?
...that an employee resignation letter from the son of Harry Aubrey Toulmin, Sr., patent attorney to the Wright Brothers, led to the demise of the Tucker Car Company and a $62 million donation to Georgetown University Medical Center?

00:26, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Viipuri Municipal Library (pictured), built to Aalto's groundbreaking design in 1935, was abandoned for a decade following the transfer of Viipuri to the Soviet Union?
...that alternative rocker and Pixies frontman Black Francis wrote the song "Crackity Jones" about a stay with a crazed roommate in Puerto Rico as an exchange student?
...that Islay Herald Don Pottinger became interested in heraldry when commissioned to paint a portrait of Sir Thomas Innes of Learney?
...that Sir John Gonson, a British Justice of the Peace for nearly 50 years in the early 18th century, was depicted twice in William Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress?
...that the Shelter was an experimental city car of the early 1950s designed and built by a Dutch engineering student with financial backing by the government of the Netherlands?
...that the Sannyasi Rebellion was a series of clashes between Indian ascetics and the British East India Company during the eighteenth century in Bengal?

17 October 2006

01:25, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Francesco Xanto Avelli was unusual among Umbrian maiolica painters as he signed and dated much of his work (pictured)?
...that the Slutsk defence action was the short-lived attempt to defend Belarusian independence from Soviet Russia in the aftermath of the Polish-Soviet War?
...that the famous Russian orientalist of Azeri origin, Muhammad Ali Kazim-bey, was converted to Christianity by Scottish Presbyterian missionaries in 1821?
...that at the Battle of Stone Houses in 1837, a band of American Indians defeated a group of Texas Rangers by smoking them out of their shelter?
...that the athletic competition Sunflower Showdown, between Kansas State and the University of Kansas, traces back to a fight over the location of the state university in the 1860s?
...that listening to Mangalkavya epics was said to bring spiritual and material benefits?
...that Nancy Dickerson was the first female news correspondent on the CBS television network?

16 October 2006

05:30, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

File:C162fr.jpg

...that numismatists billed the United States Series of 1896 Educational Series Silver Certificates (pictured) as the most beautifully designed bills due to their use of neoclassical allegorical motifs?
...that a specimen of Australia's largest mushroom Phlebopus marginatus from Western Victoria weighed in at 29 kg, and caps can sometimes reach 1 metre across?
...that Yakov Bulgakov, Catherine II's emissary in Istanbul, managed to obtain a plan of the Turkish naval offensive while being imprisoned in Yedikule during the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792?
...that Czech Second World War fighter pilot František Fajtl briefly flew for the French Air Force before commanding units in the Royal Air Force and then a Czechoslovak regiment formed by the Soviet Union?
...that iridodialysis is a localized separation or tearing away of the iris from its attachment to the ciliary body?

15 October 2006

13:41, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

...that local farmers would drive rock laden wagons onto the Ada Covered Bridge (pictured) in Ada, Michigan to prevent it from washing away during floods?
...that the Liverpool Irish was the popular name for a battalion of the British King's Regiment raised by Liverpool's large Irish community in 1860?
...that Edwin B. Hart studied physiological chemistry under Nobel Laureate Albrecht Kossel before leading research that would lead to controlling anemia and goiter?
...that funding for the Prussian Academy of Sciences was originally provided by giving it a monopoly on the sale of calendars?
...that Shahzia Sikander, 2006 recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Program "genius grant", is a Pakistan-born American artist who specializes in Indian and Persian miniature painting?

13 October 2006

22:46, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the office of Garter Principal King of Arms was created for William Bruges (pictured kneeling) around 1415?
...that athlete Gretel Bergmann left Germany for America because she was discriminated against for being Jewish, and that she refused to return to attend festivities when the Berlin-Wilmersdorf sports complex was named in her honour?
...that the "O. P. Q. Letters" were written anonymously in a failed attempt to incite an insurrection in Texas in 1834?
...that New Zealand Test cricketer Martin Donnelly also played rugby union for England?
...that the Belgian Impéria was one of the first automobiles available with a sunroof?

05:19, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

...that modernization of the Ostkreuz station (pictured) in Berlin, the busiest interchange station of the city's transportation system, has been proposed since 1937 and is due to start next year?
...that Hamel, a town located in the South West of Western Australia, owes its name to solicitor and politician Lancel Victor de Hamel, the former owner of the land where the townsite is situated?
...that Walter Stauffer McIlhenny, president of McIlhenny Company (1949-1985), maker of Tabasco sauce, was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions in 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal?
... that the phrase to grab the brass ring comes from the brass ring dispenser, which presents rings to carousel riders to grab and possibly win prizes?
...that British Labour politician Reg Freeson spent 23 years as an MP, including 14 years on the front bench, but was deselected in 1985 due to his "sensible left" views and replaced by Ken Livingstone?

12 October 2006

22:13, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

... that Ed Brown (pictured) was an African-American slave who rose to become a Belmont Stakes-winning jockey and a Kentucky Derby-winning horse trainer?
...that the Holophusikon was a museum of natural curiosities and ethnographic items collected by Ashton Lever and exhibited in London from 1775?
...that Indian serial killer Raman Raghav targeted street urchins and beggars sleeping in the open on roadsides and slums in Mumbai?
...that the Miami blue butterfly may be the rarest insect in the United States, and that its continued survival may depend on a captive breeding program at the University of Florida?
...that Isaac Albalag was a Jewish philosopher whose liberal interpretations of the Biblical account of the Creation, in accordance with the Aristotelian theory of the eternity of the world, stamped him in the eyes of many as a heretic?
... that the single-grain experiment conducted between 1907 and 1911 would lead to the development of modern human nutrition?

06:30, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

...that in order to demonstrate the versatility of the Holman Projector (pictured), a British anti-aircraft mortar, a trial was staged in front of Prime Minister Winston Churchill using a number of beer bottles as ammunition?
...that the Ythan Estuary in Scotland contains the most extensive dunes formation in Europe and is also the site of a Stone Age settlement?
...that the Cockpit-in-Court theatre in the Palace of Whitehall was used to stage court masques for the Stuart Kings of England, but was originally built by Henry VIII as a venue for cockfighting?
...that the Bangladeshi musician and composer Samar Das, who composed over 2,000 songs and was the music director of over 50 films, also played a prominent role in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971?
...that "Ernold Same", a song from Blur's 1995 album The Great Escape, was narrated by the current Mayor of London Ken Livingstone?

11 October 2006

23:00, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

File:GoMa.jpg

...that the Golden Madonna of Essen (pictured) is the oldest preserved sculpture of the Virgin Mary?
...that the name of the endangered language isolate Huave, spoken in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, probably comes from a Zapotec word meaning "people of the sea", but that the Huave people who call themselves Ikoots refer to their language as ombeayiiüts, "our language"?
...that the Kennedia nigricans, or the Black Coral Pea, is a robust Western Australian species of climbing plant that spreads to over 18 m² (200 ft²)?
...that 51 nations participated in the FIBA World Championship as of the 2006 tournament?
...that the founders of the Indian spice manufacturing company MDH were popularly known as Deggi Mirch Wale, the "Pot Chilli People"?

13:28, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

...that "Octopus giganteus" (pictured) is the pseudoscientific name given to a large carcass, postulated to be the remains of a gigantic octopus, that washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida in 1896?
...that Operation Poomalai was a humanitarian supply airdrop over Jaffna, Sri Lanka by the Indian Air Force in June 1987, and was the first active intervention by India in the Sri Lankan Civil War?
...that Sajal Barui, who escaped after being convicted of murdering his family, was recaptured by the West Bengal police for theft without his true identity being discovered?
...that Elm Farm Ollie in 1930 became the first cow to be milked while flying in an airplane?
...that the painting The Face on the Barroom Floor, in Central City, Colorado, was inspired by a poem, and that it in turn inspired a chamber opera?

10 October 2006

22:50, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Alby, Sweden (pictured) is a mesolithic settlement, the earliest known of any humans on the island of Öland?
... that deaths caused by falling billboards in Metro Manila during Typhoon Xangsane (Milenyo) prompted a renewed push by Philippine legislators for a ban on billboard advertising?
...that the only working, full sized, Caisson lock ever built, was on the Somerset Coal Canal at Combe Hay, Somerset in England between 1795 and 1805?
...that Sten Rudholm is a member of the Swedish Academy and today the only living Swedish non-royal knight of the Order of the Seraphim?
...that the French poet Georges de Brébeuf is most well-known for his verse translation of Lucan's Pharsalia which was warmly received by Pierre Corneille, but which was ridiculed by Nicolas Boileau?
...that rational egoism is the idea that it is always in accordance with reason to pursue one's own interest, used by Ayn Rand as the rationale behind objectivism?

10:06, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Fred Sullivan (pictured) was the brother of Arthur Sullivan, who dedicated the hymn "The Lost Chord" to his memory?
...that the T-43 tank was devised as a replacement to the Soviet T-34 medium tank, but was scrapped in favour of simply improving the armament of the T-34?
...that Agatha, mother of Saint Margaret of Scotland, could have been either a daughter of Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev or a daughter of the Bulgarian Tsar?
...that Scouts' Day is a special day observed by members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement throughout the year when all Scouts re-affirm the Scout Promise?
...that the Vitra Design Museum was American architect Frank Gehry's first European commission?
...that the Stora Alvaret, a World Heritage Site on the island of Öland, Sweden, has rich biodiversity, even though the soil mantle on this 26,000 hectare limestone barren is less than two centimeters deep?

9 October 2006

23:11, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Common Inkcap (pictured), an edible mushroom, contains an Antabuse-like substance which renders it poisonous when consumed with alcohol?
...that according to Mongolian folklore, the escort that buried Genghis Khan committed suicide to make his grave impossible to find?
...that although Saint-Porchaire ware began the French tradition of high ceramic art, only some seventy examples survive?
...that the Soviet dramatist Nikolai Erdman was awarded the Stalin Prize at the period when he was not allowed to live in Moscow owing to his "criminal record"?
...that "Kylie Said To Jason" was a deliberate attempt by then-cash-strapped British band The KLF to have a hit single, however it failed to enter the UK Top 100?
...that Virginia politician Charles F. Mercer switched between five different political parties during his 22-year service in the United States Congress?

12:28, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Collegio di Spagna (pictured), a college for Spanish students at the Italian University of Bologna, was founded in 1364 and counts Ignatius of Loyola and Miguel Cervantes among its alumni?
...that the Curse of the Colonel refers to a reputed curse placed on the Kansai-based Hanshin Tigers baseball team by deceased KFC founder and mascot, Col. Harland Sanders?
...that St Laurence Church, Ludlow, England has an extensive collection of medieval misericords and other wood carvings, but may be best known as poet A.E. Housman's gravesite?
...that the influential French writers Jacques Rivière and Alain-Fournier both failed the entrance examination for Paris's École Normale Supérieure?
...that Mykola Skrypnyk, who had promoted an independent Bolshevik Ukraine, and later led the Ukrainization program of the Ukrainian SSR, chose to shoot himself rather than recant his policies?
...that Pagoda Street in Chinatown, Singapore was named after the pagoda-like gopuram of Sri Mariamman Temple?

05:10, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

...that all buildings of the Vitra furniture factory in Germany have been designed by internationally renowned architects, including Frank O. Gehry?
...that the Sarikoli language is often referred to as "Tajik", despite being only distantly related to Tajikistan's national language?
...that Jyoti Prasad Agarwala is regarded as the father of Assamese cinema?
...that the movement to secure the rights of Sami as an indigenous people in Norway was in large part made visible by civil disobedience?
...that an early trial of the effectiveness of the Lagonda flamethrower as a deterrent to Luftwaffe dive bombing attacks on Merchant Navy vessels was utterly unsuccessful?
...that when Krishna Mohan Banerjee, a member of the famous Young Bengal group in Kolkata, in British India, converted to Christianity in 1832, he lost his job in David Hare’s school?

8 October 2006

23:07, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Lainzer Tiergarten (pictured) is a 2,450-hectare (6,054-acre) wildlife preserve in the city of Vienna, Austria, and is home to approximately 1,000 wild boars?
...that the photograph Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath of a severely deformed, naked child was deliberately posed with the agreement of her mother to illustrate the terrible effects of Minamata disease, a form of mercury poisoning?
...that, during the summer of four captains in 1988, Chris Cowdrey became only the second son to follow his father as captain of the English cricket team?
...that Turkic-speaking Greeks of Georgia and Ukraine refer to themselves as Urums, a term which derives from the Arabic word for Roman?
...that "Lopšinė Mylimai" is the least auspicious debut entry in Eurovision Song Contest history, finishing the 1994 Contest in last place without scoring a point?
...that a tornado that hit Dantan in India on March 24, 1998 killed over 250 people?

7 October 2006

23:14, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Łazienki Palace (pictured) was the site of the famous Thursday Dinners during the times of Enlightenment in Poland?
...that Layman Pang, a wealthy merchant and Zen Buddhist in Tang Dynasty China, once put all of his possessions in a boat and sank them in a river?
...that the 1985 trademark infringement case of Canfield v. Honickman, involving the makers of Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge soda, continues to be used as an example during the study of trademark product law in the U.S.?
...that David Eldridge is the earliest known person of European descent to die in the Western Reserve, and the first person to be buried in the newly-created city of Cleveland?
...that 19th century London song-writer Helen, Lady Dufferin was admired by Disraeli, compared with Helen of Troy in a poem by Browning, and had a village named after her?
...that British Conservative MP Sir Ian Lloyd left his native South Africa in 1955 due to his opposition to apartheid, but was later called "Botha's mouthpiece" for his advocacy of closer links with South Africa to stimulate reform?

10:50, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

...that a fountain (pictured) was built by the British colonial government to commemorate Tan Kim Seng's $13,000 contribution towards Singapore's first public waterworks?
...that the name of the museum Na Bolom in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico is a pun playing on the Lacandón Maya word for house of the jaguar and the name of Danish mayanist Frans Blom, whose home it was?
...that in one of the first tests of Hajile, an experimental British World War II retrorocket system, a gigantic block of concrete was dropped through the roof of the workshop from 2000 ft?
...that sanitary sewer overflow is a common condition, mostly associated with heavy rainfall, leading to discharge of billions of gallons of raw sewage to the environment each year?
...that Asif Hossain Khan, a Commonwealth Games gold medal winner at the age of just 15, was brutally beaten and seriously injured by the police of his own country?
...that "Dziesma Par Laimi" is the only Latvian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest to be performed in Latvian?

6 October 2006

22:21, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Peachliner (pictured) people mover in Komaki, Japan was planned originally to carry 43,000 passengers daily, but only carried an average of 2670 per day during 15 years of operation?
...that feminism in Poland is traditionally divided into seven historical periods, the first one dating to the beginning of the 19th century?
...that Mauisaurus was the largest plesiosaur to roam New Zealand waters and that it gets its name from the Māori god Maui?
...that Fredesvinda Garcia was a Cuban singer who recorded just one album, a year before her death?
...that the dome of St. Francis de Sales church in Philadelphia is a prime example of the Guastavino tile arch system?
...that credit and royalties for the 1968 Arthur Brown song "Fire" had to be shared due to similarities to another song, "Baby, You're a Long Way Behind"?

06:00, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

...that the Wrinkled Toadlet (pictured) is also commonly known as the Chubby Gungan?
...that Japanese historian and economist Taguchi Ukichi has often been referred to as the Adam Smith of Japan?
...that Slimey the Worm is the smallest character on Sesame Street?
...that the Leather cannon was an early 17th century attempt of making a mobile cannon that would bridge the gap between muskets and heavy stationary artillery?
...that California's Rubicon Point Light, at 6300 ft above sea level, is the highest lighthouse in the United States?
...that National Political Institutes of Education, elite secondary schools in Nazi Germany, only accepted students considered to be "racially flawless" and therefore did not admit pupils who needed glasses or had bad hearing?

5 October 2006

23:57, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Halltorps Manor (pictured) on Öland island has been the site of a Viking settlement, a royal game reserve used by Swedish kings, and a medieval manor house?
...that the failed Pakistan coup attempt of 1995 aimed to establish an Islamic caliphate in Pakistan by overthrowing prime minister Benazir Bhutto?
...that Hurricane Alberto of 2000 completed the largest loop ever observed over the Atlantic Ocean?
...that the Himalayan Brown Bear is considered the source of the legend of the Yeti?
...that the Largo, a Socialist Classicism complex in central Sofia, Bulgaria, accommodates a number of state institutions?
...that William Garwood, an American silent film actor, starred in 149 films in under 10 years—between 1909 and 1919?

00:18, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

...that during the Ulm Campaign (pictured) in 1805, French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte eliminated an entire Austrian army by capturing 60,000 troops?
...that the first American ship sunk in World War II hit a German mine off Cape Otway in the Southern Ocean?
...that Hugh Talbot was roundly panned for his performance as Frederic in the premiere of The Pirates of Penzance?
...that the Xiao'erjing is a system of writing Sinitic languages such as Mandarin in the Arabic script?
...that a co-founder of the Slavophile movement, Ivan Kireevsky, turned for wisdom to the elders of the Optina Monastery, rather than to Western philosophers?

4 October 2006

08:42, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Mölle (pictured), a coastal harbour town in southwest Sweden, was built from fishing wealth, but now hosts high technology conferences?
...that wearing the Gandhi cap became a steadfast tradition during the Indian independence movement that is continued by Indian politicians to this day?
...that John von Sonnentag de Havilland was one of only two officers at the College of Arms to have been born in the United States?
...that experiments with winged tanks, meant to glide into a drop zone and provide support for airborne forces, were tried but abandoned by several military forces?
...that the Sevso Treasure is a hoard of silver objects from the late Roman Empire?

07:58, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
...that Tadeusz Hołówko became one of the first victims of the assassination campaign carried out by the members of the radical Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists despite his relatively moderate stance in the Polish-Ukrainian conflict?

3 October 2006

22:01, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

...that a recent fire in the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine (traditional Ukrainian church pictured) was set to cover up the theft of 18th-century cassones?
...that British Admiral of the Fleet Michael Pollock, was gunnery officer on the HMS Norfolk when she fought the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst during the Battle of North Cape?
...that a statue stands where Matangini Hazra was shot in 1942 during the Quit India Movement?
...that BŻ-1 GIL was the first Polish experimental helicopter?
...that the English nursery rhyme Bobby Shafto was an electioneering song by the 18th Century British MP, Robert Shafto?
...that when Abraham Lincoln's brother-in-law, Confederate Brig Gen. Benjamin Hardin Helm was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, Lincoln's White House went into mourning?

2 October 2006

23:19, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Boletus calopus, a European mushroom, derives its scientific name from the Ancient Greek for "pretty foot," referring to its attractive stalk?
... that 17th-century Mughal subahdar Shaista Khan conquered Chittagong and ousted the British East India Company from Bengal over a trade dispute?
...that a subtlety was an elaborate medieval dish that was supposed to entertain and surprise diners with extravagant decorations or by imitating other types of food?
...that the Paramarines was a short-lived parachute-trained unit of the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, but its members were never dropped by parachute into combat?
... that the website Machinima.com got its name when the founder misspelled his original portmanteau of machine and cinema and liked the new version better?

00:48, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Harriett Everard (pictured) was hit by a piece of falling scenery during rehearsals for The Pirates of Penzance, and likely never fully recovered from her injuries?
...that the immortal DNA strand hypothesis was proposed in 1975 by John Cairns as a mechanism for adult stem cells to minimize mutations in their genomes?
...that Bolko II of Świdnica was the last independent duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia?
...that Bearcat Stadium of Northwest Missouri State University, originally opened in 1917, is the oldest stadium of any NCAA Division II school?
...that Bellot Strait is a 2 km passage of water separating Somerset Island from the northernmost point on mainland North America?
...that Kanken Toyama, who developed the Shudokan school of karate, was originally an elementary school teacher?
...that "My Star" was the first song that Latvia entered into the Eurovision Song Contest, making them the last of the Baltic states to debut at Eurovision?

1 October 2006

01:04, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

...that Russian playwright Pavel Katenin (pictured) was deported from St. Petersburg in 1822 for booing a favourite actress of the city's governor, Count Miloradovich?
...that psychedelic rock group Circus Maximus was the launching point for the career of country musician Jerry Jeff Walker?
...that French Olympic shooter Léon Moreaux won his first of seven Olympic medals at the age of 38?
...that, in opposition to the orthodox architectural canon, a giant undulating apse occupies the entire east façade of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Svishtov?
...that Marcelo Piñeyro's second film, Wild Horses, was the second-highest-attended film in Argentina during 1995, and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York?
...that the King/Drew Medical Centre, a major public hospital in South Central Los Angeles, was founded in response to the 1965 Watts Riots?