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31 December 2009
- 19:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Blue-winged Kookaburra (pictured) of northern Australia is also known as the Howling Jackass?
- ... that quarterback Don Moorhead set 24 Michigan Wolverines football records from 1969 to 1970, including career records for total offense and passing yards?
- ... that even though the French wines of Collioure have very little residual sugar, some wine drinkers perceive them as "sweet" because of how ripe the grapes get in the warm climate?
- ... that in 2005, the Bruce High Quality Foundation pulled a floating island of parkland, complete with living trees, around New York Harbor, turning a drawing by Robert Smithson into reality?
- ... that many government-planted trees in the Banni grasslands in India were legally cut down to make charcoal for profits from 2004 to 2008 even though the area has been a protected forest since 1955?
- ... that professional wrestler Franky The Mobster once tagged with Kevin Steen as "Frank N' Steen"?
- ... that Amar Ouzegane, first secretary of the Algerian Communist Party until 1947, later renounced communism, arguing for a fusion of Islam and socialism?
- ... that the Ballaine House was one of six built in 1905 in Seward, Alaska, known as "Millionaire's Row", not for their owners' wealth, but because they believed Alaska would soon have one million residents?
- 03:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)
30 December 2009
- 19:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Mather Inn (pictured) in Ishpeming, Michigan, served as housing for the cast of the classic 1959 movie, Anatomy of a Murder, and the location where Duke Ellington composed the movie's score?
- ... that Zodi Ikhia, the first Education Minister of the Republic of Niger, took part in a failed coup d'etat in 1963?
- ... that Loteki Supernatural Being was the first dog to win both the Westminster Dog Show and the World Dog Show?
- ... that then-Louisiana Tech University President F. Jay Taylor in 1974 named Sonja Hogg to develop what became national championship teams in women's basketball?
- ... that the authors of the Manifesto of the Oppressed Black Mauritanian were convicted to prison sentences, exiles, and loss of civil rights?
- ... that sociologist Bogdan Denitch of Queens College, City University of New York organized and chaired the Socialist Scholars Conference from 1983 to 2004 in New York City?
- ... that because of the controversy about excluding mathematicians from the Central Powers at the 1920 and 1924 International Congresses of Mathematicians, from 1932 and on the ICMs are not numbered?
- ... that the marriage of Archduchess Isabella of Austria and Prince Georg of Bavaria was annulled on the grounds of non-consummation?
- 11:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 30 December 2009 (UTC)
29 December 2009
- 19:42, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the rare Banksia verticillata (pictured) is threatened by three fungi – aerial canker, dieback and honey mushroom?
- ... that the 1865 play Society by T W Robertson marked the London debut of actor Sir Squire Bancroft?
- ... that the Japanese Computer-controlled Vehicle System (CVS) originally started out as a show-floor exhibit at Expo '70 in Osaka, but developed into one of the most advanced personal rapid transit systems of its era?
- ... that the Hanneford family of the Royal Hanneford Circus have origins in performance dating back to 1690?
- ... that between 1970 and 1976, former Spanish-Argentine footballer and manager Juan Carlos Touriño was part of three Spanish league championships and two Spanish cup-winning squads?
- ... that Long Creek Academy, which was a Christian school near Long Creek, South Carolina, is now the local headquarters of a whitewater rafting company?
- ... that the Phoenicians either introduced or encouraged the spread of winemaking to several areas like Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece?
- ... that André Roch, a pioneer in avalanche research, was caught in avalanches three times?
- 11:42, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
28 December 2009
- 19:42, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that vineyards in the Douro (pictured) are graded on several factors, such as microclimate and which grape varieties are planted, that can influence the potential quality of Port wine?
- ... that artist Émile Friant was intended to be a chemist until he gained his father's permission to leave the lycée?
- ... that Parteniy Pavlovich from Silistra, an 18th-century Bulgarian cleric and writer, is regarded as the author of the first autobiography in South Slavic literature?
- ... that Île Vierge, in the southwestern corner of the English Channel, has the tallest stone lighthouse in Europe?
- ... that Nikolai Polikarpov was arrested and imprisoned by the OGPU in September 1929 for the crime of industrial sabotage when his Polikarpov I-6 and I-5 fighter projects both failed to meet their deadlines?
- ... that in every second of normal fluent conversation, we pronounce roughly four syllables and ten or twelve phonemes?
- ... that It's a Wonderful Life actors Jimmy Stewart and William Edmunds appeared in two other movies together, The Shop Around the Corner and The Mortal Storm?
- ... that Isla Magueyes, an island 50 meters from the coast of Puerto Rico, is home to feral populations of Cuban iguanas and Rhesus monkeys which escaped from the local university?
- 11:42, 28 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 28 December 2009 (UTC)
27 December 2009
- 19:42, 27 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the carnivorous plant Drosera regia (pictured, with prey) is one of the most imperiled Drosera species, with a single small population estimated to consist of only 50 mature plants?
- ... that the flag on the top of the Tall Hermann tower on Toompea Hill is one of the best-known symbols in Estonia of the government in power?
- ... that mathematician Herbert Busemann was awarded 2,000 Russian rubles for winning the Lobachevsky Medal in 1985, the first American to do so?
- ... that the Super Saturday weekend, the last weekend before Christmas, accounted for 13.6 percent of holiday retail sales in the United States in 2006?
- ... that former Australian cricket team captain Steve Waugh was sacked from the One Day International captaincy after his team failed to qualify for the 2001–02 VB Series finals?
- ... that the Stephen Miller House in Claverack, New York, features Dutch Colonial elements like a gambrel roof and Dutch door on a basic Federal style house?
- ... that shortly after World War II, Douglas Aircraft designed the prototype airliner DC-8 that had engines in the fuselage and propellors in the tail?
- ... that after retiring from professional wrestling, Rafael Halperin helped create a credit card that would not work in Israel on Sabbath?
- 11:42, 27 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 27 December 2009 (UTC)
26 December 2009
- 19:42, 26 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 26 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that in the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny against the British Raj, European families, mostly women and children, were given refuge in the Jag Mandir (pictured), India, by Maharana Swaroop Singh?
- ... that the Michigan Wolverines softball team in 2005 became the first team from east of the Mississippi River to win the Women's College World Series?
- ... that in the run-up to the 1946 French legislative and 1947 Congolese territorial elections, Congolese Progressive Party leader Jean-Félix Tchicaya condemned the system of separate electoral colleges?
- ... that although 1989's "Second Chance" became the highest-charting U.S. song of 38 Special's career, A&M Records did not renew the band's contract?
- ... that lethal congenital contracture syndrome, characterized by fetal immobility and leading invariably to pre-natal death, may be caused by mutations in chromosome 9?
- ... that Julia Moon, daughter-in-law of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, performed Giselle with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad?
- ... that after the restoration of independence in 1990, the Lithuanian society debated whether to remove a monument to writer Petras Cvirka due to his pro-Soviet attitudes?
- ... that during his exile on Elba, Napoleon is said to have favored the island's wines made from the grape variety Aleatico?
- 03:42, 26 December 2009 (UTC)
25 December 2009
- 19:42, 25 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 25 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 25 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that future Confederate President Jefferson Davis (pictured) was among the participants in the Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy on 24–25 December 1826, but escaped court-martial?
- ... that Uruguayan footballer Vladas Douksas' father was a Lithuanian shopkeeper?
- ... that the tradition of the Vatican Christmas Tree at Saint Peter's Square started in 1982 during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, at his personal request?
- ... that Benjamin Britten helped to replace the Grancino double bass of Adrian Beers MBE, after it was destroyed in the Snape Maltings concert hall fire?
- ... that using much of South Dakota Highway 87 costs $15 per vehicle due to state park admission fees?
- ... that Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein, appointed as the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in 1974, was the first woman to direct an institute at the National Institutes of Health?
- ... that proposed sources of khutu have included narwhal, walrus, and mammoth ivory, the frontal bones of bulls, goats, and birds, the teeth of snakes, fish, and hippopotamuses, and the root of a tree?
- ... that Charles W. Howard, who portrayed Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 17 years, founded the world's oldest Santa Claus School?
24 December 2009
- 19:42, 24 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 24 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 24 December 2009 (UTC)
23 December 2009
- 19:42, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
22 December 2009
- 19:42, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that when Miguelites (pictured) loyal to the former king of Portugal blew up the brandy stores of the Douro Wine Company in 1852, nearly 3.4 million gallons of boiling hot Port flooded into the river Douro?
- ... that Lizzy Clark, in the 2008 BBC film Dustbin Baby, is the first actor with Asperger syndrome to portray a character having it?
- ... that Valle Crucis Abbey, built by Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor in 1201, is home to the only remaining monastic fishpond in Wales?
- ... that football player Al Pollard quit the United States Military Academy because he was connected to a cribbing scandal?
- ... that the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Cyprus gave a piece of the true cross to the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice?
- ... that the moisture-adapted asteracean plant Argyroxiphium grayanum represents one extreme in the adaptive radiation of its genus, which also includes drought-adapted mountain plants?
- ... that Move Like Michael Jackson, a BBC Three talent show which aims to find people who can dance like the late entertainer, is judged by Jackson's elder brother, Jermaine?
- ... that after the Swedes twice failed to take Bremen, they founded a new town nearby?
- 11:42, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Vegreville egg (pictured), a giant egg sculpture in Vegreville, Alberta, rotates on its axis to the wind like a weather vane?
- ... that after a short career in films, Elaine Shepard was a journalist in Vietnam?
- ... that the practice of breeding show dogs has produced popular sire effects that reduce genetic diversity and can exacerbate the spread of inherited diseases?
- ... that when Champoux Vineyard was first planted in Washington State, the aim was to produce grapes that rivaled the First Growth Bordeaux estate Chateau Lafite?
- ... that sales of Interpol's records have numbered more than two million worldwide?
- ... that the three remaining Shakers live at and maintain Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, a National Historic Landmark in Maine?
- ... that in Strategic Command, a series of turn-based strategy video games taking place during World War II, the player may persuade neutral states to join the conflict using diplomatic pressure?
- ... that Patrick Murphy tried to help rebels in Naco, Mexico, by dropping homemade suitcase bombs from his airplane?
- 03:42, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
21 December 2009
- 19:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
20 December 2009
- 19:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the volcanic chain (pictured) responsible for creating the island of Hawaii extends all the way to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, at the border of Russia?
- ... that Count Marsillac and Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, opposing commanders in the 1734 siege of Capua, once shared a tent?
- ... that plant species of the family Rubiaceae have supplied coffee, quinine, syrup of ipecac, dimethyltryptamine, and indirectly, warfarin?
- ... that in 1892, the Governor of Lagos, Gilbert Thomas Carter, ordered an attack on the Ijebu people of pre-colonial Nigeria "in the interest of civilization"?
- ... that in Cambodia a person can catch the norry, an improvised bamboo train?
- ... that in 1975, Iraq threatened to bomb the Tabqa Dam when Syria reduced the water flow of the Euphrates to fill the lake behind the dam?
- ... that the death of a character in the Dexter episode "The British Invasion" was planned from two seasons beforehand?
- ... that Xikuangshan mine was originally explored for tin but now is the largest antimony mine in the world?
- 03:42, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
19 December 2009
- 19:42, 19 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 19 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 19 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that in an effort to prevent the extinction of the Mauna Kea silversword (pictured), scientists rappel over cliffs to hand-pollinate the approximately 41 remaining individuals in the wild, on the rare occasion that one blossoms?
- ... that professional footballer Andy Bell spent nearly a decade with hometown club Blackburn Rovers, without making a single first-team appearance?
- ... that the first season of the animated sitcom Home Movies was the only season of the series to utilize the "squigglevision" style of animation?
- ... that Czech landscape photographer Vilém Heckel died during the Great Peruvian Earthquake in 1970?
- ... that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Grassy Island in the Detroit River contains 28 different types of toxic contaminants that exceed acceptable state and federal safety levels?
- ... that chaplain Władysław Gurgacz, member of the Polish anti-communist resistance, opposed lethal force, but was nonetheless executed by the Polish communist authorities?
- ... that the Beirut-born, American blues guitarist Otis Grand was voted 'Best UK Blues Guitarist' seven years running (1990–1996) by the British Blues Connection magazine?
- ... that during internal fertilization, the black rockfish female produces between 125,000 and 1,200,000 eggs, and then reabsorbs some back?
18 December 2009
- 19:42, 18 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 18 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the term "Obama Doctrine" was used more than a year before Barack Obama (pictured) became President of the United States?
- ... that, referring to Pope Damasus I's luxurious lifestyle, the Roman Pagan senator Vettius Agorius Praetextatus once said "Make me bishop of Rome and I will become a Christian"?
- ... that Harry V. Gates' former ranch became the Crooked River Ranch in Eastern Oregon and his former house in Hillsboro, Oregon, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places?
- ... that the C. R. formula was a proposal that had failed during the Gandhi–Jinnah talks in 1944?
- ... that the Memorial Arch of Tilton, symbolizing the "victories of peace", is constructed in Northfield, New Hampshire on the site of an old Indian fort?
- ... that the Cornelius S. Muller House in Claverack, New York, was used for Committee of Safety meetings and courts martial during the American Revolutionary War?
- ... that Michigan's Don McEwen, two-time NCAA champion in the two-mile run, also won consecutive Big Ten cross country championships even though his school had no varsity cross country team?
- ... that for more than thirty years, John Torreano has created "real fake art" by using fake gemstones in his one of a kind art works?
- 03:42, 18 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that in a short story by Kathryn Tucker Windham, Sturdivant Hall (pictured), a historic house museum in Alabama, is haunted?
- ... that Charlotte von Lengefeld, wife of Friedrich Schiller, wrote a posthumously published novel and corresponded with Charlotte von Stein and Goethe?
- ... that the Norwegian black metal band Burzum is to release its first album after its founder was freed from prison on parole?
- ... that the Harriet Phillips Bungalow in Claverack, New York, may be a catalog house built by a company other than Sears?
- ... that former Louisiana State Senator Art Lentini in 2004 led the move in his state to ban cloning, both for reproduction and research?
- ... that production of the Triumph Tiger 80 British motorcycle ended with the outbreak of WW2 and never resumed after the Triumph works was destroyed in The Blitz?
- ... that Stanford's Flint Hanner, winner of the first NCAA javelin championship, later coached the Fresno State Bulldogs to 27 track and field championships?
- ... that forests can migrate over the landscape?
17 December 2009
- 19:42, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that for her debut wine, American porn actress Savanna Samson (pictured) decided to use a blend based primarily on the rare Lazio grape Cesanese?
- ... that despite the Allied siege, La Rochelle was the last French city to be liberated from German occupation in 1945?
- ... that the Queen of Elphame, the fairy from Scottish folklore, has appeared in a number of accounts from witchcraft trials and confessions, including the confession of Isobel Gowdie?
- ... that in 1999, Haakon Bingen won a case in the Supreme Court of Norway, stopping circulation of an academic work written by Trond Bergh and Knut Einar Eriksen?
- ... that the ambush of a Turkish patrol in Reşadiye was the deadliest PKK attack since April 2009?
- ... that the Connaught Theatre in Worthing, UK, is a rare example of a cinema being converted into a theatre in the 1930s, when the reverse was common?
- ... that the premiere of Million Dollar Challenge on Fox Broadcasting Company was the most watched poker television show of all time?
- ... that Breachacha crannog was originally an artificial island located in the middle of a Scottish loch, but today it stands in the middle of an arable field?
- 11:42, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:42, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
16 December 2009
- 19:42, 16 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:42, 16 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the City Palace of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India, holds the world's two largest silver objects (one pictured)?
- ... that the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine, which cost US$2.2 billion to build, was sold by BHP Billiton for only $340 million in December 2009 after having operated for less than one year?
- ... that Afognak Island State Park was established as a conservation area in 1892, but did not become an Alaska state park until 1994, as a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill?
- ... that when Darryl Strawberry, a first-round draft pick of the New York Mets, left the Mets they received two first-round picks in compensation?
- ... that Airlines of New South Wales was created after airline entrepreneur Reg Ansett flew nine planeloads of shareholders to a meeting to help take over rival Butler Air Transport?
- ... that all apicomplexans are parasitic, creating a need for multiple radically different cellular morphologies?
- ... that Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) has made more Australian Open Final appearances than any other player?
- ... that although their larvae have been known since 1887, the adults of the crustacean group Facetotecta have never been seen?
- 03:42, 16 December 2009 (UTC)
15 December 2009
- 19:35, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:35, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:35, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that during the Battle of Jutland, the captain of HMS New Zealand (pictured) wore a Māori piupiu (grass skirt) and carried a greenstone tiki to ward off evil?
- ... that after a wine fraud scandal involving adulterating Port wine with elderberry juice, Portuguese wine authorities ordered all elderberry plants in the Douro to be ripped out?
- ... that Virginia House in Richmond, Virginia, was once a priory in Warwickshire, England, and was used to entertain Queen Elizabeth I?
- ... that the book Bacon: A Love Story includes jokes about bacon by comedian Jim Gaffigan?
- ... that the December 2003 New England snowstorm was among the most significant early season nor'easters on record?
- ... that the 2009 Norwegian spiral anomaly was later confirmed to be a failed launch of a Bulava missile from a Russian submarine?
- ... that before the capture of Chusan (1840) during the First Opium War, the Chinese rejected British demands for a peaceful surrender of the island?
- ... that Barker Crossing, a Mabey bridge in Workington, England, was named after Bill Barker following a campaign by local teenagers on YouTube?
14 December 2009
- 19:35, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:35, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:28, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
13 December 2009
- 19:28, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that infamous bank robber John Dillinger (pictured) studied the techniques of modern bank robbery pioneered by Herman Lamm?
- ... that Dzongsar Monastery, in the historical Tibetan region of Kham, was founded in 746 AD and contained a Bönpo shrine for 1,300 years?
- ... that six children of the British portraitist and marine painter Samuel Drummond also became artists?
- ... that the book Nudge, written by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, defends the political philosophy of libertarian paternalism?
- ... that Mitsuyo Seo, the director of Japan's first feature length anime, Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors, a World War II propaganda film, was earlier arrested and tortured as a leftist?
- ... that in her teen years, actress Lillebil Ibsen played leading roles in Max Reinhardt's pantomime productions?
- ... that plexopathy, a disorder usually caused by trauma, can also occur idiopathically?
- ... that a Glasgow-born railway engineer, John Harley, was responsible for revolutionizing the way Uruguay played football?
- 11:28, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Federal Triangle building complex in Washington, D.C. (construction pictured) has been called "one of the most important design and construction projects" in American history?
- ... that Hillsboro, Oregon, politician William H. Wehrung worked on both the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition?
- ... that radio station CKLW played "Wildflower" for three months before it was released as a single, in order for the station to meet Canadian content requirements?
- ... that although the Benjamin Ten Broeck House north of Kingston, New York, was built by Dutch settlers, the layout of one of its additions suggests its residents were Palatine Germans?
- ... that Jacques Legrand, a former translator at the French embassies in Mongolia and China, has studied the anthropology of Mongolian pastoralism?
- ... that the Rugrats episode "A Rugrats Chanukah" was pitched to the series crew by Nickelodeon in 1992?
- ... that Furnace Brook Parkway, a historic road in Quincy, Massachusetts, is named for a stream at the site of the first iron blast furnace in the United States, built in 1644?
- ... that former National Football League wide receiver Tai Streets was named after former female figure skater Tai Babilonia?
- 03:28, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
12 December 2009
- 19:28, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:21, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:14, 12 December 2009 (UTC)
11 December 2009
- 18:49, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that for the 10 Seasons Awards, almost 750,000 football fans from 184 countries voted, in a celebration of the first ten years of the English Premier League (trophy pictured)?
- ... that in 1948, Arne Skaug became the first State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
- ... that the Type numbering system in Japan specified that the Mitsubishi A6M of 1940 would be designated "Type 0 Carrier Fighter", giving rise to the popular name "Zero"?
- ... that part of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984, a piece of United Kingdom legislation on tort law, is intended to permit educational and recreational use of land?
- ... that the Algerian communist trade union centre UGSA disbanded itself in 1957, after the rival nationalist UGTA had participated in the Leipzig congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions?
- ... that in 1893, the career of Irish nationalist politician John Deasy was cut short when he was tried for indecent assault?
- ... that the 1984 romantic TV miniseries based on the novel The Far Pavilions was filmed in the precincts of Samode Palace in Rajasthan, India?
- ... that South Africa rugby captain Paul Roos helped choose the team nickname, "Springboks", to prevent the British press from inventing their own?
- 10:49, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Ossabaw Island Hog (pictured) has been used as a model organism for studying Type II diabetes in humans?
- ... that, in 1965, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while attempting to avoid a collision with an oncoming Pan American Airways Boeing 707?
- ... that Penn State's John Romig, the first NCAA champion in the two-mile run, later became an explosives expert?
- ... that the Swedish film Hoppa högst was written by famous author Astrid Lindgren, who based the screenplay on a story from her book Kajsa Kavat?
- ... that in his clemency application to Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Maurice Clemmons claimed to have learned "to appreciate and respect the right of others"?
- ... that the Pygmy Pine, a tiny creeping alpine plant growing in New Zealand, is believed to be the smallest conifer in the world?
- ... that Colombian billionaire entrepreneur Carlos Ardila Lülle has expanded from his start in the soft drink business with television channels and a soccer team?
- ... that in the siege of Cannanore (1507) in India, a Portuguese garrison of 150 resisted for four months against 60,000 attackers?
- 02:42, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that Idaho Territorial Governor John N. Irwin (pictured) objected to the U.S. Treasury placing his salary into their Conscience Fund?
- ... that the powerful Early Classic Mesoamerican city of Balberta, in Guatemala, abruptly collapsed around AD 400?
- ... that the 1957 film Edge of the City, starring John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier, won acclaim from critics and civil rights groups for its portrayal of an interracial friendship?
- ... that although he ceded the throne to his son in 1279, Trần Thánh Tông continued to co-rule Đại Việt for 11 years until his death in 1290?
- ... that, despite being a genital ulcer, Lipschütz ulcer is not an STD, and is in fact most common in virgins?
- ... that Bob Ferguson played for and managed the Hartford Dark Blues Major League Baseball team from 1875 to 1877, the final three years of its four-year existence?
- ... that nine new permanent competition venues will be constructed for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil?
- ... that the district auditor investigating the rate-capping rebellion in Lambeth found his picture on a mock Wanted poster in his local supermarket?
10 December 2009
- 18:21, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
100x100px|Facade of the Main Building of the University of Santo Tomas
- ... that the design for the Main Building (pictured) of the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines, was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel in Tokyo?
- ... that ornithologist James David Macdonald was employed in the bird section of the British Natural History Museum despite claiming complete ignorance about birds?
- ... that both the Irish Pine and Irish Oak, which were chartered from the United States by Irish Shipping Ltd during the Second World War, were sunk by German U-boats despite their neutral status?
- ... that since the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, Hawaiian Chief Hoʻolulu and his descendants have served as caretakers of the royal tombs of the Kingdom of Hawaii?
- ... that while passing through the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Defective Premises Act 1972 was not at all debated in the House of Commons?
- ... that Monk McDonald played on the 1923–24 championship North Carolina basketball team, and then graduated and coached the team the next year?
- ... that the only known source of the mineral Macaulayite in the world is in a quarry at the foot of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire – but it may also be present on Mars?
- ... that, during the territorial era of Minnesota in the U.S., Native Americans -- who were otherwise disenfranchised -- were often allowed to vote if they had worn trousers to the polling station?
- 10:21, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the American rodent tribe Oryzomyini includes species living in trees, in the water (including the Marsh Rice Rat, pictured), and on the Galápagos Islands?
- ... that the Ross Casino in Pichilemu was the first casino in Chile?
- ... that the gay pornography film studio Corbin Fisher offers contracted actors health benefits and a 401(k) plan?
- ... that Gordon Bastian, the Second Engineer of the Empire Bowman, was awarded an Albert Medal for rescuing two stokers after the ship was torpedoed by U-404?
- ... that opera singer Zélie de Lussan sang 2,000 performances in the title role of Carmen?
- ... that the oblique cord is a 3.4 cm long ligament in the forearm near the elbow, between the ulnar and radius bones, which has no known function and may be vestigial?
- ... that Robert Sumrall survived being lost in the Gila National Forest for seven days in winter without food, water, or camping gear?
- ... that in Teotitlán del Valle, it is possible to "steal" a bride?
- 02:21, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
9 December 2009
- 18:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the globular cluster Terzan 5 (pictured) is likely the core of a disrupted dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way?
- ... that horn player Neill Sanders commuted from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to London, where he played in the Melos Ensemble?
- ... that climate change and rising ocean acidity are affecting fisheries and modifying fish distributions?
- ... that despite most of its interments later being moved to larger rural cemeteries, Sharp Burial Ground in Kingston, New York, still has the graves of two former U.S. Congressmen?
- ... that during his imprisonment in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Fritz Weiss continued his collaboration with jazz orchestras outside of the camp?
- ... that NEADS/Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans relies on help from inmates from 15 New England correctional facilities to train many of its assistance dogs?
- ... that James Jones, a pitcher in college, entered the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft and was selected in the fourth round as an outfielder by the Seattle Mariners?
- ... that in 1641, Bristol Corporation concluded a perambulation of the city boundaries with a duck hunt at Treen Mills on the River Malago?
- 12:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that if a Member of the Parliament of Singapore (Parliament House pictured) claims a division during a vote on a motion, MPs are locked inside the debating chamber until their votes have been tallied?
- ... that the Naval Training Center San Diego was the home of a commissioned "non-ship" of the U.S. Navy, the USS Recruit, a concrete model of a warship built right into the ground and nicknamed the "USS Neversail"?
- ... that during his career, comic actor Willie Edouin was said to have portrayed as many as 500 characters?
- ... that the Thikse Monastery in India is called Mini-Potala because of its structural similarity to the former residence of the Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace in Tibet?
- ... that Berbak National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, forms part of the largest undisturbed swamp forest in southeastern Asia, and the peat swamp forest with the greatest number of palm species?
- ... that unlike her predecessors, the Empress Regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng was not worshipped in Lý Bát Đế Shrine because of her responsibility in the collapse of Lý Dynasty?
- ... that Marvin Minoff, executive producer of The Nixon Interviews between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and journalist David Frost, began his career as a talent agent?
- ... that the shell of the snail Paryphanta busbyi may explode when dried?
- 06:14, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
- 00:14, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that Native Americans lived at the Canfield Island Site (pictured) on the West Branch Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for thousands of years, and now hold an annual pow wow there?
- ... that 32% of welding defects are from operator error?
- ... that the first single from In the Room Up There, Australian band Elora Danan's debut album, was entitled "Door, Up, Elevator" and "inspired by elevator music, and the etiquette that goes on in elevators"?
- ... that former Baton Rouge Mayor-President Bobby Simpson worked to end chronic homelessness in his city?
- ... that crystals of campigliaite, first discovered in Tuscany, are transparent with a light or pale blue vitreous luster?
- ... that actress Jessalyn Gilsig hoped viewers would warm to her Glee character Terri Schuester after the episode "Mattress", having previously experienced a fan backlash?
- ... that Benny Benson created the Alaskan flag while living at the Jesse Lee Home for Children, an orphanage in Seward, Alaska?
- ... that it was feared Seattle's Art Deco-styled Naval Reserve Armory would become a white elephant?
8 December 2009
- 18:14, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:14, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 06:21, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 00:07, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that Sir William Sharington (pictured) was pardoned after he was described in a sermon by Bishop Hugh Latimer as "an honest gentleman, and one that God loveth"?
- ... that Schwa, an upscale restaurant in Chicago, employs no receptionist, waiters, or other support staff?
- ... that according to legend, Dunan Aula was the burial site of the Viking warrior 'Olaf, son of the King of Denmark'; after he was slain in combat against local Scots?
- ... that Sathyavani Muthu was one of the first two non-Congress members from Tamil Nadu to serve as a Union Minister in India?
- ... that the Atlantic torpedo can produce an electric shock of up to 220 volts, and was the namesake of the naval weapon?
- ... that former Louisiana State Senator Bill Keith authored a creation science law that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1987 case Edwards v. Aguillard?
- ... that the development of the Oseberg oil field is one of the significant milestones in the creation of Norway's oil and gas industry?
- ... that Slaughter County, Iowa, named after William B. Slaughter, was renamed because its citizens were dissatisfied with the name?
7 December 2009
- 18:07, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:19, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- 06:07, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that for over a century after it was introduced into English the word "landscape" was only used for works of landscape art (example pictured)?
- ... that Lee Boyd Malvo entered an Alford plea in 2004 for his role in the Beltway sniper attacks, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty?
- ... that Paul Eggers, the Texas Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1970, trailed his senatorial ticket mate, George H.W. Bush, by 34,000 votes, and both lost to Democrats?
- ... that the Gorgas-Manly Historic District in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, contains two of only seven buildings to survive the burning of the University of Alabama by the Union Army on April 4, 1865?
- ... that because of the Bambi effect, some people will not eat a whole fish?
- ... that Jean-Claude Biver has been credited with "saving the mechanical watch industry from the quartz movement"?
- ... that child actor Joey Pollari was 15 years old when he appeared in the Disney XD film, Skyrunners?
- ... that the large weight (55 tons) of the main cannon at the Bijapur Fort discouraged the British from carrying it as a trophy to England?
- 00:00, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the city of Minneapolis refused the gift from T. B. Walker (pictured) that may have included a landscape by Frederic Edwin Church later sold for US$8.5 million?
- ... that the fourth floor of Havnelageret in Oslo was used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War?
- ... that Louis Lesser developed Barrington Plaza, the largest urban renewal project in the western United States under President John F. Kennedy, as well as many of Howard Hughes' properties?
- ... that according to a mediaeval Icelandic saga, Jarl Gilli dreamt of the violent death of Irish king, Brian Boru?
- ... that the Peirce Geodetic Monument serves as a geodetic marker which indicates the exact latitude, longitude, and altitude of its location?
- ... that New Jersey Attorney General George F. Kugler, Jr. was the father of Pete Kugler who played in three Super Bowls for the San Francisco 49ers?
- ... that the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 covers not only land, but also aircraft and ships?
- ... that Rizong Monastery in Ladakh, Inidia, is known as “the paradise for meditation”?
6 December 2009
- 18:00, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:00, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that on the Hindu festival Ratha Saptami, the icons of the Sun-god (pictured) are carried in ceremonial processions in Mysore and Melkote?
- ... that the Baylor University began its organized football team in 1899, but adopted a mascot only after the completion of the 1914 season?
- ... that Sword of Aragon, a video game published in 1989, frustrated players with its copy protection that prompted them with inaccurate information?
- ... that prior to being hired as a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Katherine Kersten worked as a lawyer and banker?
- ... that an example of the extinct Toy Trawler Spaniel, bred by Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, is preserved at the Natural History Museum at Tring?
- ... that in an Alford plea a defendant in U.S. criminal court admits there is evidence to support a conviction and enters a guilty plea, while asserting innocence?
- ... that Arvid Johanson took over as Norway's second Minister of Petroleum and Energy in 1980, when Bjartmar Gjerde resigned due to high job pressure?
- ... that the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest invites entrants to compose the opening sentence for "the worst of all possible novels"?
- 05:56, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
5 December 2009
- 23:56, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- 17:56, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- 10:41, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that Cleveland S. Rockwell (pictured) used the sketches he made during topographical survey expeditions for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as the basis for his landscape watercolor and oil paintings?
- ... that the Royal National College for the Blind was the subject of the 2007 Cutting Edge documentary Blind Young Things?
- ... that St. Timothy Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, has an antique gold leaf altarpiece believed to have been made in Spain in the 1600s?
- ... that Vietnamese scholar Đào Duy Từ was forbidden from taking Le Dynasty's court examination because his father was a folk singer?
- ... that a 1999 fire in St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church caused an estimated $1.2 million in damage?
- ... that the music on Slut's album StillNo1 has been compared to a variety of different artists, amongst them Radiohead, Depeche Mode, The Divine Comedy, Sigur Rós and The Beatles?
- ... that David Morehouse, president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, served on the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry?
- ... that the Redmond Caves in Oregon were considered for potato storage as early as the 1910s?
- 04:26, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that Franz Liszt's abandoned opera Sardanapale was in part inspired by Eugène Delacroix's painting, The Death of Sardanapalus (pictured)?
- ... that Pete Heine participated in the Berlin Airlift, then became the crew chief on an F-86 Sabre jet, and was later mayor of Baker, Louisiana?
- ... that initial deliveries of the Polikarpov I-3 in 1929 were to units in the Belorussian Military District, where they replaced the Grigorovich I-2?
- ... that Jan Leighton played over 1,200 famous persons in television and print advertisements, and 1,800 more on radio?
- ... that John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun, tried to blame the British loss in the 1756 Battle of Fort Oswego on William Shirley?
- ... that Spoon River College in Illinois was founded in 1959 as Canton Community College?
- ... that the medieval English judge Ralph Basset earned a mention in the 1124 entry of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for hanging 44 thieves?
- ... that the Phineas and Ferb character Perry the Platypus was made a platypus because of the animal's striking appearance?
4 December 2009
- 22:08, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that St. Bendt's Church (pictured) in Ringsted, Denmark, where Danish kings and queens of the 12th to 14th centuries were buried, is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia?
- ... that Akira Iwasaki was the only film critic arrested by the ideological police in wartime Japan?
- ... that a noted 20th century antiquary considered the four most interesting ruinous fortifications on Coll to be Dùn an Achaidh, Dùn Anlaimh, Dùn Dubh, and Dùn Morbhaidh?
- ... that Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner told readers he was a transsexual in a 2007 essay entitled "Old Mike, new Christine"?
- ... that reform of trusts law eventually contained in the United Kingdom's Trustee Act 2000 had been requested since 1982?
- ... that Émilien Amaury left school at 12 to ride a delivery bicycle, became head of propaganda in the government of Vichy France aged 30, and then founded the Amaury publishing empire?
- ... that the highest-ranked British casualty in the 1878 Battle of Ali Masjid suffered a gunshot wound that drove a metal locket with his wife's photograph through his heart?
- ... that ESPN The Magazine's October 9, 2009, Body Issue sold more issues at the news stand than any other issue of the magazine in the prior two years?
- 16:02, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
- 10:02, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the Kingston, New York, zoning code forbids new construction in the Stockade District to higher than 62 feet (19 m), the height of the base of the steeple of the Old Dutch Church (pictured)?
- ... that the Super Falcon Submersible, which cost $1.5 million, is the world's fastest personal submarine?
- ... that the Regency era British women's magazine La Belle Assemblée featured original fiction and articles on politics and science in addition to fashion plates?
- ... that Trần Quang Khải was not only grand chancellor of Trần Dynasty for many years but also a famous poet and the creator of a traditional dance?
- ... that "Moses," the first solo single by Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser, is a tribute to ex-Echo & the Bunnymen keyboardist Jake Drake-Brockman, who had been a close friend?
- ... the P'urhépecha people of Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, have been producing hand-hammered copper products since pre-Hispanic times?
- ... that John Baldwin Neil served as Rutherford B. Hayes' personal secretary before President Hayes appointed him Governor of Idaho Territory?
- ... that the Saw series has grossed more than one billion dollars, making it one of the highest-grossing fright franchises ever?
- 02:48, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
A "disabled friendly" bus run by BEST Bus
- ... that following court directives, Indian BEST Bus launched limited 'disabled friendly' buses (pictured) on exclusive routes in 2005?
- ... that as the mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, W.W. Dumas called a curfew in 1969 to halt riots after the fatal shooting of a fleeing black suspect by a white police officer?
- ... that during the latter part of the 20th century, Heekin Can was one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of food cans?
- ... that Joseph Moir built the largest stone shot tower in the southern hemisphere?
- ... that the Italian ambassador to the United States offered in the 1920s to disband the Fascist League of North America?
- ... that after Eleanor Evans was appointed as Stage Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1949, a large number of performers, including Martyn Green, Ella Halman and Radley Flynn, left in the following years?
- ... that the poppy seed test is a simple, accurate, and inexpensive medical test for vesicointestinal fistula?
- ... that Idaho Territory Governor Mason Brayman negotiated the agreement which allowed the Mormons to leave Illinois following the Illinois Mormon War?
3 December 2009
- 20:40, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:36, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
- 05:28, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
2 December 2009
- 23:34, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that solenodons (pictured), the only surviving soricomorphs of the Caribbean, are a distinct lineage that may date back to the Mesozoic?
- ... that the song "Speechless", by Lady Gaga, was written as a plea to her father to receive the open-heart surgery he needed for a bad aortic valve?
- ... that the 47-gun galleon Elizabeth Bonaventure carried 51½ tons of weaponry against the Spanish Armada?
- ... that Memorial Park Site in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, contains prehistoric cultural deposits up to 8,000 years old?
- ... that a new railway station was built in six days in Workington to enable residents north of the river to access the town centre following floods which split the town in two?
- ... that in Ancient Egypt, servants of the pharaohs would agree to be sacrificed to provide their care in the afterlife?
- ... that in 1995, American blues harmonica player James Harman recorded a song named for the Zoo Bar club in Lincoln, Nebraska?
- ... that when Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park in Arizona was a U.S. Army post from 1864 to 1877, up to 900 mules were kept there to help deliver supplies to five U.S. states?
- 17:39, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:00, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:46, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
1 December 2009
- 21:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the precuneus (pictured), a part of the human brain hidden in between the two cerebral hemispheres, is involved with episodic memory, visuospatial processing, reflections upon self, and consciousness?
- ... that LA's St. Cecilia Church, built in 1927, adapted to its multiethnic community by installing shrines to a beatified Nigerian priest, a Oaxacan Virgin, and a Guatemalan "Black Christ"?
- ... that Holby City hospital's disabled CEO Vanessa Lytton is played by Leslie Ash, whose own disability resulted from a hospital stay?
- ... that Đại Việt Emperor Trần Thuận Tông was forced to cede the throne to his three-year old son Trần Thiếu Đế and thus held the title Thái thượng hoàng (Retired Emperor) at the age of 20?
- ... that the oldest complete document in the National Archival Services of Norway is from 1189?
- ... that former Louisiana Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle has joined a new company trying to rebuild Six Flags New Orleans, which has been closed since Hurricane Katrina?
- ... that under Jewish views of moral agency a deaf-mute could even commit murder with impunity, as Jewish law forbids legal cases without verbal communication between the involved parties?
- ... that "the wrong kind of snow" delayed British Rail services during the winter of 1990–1991?
- 03:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the clock (pictured) on St. Nicolas' Church, North Stoneham, Hampshire, England, has only one hand?
- ... that John W. Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Oregon before he graduated from law school?
- ... that except for bats, nearly 90% of the native land mammals of the Caribbean, including all sloths and monkeys, are now extinct?
- ... that Bryant Hammett resigned from the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2006 to oversee disaster recovery for infrastructure impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
- ... that the Ventura Oil Field is the seventh largest oil field in California, and was at one point the 12th most productive oil field in the United States?
- ... that despite being only the son of Hát tuồng actors, Dương Nhật Lễ was enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt by his impotent predecessor Trần Dụ Tông?
- ... that one part of Mendelssohn’s operetta Son and Stranger comprises only a few bars, all on the note F, because the composer’s brother-in-law, Wilhelm Hensel, had no ability as a singer?