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This is a record of material that was recently featured on the Main Page as part of Did you know (DYK). Recently created new articles, greatly expanded former stub articles and recently promoted good articles are eligible; you can submit them for consideration.

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Did you know...[edit]

31 December 2007

20:46, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Navajo rugs (pictured) sold for $50 in gold as early as 1850?
...that fingerboards are reduced scale model figures of skateboards that are featured in videos and used as 3-D visual aids for skateboarders to understand potential tricks and maneuvers?
...that Ronald Reagan's autobiography, An American Life, reached number eight on The New York Times' bestsellers list?
...that the Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad never operated a single train, despite completing a 42-mile (68 km) line and its own ore dock at a cost of over two million dollars?
...that a poll of 1000 respondents conducted in 2006 indicated that 26% of Americans say the United States "should not be involved" with the United Nations?
...that former Chicago Blackhawks player Al Suomi was offered a contract to play with a local St. Louis, Missouri hockey team at the age of 93?
...that Colorado state representative Spencer Swalm spent time as a Christian missionary in Bolivia?
...that Aimé Guibert, owner and winemaker of Mas de Daumas Gassac, was featured in the documentary Mondovino stating that "wine is dead"?
...that Empress Dowager Wu of Tang China had Wu Youji’s wife secretly killed in 690 CE so that he could marry her widowed daughter, the Princess Taiping?
...that eight human skeletons linked to suspected serial killer Daniel Conahan triggered the largest excavation of human remains in Florida history?

13:47, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

...that blackfin scad (pictured) is a popular food fish in Cambodia and Thailand, where it is served fried, steamed or baked?
...that William Stewart Simkins, later professor emeritus at the University of Texas School of Law, may have fired the first shot of the US Civil War?
...that the day Wu Zetian, China's only female Emperor, was overthrown in 705 CE, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were killed and their heads were hung at an entrance to the capital?
...that the 5th-century baptistery of the Cathedral of Saint-Léonce, one of France's oldest Christian structures, was concealed after reconstructions in the 13th century and re-discovered in 1925?
...that the Hurricane Creek mine disaster, which killed 38 men in 1970, occurred exactly a year after passage of the first federal legislation regulating mine safety?
...that besides Bartter syndrome, endocrinologist Frederic Bartter also identified the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone?
...that Azizul Huque gave up his Knighthood after the Calcutta Riots in 1946?
...that Laurent de Premierfait was the first French translator of Giovanni Boccaccio's material, which was done only for personal financial gain?
...that Pratap Singh was the last ruler of Thanjavur to be officially referred to by the English East India Company as "His Majesty"?

07:14, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Surveyor General William Light (pictured) initially planned to build the city of Adelaide on the banks of the Sturt River before establishing it near the River Torrens instead?
...that New Mexico State Road 4 forms the core of Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway, with trails to Puebloan ruins, a 10,199-foot mountain, and a 70-foot waterfall from roadside turnouts?
...that articulation begins with the junction produced by creating a joint and is defined by the degree joints are seen as a "distinct break" from each other, in contrast to joints that seem fluid and continuous with the whole?
...that Namibia Commercial Aviation has used the former presidential aircraft of Yugoslavia and Zambia for passenger flights?
...that Al Javery, deferred from serving in World War II due to varicose veins, led all Major League Baseball pitchers in 1943 with 303 innings pitched?
...that Empress Dowager Wu of Tang China was so fond of Feng Xiaobao, she had him undertake tonsure to become a Buddhist monk in order to facilitate his entering and exiting her palace?
...that consuming excess carotenoids may lead to their deposition in the stratum corneum and a yellow to yellow-orange discoloration of the skin in a medical condition known as carotenoderma?

01:17, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Ellenville Middle School (pictured) abandoned an experiment with single-sex classes after the school failed to meet No Child Left Behind Act standards?
...that, at the time of his death, 111-year-old veteran Mark Matthews was seen as a symbol for the Buffalo Soldiers?
...that the Ramesseum medical papyri contained an contraceptive formula and a method to predict the likelihood of a newborn's survival?
...that the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion was the first tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army to see combat in World War II?
...that Section 121 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in U.S. law is named the “Megan Nicole Kanka and Alexandra Nicole Zapp Community Notification Program”, after two victims of violent crimes?
...that the Battle of Szkłów in 1654 occurred during a solar eclipse?
...that after screenwriter Chuck Tatham's brother and writing partner Jamie quit their first job and returned to their hometown, Chuck went on to be nominated for two Emmys?

30 December 2007

19:28, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

...that scenic State Route 160 crosses California's Sacramento River twice on 1923 bascule bridges (one pictured) patented by Joseph B. Strauss, who went on to design the Golden Gate Bridge?
...that William Cunningham became Michigan's first All-American based on his performance in an 1898 game against Chicago that inspired Louis Elbel to write the school's fight song, The Victors?
...that The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz explains the counterintuitive result that consumers are often more frustrated and anxious with more shopping choices rather than fewer?
...that New Harmony's Atheneum is named after the ancient Greek temple to the goddess Athena, the Athenaion?
...that the ancient Chinese text Huangdi Yinfujing, attributed to the mythical emperor Huangdi in the 3rd century BCE, may have been a forgery from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE)?
...that Judges Cave and Regicides Trail in West Rock Ridge, Connecticut, USA were named for two judges who hid in the area in 1660 after signing the death warrant of the King Charles I?
...that some members of the Nazi SS became eligible for their 25-year SS Long Service Awards well before their completion of 25 years of service?

12:56, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the sole surviving Class D16 4-4-0 American-type steam locomotive (pictured), is preserved and currently on display near the same tracks on which it operated for many years?
...that the country music band Pearl River was hired as a backing band for Bryan White, a singer who previously sold T-shirts for the band?
...that the current Foreign Minister of Albania, Lulzim Basha, used to work for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and helped prepare the file against Slobodan Milosevic?
...that Wichita, Kansas mayor Russell Jump was, at the time of his death at the age of 105, recognized as one of the longest lived individuals to have held public office?
...that television director Michael Lange's Jewish heritage landed him a non-speaking role as a rabbi in the episode "The Chrismukkah Bar-Mitzvahkkah" of The O.C., a show for which he had previously directed?
...that the Celts and Illyrians introduced winemaking to Slovenia long before it was commonly practiced in France, Germany and Spain?

02:03, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
...that in March 2007, Agnes Devanadera ' became the 41st and first woman Solicitor General of the Philippines?

01:25, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, bishop of Lindisfarne from 698 to 721, is said to have been the creator of the Lindisfarne Gospels (pictured), a Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscript which took an estimated two years to complete?
...that television director and editor Norman Buckley's older sister Betty landed him his first editing job on Tender Mercies, a film she featured in?
...that the Peshwa general Chimnaji Appa built the Vajreshwari temple to thank the goddess Vajreshwari for the conquest of the Bassein Fort in 1739?
...that the Toyota 7 was the first sports prototype racing car built by Toyota Motor Corporation, debuting at the 1968 Japanese Grand Prix?
...that Haridas Mundhra got the Indian government in 1956 to invest $10 million in his sinking firms, a scandal which further exposed the rift between Feroze Gandhi and his wife Indira Gandhi, daughter of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru?
...that Gustave Ferbert quit his job as head football coach at the University of Michigan in 1900 to prospect for gold in the Klondike Gold Rush and returned home in 1909 as a millionaire?

29 December 2007

18:31, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the 477th Fighter Group is the first and only unit of F-22A Raptors (pictured) in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command?
...that the Tigmamanukan, a Philippine mythological bird, can be a good or bad omen depending on the direction of its flight?
...that the role of Osmin in the German opera The Abduction from the Seraglio was tailor-made by Mozart for his friend Ludwig Fischer?
...that in the history of commercial tobacco in the United States, an African slave named Stephan changed the process of curing tobacco by using charcoal taken from a local blacksmith’s fire rather than the usual logwood?
...that the Australian Test cricketer Colin McCool bowled his leg spin deliveries with a round arm action so pronounced that his arm was almost parallel to the pitch?
...that the Deperdussin Monocoque was the first aircraft to fly faster than 100 miles per hour?
...that American artist Sybil Gibson started painting in 1963, aged 55, using the medium of powdered tempera paints on brown paper grocery bags?

12:15, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

...that studies of the inshore marine fish small-scale whiting (Sillago parvisquamis, pictured) suggest the female starts life smaller than the male, but grows faster and is larger than the male within two years?
...that footballer Roy Cheetham was the first Manchester City player to be used as a substitute?
...that Jimmie Lewallen turned down an offer to buy into NASCAR because "it would never amount to anything"?
...that the town of Orlová in the Czech Republic was named for the eagle that, legend has it, caused the premature birth of Kazimierz, son of Duke Mieszko and his wife, Ludmiła, on the spot where the town was founded?
...that the ANAK Society, Georgia Tech's oldest secret society, claims to have covertly protected the university's first African American students during Georgia Tech's racial integration in the 1960s?
...that despite his never having been emperor, Li Chengqi was posthumously honoured as such by the Tang Chinese Emperor Xuanzong?
...that during his U.S. Air Force career, Colorado state representative Kent Lambert oversaw military support for the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster investigation at Air Force Space Command?
...that signs of spring trending to earlier arrivals are evidence of season creep?

05:25, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the plans for renovation of the Mausoleum of Yugoslavian Soldiers (pictured) in Olomouc, the Czech Republic had to be stopped due to the breakup of Yugoslavia, which owned the property rights?
...that the All-American football player John Maulbetsch was known as the "Featherweight Fullback" because he weighed only 155 pounds (70 kg) and ate two pies a day for dinner during his playing career?
...that the Rhone Rangers, winemakers who promote the use of grapes from the Rhône Valley in France, were a driving force behind Syrah's increased popularity among Californian wines?
...that Section 44 of the Australian Constitution has been interpreted as meaning that persons with dual citizenship are ineligible to run for the Australian parliament?
...that the projected Russian hypersonic aircraft Ayaks was supposed to use novel "magneto-plasmo-chemical engines" capable of working in the mesosphere?
...that Vannimais were feudal divisions of Sri Lanka?
...that Ilha dos Marinheiros, the largest and most fertile island in the lagoon Lagoa dos Patos, produces about 80% of the vegetables consumed in Rio Grande, Brazil?

28 December 2007

23:27, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Josiah Parsons Cooke (pictured) had little formal education in chemistry, and instead spent eight months in Europe for advanced studies in the subject after he became Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy at Harvard in 1850?
...that Psalms 134 and 135 are usually chanted during the Polyeleos, a festive portion of the Matins or All-night vigil services in some Eastern Christian Churches, but Psalm 44 is chanted instead on feasts of the Theotokos in Greece?
...that John Cort, founder of Broadway's Cort Theatre, first made his name by booking variety entertainment in the bawdy box houses of Seattle, Washington, USA?
...that irritable hip is the most common cause of limp and sudden pain in and around the hip in children aged three to ten?
...that the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, D.C. not only houses the headquarters of the United States Department of Commerce, but is also the site of the Population Clock, National Aquarium, and White House Visitor Center?

15:49, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

...that besides utility poles (example pictured), anonymous knitters from Knitta have also left their tags on the Great Wall of China and the Notre Dame de Paris?
...that paramilitary loyalist Tommy Herron declared war on the British Army, but called it off after two days?
...that Utricularia inflata is one of the few invasive species of carnivorous plant?
...that Shruti Haasan, the daughter of Indian actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, is a singer turned model who is now also venturing into acting?
...that the producer of White Zinfandel originally wanted to name the wine after the old rosé style Oeil de Perdrix?
...that rugby union footballer Robert Wilson Shaw was so influential in Scotland's Triple Crown winning victory over England in 1938 that the match became known as "Wilson Shaw's match"?
...that the Theatre on Terazije is a Broadway-style theatre in Belgrade where the Serbian version of Chicago, Kiss Me, Kate, A Chorus Line and other musicals are performed?

09:49, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

...that a hook gauge (pictured) detects irregularities in manufacturer sizing of crochet hooks and knitting needles?
...that Oregon State University’s Wave Research Laboratory has the world’s largest tsunami simulator?
...that the 17th chief of the Clan Maclachlan was killed by a cannonball while leading his Jacobite clansmen at the Battle of Culloden in 1746?
...that during the French and Indian War Henry Timberlake was an emissary to the Overhill Cherokee whose journals became a primary source for later studies of eighteenth-century Cherokee?
...that in the landmark case Riggins v. Nevada, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a mentally ill person cannot be forced to take antipsychotic medication while on trial merely to maintain his competency during trial?
...that the philosophical question of temporal finitism has never been fully settled?

03:29, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the closing of Nittany Furnace (pictured) in 1911 marked the end of modern iron-production in Bellefonte, and presaged the decline of the Pennsylvanian town?
...that 67 Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Article XV squadrons were formed during World War II from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan?
...that Portugal was taken to court over its failure to implement EU directives regarding its water supply and sanitation systems?
...that one of the earliest references to Indian wine was the writings of Chanakya in the 4th century BCE commenting on its prevalence in the court of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya?
...that John Considine, pioneering American vaudeville impresario, once shot and killed a former chief of police of Seattle who had come gunning for him?
...that without adequate scouting, Russian forces advanced blindly into the Battle of Lubar in 1658 during the Russo-Polish War, and were soundly defeated by a Polish army much larger than expected?

27 December 2007

20:33, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Hinba, an island in Scotland of unknown location (possible location pictured), was the site of a small monastery associated with the church of St Columba on Iona?
...that Tom Collen resigned over a discrepancy about his résumé a day after becoming Vanderbilt University's women's basketball head coach, but his résumé was correct?
...that the Near-Earth object and Mars-crosser asteroid 2007 WD5 is estimated to have a 1-in-75 chance of colliding with Mars?
...that the 2001 single by Mylène Farmer, C'est une belle journée, was released in April, 2002 after the success of the album, Les Mots, rather than its scheduled date of release?
...that although tall waterhemp is considered a weed in 40 U.S. states, it does not appear on the federal noxious weed list or any state lists?
...that each title of the thirteen episodes of the 2007 Japanese animated television series Blue Drop: Tenshitachi no Gikyoku is the name of a flower seen in that episode?

14:32, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

...that an F4U Corsair from Marine Fighting Squadron 441 (insignia pictured) clipped the superstructure of the USS Laffey (DD-724) while chasing a kamikaze aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa?
...that in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongol Empire had an alliance with the Armenians against their common enemy, the Muslim Mamluks?
...that the city of West Sacramento, California is converting the former State Route 275 freeway into a surface road by replacing interchanges with at-grade intersections?
...that Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a Nigerian Senator from the People's Democratic Party, is the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo?
...that there are two separate churches dedicated to St Werburgh in the village of Warburton, Greater Manchester?
...that Associated Press correspondent Edward Kennedy violated a news embargo to break the story of the surrender of the Germans in World War II?

08:19, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

...that during the Boonah crisis in October 1918, 31 people died of the Spanish flu aboard the Australian troopship the HMAT Boonah (pictured)?
...that the modern Croatian intelligence community emerged as an integral force in Croatia's war for independence, spying on rival Yugoslav republics?
...that before becoming the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy, Thomas Leigh Gatch was awarded two Navy Crosses?
...that most of Manchester's Grade I listed buildings are Victorian, because of Manchester's growth during the Industrial Revolution?
...that the Rowan County War resulted in 20 deaths, talk of dissolving Rowan County, Kentucky, and the founding of what would become Morehead State University?
...that the Italian winery Vini Lunardelli produced a controversial "historical line" of wine bottles featuring images of Che Guevara, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin on their labels?

01:45, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Carlo Orelli (pictured) was the last surviving Italian veteran to see service on Italy's entry into World War I?
...that when St Hilary's Church in Wallasey, England burnt down in 1857, a new church was built separately, leaving the tower of the old medieval church as a free-standing edifice?
...that in the cuisine of the Thirteen Colonies, coffee became the alternative to tea after the enactment of the Tea Act of 1773?
...that netball in New Zealand is the most popular women's sport in the country, led by its high-profile national team, the Silver Ferns?
...that Marine Attack Squadron 233 was the only squadron of the U.S. Marine Corps to have three commanders killed during the course of World War II?
...that Svinøy island of Norway is so exposed to the wind and high seas that supply boats to the island's lighthouse could not dock but had to be lifted up by a crane?
...that English botanist John Ralfs amassed a collection 3,137 microscopic slides, which he left in his will to the British Museum?
...that the Battle of Chudniv in 1660 was the largest Polish victory over the Russians until the Battle of Warsaw in 1920?
...that many churchgoers in the 1920s believed that Ronald Reagan's mother, Nelle Wilson Reagan, had the gift to heal due to her strong belief in the power of prayer?

26 December 2007

19:07, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Irish playwright George Farquhar (pictured) originally planned on an acting career, but gave it up after accidentally wounding a fellow actor severely on stage with a sword?
...that the four years between the two no ball decisions for throwing by cricketer Harold Cotton is the longest span during which a player was no-balled in major cricket in Australia?
...that as well as serving as the assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Global Health, Kent R. Hill has also published books and served as the president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy?
...that John Warren Davis, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was indicted for receiving a bribe from film producer William Fox?
...that German-American football center Adolph F. "Germany" Schulz is credited for developing the "roving center" technique, which became the basis for the linebacker position?
...that according to literary critics, The Queen and Concubine, a 17th-century tragicomic stage play written by Richard Brome, is a critique of royal tyranny and courtly sycophancy in England at the time?
...that during the Spanish Civil War Solidaridad Obrera, published by an anarchist labor union, was Spain's highest-circulation newspaper?
...that the Brooklyn Hospital Center is the oldest hospital of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City?

11:58, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the former Grand Opera House (pictured) in Seattle, Washington, USA is now a car park?
...that the Abbey of Condat, founded in the 420s in the Jura Mountains by Romanus and Lupicinus, predated even Montecassino as one of the earliest monasteries in the West?
...that, after failing to hail a cab on New Year's Eve in Denver, state representative Jerry Frangas sponsored legislation to deregulate Colorado's taxicab industry?
...that although Louisiana per Perry v. Louisiana forbids the forced medication of a death row inmate to make him competent for execution, some states allow it?
...that the well known white wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia also makes red wine from grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pignolo?
...that indigenous Australian cricketer Jack Marsh was called for illegally throwing instead of bowling an Australian record seventeen times in one innings?
...that in the 17th century, south-London prostitutes, nicknamed 'Winchester Geese' after the Bishop whose land they worked on, were buried in a special, unconsecrated graveyard called Cross Bones?
...that people with patent foramen ovale, an atrial septal defect, are more likely to suffer from migraine headaches?

01:32, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

...that U.S. Salvation Army Christmas kettles have collected not only American Gold Eagles (coin pictured), but also gold teeth?
...that the Laetare Medal, an award for an American Catholic who has made an outstanding contribution to society, was first given to the historian John Gilmary Shea in 1883?
...that The Entrepreneur, the first video game created by famed game designer Peter Molyneux, sold only two copies?
...that Ava Helen Pauling, an American human rights activist and wife of Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, was a three-time national vice president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom?
...that Powderfinger's D.A.F. was named after its chord progression, rather than its subject matter like most popular songs?
...that Richard Lloyd Racing's custom-built 956 GTi was structurally stronger than the standard 956's built by Porsche thanks to the introduction of aluminium composite honeycomb in the chassis construction?
...that the skin of the Austrian white wine grape Zierfandler turns red just before it is ready to harvest?

25 December 2007

18:59, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

...that after turning up drunk at an official dinner, crowing cock-a-doodle-doos, and throwing himself on an ambassadress, J.B. Manson retired as Director of the Tate gallery and returned to painting flowers (pictured)?
...that the Nobel laureate physicist Theodor W. Hänsch works at the faculty of the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics?
...that the 18th century publisher Ralph Griffiths erected a sign outside his shop warning dunces that his Monthly Review would have no mercy in exposing and shaming dull authors?
...that Shanhua, a township in Taiwan, is also known as Bakaloan and Tevoran?
...that after scoring the highest score for the Federated Malay States cricket team in 1933, Cyril Reed was playing against them for the Straits Settlements the following year?
...that spinning cones are sometimes used to lower the alcohol level of wine made from grapes with a high sugar content?
...that according to the Christmas Price Index it will cost your true love US$78,100 to buy you all those gifts this year?

12:56, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Philippine Christmas lanterns, called Parols (pictured), are also used in Christmas celebrations in Austria, Canada and California?
...that to clear a jammed gun on the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn, Medal of Honor recipient Harry L. MacNeal crawled along its barrel during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba?
...that wine made from the Italian grape Schioppettino was served at weddings in 1282 and the grape is still being grown today?
...that development of the 2008 film Dragonball began in 2002, when 20th Century Fox acquired the rights?
...that in the 1971 film Lawman, American actor Robert Ryan played the role of the sheriff under the name Cotton Ryan?
...that Franz Kafka's 1917 "Jackals and Arabs" has been read as variously a Zionist critique of Western Jewry, a European critique of Jewish-Arab relations, and a paean to Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality?
...that in 1971, the Indian Claims Commission ordered US$74,856.50 to be paid to the Lower Skagit tribe to pay for land lost as a result of the Point Elliott Treaty?
...that Frank Pitcher was the only cricketer in Australia history to be no balled for throwing in his debut match?

05:06, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

...that St. Thomas' Church, Mellor (pictured) contains the oldest wooden pulpit in England, and possibly in the world?
...that, with Christine Scanlan's appointment to the Colorado House of Representatives, the state house's Democratic caucus became majority-female?
...that the Zoological Garden of Hamburg built the world's largest primate house in 1915, only to see most of the monkeys starve to death during World War I and the zoo go bankrupt in 1920?
...that when the Duke of Austria, Leopold III, established reign over the Italian city of Trieste one of his stipulations was that the city supply him each year with 100 urns of the region's best Ribolla wine?
...that before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jackson v. Indiana, an incompetent criminal defendant could be involuntarily confined indefinitely (as if given a life sentence) without a trial or a conviction?
...that Ron DeGregorio was elected in 2003 as the fourth president of USA Hockey since 1937?
...that Viktor Pynzenyk, Ukraine's Minister of Finance, is also a professor of economics at Lviv University?

24 December 2007

22:51, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the world's most extensive deposits of eolianite (example pictured), rocks formed by the lithification of sediments deposited by wind, are located on the southern and western coasts of Australia?
...that the British shipping company Ellerman Lines lost 60 out of its 105-strong fleet of merchant vessels during the Second World War?
...that cricketer Barry Fisher had a metal pin surgically inserted into his shoulder to prevent injury while bowling, although he still suffered from persistent shoulder problems?
...that Soma Cruz, the protagonist of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, the third installment of the Castlevania video game series on the Game Boy Advance, is the reincarnation of the series' premier villain, Dracula?
...that the SAPPHIRE information network helped prevent epidemics in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, using Semantic Web technologies?
...that after serving as a border guard, Saint Claudius of Besançon became, successively, a priest, monk, abbot, bishop, and then an abbot again, in the 7th century?
...that there is currently significant controversy on college and university rankings like those used for business school rankings because some of the methodologies are deemed misleading?

16:54, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Tierpark Hagenbeck zoo of Hamburg, Germany (pictured) was the first to use moats instead of cages to separate the animals from the public?
...that Luv Ya Blue was the term given to a 1970s movement by fans of the Houston Oilers that featured fight songs, pom-pons and other gimmicks more reminiscent of college football than the NFL?
...that Hector Munro Macdonald graduated as fourth Wrangler in the Mathematical Tripos of 1889?
...that "Clash of the Choirs" was a quick reality talent contest miniseries between celebrity-led amateur choirs that was criticized for a lack of tension and actual judges?
...that, upon exhumation, the 10th century saint Rasso was found to be 2 meters (6' 6") tall, although, given that his grave was 2 and a half meters, he had earlier been thought to be even taller?
...that Frank Parr, an English chess player, won the Hastings Premier during his first and only appearance at the tournament in 1939/1940?
...that Christopher Erhardt was a product planner for companies such as Teledyne, and is now working on a doctoral dissertation on video game players' demographic considerations?
...that the Zionist leader Leo Motzkin organized the Jewish delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 and led agitations against the Nazi Party?

10:44, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Zinfandel grapes on the vine!

...that Zinfandel (pictured) was grown for table grapes in Boston long before it made wine in California?
...that Stanley Green, the "Protein Man", walked up and down Oxford Street in London every day for 25 years, sometimes in green overalls to protect himself from spit, warning passers-by about the dangers of too much protein — and sitting?
...that The Enchanter is the last work of fiction written by Vladimir Nabokov in Russian but was first published in English after his death?
...that the writer and diplomat Maurice Francis Egan introduced President Theodore Roosevelt to William Butler Yeats at a White House lunch?
...that the Little War was the smallest and least successful of the three conflicts in the Cuban War of Independence?
...that Clifford Last, a son of the author of the Housewife, 49 diaries, migrated from Britain to Australia after the war and became a noted abstract sculptor?
...that Glenn Vaad was elected to seats on his local town board, school board, sanitation board, and county commission before winning election to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2006?

03:18, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

...that stitch markers (pictured) are mnemonic devices that demonstrate the underlying mathematical basis of crochet?
...that after sinking the SS City of Cairo, Kapitän zur See Karl-Friedrich Merten gave the survivors directions to the nearest land, and parted with the words "Goodnight, and sorry for sinking you"?
...that Cornelius Shea, the founding president of the Teamsters, spent more than five years in Sing Sing prison for slashing and stabbing his mistress 27 times?
...that when the old All Saints Church, Marple was replaced by a new church 30 metres away in 1880, the tower from the old church was retained and is now used as a free-standing bell-tower?
...that as Oregon State University athletic director, Percy Locey agreed to play the 1942 Rose Bowl at the opposing team's home field due to the attack on Pearl Harbor?
...that Ron Halcombe was the first player to be called for throwing in major Australian cricket by three different umpires?
...that the pun riddle “What do you call a spicy missile? A hot shot!” was generated by computer as part of computational humor research?
...that Libya was the first country to purchase the Palmaria, an Italian-made self-propelled 155mm howitzer, ordering 210 units in 1982?

23 December 2007

21:03, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the man intensely reading in the oil portrait The Bookworm (pictured) represents the inward looking attitudes that affected Europe during the time of its creation?
...Robert Hett Chapman was the second president of the The University of North Carolina and instituted the first Bible study classes at the university?
...that the Creusot steam hammer, with its massive 100 ton hammer and 750 ton anvil, was the world's largest steam hammer on its completion in 1877 and is the largest surviving steam hammer today?
...that Mount Urpín is home to 35 endangered animal species, despite its proximity to downtown Banská Bystrica?
...that theatre director David Warren landed a directing role on Desperate Housewives after giving the show's creator, Marc Cherry, his first acting job twenty years prior?
...that HMCS Esquimalt was the last Royal Canadian Navy warship lost to enemy action in World War II?
...that Jack Blott, an All-American football center for the Michigan Wolverines, had a Major League Baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds lasting only two games?
...that, as of December 2007, more than half of registered players of rugby union in Belgium are teenagers and pre-teens?
...that recreational parachutist Jacques-André Istel wrote a children's book claiming that the center of the world is located in Felicity, California, a town he founded?

13:42, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Clinton Thomas Dent made eighteen failed attempts to climb the Aiguille du Dru (pictured) before making the first ascent in September 1878?
...that Nationalism and Culture, the magnum opus of German anarchist Rudolf Rocker, was lauded by three Nobel Prize laureates?
...that the energy elasticity of India in 2005 was 0.80?
...that the first act of Paul John Hallinan as Archbishop of Atlanta, an office he assumed in 1962, was to order the desegregation of all Catholic schools and institutions in the Archdiocese of Atlanta?
...that the L class destroyer HMS Legion rescued 1,560 crew members of the torpedoed aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal?
...that cricketer Ian Meckiff was chaired off the ground by angry spectators as a hero after he was sanctioned for illegal bowling?
...that two of the four judges depicted in The Bench, a 1758 oil-on-canvas painting by the English artist William Hogarth, were half asleep in court?
...that the Army Cyclist Corps, which operated the bicycle infantry of the British Army, only existed for four years?
...that after placing fifth in the original Judgment of Paris wine tasting, the 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon made by Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards won the 2006 rematch?
...that Kurt Vonnegut's short story 2BR02B is mentioned in his later book God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, where it is attributed to Vonnegut's fictional alter ego Kilgore Trout?

07:40, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Enriqueta Favez (pictured), a Swiss woman, studied medicine and served as an army surgeon in the Napoleonic Wars disguised as a man, went to Cuba in the 1820s and married a local woman?
...that the 1957 accident on the Saint-Paul ramps claimed twenty-seven lives, making it among Réunion's deadliest road accidents?
...that No. 112 Squadron RAF was the first unit from any air force to use the "Shark Mouth" logo on P-40 fighter planes?
...that pole splitting is a frequency compensation technique that can be used to improve the step response of an electronic amplifier?
...that "Majulah Singapura", the national anthem of Singapore, was originally a theme song for events held by Singapore's City Council during colonial times?
...that the Invasion of Minorca, 1781, by Spanish and French forces succeeded, after more than five months, because the British defenders had no fresh vegetables?
...that the conventional name of the Darius Painter, an Apulian red-figure vase painter, is derived from his name vase, which carries the depiction of Darius the Great of Persia?
...that the community of West Union, Oregon, has the oldest Baptist church west of the Rocky Mountains?
...that actor Ben Kingsley has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming film reportedly inspired by the life of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Guru of Sex?

00:14, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Joshua Hendy Iron Works - a struggling business with only 60 employees by the late 1930s - ended World War II having supplied the engines to almost 30% of America's 2,700 Liberty ships (pictured)?
...that French winemakers in Jurançon once promoted their white Manseng wines with the slogan "Manseng means Jurançon means Sex"?
...that the phrase dental hygiene is credited to Alfred Fones who founded the first dental hygiene school and whose cousin was the first qualified dental hygienist?
...that Peter Baume, Chancellor of the Australian National University from 1994 to 2006, was elected to the Australian Senate for the Liberal Party of Australia in the 1974 federal election?
...that the permanent headquarters of the United States Department of Justice was built 65 years after the creation of the department—and 146 years after the creation of the post of Attorney General?
...that German-born anarcho-syndicalist Rudolf Rocker's book Pioneers of American Freedom traces the origins of American anarchism back to Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln?
...that the star Alpha Persei is also known by the traditional name of Mirfak, Arabic for 'elbow', and the name Hinali'i, commemorating a tsunami in Hawaiian folklore?
...that George Orwell spent a month in September 1931 living rough in a Hopper hut?

22 December 2007

17:30, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

...that apart from extensive action in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the observation squadron VMO-6 (insignia pictured) also represented the U.S. Marine Corps in National Air Races?
...that the Champagne house Cattier resurrected its dormant de Brignac brand and it is now known for its distinctive, golden pewter bottles?
...that the first time that racing promoter Bob Barkhimer went to a midget car race, he wondered what racing had to do with "circus midgets" (little people)?
...that Polish General Jerzy Wołkowicki was not murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Massacre probably due to his heroic past in the Russian Imperial Navy?
...that Richard A. La Vay was a Republican in the Maryland House of Delegates for Montgomery County, Maryland and once shared his district with Mark K. Shriver, son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver?
...that over 200 towns and cities in Brazil are served with a sewer system known as condominial sewerage?
...that James B. Craig, an All-American football halfback and quarterback, was the brother of Ralph Craig, a sprinter and gold medalist at the 1912 Summer Olympics?

11:23, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

...that handmade lace often begins as crochet thread (pictured)?
...that the Hungarian politician and Nazi collaborator Andor Jaross was also president of the football (soccer) club Ferencvárosi TC?
...that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Foucha v. Louisiana that a person found not guilty by reason of insanity cannot be committed to a mental institution if he has no mental illness?
...that Victorian winemakers sought to capitalize on the French phylloxera epidemic by making enough wine to satisfy the entire British market, but were thwarted when the insect infected their own vineyards?
...that drunken trees result from permafrost thawing?
...that Jeanette Lee managed both The Cranberries and Pulp while signing The Strokes and The Libertines to her Rough Trade label?
...that some Tibetans once thought Britain’s Queen Victoria was a reincarnation of Palden Lhamo, the wrathful deity considered to be the principal Protectress of Tibet?
...that the Royal Danish egg is one of eight Fabergé eggs that are currently missing?

21 December 2007

22:56, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

...that harps (pictured) are national musical instruments in Ireland, Wales and Paraguay?
...that Robert Adley became on December 10, 2007, the newest Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, just fifty-six days after he was easily reelected as a Democrat in the October 20 jungle primary?
...that William Ohnesorge, Party member of the Third Reich, heavily participated in research toward a German atomic bomb while acting as President of the Reichspost, the German postal service?
...that St Mary's Church in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, a Grade I listed building, was built in the 16th century and houses a stone cross dating to the 11th century?
...that Hallie Ford made the largest donation in the history of Willamette University in 2006, and the largest donation ever to a cultural group in Oregon in 2007?
...that glacial periods, commonly referred to as ice ages, are actually cold intervals within an ice age?
...that Ann C. Noble, inventor of the "Aroma Wheel", was the first woman hired as a faculty member of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology?

14:14, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

...that in 1289, when the Mamluks led by Qalawun captured Tripoli (depicted in artwork) in present-day Lebanon from the Franks, they ended 180 years of uninterrupted Christian rule, the longest of any of the major Frankish conquests in the Levant?
...that Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story about a group of World War I soldiers who were committed Janeites, that is, fans of Jane Austen novels?
...that three of the four batters faced by Mike Palagyi in his one Major League game were later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
...that Champagne has been featured prominently in popular culture from James Bond to hip hop?
...that Keeley Hawes voices the character of Lara Croft in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Underworld, the eighth video game in the Tomb Raider series, as she did in Anniversary and Legend?
...that the town of Rogersville, Tennessee was founded in 1789 by Irish-born pioneer Joseph Rogers and his father-in-law Thomas Amis?
...that the highest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. state of Georgia is 112 °F (44 °C), while the lowest ever recorded is -17 °F (-27 °C)?
...that one of the birth places of punk in the 1970s was a clothing store in Chelsea, London called Acme Attractions?

06:04, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

German band Grobschnitt

...that German rock band Grobschnitt (pictured) have incorporated pyrotechnics and sketch comedy into their extended performances since the mid-1970s?
...that Paul Feyerabend's theory of epistemological anarchism in the philosophy of science led him to be labeled the "worst enemy of science" by his detractors?
...that the very first news article on what became known as AIDS appeared in the New York Native, a now defunct gay newspaper in New York City?
...that Luigi Sturzo, a Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Italian People's Party (1919–1926), collaborated with the OSS while in exile in the United States?
...that the Stelo (plural: Steloj ) was a monetary unit in the Esperanto movement from 1945 to 1993?
...that former Michigan Wolverines rushing leader and teammate of Russell Davis, Harlan Huckleby only scored 13 touchdowns in six National Football League seasons, but three were in a single game?
...that the semantron, intended for summoning Eastern Orthodox Christians to worship, has been used as a deadly weapon in church brawls?

20 December 2007

23:28, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

...that American Civil War leader William Tecumseh Sherman (pictured) said, "No single body of men can claim more honor for the grand result than the officers and men of the Louisville Legion"?
...that Paul Casanova drove in the winning run in what is considered the longest night game in Major League Baseball history at 6 hours, 38 minutes?
...that korovai is a traditional Ukrainian wedding bread, baked from wheat flour and decorated with braids?
...that the Polish side tried to keep the Suwałki Agreement limited in scope so that it would not interfere with the planned Żeligowski's Mutiny?
...that in 2002, hundreds of former mobsters incarcerated in eight jails across Italy, supposedly having no way to contact one another, joined a hunger strike to protest against article 41-bis of the Italian Penitentiary Act?
...that naturalist Jonathan Couch wrote the four-volume A History of the Fishes of the British Islands, with his own coloured illustrations depicting the vivid natural colours of the different species?

14:23, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (pictured), founder of the Republic of Turkey, established the first commercial Turkish winery in 1925?
...that John Turner was the first person to be ordered deported from the United States for violation of the 1903 Anarchist Exclusion Act?
...that the first mill for splitting iron into rods and nails, and the first paper mill in the UK, were situated on the River Darent in Kent?
...that Dallas Cowboy running back Tony Boles once stole Emmit Smith's Nissan Pathfinder for two days when assigned rookie initiation car washing duties?
...that about one million animals are used every year in Europe in toxicology testing?
...that Dove's Evolution is the first entry to win two Grand Prix awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival?
...that County Route 91 in Onondaga County, New York is signed as County Route 57 for New York State Route 57, the route it replaced?
...that the Brown mussel Perna perna aggregates in such large amounts that it is able to sink navigational buoys?

05:33, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

...that at the age of 102, former Labour party secretary Haakon Lie (pictured) is still an active participant in Norwegian public life?
...that Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields is the first woman and first African American to be the director of the Office of NOAA Corps Operations and the NOAA Commissioned Corps?
...that Ken Schrader became the first driver to win in all of NASCAR's three largest series when he won a Craftsman Truck Series race at Saugus Speedway?
...that Armenian composer and musician Ara Gevorgyan composed the music for Russian prima ballerina Anastasia Volochkova's "Golden cage" ballet dedicated to the Bolshoi Theater?
...the Amarna Princess, an ancient Egyptian statuette, bought by Bolton Museum for £440,000 and displayed at the Hayward Gallery in an exhibition opened by the Queen, was actually a fake by British forger Shaun Greenhalgh?
...that the International Association for Plant Taxonomy organizes international symposia on problems of plant systematics?
...that 12 of the 23 medals awarded to Egypt at the Olympics so far were given to competitors in combat sports such as wrestling, boxing, judo and taekwondo?

19 December 2007

22:17, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

...that artist John LeKay exhibited crystal skulls (pictured) made from paradichlorobenzene, which is usually employed as a toilet deodoriser?
...that Google's Knol project is widely seen as an attempt to compete with Wikipedia?
...that Jeanne Labuda, a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives elected in 2006, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia?
...that Colombia and India established diplomatic relations on January 19, 1959?
...that, though records from the era are sketchy, press accounts reported that All-American football player Frank Steketee once kicked a 100-yard punt?
...that after selecting the wine to make their Grand vin many Bordeaux estates like Château Margaux will use the remaining cuvee to make a second wine?
...that the historian and geographer Robin Donkin served in Egypt and Jordan as a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery?
...that the liwan, a long narrow-fronted hall or vaulted portal often open to the outside, has been a feature of Levantine homes for more than 2,000 years?
...that a Belgian, Robert Goffin, was the first person to write a serious book on the indigenous American art-form, jazz?

14:13, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

...that seeds of redtop (Agrostis gigantea, pictured) are long-lived and display a high germination rate even after years of storage in an uncontrolled environment?
...that All-American footballer Merv Pregulman, the Green Bay Packers' first pick in the 1944 NFL Draft, nearly died in a kamikaze attack on his ship before ever playing a pro football game?
...that artifacts discovered at Mound Bottom, Tennessee show that the site was part of a vast Native American trading network extending to the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Appalachian Mountains during the Mississippian era?
...that Joseph Finegan, an attorney, politician, and railroad builder, was the commander of Confederate forces at the Battle of Olustee, fought in 1864 during the American Civil War?
...that meetings of the Committee of Public Safety, the de facto executive government during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, were convened at the Pavillon de Flore in Paris' Palais du Louvre?
...that during her first year in the Colorado General Assembly, Democratic legislator Claire Levy sponsored three successful bills regarding energy efficiency standards?

05:58, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Gomez Mill House (pictured), near Marlboro, New York, is the oldest surviving Jewish American residence?
...that the Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths, a Greek Resistance organization, set a bomb that destroyed the headquarters of the pro-Nazi ESPO organization in the very centre of occupied Athens?
...that the Tribal class destroyer HMS Tartar received the nickname 'Lucky Tartar' due to her numerous escapes from dangerous situations in World War II?
...that the titles of the thirteen episodes of the Japanese animated television series Gunslinger Girl were given in Italian as well as Japanese?
...that drag racer Bob Glidden was the top qualifier in 23 straight National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) events, including every event in the 1987 season?
...that during the mid-20th century, wine from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia accounted for nearly two-thirds of all internationally traded wine?
...that the Daguin machine was a cancelling machine first used in post offices in Paris in 1884?

18 December 2007

21:56, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Bill Klem (pictured), a major league baseball umpire who retired in 1941, holds umpiring records for most games officiated, most World Series officiated and most appearances as the home plate umpire?
...that in Hindu mythology, after Lakshmindara, son of Chand Sadagar, died of snakebite on his wedding night, his bride Behula accompanied his corpse on a raft floating in a river?
...that the title of psychiatrist Hervey M. Cleckley's book The Mask of Sanity refers to the mask of sincerity, generosity, and trustworthiness the psychopath wears to disguise his inability to feel emotion for others?
...that the fleet of the Royal Naval Patrol Service, also known as "Harry Tate's Navy" or "Churchill's Pirates", consisted of hundreds of requisitioned trawler‎s, whalers, drifters, paddle steamers, yachts, tugs and the like?
...that dealkalizing glass enhances its resistance to corrosion?
...that in return for reinforcements against the Lombards, Cunimund offered Emperor Justin II the city of Sirmium on two separate occasions?

13:17, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

...that The Love of Siam director Chukiat Sakweerakul (pictured) intentionally sought to downplay the 2007 Thai film's gay love story in marketing materials, in hopes of the film reaching a broader audience?
...that the New Orleans Saints first-round draft picks have included Reggie Bush and Archie Manning?
...that Romanian princess Catherine Caradja was nicknamed the "Angel of Ploieşti" for her humanitarian deeds by American and British airmen who were taken prisoner during the bombing of Romania in World War II?
...that Ernst Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué, a Prussian general and confidant of Frederick the Great, was wounded thrice in the Battle of Landeshut, fought in 1760 during the Seven Years' War?
...that "bunchers" are criminals involved in kidnapping pets from residences, trapping stray animals illegally, and selling them to laboratories for animal testing purposes?
...that John Rogers, who helped to prepare a version of the Hebrew Bible, also helped to introduce the man engine, an important reform in Cornish mining?
...that there was once an estuarine valley with a rich abundance of New Zealand flounders near Waipatiki, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, but it became a stream system after an earthquake in 1931?

06:59, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

...that according to Hindu mythology, the Tandava, a vigorous dance by Hindu god Shiva (pictured), is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution of the universe?
...that The Australian Golf Club, arguably the oldest in Australia, held its 17th Australian Open between the 13th–16th December 2007, after holding the inaugural edition in 1904?
...that department store chain Sakowitz was purchased by shopping mall developing firm L. J. Hooker in 1988, so that a location could be opened at Cincinnati's Forest Fair Mall?
...that Judeopolonia was a proposed buffer state between the Russian and German Empires with a projected population of 30 million Jews, Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Baltic Germans?
...that Generalissimo Francisco Franco lifted the exile of Francisco Vidal y Barraquer, a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, only after reaching a concordat with the Vatican?
...that The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco, a 1959 album by jazz band The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, reached the bestseller charts with 50,000 copies sold by May 1960?

17 December 2007

23:21, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

...that following his capture after the Battle of Badajoz in 1812, Major General Armand Philippon (pictured) was paroled to stay in the Shropshire town of Oswestry?
...that the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben across Ontario from Montreal to Lake Nipissing, a depression formed by ancient faults, is a failed arm of the ancestor of the Atlantic Ocean?
...that Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area lost its status as a Pennsylvania state park in the 1990s despite being a National Natural Landmark and Snyder County's only state park?
...that discards are the portion of a catch of fish which is not retained on board during commercial fishing operations and is returned, often dead or dying, to the sea?
...that though only one melody for every ten songs has been preserved among the work of the troubadours, a remarkable three-quarters of Berenguier de Palazol's surviving poems have melodies?
...that the U.S. Defense Department issued archaeology awareness playing cards to educate soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan on the importance of respecting ancient monuments?
...that the twelve episodes of the Tsukihime, Lunar Legend anime were developed by the Tsukihime Production Committee, which included companies such as Geneon Entertainment, Movic, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and J.C. Staff?

14:54, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the New Norcia Cricket Team (pictured) was a team of mainly indigenous cricketers who played in Western Australia between about 1879 and 1906?
...that the highly prolific Carignan wine grape is one of the leading culprits of France's wine lake and that the European Union has resorted to paying farmers to uproot their Carignan vines to help alleviate the problem?
...that the molecular weight of a polymer can be determined from data on its intrinsic viscosity using the Mark-Houwink equation?
...that Elizabeth Woodville was the first English royal mistress to become the English queen consort?
...that Zeta Orionis, or Alnitak, 'the girdle', in Arabic, is the brightest O-type blue supergiant and one of the hottest bright stars in the sky?
...that social activists opine that the extension of the Kolkata Metro on pillars on the bed of Adi Ganga will destroy the waterway?
...that once economic advisor to Margaret Thatcher, Christopher Story went on to publish independent intelligence magazines that are considered important reading by many international top agencies?

06:53, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Venus figurines are Palaeolithic figures of women (example pictured), made in Eurasia between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago?
...that Ralph Millet, who brought the first Saab cars to the United States, discussed production of Saabs in the U.S. in the 1950s, but that the idea was only resurrected with the U.S. production of a Saab in the 2006 model year?
...that the preface of a book written by Saint Goeznovius is an important document in establishing a historical basis for the mythical British king, King Arthur?
...that the tropical spiderwort (Commelina benghalensis) is a noxious weed in the United States, but used as a remedy against leprosy in Pakistan?
...that Terry Pitt died after choking on nicotine-replacement chewing gum in the back of a taxi in Birmingham, England?
...that unmatched dye lots can frustrate weeks of labor for a knitter or crocheter?
...that Warren Storm pioneered a South Louisiana musical genre known as swamp pop?

16 December 2007

23:39, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Berlin Foundry Cup (pictured), an ancient Greek drinking cup by the Foundry Painter, depicts the operations of a bronze sculpture workshop?
...that Qaqun, a Palestinian village depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, had been continuously inhabited by Arabs since as early as the Mamluk period?
...that at the time, the 1947 Sydney hailstorm, which hospitalised at least 350 people, was the most severe storm to strike the city since records began in 1792?
...that retired Major General Charles D. Metcalf is the current Director of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the world’s oldest and largest military aviation museum?
...that Luo Binwang wrote a sharply worded accusation against Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, that impressed her so much that after his death she collected his writings and published them?
...that after the fall of Napoleon in France, some 200 Bonapartists fled to the United States and attempted to establish an agricultural settlement to grow wine grapes and olive trees in the Alabama wilderness?

17:40, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the only elements of the Nativity of Jesus in art (example pictured) to span the whole history of its depiction are the baby, the ox and the ass?
...that George K. Gay's house was the first brick house in Oregon and served as the boundary marker between Yamhill and Polk counties?
...that until recently many Chilean wines labeled Merlot and Sauvignon blanc were really made from Carménère and Sauvignon vert?
...that Madeline L'Engle ran writers' workshops and retreats every January at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York?
...that Marsha Looper, a Republican state legislator elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2006 by a 2-to-1 margin, is also a systems engineer, real estate broker, and rancher?
...that Georgiana Harcourt, a 19th century English correspondent and translator, was the daughter of Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt, the Archbishop of York?

11:10, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Dumas House (pictured), a government office building in Perth, Western Australia, is named in honour of engineer and public servant Sir Russell John Dumas?
...that Richard Nolte was appointed as U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Republic for three weeks in 1967 but never served due to the outbreak of the Six-Day War?
...that Liberian park Sapo National Park contains the second-largest tropical rainforest in West Africa after Taï National Park in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire?
...that British comedians Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie made one of their earliest television appearances in their 1983 television pilot The Crystal Cube, a show the BBC hated?
...that the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations might be returned $2.33 billion in compensation if the Libyans convicted of the Pan AM and UTA plane bombings are cleared?
...that the Madaba Map is a large Byzantine mosaic from circa 550 CE that depicts the topography of Jerusalem and surrounding areas in great detail?

04:20, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Wales had one of the highest literacy rates in eighteenth century Europe thanks to the wealthy Bridget Bevan (pictured), who sponsored a system of "circulating schools"?
...that a symbolic April 1995 boat trip—celebrating the foundation of the Mekong River Commission—was unable to cross the Mekong River because China was filling the reservoir of its Manwan Dam?
...that future four-star admiral John H. Sides, father of the United States Navy's guided-missile program, risked his career by participating in the Revolt of the Admirals?
...that the Smith Point Light at the mouth of the Potomac River was preceded by four other lighthouses and three lightships at the same site?
...that during the Samanid dynasty, commentary on Persian poetry took the form of either slander or excessive praise, usually through sophistry or exaggeration of trivial errors in a rival's poetry?
...that the California wine industry accounts for nearly 90% of all U.S. production, and if California were a country it would be the world's fourth largest wine producer?
...that Ebrulf left his position as a Merovingian courtier to become a hermit?

15 December 2007

22:14, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Lorraine Collett (pictured) was the original model for the girl featured on Sun-Maid raisin packaging?
...that the National Assembly, Germany's legislature from 1919 to 1920, convened in Weimar to remind the World War I Allies of Germany's cultural history such as the Weimar residents Goethe and Schiller?
...that Aline was an ordinary woman who lived in 1st century AD Egypt, and whose name and portrait were preserved in her grave?
...that Country-Western singer, songwriter and actor Jimmy Wakely had his own series of DC Comics comic books, billing him as "Hollywood's Sensational Cowboy Star!"?
...that the Duchess of Marlborough egg is the only Fabergé egg to have been commissioned by an American?
...that Chinese-American author Laurence Yep's fantasy novel Dragon of the Lost Sea was originally conceived as a picture book adaptation of a folktale involving the Monkey King, a popular Chinese mythical character?
...that Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, Russian ambassador to Poland, can be considered an unofficial but de facto ruler of Poland?
...that 20 year old tobacco store clerk Eddie Kolb was allowed to pitch the last regular season baseball game for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders in exchange for a box of cigars?

14:22, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the 25,000-year-old Venus of Brassempouy (pictured) is one of the oldest known realistic depictions of a human face?
...that buildings in Kuala Lumpur have Mughal, Tudor, Neo-Gothic or Spanish architectural styles modified to use local resources and for the climate of Malaysia?
...that Muhtar Kent, named to assume the post of CEO of the Coca-Cola Company on July 1, 2008, is the son of a Turkish diplomat, who risked his life to save Jews in France during the Holocaust?
...that Chris Harris was the first basketballer from England to play in the NBA?
...that John Pitre's 1965 visionary art painting, A New Dawn, which was valued at $1.7 million in 1997, was offered in trade for a £1 million house in London in 2004?
...that Chase Austin was the first African American racecar driver to race in the NASCAR Busch Series?
...that "I Am Your Gummy Bear", a silly novelty song whose video features a "jolly and jiggly" lime green cartoon gummi bear and a 30-second video clip in eight languages, is an internet meme?
...that Princess Stéphanie of Monaco’s song "Ouragan" was a number one hit in France?

04:28, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the F class destroyer HMS Fury (pictured) carried the former King Edward VIII to France the day after he abdicated the throne?
...that boats crammed with people from both India and Bangladesh, flying the flags of their respective countries, converge on the Ichamati River, the international border, to immerse the idols after Durga Puja?
...that Philip Pullman's novel Clockwork was adapted into an opera for children?
...that Tom Wolfe's 1981 book From Bauhaus to Our House blames the influence of International style European architects for creating many buildings that nobody likes?
...that Mexican actress Pina Pellicer played the lover of Marlon Brando in One Eyed Jacks, the only movie Brando directed?
...that the oasis town of Iferouane in northern Niger was the site of the first attack carried out by the Niger Movement for Justice, which marked the beginning of the Second Tuareg Rebellion?
...that RAAF Beaufort squadrons fighting in New Guinea under the command of Group Captain Val Hancock were so short of ammunition in 1945 that they used captured Japanese ordnance to augment their bomb loads?

14 December 2007

19:25, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the tradition of a Ukrainian flower wreath (pictured), a headdress worn by girls and young unmarried women, dates back to the pagan Slavic customs that predate the Christianization of Rus?
...that shoots of the Almond Willow are used extensively for basket-making?
...that newly named U.S. Naval Academy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo is believed to be the first Pacific Islander American to be head coach at a major college football program?
...that before the Bagratids unified Georgia, Caucasian Iberia was ruled by a succession of princes under the influence of the Byzantines, the Persians and the Muslim Caliphate from the 6th to the 9th centuries?
...that the non-fiction book Getting It: The psychology of est was the first book to analyze Werner Erhard's Erhard Seminars Training from a psychological point of view?

12:06, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Carolina dayflower (pictured) is actually from India and was named in the United States nearly a century before it was described in its native country?
...that English football referee Gary Willard once had to be given a police safety escort off the pitch after sending off three home team players in a single game?
...that there is no such bird as a woofen-poof?
...that the Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary has been criticized by adherents of the King-James-Only Movement for convincing some Independent Baptist groups to adopt modern Bible translations?
...that as a result of his role in the Peasants' War, the German Renaissance painter Jerg Ratgeb was executed by being torn apart by four horses?
...that only eight of the planned 296 miles of the Indiana Central Canal were built, due to Indiana being bankrupted by the Panic of 1837?
...that twice named All-American football tackle Robert "Brick" Wahl later became CEO of a Fortune 500 irrigation equipment company?

03:14, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the National Library of Singapore (pictured), the Seattle Central Library, and Minneapolis Central Library are examples of green libraries, using environmentally conscious designs?
...that Julian Rotter developed the locus of control theory, which has been widely used in the psychology of personality?
...that in chemical kinetics, Lindemann mechanisms have been used to model gas phase decomposition reactions?
...that Lawrence Turner, who presented a Parliamentary petition calling for W. S. Gilbert's copyright on the libretti of Gilbert and Sullivan operas to be extended indefinitely, was the grandson of comic actor George Grossmith who starred in them?
...that hatchlings of the Cape Fear Shiner, a critically endangered minnow endemic to central North Carolina, feed off of their egg yolk for five days after they hatch?
...even though the United States Housing Act of 1949 called for building more housing, some projects saw more housing units destroyed than built?
...that the Polish rock band Czerwone Gitary reached the heights of its popularity in the 1960s, and was known as the Polish Beatles?

13 December 2007

20:22, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

...that early-20th-century regrading in Seattle (pictured) was probably the largest alteration of urban terrain up to that time?
...that kings of the House of Alpin ruled Pictland and the kingdom of Alba, in modern Scotland, beginning with Cináed mac Ailpín in the 840s and ending with the death of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda in 1034?
...that shortly after Captain William Day received the first gun salute to an American fighting vessel in a European port, at Brest, France, in July 1777, he sailed home and effectively vanished from history?
...that Vietnamese winemakers are trying to cultivate grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon on land that till recently was still covered with landmines from the Vietnam War?
...that in 1607, Spanish priest and professor of music at the University of Salamanca Sebastián de Vivanco published 18 versions of the Song of Mary in the same book?
...that ice hockey player Fred Higginbotham died of a spinal cord injury sustained during an accident when riding a pony?
...that the European Parliament is currently housed in Espace Léopold in Brussels, Belgium?
...that in polymer chemistry, the value of the kinetic chain length of a polymer can describe the polymer's chain mobility, glass transition temperature, and elastic modulus?
...that Ryan Holle is serving a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole for letting his roommate borrow his car that was then used in a crime?

12:16, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Ostomachion is a mathematical treatise attributed to Archimedes on a 14-piece tiling puzzle (pictured) similar to tangram?
...that the development of a hydrosalpinx was first recognized in the 17th century as a cause of female infertility by Dutch physician Regnier de Graaf?
...that Mike Vranos, a man considered by some to be the most powerful man on Wall Street in the early 1990s, was known for breaking up business meetings to issue armwrestling challenges?
...that several prehistoric standing stones and natural stone features in Scotland are called Carlin stones, possibly from the term cailleach meaning "old hag" or "witch"?
...that 78 soldiers of the Soviet 25th Rifle Division were awarded the title, Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of that nation?
...that Claudia Blum de Barberi is a Colombian politician and psychologist, who became the first woman to ever be elected President of the Congress of Colombia?
...that every World Chess Champion before Garry Kasparov except Bobby Fischer played at the Hastings International Chess Congress?

01:53, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

...that since Thomas Jefferson designed his home, Franklin D. Roosevelt's Top Cottage (pictured) has been the only house designed by a U.S. President, although no President has stayed there overnight?
...that U-boat commander Reinhard Hardegen deliberately placed his submarine in danger during the sinking of the SS Gulfamerica by refusing to risk hitting civilians onshore?
...that under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, Communist China would guarantee complete autonomy and democratic self-government in Macau up to 2049?
...that the Fabergé invoice for the Karelian Birch egg addressed the abdicated Nicholas II of Russia as "Mr. Romanov Nikolai Aleksandrovich" instead of the previous "Tsar of all the Russias"?
...that college football running back Butch Woolfolk was named MVP of both the Rose Bowl and the Bluebonnet Bowl in the same year?
...that the Chilean wine grape Pais is believed to have descended from the "common black grape" that the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought to Mexico in 1520?

12 December 2007

19:00, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

...that apparel incorporating homemade granny squares (pictured) was a 1970s fashion fad?
...that Jaroslav Jiřík became the first player from an Eastern Bloc nation to play in the National Hockey League when he appeared in three games with the St. Louis Blues in 1970?
...that the French Committee of National Liberation formed by Gens. Henri Giraud and Charles de Gaulle officially became the provisional government of France after its liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944?
...that Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, as the first Health Minister of Bangladesh, worked to eradicate mosquitoes from that country?
...that when yellow crystals of mosesite, a very rare mineral found in deposits of mercury, are heated to 186 °C (367 °F), they become isotropic?
...that Joseph R. Bodwell, the 40th governor of Maine, worked on the farm and also as a shoemaker when he was a child?

18:32, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
...that systematic mapping of the Michelangelo quadrangle on Mercury has revealed the presence of four nearly obliterated multi-ring impact basins, possibly the oldest features in the mapped areas of the planet?
...that a team of Canadians assembled to play for the new Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team in England were sent home without playing a game due to the outbreak of World War II?
...that crystals of Paulingite, a rare zeolite mineral found in vesicles in the basaltic rocks from the Columbia River, form a perfect clear rhombic dodecahedron?
...that scarps, ridges, and troughs, such as the 650 km (400 mi) long and 2 km (1.2 mi) high Discovery Rupes cutting through the Rameau crater, are common features in the Discovery quadrangle on the planet Mercury?
...that in 1578 the 3rd Dalai Lama converted the Mongol leader Altan Khan, who persuaded Mongols to convert, built Mongolia's first monastery, and within 50 years most Mongols were Buddhist?

10:14, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme (pictured) is a preserved railway in France that has dual gauge track with four rails?
...that the visual novel Myself ; Yourself was adapted into an animated television series consisting of thirteen episodes?
...that a nutating disc engine is a novel internal combustion engine comprising fundamentally only one moving part?
...that Jamie Morris of the Washington Redskins, originally considered too short to be a running back, holds the NFL record for the most rushing attempts in a game with 45?
...that the Beethoven crater in the Beethoven quadrangle on Mercury is the eleventh largest named impact crater in the Solar System?
...that before penning Number Ones for Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts, country music songwriter Neil Thrasher charted a country single in 1997 as half of the duo Thrasher Shiver?

04:11, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Mold cape (pictured) is a solid sheet-gold cape found in 1833 over the upper body of a male skeleton in a Bronze Age burial mound at Mold in Flintshire, North Wales?
...that the Zentrale Stelle (Central Office) was established in 1958 by the West German government to investigate war crimes committed outside Germany by Nazi forces?
...that Montgomery Ward president Robert J. Thorne was an unpaid assistant to the Quartermaster General during World War I, and won the Distinguished Service Medal for reorganizing the U.S. Army's supply system?
...that the bells of St Giles Church in Wormshill, England were restored in 1995 after a collection started in 1944 with only ten shillings?
...that when Frankish Crusaders ran out of food after the Siege of Maarat in 1098, they proceeded to massacre the city's Saracen inhabitants and eat them?
...that in Steve Morrison's first year as Brother Rice defensive coordinator they won a MHSAA football championship and in his first year as Western Michigan linebacker coach one of his linebackers led the nation in sacks?

11 December 2007

22:06, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Kuiper crater in the Kuiper quadrangle, named after Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper (pictured), has the highest albedo recorded on Mercury?
...that recent studies estimated that 34% of total electricity consumption in the Dominican Republic was not paid for, as poor service and high prices have induced theft through illegal connections and non-payment of electricity bills?
...that Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP Award winner, was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft?
...that Fernandina's Flicker (Colaptes fernandinae), a woodpecker endemic to Cuba, is threatened by habitat loss and now there are fewer than 800 left in the world?
...that the amorphous phosphate mineral santabarbaraite was named after the Italian mining district Santa Barbara where it was discovered in 2003, but its name also honors Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners?
...that the Transcontinental Motor Convoys inspired Dwight D. Eisenhower to support the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956?

15:04, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Garter King of Arms William Segar (pictured) was imprisoned for confirming a coat of arms to someone who was not a gentleman?
...that the 1994 Intelligence Services Act revamped the Apartheid-era security agencies of South Africa and ensured the future preservation of civil liberties?
...that the Caloris Basin on Mercury, one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System, is surrounded by a series of geological formations believed to have been produced by the basin's ejecta?
...that former United States Border Patrol Agent Jose Compean is the focus of a 130,000 name petition seeking to free him from prison?
...that in 1886, Wilhelm Steinitz won the first official World Chess Championship?
...that the Odriíst National Union was a 1960s Peruvian political party based on a cult of personality focussed on former President Manuel A. Odría?
...that British historian Plantagenet Somerset Fry refused treatment for bowel cancer and suffocated himself with a plastic bag?
...that the Anarchist Exclusion Acts forbade anyone holding anarchist views to enter the United States?

07:25, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

...that HMS Benbow's (pictured) class, the Iron Dukes, were the first Royal Navy battleships to mount anti-aircraft guns?
...that former Governor Samuel Cony served twice as a member of the Maine House of Representatives—first as a Democrat, and nearly 30 years later as a Republican?
...that Colura zoophaga, a species of liverwort native to Kenya, traps ciliates in microscopic structures formed by fusion of the leaf edges, but scientists do not know whether it is a carnivorous plant?
...that José Ortega Spottorno established the now-bestselling Spanish newspaper El Pais to advance liberal values at a time when the country was undergoing a painful transition from fascism to democracy?
...that jerrygibbsite ((Mn,Zn)₉(SiO₄)₄(OH)₂) is a rare mineral of which there are only five known samples in the world?
...that the first volume of printed strips from the furry "Slice-of-life" webcomic A Doemain of Our Own won the 2006 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work"?
...that the suffering caused by 19th century floods and famines in Mymensingh District, presently in Bangladesh, led to the sale of human beings for around the price of a maund of rice?

01:03, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

...that during a disastrous battle leading 6000 counter-revolutionaries during the French Revolution, Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye (pictured) fled by ship to England, claiming he needed to save official correspondence?
...that the US Coast Guard cutters Seneca and Ossipee endured a collective total of five torpedo near misses in World War One?
...that Simone Ortega has received prizes from both France and her native Spain for her bestselling range of cookery books, one of which has been updated 48 times and sold millions of copies in Spanish and English?
...that although Howard Johnson became an opponent of animal cruelty, he had earlier called for the British army to deploy flamethrowers to eliminate the seaweed breeding grounds for a type of fly?
...that Paul Hornung, a NFL Hall of Famer, was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft?
...that the south pole of the planet Mercury is located in the Bach quadrangle?

10 December 2007

16:50, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

...that among the Rikbaktsa (pictured), an indigenous people of Brazil, each household traditionally was a separate political unit?
...that the stagecoach line running between Kelton, Utah and several gold mines in Idaho and Montana was robbed more often than any other stage line in the Old West?
...that The Prodigal Son by Arthur Sullivan was the first sacred music setting of this story from the Gospel of Luke?
...that serial killer Nannie Doss was given the moniker "The Jolly Black Widow" after confessing to the murder of four of her five husbands?
...that when the Nazis began requiring all Jews in the occupied Netherlands to wear the yellow badge, Dutch Christian Casper ten Boom voluntarily wore one also?

10:06, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Eddie Hasha's (pictured) death led to board track racing being compared to Roman gladiators, contributing to the sport's demise?
...that the planet Mars appears red primarily because of a ubiquitous layer of dust containing nanophase ferric oxides?
...that Żeligowski's Mutiny, which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Central Lithuania in late 1920, was in fact staged and carried out with the knowledge of Polish leader Józef Piłsudski?
...that Glafira Dorosh is the only recipient of a Soviet Order for a culinary recipe?
...that Portland General Electric CEO Peggy Y. Fowler is blind in one eye?
...that Yoky Matsuoka, a neuroscience and robotics researcher, was once the 21st ranked tennis player in Japan?
...that Augustine Podmore Williams, a British mariner who urged his fellow-officers to abandon a crowded vessel in stormy seas in 1880, served as the inspiration for Joseph Conrad's fictional character Lord Jim?
...that after the Fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans demolished the Column of Justinian to symbolize their capture of the city?
...that Italian aerodynamicist Antonio Ferri took to the hills in 1943 with a trunk load of scientific documents to turn over to the Allies?
...that despite being Porsche's primary factory-backed competitor in the World Endurance Championship from 1983 to 1986, the Lancia LC2 won only two races?

03:18, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

...that crème brûlée (pictured) was invented in the 1690s by François Massialot, who recommended melting and burning the sugar topping with a red-hot fire shovel?
...that the work of Cornificia, a Roman poet of the first century BC, was read for centuries, but has since been lost entirely?
...that snocross riders travel up to 130 feet (40 meters) off jumps before they touch the ground?
...that in 1759, François Thurot's ship set out to create a diversion from an invasion of Britain only to learn, after months of storms and starvation, that the invasion fleet had been defeated before it even left France?
...that Congolese dancer and choreographer Faustin Linyekula is the winner of the 2007 Principal Award of the Prince Claus Foundation?
...that India's Red and White Bravery Awards were renamed the Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Awards after protests claimed it provided surrogate advertising for Red and White brand cigarettes?
...that Garland Rivers was the only true freshman to earn a varsity letter on the 1983 Michigan Wolverines football team?
...that despite the torpedoed Soviet merchant SS Stalingrad sinking in under four minutes, 66 of her crew still managed to survive?
...that Bradford Kelleher started the Metropolitan Museum of Art's gift shop?

9 December 2007

21:10, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Singletary Lake (pictured), a Carolina Bay in Bladen County, North Carolina, has been protected since the 1800s, but the land around it only became Singletary Lake State Park in 1939?
...that the spread of Christianity in Asia is believed to have reached China during the Tang Dynasty, where it was known as the Luminous Religion?
...that Clarence Williams had 646 rushing yards and 102 receiving yards without scoring a touchdown during the 1998 NCAA college football season?
...that the most recent of the six different methods of total synthesis of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel, a drug originally derived from the rare Pacific Yew, was developed at the Tokyo University of Science in 1999?
...that one egg laid in a clutch of two by the White-breasted Robin of Western Australia is much paler than the other?
...that the first major anti-nuclear demonstrations in Germany took place in 1975 in opposition to the construction of a proposed nuclear power station in Wyhl?
...that Dave Murray, a Canadian alpine skier and member of the Crazy Canucks, was ranked third in the world in downhill skiing in 1979?
...that the dominant feature in the Shakespeare quadrangle is the 1300-km wide Caloris Planitia, the largest and best preserved impact basin on Mercury observed by the spacecraft Mariner 10?
...that surface plasmons are the basis of a spectrography technique known as surface plasmon resonance?
...that St Barnabas Church, one of the few Grade II*-listed churches in the city of Brighton and Hove, was dismissed by its architect John Loughborough Pearson as "one of my cheap editions"?

15:08, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

...that a design for the Hoyt Library (pictured) in Saginaw, Michigan, which was rejected as too monumental, wasteful of space, and not functional as a library, was used to build the Public Library of New Orleans, Louisiana?
...that the Tolstoj crater, a 400-km (240 mile) wide impact crater on the planet Mercury has an extensive, and remarkably well-preserved, radially-lineated ejecta blanket?
...that Eduardo Serra Rexach is the only person to have held public office with all three governing parties of democratic Spain?
...that Aloysius C. Galvin, a former president of the University of Scranton, served aboard a U.S. Navy submarine chaser in the Aleutian Islands during World War II?
...that ornithologist Charles Foster Batchelder's last words to one of his friends were "Glad to have known you"?
...that Operation Resurrection was the planned take-over of Paris in May 1958 by French Army paratroopers and armored units to overthrow the French government and facilitate the return of Charles de Gaulle to power?
...that Russell Walter Fox, a former chief judge of the Australian Capital Territory, wrote what is considered in Australia as the most extensive environmental report on uranium mining?
...that Edward Barrett played rugby union for England, and cricket for the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States?
...that each time Eric Kattus caught more than three receptions in a game during his Michigan Wolverines football career, at least one of them was a touchdown?

08:40, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the rehabilitation of the Union Trust Building (pictured) by architect Ralph Anderson set the pattern for reviving Seattle's rundown "Skid Road" neighborhood, Pioneer Square?
...that 1933 Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans Ted Petoskey and Whitey Wistert debuted for the Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds two days apart in September 1934?
...that Anthony Browne was the first British illustrator to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award?
...that the Sussex Railroad was the last independently operated New Jersey railroad to be incorporated into the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad system?
...that the nursing pin had its original design patterned after the Maltese cross of the Knights Hospitaller and the Order of Saint Lazarus?
...that ridges and escarpments in the Victoria quadrangle of the planet Mercury have been associated with the stresses caused by the sun slowing Mercury's rotation through tidal forces?
...that Tetsuya Ota won a lawsuit against race organizers of the now infamous 1998 JGTC race at Fuji Speedway, despite signing a pledge not to seek compensation?
...that Dominic de la Calzada is the patron saint of civil engineers because he built a causeway to aid pilgrims on the Way of St. James?

01:51, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Juliobriga (ruins pictured) was the most important urban centre in Roman Cantabria?
...that undefeated national champion 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team rushing leader and Hula Bowl MVP Chris Howard was released after fumbling five times in the preseason of the 1998 NFL season?
...that Jack Womack's novel Let's Put the Future Behind Us emerged from a failed Soviet-American film project of William Gibson that was to star the late rockstar Victor Tsoi?
...that surface science studies show that Stranski-Krastanov growth is one of three primary ways in which thin films grow on crystals?
...that though the Steel Military Egg and the Order of St. George Egg were relatively modest designs in the spirit of World War I austerity, the two Fabergé eggs made for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia were still priced at more than 13,000 rubles?
...that former Hampshire wicketkeeper Adi Aymes went on to manage football club Fleet Town F.C., and is the current fitness coach of Havant and Waterlooville?
...that both former German Federal Minister of Labor Norbert Blüm and former Secretary of State of France Alain Vivien have been recognized with the Leipzig Human Rights Award?

8 December 2007

19:13, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the inshore marine fish Malabar jack (pictured) derives its name from Malabar in South India, but can be found in coastal areas as far apart as South Africa, Japan and Vanuatu?
...that Webb Miller, whose reporting of the Salt Satyagraha raid on the Dharasana Salt Works was credited for helping turn world opinion against British colonial rule in India, was kidnapped by Morton Salt co-founder Mark Morton?
...that the first major effort to study the climate of the Arctic was undertaken during the First International Polar Year in 1882-83?
...that in the 1947 college football rankings, southern voters refused to vote for the integrated Michigan Wolverines football team with black stars such as Gene Derricotte?
...that Qadas was one of seven Metawali villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war?
...that according to legend, the relics of Saints Ferreolus and Ferrutio were discovered in 370 by a military tribune whose dog chased a fox into a cave near present-day Besançon, France?
...that gender-bending party promoter Andre J. appeared on the November 2007 cover of French Vogue wearing a women’s neoprene trench coat and ankle boots?

12:38, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Jane Austen's (pictured) novels increased dramatically in popularity after the publication of her nephew's A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1870?
...that due to both lengthening seasons and freshmen eligibility, college football statistical leaders such as Michigan Wolverines football receiving or passing leaders are controversial?
...that the Stourbridge fair, first held in 1211 in Cambridge, England, was once the largest fair in Europe?
...that the dinosaur fossil Dakota is so well-preserved it has caused researchers to revise their estimates of the appearance, size, and speed of a whole group of dinosaurs known as hadrosaurs?
...that the north pole of the planet Mercury is located in the Borealis quadrangle?
...that of 36 merchant vessels that set out in June 1942 as part of Britain's disastrous Convoy PQ-17, 27 never returned including SS Pan Kraft?
...that Red Kellett, former President and General Manager of the Baltimore Colts, was never a professional football player, but an infielder for the Boston Red Sox baseball club in his playing days?

7 December 2007

23:52, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

...that The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (pictured) is actually composed of 110 letters between Gilbert White, and Thomas Pennant or Daines Barrington?
...that college football coach Bo Schembechler died the day after attending the funeral of his 1971 quarterback Tom Slade and urging the football team to be "as good a Michigan man as Slade"?
...that Out of the Blue, a BBC Television series, is set in Manly, near Sydney, Australia?
...that Elm Coulee Oil Field, Montana, is the highest-producing onshore field found in the Continental United States in the past 56 years?
...that the cloven hoof is a characteristic of mountain goats, certain kosher foods and in some traditions, the Devil?
...that anarchism once was the strongest current in the Cuban labor movement?
...that alkaptonuria, a rare inborn error of metabolism, is over five times more common in Slovakia than in the rest of the world?

16:58, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Bronze Age golden hats, including those of Berlin (pictured), Schifferstadt and Ezelsdorf, are tall gold head-dresses from circa 1,000 to 800 BC that also served as calendars?
...that actress Evelyn Venable, the voice of the Blue Fairy in the animated film Pinocchio, was the original model for the Columbia Pictures logo?
...that Dennis Freeman, as the mayor of tiny Logansport, Louisiana, worked for 16 years to keep the construction of a new bridge over the Sabine River to connect Louisiana and Texas as a high construction priority?
...that The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer, a book that analyzes the The Simpsons using philosophical concepts, is the main textbook in some university philosophy courses?
...that Jean Pouliot founded both major private TV networks in Quebec, TQS and TVA?
...that Are You There? was widely promoted because of its score by Ruggero Leoncavallo (best known for his opera Pagliacci), but the first-night audience were incensed when it turned out to have very little music?
...that according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon?
...that indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East traditionally worshiped the Raven deity Kutkh as a key figure in creation, as a fertile ancestor of mankind, as a mighty shaman and as a trickster?

09:50, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Environmental Theory by Florence Nightingale (pictured) emphasized how a patient's environment affects his recovery?
...that actor Michael Sellers, son of British actor Peter Sellers, died of the same cause (heart attack) and date, albeit twenty-six years later, as his father?
...that the original designation for Route 574 in Erie County, New York and its eastern terminus were removed four years apart?
...that Alpha Kappa Alpha founder Nellie Quander belonged to one of America's longest and oldest free slave dynasties?
...that Medal of Honor recipient Captain Julien Gaujot became so jealous when his brother was given the Medal of Honor that he vowed that he would get one too?
...that the history of Nairobi includes the 1998 U.S. embassy bombing that killed 213 and wounded 5,000?
...that Graham Perrett, the Australian House of Representatives member for Moreton, was accused of calling his rival, Gary Hardgrave, "racist" during the 2007 election campaign?
...that the first co-ed school in Azerbaijan was founded by Hamida Javanshir in 1908?

01:44, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Houston Volunteers signed up to replace those lost aboard USS Houston (pictured) after its sinking in 1942 by the Japanese Navy?
...that pit vipers and some boas and pythons have specialized facial pits for sensing infrared radiation?
...that William Mainwaring argued that possession of holy scripture by British troops might be included in a list of documents liable to incite disaffection?
...that the Mount Sandel Mesolithic site in Coleraine, County Londonderry is the oldest archaeological site in Ireland?
...that Australian basketball player Patrick Mills is only the third Indigenous Australian male to ever play for his country's national team?
...that the tallest commercial building in Salem, Oregon was commissioned by Thomas A. Livesley?
...that Adam, Count of Schwarzenberg reportedly died of fright instilled by his own mercenaries?
...that the BAE Systems HERTI is the only fully autonomous UAV to have been certified by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority?
...that the free surface of a free liquid in zero-g forms a perfect sphere?

6 December 2007

16:48, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

...that former Australian cricket captain Bill Brown (pictured) was the first player to be "Mankaded"?
...that maidams were burial sites of the Ahom Kingdom's royalty and aristocracy that were similar to the Egyptian pyramids, but much smaller in scale?
...that Jonathan Swift called his predecessor "that rascal Dean Jones" because he made such bad property leases whilst Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin?
...that during World War II, Marine Fighting Squadron 215 established four new U.S. Marine Corps records in the South Pacific including having the most ace pilots?
...that The Simpsons' history began when Matt Groening conceived of the dysfunctional family in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office?
...that in the 1896 Yamagata-Lobanov Agreement negotiations, Japanese Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo proposed dividing Korea at the 38th parallel, should Japanese and Russian troops occupy the peninsula?
...that the Saraswati River, a distributary of the Bhagirathi in West Bengal, is now dead but was active till around the 16th century AD?

10:26, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Wing Commander Stanley Goble and Flying Officer Ivor McIntyre, piloting a single-engined seaplane (pictured), became the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air in 1924?
...that Gerald Ford's two greatest regrets in life were losing the starting center job in college to All-American Chuck Bernard and losing a presidential election?
...that the 1928 movie Gang War was overshadowed by the short film attached to it, Steamboat Willie, which marked the début of Mickey Mouse?
...that the White Mosque is the oldest mosque in Nazareth?
...that after losing his European Parliament seat, Roger Barton set up a group offering llama-trekking to young people from Sheffield?
...that the Battle of Bhangani was the first battle fought by Guru Gobind Singh, the last human Sikh Guru?
...that during the 1905 Chicago Teamsters' strike, 21 people were killed and the strike ended only after union leaders were accused of taking bribes?
...that before David Myatt converted to Islam in 1998 and endorsed Islamic terrorism, he had been active in Nazi satanism in the UK since the late 1960s?

03:21, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the U.S. Coast Guard's Owasco class cutters Owasco, Winnebago (pictured) and Sebago were armed for World War II service but did not see combat until the Vietnam War?
...that Emperor Nicholas II of Russia was billed 3,250 rubles for Rosebud, the first Fabergé egg he presented to his empress consort Alexandra Fyodorovna?
...that eradication of infectious diseases can come about through vaccination, quarantine, and even just human behavioral changes, depending on the disease?
...that a fossil specimen of Pelagosaurus was found with the remains of a Leptolepis in its stomach?
...that Heroes actor David Anders won a Back Stage West Garland Award along with the ensemble cast of The Diary of Anne Frank, for their 2001 production?
...that Alpha Kappa Alpha founder, Marie Woolfolk Taylor was one of two African-Americans who assisted the Red Cross during the Great Atlanta Fire?
...that the Swedish military unit Kustjägarna has been working in Kosovo and Bosnia under the UN flag?
... the Safety Promotion Center, established by Japan Airlines after the worst ever single aircraft accident, displays victims' farewell letters and wreckage to educate employees about safety?
...that the arrival of Prussian troops led by Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq prevented a Russian defeat in the 1807 Battle of Eylau?

5 December 2007

20:58, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the surface diffusion of atoms on a material's surface (pictured) is governed by Fick’s law?
...that George Hoey still holds Michigan Wolverines football career, and single-season records 40 years after his best season?
...that Lucius Volumnius Flamma Violens (The Raging Flame) was the first plebeian consul of the Roman Republic?
...that most Swiss immigrants to Russia, several thousand in all, left after the October Revolution in 1917?
...that Pete Muldoon allegedly put an Irish curse on the Chicago Blackhawks that prevented them from finishing first for 43 years?
...that DNA testing was used to confirm that the unidentified body known as "Baby Grace" was Riley Ann Sawyers?
...that English botanist John Parkinson included a pun on his name in the title of his monumental 1629 work Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris? (It translates as Park-in-Sun's Terrestrial Paradise.)
...that Shamsunnahar Mahmud and Roquia Sakhawat Hussain were Muslim feminists of the Bengal renaissance?

14:20, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

...that bead crochet (pictured) was a popular method of creating women's fashion accessories during the 1920s?
...that Golden Liberty, the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, similar to federation and democracy, became ineffective when faced with the surrounding mon archies?
...that in 1979 University of Michigan tackle Ed Muransky set the all-time record at the traditional pre-Rose Bowl "Beef Bowl" by eating 16 pounds of prime rib?
...that the Wanganui Branch railway folded due to competition from trams in New Zealand?
...that Indian schoolteacher D. R. Kaprekar discovered properties in number theory including a number and a constant named after him?
...that Mount Harriet, in the Andaman Islands, is named after Robert Christopher Tytler's wife?
...that with the Trusty system of prison labor at Mississippi State Penitentiary, the 1,900-inmate prison was staffed and its 16,000 acres of crops farmed with only 150 paid employees?
...that Bennie Osler played 17 consecutive rugby union matches for South Africa between 1924 and 1933?
...that the German R&B band Soultans signed on with the same record label which wrote some of Elvis Presley's songs?

03:07, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Horatia N. Thompson (pictured) was christened with Lord Nelson and Mrs Emma Hamilton as godparents and was later adopted by them as an orphan, even though they were her biological parents?
...that U.S. Representative Dale Alford awarded one of his nominations for cadet at the United States Military Academy to Wesley Clark, who later became NATO commander?
...that the strategic bombing campaign used in the 1990 Operation Instant Thunder served as a model for subsequent American military conflicts?
...that an elaborate network of coastal batteries was built by British colonial authorities to protect Hobart Town, but it was never used to defend the Tasmanian port from attacks by enemy warships?
...that the 1609 Treaty of Antwerp was influenced by the writings of Hugo Grotius in the Mare Liberum, which was published at the insistence of the Dutch East India Company during the course of the treaty negotiations?
...that Mel Tolkin, lead writer for Your Show of Shows, served in the Canadian Army during World War II where he played the glockenspiel in a military orchestra?
...that Christie's purchase of the Haunch of Venison caused "shock and disbelief" in the art world?
...that the price of cocoa rose sharply following the June 29, 2007 assassination attempt against Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of Côte d'Ivoire?
...that the Galatasaray S.K. has origins from the Ottoman Empire era?

4 December 2007

20:57, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the Accession Day tilts were jousts held at the court of Queen Elizabeth I in which her courtiers appeared in elaborate allegorical disguises (pictured)?
...that Emperor Alexander III of Russia was billed 4,750 rubles for the Renaissance egg, the final Fabergé egg he presented to his empress consort Maria Feodorovna?
...that herpetologist Doris M. Cochran, the Smithsonian Institution's first female curator, died four days after her retirement?
...that the book The Psychology of The Simpsons uses this TV series to analyze topics in psychology including clinical psychology, cognition and Pavlovian conditioning?
...that Elk Knob State Park, a state park in Watauga County, North Carolina, was established due to a grassroots movement to protect Elk Knob from housing development?
...that the spintronic manipulation of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond crystals may facilitate the creation and functioning of quantum computers?
...that Kazimierz Pużak, once considered for president of Poland, was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State arrested by Soviets and sentenced in the Trial of the Sixteen?
...that after their names became known, the first group known as the Four Crowned Martyrs was venerated with the second group of the same name?

12:31, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Oinochoe

...that the erotic depiction on the Oinochoe (pictured) by the Shuvalov Painter is one of the most frequently illustrated works of Greek vase painting?
...that archaeological excavation of Titelberg provides evidence of urbanisation in Celtic Luxembourg long before Roman expansion?
...that coconut charcoal is easy to light, burns longer and generates less smoke and ash than typical hardwood charcoal?
...that the wine industry in Nebraska remained dormant for decades after the local commercial grape industry was destroyed by the Armistice Day Blizzard in 1940, with no new winery opening till 1994?
...that eight small Norwegian municipalities were fooled into investing future income from hydropower plants into complicated financial products - now worthless - from Citigroup, in the so-called Terra Securities scandal?
...that although several Michigan Wolverines football wide receivers have eclipsed most of Jack Clancy's team records, they all have needed more games to do so?
...that the Rothschild Fabergé egg is the most expensive timepiece, Russian object and Fabergé egg ever sold?

03:20, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

...that French-Canadian historian Charles-Honoré Laverdière (pictured) believed that the Jesuits had falsified some of the original works of Samuel de Champlain?
...that Diodore of Tarsus mentored both the sainted John Chrysostom and the heretical Theodore of Mopsuestia?
...that the Brazillian endemic genus Philcoxia, which may represent another genus of carnivorous plants, was formally described in scientific literature 34 years after the first specimen had been discovered?
...that the Platypus Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Civil War college football game between Oregon and Oregon State, was lost for more than 40 years before being found in a closet in 2005?
...that Jays Foods changed its name during World War II to avoid being associated with the Japanese?
...that the Toledo, Ohio native football player Jim Detwiler refused a recruiting trip invitation to Ohio State prompting a tonguelashing from Woody Hayes for disloyalty to Ohio?
...that the Bishopsgate bombing, mounted at a cost of £3,000 by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1993, caused over £350M in damages and almost led to the financial collapse of Lloyd's of London?

3 December 2007

20:31, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

...that both the first black woman in Colorado and the "founding father" of the state's Korean American community are buried in Denver's Riverside Cemetery (chapel pictured)?
...that it is unclear whether Gungsrong Gungtsen ever ruled Tibet, although he was the only known son of the first Tibetan emperor, Songtsän Gampo?
...that Washington Senators outfielder Elmer Gedeon, who pulled a crew member from a burning wreck, died while piloting a B-26 bomber over France?
...that a possible local subsidence forced the Jalangi River, in West Bengal, to flow in a south westerly direction, reverting the earlier trend of rivers in the region flowing in a south easterly direction?
...that the 1751 revolt of Pima Indians in the Spanish colonial province of Sonora (in modern-day Arizona) was directly preceded by a revolt of Seri Indians?
...that some bacteria and parasitic protozoa escape extreme conditions like desiccation and unavailability of food by forming microbial cysts?
...that 12% of the world's gold supply, 78% of the world's platinum, and over 15.8 million karats of diamonds come from mining in South Africa?
...that Knut Arild Hareide became Norwegian Minister of the Environment in 2004 at the age of thirty-one, only to step down from national politics three years later?

14:11, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

...that archaeologist Natalia Polosmak has been banned from her best known excavation, the Ice Maiden (pictured), because of ethnic politics?
...that Tom Wolfe's 1975 book The Painted Word, which criticized modern and conceptual art, was so reviled by the art establishment that multiple reviewers compared the book to watching pornography?
...that the United States Customs and Border Patrol may search all travelers' possessions, including in some cases, personal files on their laptops, without a warrant or even suspicion under the border search exception?
...that the ancient people known as the Oeselians, who lived on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, carried out raids against the Scandinavian Vikings?
...that K. Chidananda Gowda, the former Vice-chancellor of the Kuvempu University in India, is the son-in-law of the Kannada playwright Kuvempu, the university's namesake?
...that Hurricane Karen in September 2007 was only classified as a hurricane two months after the storm dissipated?
...that the rebel Uganda People's Army formed in 1987 in response to massive cattle raiding carried out by the Karamojong of eastern Uganda?

02:14, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Christ Church in Macclesfield (pictured) was built by Charles Roe for the Rev. David Simpson, because he had been denied a curacy in another church?
...that former Michigan Wolverines football player Dan Dworsky designed Crisler Arena, the home of Michigan Wolverines basketball?
...that remnants of ancient amphorae indicate wine from Tuscany was exported to southern Italy and France as early as the 7th century BC?
...that in the 1806 George Sweeney Trial, the murderer of a founding father of the United States, George Wythe, went free because testimony from black witnesses against a white man was not allowed?
...that Chalan Beel, a wetland in Bangladesh, is getting vastly reduced in size with fast silting up caused by the inflow of 47 rivers and waterways?
...that Iordan Chimet, who opposed the Communist regime in Romania and authored fairy tales with subversive messages, was also one of the first professional copywriters in his country?

2 December 2007

19:46, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Wo Hing Society Hall (pictured) is one of two existing Chinese Society Halls left on the island of Maui?
...that Dick Rifenburg was a Michigan high school state champion in basketball and track & field, but was drafted to play professional American football?
...that Ancient Qumran: A Virtual Reality Tour is a computer-generated film that presents in 3-D a theoretical reconstruction of the ancient Khirbet Qumran site?
...that the first Trk receptor, which regulates synaptic strength and plasticity in neurons, was originally identified as part of a fusion gene with the cytoskeletal protein tropomyosin, forming an oncogene in colon and thyroid cancers?
...that in the wake of the Yen Bai mutiny of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army, large numbers of Vietnamese troops who had served in France were sacked because it was felt that overseas travel made them more inclined to rebel?
...that the specifications for the U.S. Navy's World War II icebreakers were so imposing that Western Pipe & Steel was the only shipbuilder to submit a bid?

13:17, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the clapotis (illustrated) is a standing wave pattern formed at a vertical shoreline?
...that Dashiin Byambasüren was the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Mongolia?
...that a statue originally created in 1815 for The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens was carved from the bowsprit of the Spanish ship San Juan Nepomuceno, taken at the Battle of Trafalgar?
...that the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Street Railway was the first operating interurban railroad in the state of Michigan?
...that Julius Franks was the first African-American Michigan Wolverines football player to earn All-American honors?
...that seven followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh were convicted for being part of a 1985 assassination plot to murder the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon?
...that the original plan for John Keane's painting of Mo Mowlam to include Gerry Adams, John Hume and David Trimble (key figures in the Good Friday Agreement), failed after four years of negotiation?

02:20, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

...that soldiers of the Red Army Oleksiy Berest, Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria of the 150th Rifle Division raised the flag of the Soviet Union over the Reichstag for the well-known photograph (pictured)?
...that the Lincoln Snacks Company, a manufacturer of caramelized popcorn, was founded, in part, by a subsidiary of Sandoz Laboratories, the company that invented LSD?
...that the Indian novelist M. K. Indira started writing novels only after the age of forty-five?
...that American football guard Dean Dingman was only the third true freshman to start on the Michigan Wolverines football offensive line?
...that the Catalan lords Arnau Mir de Tost and his son-in-law Raymond IV of Pallars Jussà shared a scribe, Vidal, who helped introduce the use of written "conventions" for the feudal restructuring of western Catalonia?
...that in the 1850s the American architect Gamaliel King and his partner John Kellum erected in New York some of the first fully cast iron-fronted buildings in the world?
...that David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister during World War I, later said "It would be hard to point to anyone who did more to win the war than Kenneth Bingham Quinan"?
...that the first lieutenant Adolf Opálka, together with six fellow combatants, resisted 800 enemy soldiers for more than seven hours in the Church of St. Cyril and St. Methodious in Prague on 28 June 1942?

1 December 2007

20:18, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the new Market Street Bridge (pictured) over the West Branch Susquehanna River between Williamsport and South Williamsport in Pennsylvania is the seventh on that site, and that three of the previous bridges were destroyed by floods?
...that Turkish serial killer Özgür Dengiz broke into fits of laughter when discussing his cannibalism?
...that Jarrett Irons was the second freshman to lead the Michigan Wolverines football team in tackles?
...that football player Eddy de Neve scored all four goals for the Netherlands against Belgium on April 30, 1905, the first match of the Dutch national team ever?
...that the Silver Centenary biplane, built in Beverley, Western Australia in 1930, received its airworthiness certificate 77 years after its first flight?
...that Genesis's rock epic "Get 'Em Out by Friday" is a criticism of the United Kingdom's council housing system?
...that a daughter of Philip Johnston, the first colonel of the New Jersey militia to die in battle during the Revolutionary War married the son of Nathaniel Scudder, the last colonel of the New Jersey militia to so die?
...that Irish indie rock band Ham Sandwich were encouraged by U2 frontman Bono to change their name in 2006?

11:22, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

...that Euphronios (work pictured), Hermonax and the Providence Painter were Greek vase painters of the early 5th century BC specialised in Red-figure pottery and that the Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter‎ is one of the earliest works in that style?
...that football (soccer) player Law Adam of Grasshopper-Club Zürich played for Switzerland against Austria in 1929, but played for his native Netherlands against Switzerland a year later?
...that according to legend, Christian martyr Saint Getulius and his associates were clubbed to death after they had been thrown into flames but emerged unharmed?
...that Wayne Townsend cast the tie-breaking vote in 1977 in the Indiana State Senate for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment making Indiana the last state to approve the failed measure?
...that George Lilja once played a Michigan Wolverines football game wearing another player's jersey, confusing many of his fans?
...that the first sobering-up station in the world was invented by Jaroslav Skála in 1951 in Czechoslovakia?
...that the Dugway sheep incident and Operation CHASE increased public sentiment against the United States Army Chemical Corps during the late 1960s and early 1970s?
...that Kazakh dissident Rashid Nugmanov's directorial debut, Igla, was one of the first films to break the taboo against talking about drug addiction in the former Soviet Union and initiated the "Kazakh New Wave" cinema movement?

03:22, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

...that the schooners San Antonio (pictured), San Bernard and San Jacinto of the Second Texas Navy were originally built in 1836 as Baltimore Clippers and fitted out for use in the slave trade in Havana?
...that when American football center Rod Payne broke his right wrist during a Michigan Wolverines football game, he started snapping the ball with his left hand?
...that Ricord's Iguana (Cyclura ricordi) of Hispaniola is the only known species of rock iguana to coexist with the Rhinoceros Iguana (Cyclura cornuta)?
...that Simonsbath on Exmoor is the largest parish in Somerset covering 56 square miles (145.0 km²) but only has 75 houses?
...that after the American defeat at the Battle of Canyon Creek the soldiers of Samuel D. Sturgis were forced to slaughter and eat their tired horses?
...that Rev. Robert Shields maintained a diary chronicling every five minutes of his life for 25 years from 1972 until 1997, and only slept two hours at a time so he could record his dreams?
...that HMS Drake was so ill-prepared for action against John Paul Jones's Ranger that musket balls had to be passed round in a hat during the North Channel naval duel, 24 April 1778?