From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a record of material that was recently featured on the
Main Page as part of
Did you know (DYK). Recently created
new articles , greatly expanded former
stub articles and recently promoted
good articles are eligible; you can
submit them for consideration .
Archives are generally grouped by month of Main Page appearance. (Currently, DYK hooks are archived according to the date and time that they were taken off the Main Page.) To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did you know, go to article's
talk page and follow the archive link in the DYK talk page message box.
Current archive |
255 |
254 |
253 |
252 |
251 |
250 |
249 |
248 |
247 |
246 |
245 |
244 |
243 |
242 |
241 |
240 |
239 |
238 |
237 |
236 |
235 |
234 |
233 |
232 |
231 |
230 |
229 |
228 |
227 |
226 |
225 |
224 |
223 |
222 |
221 |
220 |
219 |
218 |
217 |
216 |
215 |
214 |
213 |
212 |
211 |
210 |
209 |
208 |
207 |
206 |
205 |
204 |
203 |
202 |
201 |
200 |
199 |
198 |
197 |
196 |
195 |
194 |
193 |
192 |
191 |
190 |
189 |
188 |
187 |
186 |
185 |
184 |
183 |
182 |
181 |
180 |
179 |
178 |
177 |
176 |
175 |
174 |
173 |
172 |
171 |
170 |
169 |
168 |
167 |
166 |
165 |
164 |
163 |
162 |
161 |
160 |
159 |
158 |
157 |
156 |
155 |
154 |
153 |
152 |
151 |
150 |
149 |
148 |
147 |
146 |
145 |
144 |
143 |
142 |
141 |
140 |
139 |
138 |
137 |
136 |
135 |
134 |
133 |
132 |
131 |
130 |
129 |
128 |
127 |
126 |
125 |
124 |
123 |
122 |
121 |
120 |
119 |
118 |
117 |
116 |
115 |
114 |
113 |
112 |
111 |
110 |
109 |
108 |
107 |
106 |
105 |
104 |
103 |
102 |
101 |
100 |
99 |
98 |
97 |
96 |
95 |
94 |
93 |
92 |
91 |
90 |
89 |
88 |
87 |
86 |
85 |
84 |
83 |
82 |
81 |
80 |
79 |
78 |
77 |
76 |
75 |
74 |
73 |
72 |
71 |
70 |
69 |
68 |
67 |
66 |
65 |
64 |
63 |
62 |
61 |
60 |
59 |
58 |
57 |
56 |
55 |
54 |
53 |
52 |
51 |
50 |
49 |
48 |
47 |
46 |
45 |
44 |
43 |
42 |
41 |
40 |
39 |
38 |
37 |
36 |
35 |
34 |
33 |
32 |
31 |
30 |
29 |
28 |
27 |
26 |
25 |
24 |
23 |
22 |
21 |
20 |
19 |
18 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
14 |
13 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1
...that ancient
jousting battles near
Smisby in
Derbyshire provided the inspiration for a similar scene in the book
Ivanhoe ?
...that
Bill Jenkins '
dragsters were known as "Grumpy's Toys"?
...that
excavations of
earthworks conducted in the 19th century revealed evidence of possible
Belgic
fortifications at the site of
Sharsted Court , a
manor house near
Newnham, Kent ,
England ?
...that
Jan IV Oświęcimski , the
duke of Oświęcim from 1445 to 1456, harassed the
King of Poland so much that he was paid a debt that was promised him four years earlier?
...that the German
15 cm sFH 18 was the first field gun to use
Rocket Assisted Projectiles ?
...the divergent conclusions in the
Krulak Mendenhall mission to
South Vietnam led
John F. Kennedy to ask his staff if
Joseph Mendenhall and
Victor H. Krulak had visited the same country?
...that
Judy Garland (
pictured ) is considered a
gay icon for her "wonderfully over-the-top" film characters including her portrayal of
Dorothy Gale in the
The Wizard of Oz ?
...that as the result of a deal before the
2000 general election ,
Paul Bérenger became the first non-
Hindu
Prime Minister of Mauritius in
2003 ?
...that a platoon of the
614th Tank Destroyer Battalion was the first
segregated
African-American unit of the
US Army to receive a
Distinguished Unit Citation ?
...that
Wythenshawe Aerodrome was
Manchester 's first purpose-built municipal airfield, but was closed after one year due to the completion of
Barton Aerodrome ?
...that
Christian anarchist
Dave Andrews was
excommunicated from the
parachurch
Youth With A Mission ?
...that the
Caribou Inuit people are defined by their fur clothing, use of sled dogs and their
snowhouses ?
...that
gay
screenwriter
Marco Pennette was
outed in front of his parents on the
People's Choice Awards red carpet by a colleague who asked him about his boyfriend?
...that the
Hindu
serpent goddess
Manasa , the "destroyer of poison", is worshiped mostly in the rainy season when the snakes are most active?
...that the
GAM-63 RASCAL , introduced in 1952 by the
United States Air Force , was the first
American
standoff
nuclear missile , capable of being launched by a plane up to 100 miles from its target?
...that the region of
Cieszyn Silesia was in
1920 divided by the
Spa Conference between
Poland and
Czechoslovakia and remains divided to date?
...that the
Hoover Dam is an
arch-gravity dam , combining the
load-bearing features of a
gravity dam and an
arch dam ?
...that the final text of the Durban Declaration produced by the governments meeting at the
World Conference against Racism 2001 does not contain the language that caused the
Israeli and
United States delegations to withdraw halfway through?
...that former
Michigan Wolverines football player
Keith Bostic was elected by his teammates as the toughest guy on the
National Football League
Houston Oilers defense?
...that the
Western Islands Planning Area in
Singapore houses the world's third largest refining centre, located in
Jurong Island ?
...that in 1386,
Georgia was
invaded by
Tamerlane and his
Turco-Mongol forces , who sacked
Tbilisi and captured the
Georgian king
Bagrat V ?
...that when
Gyo Obata designed
Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square , he was inspired by
Princess Diana 's tiara for the top of the building?
...that the
Mezhyhirskyi Monastery (
pictured ) in
Ukraine , mentioned in
Nikolai Gogol ’s novel
Taras Bulba , is thought to have included the lost
library of
Yaroslav the Wise ?
...that
Cliff Mapes , a
Major League
outfielder who played only three full seasons, was the starting
right fielder for the
New York Yankees ' first of five consecutive world championships, in
1949 ?"
...that
National Scientist
Dr. Fe del Mundo was the first
Filipina enrolled in
Harvard Medical School and the only female student at that time?
...that a
PRR
Class E6
steam locomotive powered
train equipped with a mobile
darkroom for
developing
newsreels en route , delivered
footage from
Washington to
New York faster than a
chartered plane ?
...that
All-American
Bump Elliott and his brother
Pete Elliott played
halfback and
quarterback for the
Michigan
football team that beat the
USC Trojans 49-0 in the
Rose Bowl 60 years ago on 1 Jan. 1948?
...that in 1999,
Song Il-gon became the first
Korean
filmmaker to win an award at the
Cannes Film Festival ?
...that the name of
Stob Choire Claurigh in
Scotland translates from
Gaelic as “Peak of the Brawling Corrie”, referring to the roaring of the
stags inhabiting the
corries of the mountain during the
breeding season ?
...that
Heinrich Steinhowel , a 15th-century German scholar and
humanist who was physician to
Eberhard, Count of Württemberg , is better known for translating
Aesop's Fables (
pictured ) into German?
...that
wine made from the
Italian grape
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso was praised by
Pliny the Elder and a favorite of
Caesar Augustus ' wife
Livia ?
...that the
Brocard points , the
Brocard circle and the
Brocard triangle are named after
French
geometer
Henri Brocard , who spent most of his life studying
meteorology with no notable original contributions to the subject?
...that
Ernest Dynes , best known as an English
cricketer in the 1920s and 1930s, served as
Aide-de-camp to
Queen Elizabeth II between 1955 and 1957, for which he was awarded the
CBE ?
...that
William W. Bedsworth , a
judge at the
California Courts of Appeal , is also a
goal judge with the
National Hockey League ?
...that prior to the emergence of
anarcho-pacifism at the outbreak of
World War II , there was a general agreement among
anarchists that
violence was inevitable?
...that
Campanula gelida , an
endemic
species of a
bellflower , grows in nature only on one rock in the
Czech Republic ?
...that the
Crested Shelduck (
pictured ) is a
critically endangered
duck that has not been definitively seen since 1964, despite a handful of possible sightings and numerous surveys of its presumed habitat?
...that the 2007
film
10 MPH documents a 100-day, 4,064-mile journey across the
United States on a
Segway scooter?
...that Danish-American artist
Antonio Jacobsen was called the "
Audubon of Steam Vessels" for the scope, breadth and intricate details in the 6,000 works of sail and steam ships he painted?
...that the
Stora Istad wind park had to reduce its power output to below 10 MW in order to comply with
Swedish law?
...that
Soviet
sculptor
Sergey Merkurov was the author of the three biggest monuments of
Joseph Stalin erected in the
USSR during the period of
Stalinism ?
...that
U.S. Route 199 is numbered as a spur of
U.S. Route 99 , which no longer exists?
...that
carbonate hardgrounds were most commonly formed during
calcite sea intervals in the
Ordovician and
Jurassic
periods in
Earth 's history, but were virtually absent from the
aragonite seas of the
Permian era?
...that
The Faun , a rare sculpture by
Paul Gauguin , displayed for a decade by the
Art Institute of Chicago and the
van Gogh Museum in
Amsterdam was actually a fake by British
forger
Shaun Greenhalgh ?
...that
Navajo rugs (pictured) sold for $50 in gold as early as 1850?
...that
fingerboards , are reduced
scale
model figures of
skateboards , that are featured in videos and used as
3-D
visual aids for skateboarders to understand potential
tricks and maneuvers?
...that
Ronald Reagan 's
autobiography ,
An American Life , reached number eight on
The New York Times ' bestsellers list?
...that the
Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad never operated a single
train , despite completing a 42-mile line and its own ore dock at a cost of over two million dollars?
...that a
poll conducted in 2006 indicated that 26% of
Americans say the
United States "
should not be involved " with the
United Nations ?
...that former
Chicago Blackhawks player
Al Suomi was offered a contract to play with a local
St. Louis, Missouri hockey team at the age of 93?
...that
Colorado
state representative
Spencer Swalm spent time as a
Christian
missionary in
Bolivia ?
...that Aimé Guibert, owner and
winemaker of
Mas de Daumas Gassac , was featured in the documentary
Mondovino stating that "wine is dead"?
...that
Empress Dowager Wu of
Tang China had
Wu Youji ’s wife secretly killed in 690 CE so that he could marry her widowed daughter, the
Princess Taiping ?
...that eight human skeletons linked to suspected
serial killer
Daniel Conahan triggered the largest excavation of human remains in
Florida history?
...that
blackfin scad (
pictured ) is a popular
food fish in
Cambodia and
Thailand , where it is served
fried ,
steamed or
baked ?
...that
William Stewart Simkins (pictured) , who later became
[1]
professor emeritus at the
University of Texas School of Law , may have fired the
first shot of the
US Civil War ?
...that the day
Wu Zetian ,
China's only female
Emperor , was overthrown in 705 CE,
Zhang Yizhi and
Zhang Changzong were killed and their heads were hung at an entrance to the
capital ?
...that the 5th-century
baptistery of the
Cathedral of Saint-Léonce , one of
France 's oldest
Christian structures , was concealed after reconstructions in the 13th century and re-discovered in 1925?
...that the
Hurricane Creek mine disaster , which killed 38 men in 1970, occurred exactly a year after passage of the first
federal legislation regulating mine safety?
...that
blackfin scad is a popular
food fish in
Cambodia and
Thailand , where it is served
fried ,
steamed or
baked ?
...that besides
Bartter syndrome ,
endocrinologist
Frederic Bartter also identified the
syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone ?
...that
Azizul Huque gave up his
Knighthood after the
Calcutta Riots in
1946 ?
...that
Laurent de Premierfait was the first French translator of
Giovanni Boccaccio 's material, which was done only for personal financial gain?
...that
Pratap Singh was the last ruler of
Thanjavur to be officially referred to by the
English East India Company as "
His Majesty "?
...that
Surveyor General
William Light (pictured) initially planned to build the city of
Adelaide on the banks of the
Sturt River before establishing it near the
River Torrens instead?
...that
New Mexico State Road 4 forms the core of Jemez Mountain Trail
National Scenic Byway , with
trails to
Puebloan ruins, a 10,199-foot
mountain , and a 70-foot
waterfall from roadside turnouts?
...that
articulation begins with the junction produced by creating a
joint and is defined by the degree joints are seen as a "distinct break" from each other, in contrast to joints that seem fluid and continuous with the whole?
...that
Namibia Commercial Aviation has used the former presidential aircraft of
Yugoslavia and
Zambia for passenger flights?
...that
Al Javery , deferred from serving in
World War II due to
varicose veins , led all
Major League Baseball
pitchers in 1943 with 303
innings pitched ?
...that
Empress Dowager Wu of
Tang China was so fond of
Feng Xiaobao , she had him undertake
tonsure to become a
Buddhist monk in order to facilitate his entering and exiting her palace?
...that
consuming excess
carotenoids may lead to their deposition in the
stratum corneum and a yellow to yellow-orange discoloration of the
skin in a medical condition known as
carotenoderma ?
...that
Ellenville Middle School (pictured) abandoned an experiment with
single-sex classes after the school failed to meet
No Child Left Behind Act standards?
...that, at the time of his death, 111-year-old veteran
Mark Matthews was seen as a symbol for the
Buffalo Soldiers ?
...that the
Ramesseum medical papyri contained an
contraceptive formula and a method to predict the likelihood of a newborn's survival?
^ the other sounded confusing so i added the rest