The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin
species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar
in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing
anywhere from 22 to 37 kg (48 to 82 lb). Like all penguins, it is
flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened
into flippers for a marine lifestyle. Fish form the bulk of its diet,
which can include crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as
squid. In hunting, the species can remain submerged up to 18 minutes,
diving to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft). It has several adaptations to
facilitate this, including an unusually structured haemoglobin to allow
it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma,
and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential
organ functions. The Emperor Penguin is perhaps best known for the
sequence of journeys adults make each year in order to mate and to feed
their offspring. The only penguin species that breeds during the
Antarctic winter, it treks 50–120 km (31–75 mi) over the ice to
breeding colonies which may include thousands of individuals. The
lifespan is typically 20 years in the wild, although observations
suggest that some individuals may live to 50 years of age.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Penguin>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1572:
French Wars of Religion: Marguerite de Valois was married to Huguenot
King Henry of Navarre, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants
and Catholics.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_de_Valois>
1868:
Astronomer Pierre Janssen discovered helium while analyzing the
chromosphere of the sun during a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/helium>
1891:
A hurricane struck the island of Martinique, killing about 700 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1891_Martinique_hurricane>
1920:
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was
ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution>
1976:
North Korean soldiers killed two American soldiers in the Joint
Security Area of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, heightening tensions
over a 100-foot (30 m) poplar tree that blocked the line of sight
between a United Nations Command checkpoint and an observation post.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axe_Murder_Incident>
1989:
Leading Colombian presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán was
assassinated during a public demonstration in the town of Soacha,
Cundinamarca.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Carlos_Gal%C3%A1n>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
dramaturgic (adj):
Of or relating to the art of dramatic composition for the stage
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dramaturgic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Oh, my Lolita, I have only words to play with!
--Vladimir Nabokov
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov>
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