In Iowa, Interstate 80 (I-80) enters at the Missouri River in Council
Bluffs, extends east through the southern Iowa drift plain, passes
around Des Moines and through Iowa City, and crosses into Illinois at
the Mississippi River near Le Claire. I-80 is an American
transcontinental Interstate Highway stretching from San Francisco,
California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. Before the Interstate was built, US
Route 6 was the busiest highway in Iowa. In the early 1950s, a turnpike
along the US 6 corridor was slated to be the first modern four-lane
highway in the state, but those plans were shelved when the Interstate
Highway System was created in 1956. The first section of I-80 opened in
1958 in the western suburbs of Des Moines, and new sections of the
Interstate opened up regularly over the next twelve years. The final
segment in Iowa, the Missouri River bridge to Omaha, Nebraska, opened in
1972. About one-third of Iowa's population lives along the I-80
corridor, most of which runs through farmland.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_80_in_Iowa>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
905:
Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, was captured during his attempt
to restore Carolingian power over Italy by King Berengar I and blinded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_the_Blind>
1925:
American high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found
guilty (trial pictured) of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching
evolution in class.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial>
1973:
Mossad agents mistakenly assassinated a Moroccan waiter in
Lillehammer, Norway, whom they believed had been involved in the 1972
Munich Olympics massacre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillehammer_affair>
2012:
Turkish adventurer Erden Eruç became the first person in
history to complete a solo human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erden_Eru%C3%A7>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bluff out:
(transitive) To deceive (someone) in order to convince them to give up.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bluff_out>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It's the people and the cause that matter and right now there's
an important need, which is bridge-building. I wanted to support the
cause of humanity, because that's what I always sang about. Music can
be healing, and with my history and my knowledge of both sides of what
looks like a gigantic divide in the world, I feel I can point a way
forward to our common humanity again. It's a big step for me but it's a
natural step. I don't feel at all irked by the responsibility — I feel
inspired.
--Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens>
Ramesses VI was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He
succeeded Ramesses V and reigned for about eight years in the mid-to-
late 12th century BC before dying in his forties. Egypt lost control
of its last strongholds in Canaan around the time of his reign. The
pharaoh's power waned in Upper Egypt during his rule, while the high
priest of Amun, Ramessesnakht, was turning Thebes in Upper Egypt into
the religious capital and a second center of power on par with Pi-
Ramesses in Lower Egypt, where the pharaoh resided. He was fond of cult
statues of himself; more are known to portray him than any other
Twentieth-Dynasty king after his father, Ramesses III. He usurped KV9,
a tomb in the Valley of the Kings planned by and for Ramesses V, and had
it enlarged and redecorated for himself. His mummy lay untouched for
fewer than 20 years before pillagers damaged it. The Egyptologist Amin
Amer characterises him as "a king who wished to pose as a great pharaoh
in an age of unrest and decline".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesses_VI>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1807:
French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent
for their Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion
engines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore>
1922:
The German protectorate of Togoland was divided into the League
of Nations mandates of French Togoland and British Togoland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland>
1968:
The first Special Olympics games (athletes at 2013 games
pictured) were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Olympics>
2001:
Twenty-three-year-old Italian anti-globalist Carlo Giuliani was
shot dead by a police officer while protesting during the 27th G8 summit
in Genoa, Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Carlo_Giuliani>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lucre:
Money, riches, or wealth, especially when seen as having a corrupting
effect or causing greed, or obtained in an underhanded manner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lucre>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our
victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?
--Alexander the Great
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great>
The Battle of Verrières Ridge was part of the Battle of Normandy, in
northwestern France, during the Second World War. Two Canadian infantry
divisions—with additional support from the 2nd Canadian Armoured
Brigade—fought elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The
battle began on 19 July 1944 as part of the British and Canadian
attempts to break out of Caen. The immediate Allied objective was
Verrières Ridge, a belt of high ground dominating the route from Caen
to Falaise, which was invested by battle-hardened German veterans. Over
six days, Canadian and British forces made repeated attempts to capture
the ridge, with heavy Allied casualties for little strategic gain. The
battle is remembered for its tactical and strategic miscalculations,
including a controversial attack by The Black Watch (Royal Highland
Regiment) of Canada on 25 July, the costliest single day for a Canadian
battalion since the 1942 Dieppe Raid.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verri%C3%A8res_Ridge>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
SS Great Britain, the first ocean-going ship that had both an
iron hull and a screw propeller, was launched in Bristol, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Britain>
1903:
French cyclist Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France>
1989:
After suffering an uncontained failure of an engine which
destroyed all of its hydraulic systems, United Airlines Flight 232 broke
up during an emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa, U.S., killing 111
people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232>
2014:
Unidentified gunmen perpetrated an armed assault against an
Egyptian military checkpoint in the Libyan Desert, killing at least 22
border guards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2014_Al-Wadi_Al-Gedid_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
crowd in on:
(transitive, idiomatic) To join when not wanted; to force one's way into
a situation where one is unwelcome.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crowd_in_on>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Hell is that state where one has ceased to hope.
--A. J. Cronin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._J._Cronin>
Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African
anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader. A Xhosa, in the 1940s
he joined the African National Congress (ANC) party and campaigned
against the white-only government's system of apartheid, a form of
racial segregation that privileged whites. An African nationalist and
socialist, in 1961 he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe, which
led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. He was
arrested in 1962, convicted of conspiring to overthrow the state, and
imprisoned for 27 years. Released in 1990 amid growing ethnic strife and
violence, he became leader of the ANC and helped negotiate an end to
apartheid with President F. W. de Klerk. In the country's first multi-
racial election, in 1994, he was elected President of South Africa. His
administration stressed racial reconciliation and measures to alleviate
poverty. He retired in 1999 to focus on philanthropic causes.
Controversial throughout much of his life, in South Africa he is widely
regarded as the "Father of the Nation".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1806:
A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, killed around
200 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1806_Birgu_polverista_explosion>
1949:
Francisco Javier Arana, Chief of the Armed Forces of Guatemala,
was killed in a shootout with supporters of President Juan José
Arévalo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Javier_Arana>
1966:
Angered by racism and poverty, African American residents of
the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, began to riot for six days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hough_riots>
2014:
Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, who had
previously been found guilty of paying for an underage prostitute, had
his conviction overturned on appeal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi_prostitute_trial>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
prowess:
1. (uncountable) Skillfulness and manual ability; adroitness or
dexterity.
2. (uncountable) Distinguished bravery or courage, especially in battle;
heroism.
3. (countable) An act of prowess. An act of adroitness or dexterity. An
act of distinguished bravery or courage; a heroic deed.
4. An act of adroitness or dexterity.
5. An act of distinguished bravery or courage; a heroic deed.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prowess>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved
the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken
the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even
more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s
chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of
others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. I
have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I
have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that
after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more
hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of
the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I
have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come
responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet
ended.
--Nelson Mandela
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (18 June 1901 – 17 July
1918) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign
of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. She was
murdered with her family by members of the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret
police. The location of her burial was unknown during the decades of
Communist rule, and rumors that she had escaped circulated after her
death. A mass grave near Yekaterinburg which held the remains of the
Tsar, his wife, and three of their daughters was revealed in 1991, and
the bodies of the remaining daughter and the Tsarevitch Alexei were
discovered in 2007. Forensic analysis and DNA testing have confirmed
that the remains are those of the imperial family, showing that
Anastasia and the other grand duchesses were killed in 1918. Several
women have claimed to be Anastasia, including Anna Anderson, who died in
1984, but DNA testing in 1994 showed that she was not related to the
Romanov family.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand
led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato>
1918:
RMS Carpathia, which had rescued the survivors of the RMS
Titanic sinking, was itself sunk by a German U-boat with the loss of
five crew.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Carpathia>
1945:
Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, and Joseph Stalin (all
pictured), leaders of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the
Soviet Union respectively, met in Potsdam to decide what should be done
with post-war Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Conference>
1998:
A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake devastated
several villages in Papua New Guinea, killing more than 2,100 people,
and destroying the homes of thousands more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Papua_New_Guinea_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
emoji:
A digital graphic icon with a unique code point used to represent a
concept or object, originally used in Japanese text messaging but since
adopted internationally in other contexts such as social media.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/emoji>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most
disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage
inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence,
and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. … President
Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and
Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a
conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free
press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and
lies to the world. … No prior president has ever abased himself more
abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the
truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our
president failed to defend all that makes us who we are — a republic
of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad.
American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to
succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace
that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting
totally in vain.
--John McCain
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_McCain>
Hurricane Daniel was the second strongest storm of the 2006 Pacific
hurricane season. The fourth named storm of the season, it originated on
July 16 from a tropical wave off the coast of Mexico. It tracked
westward and intensified steadily, reaching Category 4 on the
Saffir–Simpson scale on July 20 and attaining peak winds of 150 mph
(240 km/h) on July 22. An annular hurricane with a large and symmetric
eye surrounded by a thick ring of intense convection, it gradually
weakened as it entered an area of cooler water temperatures and
increased wind shear. After crossing into the Central Pacific Ocean, it
degenerated into a remnant low pressure area on July 26, and dissipated
southeast of Hawaii within two days. The storm brought light to moderate
precipitation to the Island of Hawaii and Maui, causing minor flooding,
with no fatalities or major damage reported.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Daniel_(2006)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1790:
U.S. President George Washington signed the Residence Act,
selecting a new permanent site along the Potomac River for the capital
of the United States, which later became Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residence_Act>
1994:
Fragments of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 began hitting the planet
Jupiter (impact site pictured), with the first one causing a fireball
which reached a peak temperature of about 24,000 K.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9>
2008:
A tainted milk powder scandal broke in China which ultimately
involved an estimated 300,000 victims, the vast majority infants, with
54,000 hospitalized with kidney problems and 6 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
champagne:
1. (countable, uncountable) A sparkling white wine made from a blend of
grapes, especially Chardonnay and pinot, produced in Champagne, France,
by the méthode champenoise.
2. (countable, uncountable, informal) Any sparkling wine made with
the méthode champenoise.
3. (countable, uncountable, informal) Any sparkling white wine.
4. (countable) A glass of champagne.
5. (countable) A very pale brownish-gold colour, similar to that of
champagne.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/champagne>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Not many years before the Happening, one of your country's
largest religious bodies officially declared that their book was holier
than their God, thus simultaneously and corporately breaking several
commandments of their own religion, particularly the first one. Of
course they liked the book better! It was full of magic and
contradictions that they could quote to reinforce their bigoted and
hateful opinions, as I well know, for I chose many parts of it from
among the scrolls and epistles that were lying around in caves here and
there. They're correct that a god picked out the material; they just
have the wrong god doing it.
--Sheri S. Tepper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper>
Nigel Williams (15 July 1944 – 21 April 1992) was a British
conservator. From 1961 until his death he worked at the British Museum,
where he became the Chief Conservator of Ceramics and Glass in 1983. He
was one of the first people to study conservation, before it was
recognised as a profession. In the 1960s he assisted with the re-
excavation of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial, and in his twenties he
conserved many of the objects found therein, including a shield,
drinking horns, and maplewood bottles. Restoration of the Sutton Hoo
helmet alone occupied a year of his time. After nearly 31,000 fragments
of shattered Greek vases were found in 1974 amidst the wreck of
HMS Colossus, Williams set to work piecing them together, and the
process was televised for a BBC programme. His crowning achievement, the
reassembly of the Portland Vase (pictured) in 1988 and 1989, took nearly
a year to complete, and was also televised. The Ceramics & Glass group
of the Institute of Conservation awards a biennial prize in his honour.
(Full article...).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Williams_(conservator)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1815:
Aboard HMS Bellerophon, Napoleon surrendered to Royal Navy
Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland to finally end the Napoleonic Wars.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Bellerophon_(1786)>
1916:
William Boeing incorporated the Pacific Aero Products Co.,
which was later renamed Boeing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing>
1983:
Armenian extremist organization ASALA bombed the Turkish
Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport, killing 8 and injuring 55, as
part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the
Armenian Genocide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Orly_Airport_attack>
2006:
The online social networking and news service Twitter was
launched (early sketch pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
man-mark:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/man-mark>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To articulate what is past does not mean to recognize "how it
really was." It means to take control of a memory, as it flashes in a
moment of danger. For historical materialism it is a question of holding
fast to a picture of the past, just as if it had unexpectedly thrust
itself, in a moment of danger, on the historical subject. The danger
threatens the stock of tradition as much as its recipients. For both it
is one and the same: handing itself over as the tool of the ruling
classes. In every epoch, the attempt must be made to deliver tradition
anew from the conformism which is on the point of overwhelming it. For
the Messiah arrives not merely as the Redeemer; he also arrives as the
vanquisher of the Anti-christ. The only writer of history with the gift
of setting alight the sparks of hope in the past, is the one who is
convinced of this: that not even the dead will be safe from the enemy,
if he is victorious. And this enemy has not ceased to be victorious.
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>
The Somerset Levels are about 160,000 acres (650 km2) of coastal plains
and wetlands in Somerset, South West England, running south from the
Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills. About 70 per cent of the land is
used as grassland and the rest is arable. Willow and teazel are grown
commercially, and peat is extracted. Neolithic people exploited the
resources of the reed swamps and started to construct wooden trackways,
including the world's oldest known timber trackway, the Post Track,
dating from the 3800s BC. Several settlements and hill forts were built
on slightly raised land, including at Brent Knoll and Glastonbury. The
Shapwick Hoard, 9,238 silver Roman coins discovered at the village of
Shapwick, is the second largest Roman coin collection ever found in
Britain. In 1685 the Battle of Sedgemoor ended the Monmouth Rebellion.
The area has been extensively studied for its biodiversity and history,
and has a growing tourism industry.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_Levels>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1791:
The Priestley Riots began, in which Joseph Priestley and other
religious Dissenters were driven out of Birmingham, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestley_Riots>
1958:
Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, was overthrown by a military
coup d'état led by Abd al-Karim Qasim.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14_July_Revolution>
2003:
In an effort to discredit U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who
had written an op-ed critical of the invasion of Iraq, his wife Valerie
Plame's identity as a CIA operative was leaked to and published by
Washington Post columnist Robert Novak.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plame_affair>
2015:
The New Horizons probe became the first spacecraft to explore
Pluto.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chasse-café:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chasse-caf%C3%A9>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No matter how bad the wicked world has hurt you, in the long run,
there is something gained, and it is all for the best … The note of
hope is the only note that can help us or save us from falling to the
bottom of the heap of evolution, because, largely, about all a human
being is, anyway, is just a hoping machine, a working machine, and any
song that says, the pleasures I have seen in all of my trouble, are the
things I never can get — don't worry — the human race will sing this
way as long as there is a human to race. The human race is a pretty old
place.
--Woody Guthrie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
Euryoryzomys emmonsae, Emmons's rice rat, is a rodent from the Amazon
rainforest of Brazil in the genus Euryoryzomys of the family Cricetidae.
Initially misidentified as E. macconnelli or E. nitidus, it was
formally described in 1998. A ground-dwelling rainforest species, it may
also be adapted to climbing trees. It occurs in a limited area south of
the Amazon River in the state of Pará, a distribution that is
apparently unique among the muroid rodents of the region. E. emmonsae is
a relatively large rice rat, weighing 46 to 78 g (1.6 to 2.8 oz), with
long, tawny brown fur and a distinctly long tail. The skull is slender
and the incisive foramina (openings in the bone of the palate) are
broad. The animal has 80 chromosomes, and its karyotype is typical of
its genus. Its conservation status is listed as data deficient, meaning
more information is needed, but deforestation may pose a threat to the
species. Its name honors Louise H. Emmons, who, among other
contributions to Neotropical mammalogy, collected three of the known
examples of the species in 1986.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euryoryzomys_emmonsae>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1878:
At the conclusion of the Congress of Berlin, the major powers
in Europe signed the Treaty of Berlin, redrawing the map of the Balkans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_(1878)>
1962:
In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold
Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives_(1962)>
1973:
Watergate scandal: Under questioning by Senate investigators,
White House deputy chief of staff Alexander Butterfield revealed the
existence of a secret taping system (tape recorder pictured) in the Oval
Office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_White_House_tapes>
2008:
War in Afghanistan: Taliban guerrillas attacked NATO troops in
the far eastern province of Nuristan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wanat>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
regmaglypt:
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/regmaglypt>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In time of war all countries behave equally badly, because the
power of action is handed over to stupid and obstinate men.
--Kenneth Clark
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark>
Buckton Castle was a medieval enclosure castle and one of the earliest
stone castles in North West England, near present-day Carrbrook in
Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. It was surrounded by a 2.8-metre-wide
(9 ft) stone curtain wall (excavation pictured) and a ditch 10 metres
(33 ft) wide by 6 metres (20 ft) deep. It was probably built and
demolished in the 12th century, but may never have been completed, and
survives only as buried remains, overgrown with heather and peat. In the
16th century, the site may have been used as a beacon for the Pilgrimage
of Grace. During the 18th century, the ruins were of interest to
treasure hunters following rumours that gold and silver had been
discovered at Buckton. The site was used as an anti-aircraft decoy
during the Second World War. Between 1996 and 2010 the ruins were
investigated by archaeologists and community archaeology volunteers as
part of the Tameside Archaeology Survey. The site has been designated as
a Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1924.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckton_Castle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1843:
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement,
proclaimed a revelation recommending polygamy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Latter_Day_Saint_polygamy>
1918:
An explosion in the ammunition magazine of the Japanese
battleship Kawachi resulted in the loss of over 600 officers and
crewmen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Kawachi>
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: Israeli Defense Forces officer Yitzhak
Rabin signed the order to expel Palestinians from the towns of Lod and
Ramla.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Palestinian_exodus_from_Lydda_and_Ramle>
1971:
The Australian Aboriginal Flag, one of the official flags of
Australia, was flown for the first time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_Flag>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shrill:
1. Having a shrill voice.
2. Sharp or keen to the senses.
3. (figuratively, derogatory) Especially of a complaint or demand:
fierce, loud.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shrill>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and
persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark
Ages prison has no steel bars, chains, or locks. Instead, it is locked
by misorientation and built of misinformation.
--Buckminster Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller>