The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery
(pictured) on 17 October 1814. When one of the 22-foot-tall (6.7 m)
wooden vats of fermenting porter burst, the pressure destroyed another
vessel, and between 128,000 and 323,000 imperial gallons
(580,000–1,470,000 l; 154,000–388,000 US gal) of beer were
released. The resulting wave of porter destroyed the back wall of the
brewery and swept into an area of slum-dwellings. Eight people were
killed. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict that they had lost
their lives "casually, accidentally and by misfortune". The brewery was
nearly bankrupted by the event; it avoided collapse after a rebate from
HM Excise on the lost beer. After the accident the brewing industry
gradually stopped using large wooden vats, replacing them with lined
concrete vessels. The brewery moved in 1921, and the Dominion Theatre is
now where the brewery used to stand.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Beer_Flood>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1886:
The London-based football club Arsenal, then known as Dial
Square, played their first match on the Isle of Dogs.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Arsenal_F.C._%281886%E2%80%931966%…>
1920:
Irish War of Independence: Following an Irish Republican Army
ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in Cork, British forces burned and
looted numerous buildings in the city (aftermath pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Cork>
2005:
Demonstrations in Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney, against recent
violence towards locals turned into a series of race riots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Cronulla_riots>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
for the taking:
Available; able to be taken without difficulty.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/for_the_taking>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Practised in acts of despotism and cruelty, we become callous to
the dictates of humanity and all the finer feelings of the soul. Taught
to regard a part of our own Species in the most abject and contemptible
Degree below us, we lose that Idea of the dignity of Man which the Hand
of Nature had implanted in us, for great and useful purposes.
--George Mason
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Mason>
The death of Cleopatra, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, occurred in
30 BC in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old. According to Greek and
Roman historians, she poisoned herself using either an ointment or a
sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity
of these accounts, and of ancient reports involving snakebites as the
cause of death. Cleopatra's death effectively ended the final war of the
Roman Republic between triumvirs Octavian (Augustus) and Mark Antony, in
which she aligned herself with Antony, father to three of her children.
Her suicide circumvented the humiliation of being paraded as a prisoner
in a Roman triumph celebrating the military victories of Octavian, who
in 27 BC became Rome's first emperor. Cleopatra's death marked the end
of the Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic rule of Egypt, as well as the
beginning of Roman Egypt. The death has been depicted in various works
of art throughout history. (This article is part of a featured topic:
Cleopatra.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Cleopatra>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1861:
Militia forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial
leader in southern Vietnam, sank the French lorcha L'Esperance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_Trung_Tr%E1%BB%B1c>
1936:
Edward VIII, desiring to marry the American socialite Wallis
Simpson against widespread British opposition, signed the instrument of
abdication to renounce the throne in favour of his brother George VI.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdication_of_Edward_VIII>
1983:
Raúl Alfonsín became the first democratically elected
president of Argentina to take office after more than seven years of
military dictatorship.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Alfons%C3%ADn>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gylany:
(sociology) A social system based on equality of women and men.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gylany>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let it never be said by future generations that indifference,
cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of
humanism which the Nobel Peace Prize encapsulates. Let the strivings of
us all, prove Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct, when he said
that humanity can no longer be tragically bound to the starless midnight
of racism and war. Let the efforts of us all, prove that he was not a
mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and
peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold. Let a new
age dawn!
--Nelson Mandela
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>
Alister Murdoch (9 December 1912 – 29 November 1984) was a senior
commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Joining the Air
Force in 1930, Murdoch trained as a seaplane pilot, and went on an
Antarctic rescue mission in 1935. During World War II, he commanded
No. 221 Squadron RAF in Europe and the Middle East, and later occupied
senior positions on the staff of RAAF formations in the South West
Pacific. His post-war appointments included Commandant of RAAF College
from 1952 to 1953, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command from
1953 to 1955, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1958 to 1959, AOC
Operational Command from 1962 to 1965, and finally Chief of the Air
Staff (CAS) from 1965 to 1969, when he retired. His term as CAS
coincided with increased Australian participation in the Vietnam War,
and he came into conflict with Australian Army commanders over the
employment of helicopters in battle.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alister_Murdoch>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1911:
A mine explosion near Briceville, Tennessee, killed 84 miners
despite a well-organized rescue effort led by the United States Bureau
of Mines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Mountain_Mine_disaster>
1940:
Second World War: British and Commonwealth forces began
Operation Compass, the first major Allied military operation of the
Western Desert campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Compass>
2017:
Same-sex marriage in Australia became legal as the Marriage
Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 came into effect.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_Amendment_%28Definition_and_Religiou…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
out of kilter:
(idiomatic) Askew, disturbed; not adjusted or working properly; out of
order.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/out_of_kilter>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
While science and technology play critical roles in sustaining
modern civilization, they are not part of our culture in the sense that
they are not commonly studied or well comprehended. Neither the
potential nor the limitations of science are understood so that what can
be achieved and what is beyond reach are not comprehended. The line
between science and magic becomes blurred so that public judgments on
technical issues can be erratic or badly flawed. It frequently appears
that some people will believe almost anything. Thus judgments can be
manipulated or warped by unscrupulous groups. Distortions or outright
falsehoods can come to be accepted as fact.
--Henry Way Kendall
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Way_Kendall>
Cyclone Chapala was a powerful tropical cyclone that hit Yemen and
brushed Somalia in November 2015. The third named storm of the 2015
North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed as a depression on
28 October off western India, and strengthened a day later into a
cyclonic storm. On 30 October, the India Meteorological Department
estimated Chapala's peak three-minute sustained winds at 215 km/h
(130 mph). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated one-minute
sustained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph), making Chapala one of the
strongest cyclones on record in the Arabian Sea. Chapala skirted the
Yemeni island of Socotra on 1 November, becoming the first hurricane-
force storm there since 1922. Upon entering the Gulf of Aden on
2 November, it became the strongest known cyclone in that body of
water. After brushing Somalia, the storm made landfall on 3 November,
near Mukalla, Yemen, as a very severe cyclonic storm. It was the
strongest storm on record to strike Yemen, where eight people died. .
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone_scales#North_Indian_Ocean>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1880:
At an assembly of 10,000 Boers, Paul Kruger announced the
fulfilment of the decision to restore the government and volksraad of
the South African Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kruger>
1927:
Three different organizations established by Robert S.
Brookings merged to form the Brookings Institution, one of the United
States' oldest think tanks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution>
1980:
John Lennon was murdered at the entrance of the Dakota in New
York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_John_Lennon>
2010:
The Japanese experimental spacecraft IKAROS flew by Venus at a
distance of 80,800 km (50,200 mi), completing its planned mission to
demonstrate solar-sail technology.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKAROS>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Mariolatry:
(Protestantism, derogatory) Adoration or veneration of the Virgin Mary
to an extent regarded as inappropriate or even idolatrous.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mariolatry>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When I look at a body I know it gives me choices of what to put
in a painting; what will suit me and what won't. There is a distinction
between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it.
If something is true, it does more than strike one as merely being so.
--Lucian Freud
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lucian_Freud>
"Blank Space" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor
Swift (pictured) for her fifth studio album, 1989. The song was released
to US radio stations as the second single from 1989 on November 10,
2014, by Republic Records in partnership with Swift's label at the time,
Big Machine. Swift co-wrote the song with its producers Max Martin and
Shellback. "Blank Space" spent seven weeks at the top of the US
Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified eight times platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America. Contemporary critics praised
the song's production and Swift's songwriting, and some picked it as
1989's highlight. The song earned three nominations at the 58th Grammy
Awards, including in two general categories—Record of the Year and
Song of the Year. Cover versions of the song in various genres have been
performed by I Prevail, Ryan Adams, and other rock musicians.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_Space>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1837:
British troops swiftly defeated rebels led by William Lyon
Mackenzie and Anthony Van Egmond at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern,
the only major confrontation of the Upper Canada Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada_Rebellion>
1936:
Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton became the first player to
score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Fingleton>
2005:
Spanish authorities captured Croatian Army general Ante
Gotovina, who was wanted for war crimes committed during the Croatian
War of Independence; he was eventually cleared of all charges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ante_Gotovina>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Lessepsian:
1. (obsolete, rare) Pertaining to the French diplomat Ferdinand de
Lesseps, who designed the Suez Canal.
2. (marine biology) Of or relating to organisms that migrate from the
Red Sea to the eastern Mediterranean Sea by means of the Suez Canal.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lessepsian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To note an artist's limitations is but to define his talent. A
reporter can write equally well about everything that is presented to
his view, but a creative writer can do his best only with what lies
within the range and character of his deepest sympathies.
--Willa Cather
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Willa_Cather>
The 1st Cavalry Division was a horsed cavalry formation of the Royal
Yugoslav Army that formed part of the Yugoslav 1st Army Group during the
German-led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941.
Along with the rest of the Yugoslav Army, the 1st Cavalry Division began
mobilising on 3 April 1941. Three days later the Germans commenced
operations against the Yugoslav frontiers (map of operations pictured).
By the end of the following day, the division's cavalry brigade
headquarters and all of the division's cavalry regiments had been
detached for duty with other formations. The divisional-level units
remained in the vicinity of Zagreb until 10 April, when they were
ordered to establish a defensive line southeast of Zagreb along the Sava
river, with infantry and artillery support. The division had only begun
to deploy for this task when the German 14th Panzer Division captured
Zagreb. The divisional headquarters and all attached units surrendered.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Cavalry_Division_%28Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1240:
After days of bombardment, Mongol invaders under Batu Khan
breached the walls of Kiev and proceeded to plunder the city and
slaughter its inhabitants.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kiev_%281240%29>
1904:
President Theodore Roosevelt announced the Roosevelt Corollary
to the Monroe Doctrine, justifying the exercise of "international police
power" by the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Corollary>
1975:
Four members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army took two
people hostage in a house on Balcombe Street in London, surrendering six
days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balcombe_Street_siege>
1990:
An Italian Air Force military jet, abandoned by its pilot after
an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, killing 12
students and injuring 88 other people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Italian_Air_Force_MB-326_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
picaresque:
1. Of or pertaining to adventurers or rogues.
2. (literature) Characteristic of a genre of Spanish satiric novel
dealing with the adventures of a roguish hero.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/picaresque>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Science of Language has taught us that there is order and
wisdom in all languages, and even the most degraded jargons contain the
ruins of former greatness and beauty. The Science of Religion, I hope,
will produce a similar change in our views of barbarous forms of faith
and worship; and missionaries, instead of looking only for points of
difference, will look out more anxiously for any common ground, any
spark of the true light that may still be revived, any altar that may be
dedicated afresh to the true God.
--Max Müller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller>
The Pyramid of Neferirkare was built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh
Neferirkare Kakai in the 25th century BC. It was the tallest structure
on the highest site at the Abusir necropolis and still towers above it
today. The Fifth Dynasty marked the end of the great pyramid
constructions during the Old Kingdom. Pyramids of the era were smaller
and had intricate relief decoration. Neferirkare's pyramid was
originally built as a step pyramid, a design antiquated after the Third
Dynasty (26th or 27th century BC). Alterations were intended to convert
it into a true pyramid, but the pharaoh's death left the project to his
successors. Completed in haste, Neferirkare's monument lacked a valley
temple and pyramid town. Instead, there was a small settlement of
mudbrick houses where cult priests could conduct their daily activities.
The Abusir papyri were discovered in the temple of Neferirkare in 1893.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Neferirkare>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Continental Army colonel Henry Knox
arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to arrange the transport of
60 tons of artillery (depicted) to support the Siege of Boston.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_train_of_artillery>
1945:
Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers,
disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19>
1974:
The Birmingham Americans won the only World Bowl in World
Football League history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Americans>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
agribusiness:
1. (uncountable) Business (especially big business) connected to
agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering
to those who do.
2. (countable) A business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture,
particularly if using modern farming techniques in the process.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/agribusiness>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful
influence on a person's whole life. It helps immeasurably to meet the
storms and stress of life and keep you attuned to the Divine
inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.
--Walt Disney
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Disney>
The Battle of Pontvallain, part of the Hundred Years' War, took place in
north-west France on 4 December 1370. A French army under Bertrand du
Guesclin heavily defeated an English force which had broken away from an
army commanded by Robert Knolles. The French numbered 5,200 men, and
the English force was approximately the same size. The English had
plundered and burnt their way across northern France from Calais to
Paris. With winter coming, the English commanders fell out and divided
their army. The battle consisted of two separate engagements: one at
Pontvallain where, after a forced march which continued overnight,
Guesclin surprised a major part of the English force, and wiped it out.
In a coordinated attack, Guesclin's subordinate, Louis de Sancerre,
caught a smaller English force the same day, at the nearby town of Vaas,
also wiping it out. The French harried the surviving Englishmen into the
following year, recapturing much lost territory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pontvallain>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
First Matabele War: A patrol of 34 British South Africa Company
soldiers was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele
warriors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangani_Patrol>
1909:
The first Grey Cup, the championship game of the Canadian
Football League, was held in Toronto.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Cup>
1980:
The English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbanded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin>
2006:
Six black teenagers assaulted a white student in Jena,
Louisiana; the subsequent court cases became a cause célèbre for
perceived racial injustice in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
status symbol:
A visible possession that is a sign of one's personal wealth or social
status.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/status_symbol>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The whole universe is carried on on the credit system, and if the
mutual confidence on which it is based were to collapse, it must itself
collapse immediately. Just or unjust, it lives by faith; it is based on
vague and impalpable opinion that by some inscrutable process passes
into will and action, and is made manifest in matter and in flesh: it is
meteoric — suspended in mid-air; it is the baseless fabric of a vision
so vast, so vivid, and so gorgeous that no base can seem more broad than
such stupendous baselessness, and yet any man can bring it about his
ears by being over-curious; when faith fails, a system based on faith
fails also. Whether the universe is really a paying concern, or whether
it is an inflated bubble that must burst sooner or later, this is
another matter. If people were to demand cash payment in irrefragable
certainty for everything that they have taken hitherto as paper money on
the credit of the bank of public opinion, is there money enough behind
it all to stand so great a drain even on so great a reserve?
--Samuel Butler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_%28novelist%29>
The Princesse de Broglie is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French
Neoclassical artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Completed between
1851 and 1853, it shows Pauline de Broglie, who adopted the courtesy
title princesse, and married Albert de Broglie, the 28th prime minister
of France. She was aged 28 at the time of its completion. Although
highly intelligent and widely known for her beauty, Pauline suffered
from profound shyness, and the painting captures her melancholia. She
contracted tuberculosis and died in 1860 aged 35. The painting is
considered one of the artist's finest later-period female portraits,
along with those of Comtesse d'Haussonville, of Baronne de Rothschild
and of Madame Moitessier. As with many of Ingres's female portraits,
details of costume and setting are rendered with a chilly precision
while her body seems to lack a solid bone structure. The portrait is in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princesse_de_Broglie>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1904:
Himalia, Jupiter's largest irregular moon, was discovered by
Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalia_%28moon%29>
1927:
Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the
comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_and_Hardy>
1967:
Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first
successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur
Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Barnard>
1982:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency tested soil
from Times Beach, Missouri, which revealed high concentrations of dioxin
and led to the abandonment of the town.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
confusedly:
In a confused manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/confusedly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or
excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.
--Joseph Conrad
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad>
The alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a species of newt native to
continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand.
Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to
blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. The alpine
newt occurs at high altitude as well as in the forested lowlands, and
migrates to water for breeding. Males are conspicuously coloured during
breeding season, and court females with a ritualised display. The
aquatic larvae grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in around three months, and
most metamorphose into terrestrial juvenile efts, which mature into
adults at around three years. Larvae and adults feed mainly on diverse
invertebrates and themselves fall prey to dragonfly larvae, large
beetles, fish, snakes, birds or mammals. Although still relatively
common, alpine newt populations are decreasing. The main threats are
habitat destruction, pollution and the introduction of fish such as
trout into breeding sites.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_newt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1899:
Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rearguard was
defeated at the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance
long enough to ensure President Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tirad_Pass>
1942:
Manhattan Project scientists led by Enrico Fermi initiated the
first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the experimental nuclear
reactor Chicago Pile-1.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1>
1950:
Korean War: UN forces began a retreat from North Korea
following defeat at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ch%27ongch%27on_River>
1980:
Four American missionaries were murdered by a military death
squad in El Salvador.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_murders_of_U.S._missionaries_in_El_Salva…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
PEBCAK:
(computing, humorous, also attributively) Chiefly used by technical
support helpdesk staff: a problem experienced with a user's computer
that is due to user error.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/PEBCAK>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The big discoveries raise questions that make astronomers work
feverishly and argue with an agitation that verges on rudeness.
--Nigel Calder
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nigel_Calder>