Payún Matrú is a shield volcano in the Malargüe Department of Mendoza
Province, Argentina. Activity in its volcanic field commenced at least
2.5 million years ago and continued until about 515 years ago. Payún
Matrú lies in the Payenia volcanic province in the back-arc region of
the Andean Volcanic Belt, formed by the subduction of the Nazca Plate
beneath the South American Plate. The volcano developed over sediments
and volcanic rocks ranging from Mesoproterozoic to Tertiary age. It
consists of a large shield volcano capped off by a 7–8 km
(4.3–5.0 mi) caldera that formed during a large explosive eruption
between 168,000 and 82,000 years ago, along with a compound volcano
3,680–3,797 m (12,073–12,457 ft) high, and scoria cones and lava
flows due west and east from the main shield volcano. One of these lava
flows, the Pleistocene Pampas Onduladas flow, is the longest one in the
world from the Quaternary, at 167–181 km (104–112 mi).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay%C3%BAn_Matr%C3%BA>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
London Waterloo station, Britain's busiest railway station by
passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station>
1914:
USS Nevada, the United States Navy's first "super-
dreadnought", was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_%28BB-36%29>
1960:
To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee featuring themes
of racial injustice and the loss of innocence in the Deep South of
America, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird>
2010:
The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple
suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2010_Kampala_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
athanor:
(historical) A furnace or stove designed and used to maintain uniform
heat, primarily used by alchemists.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/athanor>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than
they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by
talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when
they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your
mouth shut or talk their language.
--To Kill a Mockingbird
<https://en.wikiquote.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird…>
Historically, the British farthing was a continuation of the English
farthing, a coin struck by English monarchs prior to the Act of Union
1707 that was worth a quarter of an old penny (1⁄960 of a pound
sterling). Only pattern farthings were struck under Queen Anne. The coin
was struck intermittently through much of the 18th century, but
counterfeits became so prevalent the Royal Mint ceased striking them
after 1775. The next farthings were the first ones struck by steam
power, in 1799 by Matthew Boulton at his Soho Mint. The Royal Mint
resumed production in 1821. The farthing was struck regularly under
George IV, William IV and in most years of Queen Victoria's long
reign. The coin continued to be issued in most years of the first half
of the 20th century, and in 1937 it finally received its own design, a
wren (pictured). By the 1950s, inflation had eroded its value. It ceased
to be struck after 1956 and was demonetised in 1961.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_farthing>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
Lord Wellesley, Governor-General of India, founded Fort William
College in Fort William, India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_College>
1921:
Irish War of Independence: One day after a truce between the
Irish Republican Army and British forces was agreed, violence broke out
between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281921%29>
1940:
Second World War: The Battle of Britain, in which the Royal Air
Force defended the UK from attacks by the German Luftwaffe, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain>
1973:
John Paul Getty III, grandson of American oil magnate J. Paul
Getty, was kidnapped in Rome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Getty_III>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
gorge:
1. (intransitive, reflexive) Often followed by on: To stuff the gorge or
gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities.
2. (transitive) To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large
mouthfuls or quantities.
3. (transitive) To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate.
4. (transitive) To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.); to block up or
obstruct; (US, specifically) of ice: to choke or fill a channel or
passage, causing an obstruction.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gorge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's the rich and powerful, by and large, who glamorize
immorality, but it's the poor and vulnerable who pay the price.
--Robert P. George
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_P._George>
On July 9, 1937, fire gutted a film storage facility (pictured) in
Little Ferry, New Jersey, rented by the American studio 20th Century-
Fox. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several high-
profile fires in film industry laboratories, studios, and vaults,
although the precise causes were often unknown. In Little Ferry, gases
produced by decaying film, subjected to high temperatures and inadequate
ventilation, spontaneously combusted. The fire caused one death and two
injuries, and destroyed all of the archived film in the vaults,
resulting in the complete loss of most of the silent films produced by
the Fox Film Corporation before 1932. Also destroyed were negatives from
Educational Pictures and films of several other studios. The fire
brought attention to the potential for decaying nitrate film to
spontaneously ignite, and to the need for fire safety in film
preservation. Production and use of nitrate film were gradually phased
out in favor of safer alternatives.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Fox_vault_fire>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory at the
Battle of Melle enabled their subsequent capture of Ghent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Melle>
1877:
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis
tournament, began in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship>
1955:
Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent
intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto,
calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass
destruction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto>
1995:
Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take
shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in
Navaly, killing at least 147 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaly_church_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hyperparasite:
1. (biology) Any parasite whose host is a parasite.
2. (entomology, specifically) An insect that parasitizes another
parasitic insect.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hyperparasite>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Poetry for the People rests upon a belief that the art of telling
the truth is a necessary and a healthy way to create powerful, and
positive, connections among people who, otherwise, remain (unknown and
unaware) strangers. The goal is not to kill connections but, rather, to
create and to deepen them among truly different men and women.
--June Jordan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/June_Jordan>
The Hi-Level was a bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used in the
United States. The Budd Company designed it in the 1950s for the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for use on the El Capitan, a
coach-only streamliner which ran daily between Los Angeles and Chicago.
The design was inspired by the dome car, employed in intercity routes in
the Western United States, and by bilevel commuter cars operating in the
Chicago area. Budd built 73 Hi-Level cars between 1952 and 1964. Car
types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars. Most passenger
spaces were on the upper level, which featured a row of windows on both
sides. Boarding was on the lower level; passengers climbed up a center
stairwell to access the upper level. Vestibules on the upper level
permitted passengers to walk between cars. Amtrak inherited the fleet in
1971 and continued to use the cars until their retirement in 2018. The
Superliner, based on the Hi-Level concept, entered service in 1979 and
remains in service.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Level>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1758:
French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at
Fort Carillon on the shore of Lake Champlain in the British colony of
New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carillon>
1962:
Following student protests at Rangoon University, Burmese
general Ne Win ordered the demolition of the historic students' union
building.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_Rangoon_University_protests>
2014:
In response to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli
teenagers, Israel launched a military operation into the Hamas-ruled
Gaza Strip.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel%E2%80%93Gaza_conflict>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pessimize:
1. (transitive) To take a pessimistic view of; to speak of in a negative
or pessimistic way.
2. (transitive) To make (something) pessimal or the worst; (in a weaker
sense) to make (something, such as a computer program) less efficient.
3. (intransitive) To think like a pessimist; to believe the worst.
4. (intransitive) To become pessimal or the worst.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pessimize>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ground on which we’ll unite as Americans is the higher
ground of moral repair. Not Left or Right, or even Democrats or
Republicans. We’ll unite as Americans, having come to realize that
aligning public policy with the goodness in our hearts is our best and
only path forward.
--Marianne Williamson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson>
Maya is the third studio album by British recording artist
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/M.I.A._albums>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1798:
Outraged by the XYZ Affair, the United States rescinded its
treaties with France, resulting in the undeclared Quasi-War, fought
entirely at sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War>
1911:
Four countries signed the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention,
which banned the open-water hunting of seals (example pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Fur_Seal_Convention_of_1911>
1963:
The secret police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief
political adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm,
attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest
during the Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
2012:
The equivalent of five months' rain fell overnight in parts of
Krasnodar Krai, Russia, causing flash floods that killed 171 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Krasnodar_Krai_floods>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hebdomad:
1. (obsolete) A group of seven.
2. A period of seven days; a week.
3. (Gnosticism) A group of seven world-creating archons (supernatural
beings) often regarded as somewhat hostile; also, a term of address for
the Demiurge (“a being sometimes seen as the creator of evil”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hebdomad>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In this complex world, science, the scientific method, and the
consequences of the scientific method are central to everything the
human race is doing and to wherever we are going. If we blow ourselves
up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from
blowing ourselves up, it will be through intelligent application of
science.
--Robert A. Heinlein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein>
HMS Levant was a sixth-rate 28-gun frigate of the Coventry class,
launched in 1758. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also
designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader
hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and
manoeuvrability. Assigned to the Jamaica station in 1759, Levant
defeated nine French vessels in three years at sea and was part of the
British expedition against Martinique in 1762. The frigate was
decommissioned in 1763, returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in
the Caribbean, decommissioned for a second time in 1770, and reinstated
at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Sent to the
Mediterranean and based at Gibraltar, Levant captured or sank a total of
fourteen enemy craft over the next three years, including an 18-gun
American privateer. The ageing frigate was removed from Navy service in
1779 and broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total
of 31 victories during 21 years at sea.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Levant_%281758%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: A Royal Navy squadron attempted to
eliminate a smaller French Navy squadron at Algeciras before they could
join their Spanish allies.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Algeciras>
1940:
The Story Bridge in Brisbane, the longest cantilever bridge in
Australia, was opened by Sir Leslie Wilson, Governor of Queensland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_Bridge>
2013:
In the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 airliner,
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed on final approach to San Francisco
International Airport, resulting in three deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ensorcell:
1. (transitive) To bewitch or enchant.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To captivate, entrance, fascinate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ensorcell>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart,
as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the
long term for both yourself and others will come.
--Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tenzin_Gyatso,_14th_Dalai_Lama>
The black currawong (Strepera fuliginosa), also known as the black jay,
is a large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and nearby islands in the
Bass Strait. One of three currawong species, it is closely related to
the butcherbirds and Australian magpie in the family Artamidae. It is a
large crow-like bird, around 50 cm (20 in) long, with yellow irises, a
heavy bill, and black plumage with white wing patches. The sexes are
similar in appearance. Three subspecies are recognised, one of which,
S. f. colei of King Island, is vulnerable to extinction. The black
currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at higher
altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. The habitat
includes densely forested areas as well as alpine heathland. It is rare
below altitudes of 200 m (660 ft). Its omnivore diet includes a
variety of berries, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Less arboreal
than the pied currawong, the black currawong spends more time foraging
on the ground. It roosts and breeds in trees.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_currawong>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1775:
The Second Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies
adopted the Olive Branch Petition in the hopes of avoiding war with
Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Branch_Petition>
1841:
Thomas Cook, founder of the travel company Thomas Cook & Son,
organised his first excursion, escorting about 500 people from Leicester
to Loughborough.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cook>
1950:
Korean War: In the first encounter between North Korean and
American forces, an unprepared and undisciplined U.S. Army task force
was routed at the Battle of Osan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Osan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
coffee table book:
A large book, usually with lavish illustrations, typically displayed on
a coffee table.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coffee_table_book>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The plan of "counting the chickens before they are hatched" is an
error of ancient date, but it does not seem to improve by age.
--P. T. Barnum
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum>
The Arch of Remembrance is a First World War memorial designed by Sir
Edwin Lutyens and located in Victoria Park, Leicester, in the East
Midlands of England. A committee was formed in 1919 to propose a
permanent memorial, and the first proposal was accepted, but eventually
cancelled due to a shortage of funds. The committee then asked for a
memorial arch, which Lutyens presented to a public meeting in 1923. With
a large budget devoted entirely to the structure, the result is one of
the architect's largest and most imposing war memorials, dominating
Victoria Park and the surrounding area. The memorial was unveiled on
4 July 1925 in front of a large crowd. It cost £27,000, though the
committee was left with a funding shortfall of £5,500, for which they
were criticised in the local press. The arch is a Grade I listed
building and, since 2015, has been part of a national collection of
Lutyens's war memorials.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Remembrance>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
The Brazilian cruiser Bahia was accidentally sunk by one of its
own crewmen, killing more than 300.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_cruiser_Bahia>
1976:
Israeli forces raided Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to
free hostages taken by hijackers on Air France Flight 139.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe>
2005:
The impactor of the NASA space probe Deep Impact collided with
the comet Tempel 1, excavating interior material to study its
composition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_%28spacecraft%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
all-American:
1. Comprising things that are wholly from the United States of America;
completely made in the United States.
2. Regarded as embodying the ideal qualities of the United States;
(specifically) of a person: courageous, heroic; honest, wholesome, etc.
3. (US, chiefly sports) Of a person or a team, or some other thing:
regarded as the best in the United States.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/all-American>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Something in all human beings makes them want to do the right
thing. Not that this desire always prevails; oftentimes it is overcome
and they turn towards evil. But some power is constantly calling them
back. Ever there comes a resistance to wrongdoing. When bad conditions
begun to accumulate, when the forces of darkness become prevalent,
always they are ultimately doomed to fail, as the better angels of human
nature are roused to resistance.
--Calvin Coolidge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge>
Peter van Geersdaele (3 July 1933 – 20 July 2018) was a British
conservator best known for his work on the Sutton Hoo ship-burial. Among
other work he oversaw the creation of a plaster cast of the ship
impression, from which a fibreglass replica of the ship was formed. From
1949 to 1951 he engaged in moulding and casting at the Victoria and
Albert Museum. From 1954 to around 1976 he was a conservator at the
British Museum, rising to the position of senior conservation officer in
the British and Medieval department. Following that he became an
assistant chief of archaeology in the conservation division of the
National Historic Sites of Canada for Parks Canada, and then the deputy
head of the conservation department at the National Maritime Museum in
London. He retired in 1993, and during that year's Birthday Honours was
appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition
of his services to museums.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_van_Geersdaele>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1778:
American Revolutionary War: Loyalists and Iroquois killed over
300 Patriots at the Battle of Wyoming in Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wyoming>
1940:
Second World War: The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet
(ship pictured), fearing that the ships would fall into Axis hands after
the French–German armistice.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir>
1970:
The Troubles: The British Army began the Falls Curfew in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican
resistance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_Curfew>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ambivert:
(psychology) A person who is neither clearly extroverted nor
introverted, but has characteristics of each.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambivert>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Between "just desserts" and "tragic irony" we are given quite a
large scope for our particular talent. Generally speaking, things have
gone about as far as they can possibly go when things have gotten about
as bad as they can reasonably get.
--Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rosencrantz_%26_Guildenstern_Are_Dead_%28film…>
Ichthyovenator is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaurs that lived in what is
now Laos, sometime between 125 and 113 million years ago. The fossils
of a single specimen were found between 2010 and 2014 and became the
holotype of the new genus and species Ichthyovenator laosensis. It is
estimated to have been 8.5 to 10.5 metres (28 to 34 feet) long and
weighed around 2.4 tonnes (2.6 short tons). Ichthyovenator is considered
a primitive member of the Spinosaurinae and would have had a long,
shallow snout and robust forelimbs. It had a sail on its back that may
have been used for sexual display or species recognition. The diet of
Ichthyovenator (meaning "fish hunter") probably consisted mainly of
aquatic prey. Spinosaurids were probably adapted for semiaquatic
lifestyles, and also ate small dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The tall
vertebral spines of Ichthyovenator's tail suggest that it may have aided
in swimming—as in today's crocodilians.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyovenator>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
The combined forces of Scottish Covenanters and English
Parliamentarians defeated Royalist troops at the Battle of Marston Moor
(depicted), one of the decisive encounters of the English Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marston_Moor>
1917:
Amidst weeks of race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, white
residents burned sections of the city and shot black inhabitants as they
escaped the flames.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_St._Louis_riots>
1976:
More than a year after the end of the Vietnam War, North and
South Vietnam officially merged under communist rule to form the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tinge:
1. (transitive) To add a small amount of colour; to tint; (by extension)
to add a small amount of some other thing.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To affect or alter slightly, particularly
due to the actual or metaphorical influence of some element or thing.
3. (intransitive) To change slightly in shade due to the addition of
colour; (by extension) to change slightly in quality due to the addition
of some other thing.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tinge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Granted, in daily speech, where we don't stop to consider every
word, we all use phrases like "the ordinary world," "ordinary life,"
"the ordinary course of events"… But in the language of poetry, where
every word is weighed, nothing is usual or normal. Not a single stone
and not a single cloud above it. Not a single day and not a single night
after it. And above all, not a single existence, not anyone's existence
in this world. It looks like poets will always have their work cut out
for them
--Wisława Szymborska
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wis%C5%82awa_Szymborska>