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.
...that just as there is a "
Fifth Beatle," Phillip Wilcher is called the "fifth Wiggle" for leaving
The Wiggles shortly before they became Australia's highest grossing entertainers?
...that the online business term Enterprise 2.0 originated with Participate Systems
CEO Alan Warms in 2001 and has spawned an annual collaborative technologies conference of the same name?
...that children who turn 16 during the validity of a Family Railcard may still travel at child fares until the card expires?
...that the children's group
The Wiggles, Australia's most successful entertainers, have franchised their image and songs to groups in Taiwan and South America?
...that Raine Island, a vegetated coral
cay located off the North coast of
Australia, harbours the largest population of
Green Turtles(pictured) in the world and is the most significant seabird rookery in the
Great Barrier Reef?
...that the Cleeves Cove caves were used as a refuge for the local
Covenanters, a religious group seeking religious freedom, during the time of their persecution by
Charles II's government?
...that the Esplanade in
Calcutta, which formed a favourite promenade for "elegant walking parties" in the eighteenth century, now sees some 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles pass through during
rush hour?
...that Carpenter's Coffee House in
Covent Garden,
London, became known as "The Finish" as it was the place revellers went when all the other coffee houses and taverns closed?
...that former
sumo wrestler Asahikuni Masuo suffered from chronic
pancreatic trouble and sometimes commuted to tournaments from a hospital?
...that in the years 1936–1939 about 3 million Poles gave their personal savings, jewelry and valuables to the Fundusz Obrony Narodowej (National Defence Fund), to improve the equipment of the
Polish Army?
...that the Bilbie family produced more than 1,350
bells, from the late 1600s to the early 1800s?
...that the
BBC reported that the John West Salmon's "Bear Fight" videos have been viewed over 300 million times making it the sixth most viewed online
video?
...that
papal conclaves from the 14th to 17th centuries attempted to use capitulations to influence the popes they elected in matters from the appointment of
cardinal-nephews to papal travel and construction projects?
...that part of the first line of the
Berlin U-Bahn was built as an
elevated railway(pictured), because the City of
Berlin feared that an underground railway would damage one of its new trunk sewers?
...that Catherine Troeh, a
Native American activist, often signed her letters "member of the Chinook Tribe Allottee 1865 Quinault reservation" as a reference to 80 acres of land granted to her by the
U.S. federal government?
...that Tang Choon Keng, who established
Tangs and built the former Dynasty Hotel (pictured), was also known as the "Tin Trunk Man" in
Singapore for his
rags to riches legacy?
...that the landowner and grazier Joshua John Moore (pictured), was the first pastoralist to occupy the current day location of
Canberra, Australia?
...that Vikkamabahu was the first
Sri Lankan monarch to mount an organised campaign to expel the
Chola army which invaded the island in the 12th century?
...that Fort Greble was built so fast that there was no time to construct proper earthen
magazines for
artillery, and three years later
company quarters had to be demolished to add them?
...that construction of 'Tagore Castle' in Pathuriaghata, a
Calcutta neighbourhood, was modelled on that of an English castle, a departure in the way of building residences in India?
...that Artine Artinian was used as a fictional character by two of the most prominent American writers of the 20th century?
...that the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA) filed for the largest bankruptcy of a religious organization in U.S. history after its 600 million dollar fraud went undetected by the same
Big Five firm that audited
Enron?
24 July 2007
15:44, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
...that it took four
sword strokes for St. Bademus'(pictured) terrified executioner to
sever his head?
...that Citoyenne Henri(illustration pictured) was only allowed to take a
balloon trip with
Andre-Jacques Garnerin after it was ruled that "there was no more scandal in seeing two people of different sexes ascend in a balloon than it is to see them jump into a carriage"?
...that Smederevo fortress survived for over 500 years without much damage, then was devastated in a single explosion during
World War II?
...that famous Mexican poet and politician Guillermo Prieto saved the life of President
Benito Juárez by interposing himself between the guns of rebellious guardsmen and the president?
...that Będzin Castle(pictured), an important fortress in
medieval Poland, fell into disrepair in the
Renaissance era, was almost demolished in the 19th century and was rebuilt only in the 1950s?
...that Abada(engraving pictured) was only the second
rhinoceros seen in Europe since the
Roman era, and was thought by some observers to be a
unicorn?
...that in Tum Teav, a classic
19th centuryCambodian tragedy, a novice
monk named Tum sleeps with an adolescent girl named Teav and then is killed after kissing her at her wedding?
...that a
catfish of the
genusHelogenes is known to jump out of the stream during
rotenone fishing by locals, and jump back afterwards?
...that the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway was opened in 1930, more than 20 years after the original plans were drawn up?
...that the main Post Office (pictured) for
Minneapolis, Minnesota contained peepholes to protect the mail, and recreation rooms, a rifle range and a hospital unit for employees?
...that the bagarius, a
carnivorous catfish that lives on eating other
fish, breeds in rivers prior to the beginning of the annual flood season in southeast Asia?
...that 1900 was the only year in the history of Baltimore City College that no public commencement was held because the students made fun of the professors in the school's yearbook?
...that the Singapore Stone (fragment pictured), a
sandstone slab bearing an
undeciphered 13th century inscription, was blown up by the
British in 1843 to make way for a fort?
...that Boden Fortress not only served to protect northern
Sweden from enemy attacks, but was also used to store some 280
tonnes of the Swedish
gold reserve?
...that, prior to the introduction of regulation seamen's uniforms in the Royal Navy, the commanding officer of HMS Harlequin once paid for his entire crew to dress as
harlequins?
...that the
U class submarineHMS Vandal (pictured) had the shortest career of any
Royal Navy submarine, being lost with all hands just four days after its commission?
...that the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales was commissioned by the Governor of
Havana but took so long to build that another five Governors had come and gone before it was completed?
...that Kobayashi Kiyochika, the last great ukiyo-e artist, extensively studied photography and Western-style painting, the two forms which heralded the demise of his art?
...that several of the
Orkney islands' highest points are named "Ward Hill" due to the many old
warning beacons in the area?
...that John Wylde (1781-1859) at one time filled the post of Deputy Judge Advocate of
New South Wales, where he effectively had to simultaneously perform the roles of committing magistrate, public prosecutor and judge?
...that smoking(cigarette pictured) has a history that dates back at least 5,000 years and is one of the most widely practiced
recreational activities in the world?
...that the
Timucua Indians of the St. Johns culture left many large
shellmiddens, including one estimated to be 75 feet high, even though
shellfish were a minor part of their diet?
...that the construction of the Édifice Price was originally so criticized that it caused an ordinance prohibiting buildings exceeding 65 feet in
Old Québec?
...that nineteenth-century
ventriloquistAlexandre Vattemare originally studied to be a physician, but was refused a diploma after making
cadavers seem to speak during surgical exercises?
...that Father Joseph Le Caron, the first European to see
Lake Huron, also assisted at the first Catholic mass in Quebec and performed the first Christian marriage in Canada?
...that in three days of nearly non-stop negotiations, Nathan Feinsinger mediated an end to a 1947
pineapple workers'
strike which threatened the entire
Hawaiian economy?
...that girls received the right to inherit the
Danish throne as the result of a referendum in 1953?
...that despite only being eight inches tall, the Tiny Hawk, a
raptor found throughout much of the central
neotropics, successfully hunts
hummingbirds?
...that
Lapland'sSjisjka railway stop was built in part because it was the only place in the country where the letters SJ occurred in the name twice?
...that
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority founder Myra Hemmings starred, co-produced and co-directed the
1941 film Go Down, Death! The Story Of Jesus and the Devil?
...that while
Mary Wollstonecraft (pictured) wrote her revolutionary treatise the Rights of Woman in six weeks, its novelistic sequel, The Wrongs of Woman, was still unfinished at her death, despite a year's work?
...that the Hibbs Bridge on the Snicker's Gap Turnpike, which partly replaced the first
toll road in the
United States, still carries traffic, and is being rebuilt in its original state?
...that after the
HMS Tyger wrecked in 1742, the crew survived 56 days on a desert island and another 56 days sailing to
Jamaica in small boats, at a loss of only 11 out of 281 men?
...that the racially charged Escambia High School riots, which reached a climax in 1976, continued in various forms for five years?
...that despite being dissolved as a
kibbutz in the 1980s, Ir Ovot continues to host Christian volunteers working on its
Solomonic/
First Temple period archaeologic site?
...that more than 13.5 tonnes of
gold were extracted in 13 months at Poverty Reef, near the
Australian town of Tarnagulla, Victoria (pictured) from an area only 3 metres wide and 120 metres deep?
...that although no fossils of the extinct Malagasy Hippopotamus have been dated within the last 1,000 years, villagers in
Madagascar described a similar creature still alive as recently as 1976?
...that the SS Suevic of the
White Star Line ran into rocks off the coast of
England while steaming at full speed in dense fog at night in 1907 but everyone on board survived?
...that although Paul MacGillivray's main interest was
natural history, he was also the president of the Medical Society of
Victoria and a member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria?
...that the Luxtorpeda, looking more like a cross between a rail bus and a
limousine than a train, was the fastest and most luxurious
train in interbellum
Poland?
...that students at
Iowa State University are traditionally not considered "true Iowa Staters" until after they have been kissed underneath the Campanile(pictured) at the stroke of midnight?
...that
4th centurymartyrEmygdius is said to have carried his own severed head away after being decapitated?
...that in 1942 survivors of the British submarine P36 were shipwrecked again less than six weeks later when the submarine
HMS Olympus hit a mine off
Malta?
...that the last territorial expansion of
Bratislava, the capital of
Slovakia, took place in 1972, creating Greater Bratislava with the 17 current boroughs?
...that the prehistoric marine reptile Excalibosaurus(pictured) was named after
King Arthur's sword because of the sword-like appearance of its upper jaw?
...that Takemoto Gidayū's contributions to the form of bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) were so influential that all chanters (narrators) in bunraku are now called gidayū?
...that David Nash, the managing director of Nash Timbers, single-handedly stopped the
Australian Government's practice of burning down old railway bridges, thus saving timber up to 400 years old?
...that HNoMS Heimdal became the first Norwegian ship to apprehend a ship for
illegal fishing when she seized the British
trawlerLord Roberts in 1911?
4 July 2007
19:10, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
...that the stray dogs Bummer and Lazarus(pictured) were so popular with the people of
San Francisco in the 1860s that they were given special exemption from the leash laws?
...that Operation Tracer was a top-secret
WWII mission in which six men were to be buried alive inside the
Rock of Gibraltar so that they could monitor enemy movements after the Rock's capture?
...that Huynh Phu So, the founder of the
Hoa Hao religious sect, converted his doctor after being put in a
mental asylum by the French colonial forces?
...that the
Australian legal case of D'Emden v Pedder followed
United States legal precedent in holding that state and federal governments were immune from each other's laws?
...during the annual
romeria from the Guadalajara Cathedral to the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan, the statue of Our Lady of Expectation is accompanied by more than 3,000,000 people?
...that Robert Raymond founded
Australia's longest running current affairs television program?
...that the steam rail motors, introduced by the
Great Western Railway in 1903 to stimulate traffic, were so successful that they had to be replaced by conventional trains?
...that
Australian male singing duo Bobby & Laurie had a national number-one hit with Hitchhiker for five weeks in 1966?
00:58, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
...that the organizers of the 1937 Soviet Census(poster pictured) were imprisoned because the counted population numbers were far lower than expected by
Joseph Stalin?
...that Fort Pasir Panjang, part of the 11 coastal fortifications built to repel the Japanese invasion, saw little action during the
Battle of Singapore?
...that legend has it that Alexander Campbell slapped a muddy handprint on a
prison cell wall in 1877 which has never been removed, despite extensive efforts?
...that the discovery of Icadyptes salasi, a prehistoric five-foot-tall
penguin in
Peru, has caused scientists to reconsider the timeline of penguin evolution?
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.
...that just as there is a "
Fifth Beatle," Phillip Wilcher is called the "fifth Wiggle" for leaving
The Wiggles shortly before they became Australia's highest grossing entertainers?
...that the online business term Enterprise 2.0 originated with Participate Systems
CEO Alan Warms in 2001 and has spawned an annual collaborative technologies conference of the same name?
...that children who turn 16 during the validity of a Family Railcard may still travel at child fares until the card expires?
...that the children's group
The Wiggles, Australia's most successful entertainers, have franchised their image and songs to groups in Taiwan and South America?
...that Raine Island, a vegetated coral
cay located off the North coast of
Australia, harbours the largest population of
Green Turtles(pictured) in the world and is the most significant seabird rookery in the
Great Barrier Reef?
...that the Cleeves Cove caves were used as a refuge for the local
Covenanters, a religious group seeking religious freedom, during the time of their persecution by
Charles II's government?
...that the Esplanade in
Calcutta, which formed a favourite promenade for "elegant walking parties" in the eighteenth century, now sees some 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles pass through during
rush hour?
...that Carpenter's Coffee House in
Covent Garden,
London, became known as "The Finish" as it was the place revellers went when all the other coffee houses and taverns closed?
...that former
sumo wrestler Asahikuni Masuo suffered from chronic
pancreatic trouble and sometimes commuted to tournaments from a hospital?
...that in the years 1936–1939 about 3 million Poles gave their personal savings, jewelry and valuables to the Fundusz Obrony Narodowej (National Defence Fund), to improve the equipment of the
Polish Army?
...that the Bilbie family produced more than 1,350
bells, from the late 1600s to the early 1800s?
...that the
BBC reported that the John West Salmon's "Bear Fight" videos have been viewed over 300 million times making it the sixth most viewed online
video?
...that
papal conclaves from the 14th to 17th centuries attempted to use capitulations to influence the popes they elected in matters from the appointment of
cardinal-nephews to papal travel and construction projects?
...that part of the first line of the
Berlin U-Bahn was built as an
elevated railway(pictured), because the City of
Berlin feared that an underground railway would damage one of its new trunk sewers?
...that Catherine Troeh, a
Native American activist, often signed her letters "member of the Chinook Tribe Allottee 1865 Quinault reservation" as a reference to 80 acres of land granted to her by the
U.S. federal government?
...that Tang Choon Keng, who established
Tangs and built the former Dynasty Hotel (pictured), was also known as the "Tin Trunk Man" in
Singapore for his
rags to riches legacy?
...that the landowner and grazier Joshua John Moore (pictured), was the first pastoralist to occupy the current day location of
Canberra, Australia?
...that Vikkamabahu was the first
Sri Lankan monarch to mount an organised campaign to expel the
Chola army which invaded the island in the 12th century?
...that Fort Greble was built so fast that there was no time to construct proper earthen
magazines for
artillery, and three years later
company quarters had to be demolished to add them?
...that construction of 'Tagore Castle' in Pathuriaghata, a
Calcutta neighbourhood, was modelled on that of an English castle, a departure in the way of building residences in India?
...that Artine Artinian was used as a fictional character by two of the most prominent American writers of the 20th century?
...that the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA) filed for the largest bankruptcy of a religious organization in U.S. history after its 600 million dollar fraud went undetected by the same
Big Five firm that audited
Enron?
24 July 2007
15:44, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
...that it took four
sword strokes for St. Bademus'(pictured) terrified executioner to
sever his head?
...that Citoyenne Henri(illustration pictured) was only allowed to take a
balloon trip with
Andre-Jacques Garnerin after it was ruled that "there was no more scandal in seeing two people of different sexes ascend in a balloon than it is to see them jump into a carriage"?
...that Smederevo fortress survived for over 500 years without much damage, then was devastated in a single explosion during
World War II?
...that famous Mexican poet and politician Guillermo Prieto saved the life of President
Benito Juárez by interposing himself between the guns of rebellious guardsmen and the president?
...that Będzin Castle(pictured), an important fortress in
medieval Poland, fell into disrepair in the
Renaissance era, was almost demolished in the 19th century and was rebuilt only in the 1950s?
...that Abada(engraving pictured) was only the second
rhinoceros seen in Europe since the
Roman era, and was thought by some observers to be a
unicorn?
...that in Tum Teav, a classic
19th centuryCambodian tragedy, a novice
monk named Tum sleeps with an adolescent girl named Teav and then is killed after kissing her at her wedding?
...that a
catfish of the
genusHelogenes is known to jump out of the stream during
rotenone fishing by locals, and jump back afterwards?
...that the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway was opened in 1930, more than 20 years after the original plans were drawn up?
...that the main Post Office (pictured) for
Minneapolis, Minnesota contained peepholes to protect the mail, and recreation rooms, a rifle range and a hospital unit for employees?
...that the bagarius, a
carnivorous catfish that lives on eating other
fish, breeds in rivers prior to the beginning of the annual flood season in southeast Asia?
...that 1900 was the only year in the history of Baltimore City College that no public commencement was held because the students made fun of the professors in the school's yearbook?
...that the Singapore Stone (fragment pictured), a
sandstone slab bearing an
undeciphered 13th century inscription, was blown up by the
British in 1843 to make way for a fort?
...that Boden Fortress not only served to protect northern
Sweden from enemy attacks, but was also used to store some 280
tonnes of the Swedish
gold reserve?
...that, prior to the introduction of regulation seamen's uniforms in the Royal Navy, the commanding officer of HMS Harlequin once paid for his entire crew to dress as
harlequins?
...that the
U class submarineHMS Vandal (pictured) had the shortest career of any
Royal Navy submarine, being lost with all hands just four days after its commission?
...that the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales was commissioned by the Governor of
Havana but took so long to build that another five Governors had come and gone before it was completed?
...that Kobayashi Kiyochika, the last great ukiyo-e artist, extensively studied photography and Western-style painting, the two forms which heralded the demise of his art?
...that several of the
Orkney islands' highest points are named "Ward Hill" due to the many old
warning beacons in the area?
...that John Wylde (1781-1859) at one time filled the post of Deputy Judge Advocate of
New South Wales, where he effectively had to simultaneously perform the roles of committing magistrate, public prosecutor and judge?
...that smoking(cigarette pictured) has a history that dates back at least 5,000 years and is one of the most widely practiced
recreational activities in the world?
...that the
Timucua Indians of the St. Johns culture left many large
shellmiddens, including one estimated to be 75 feet high, even though
shellfish were a minor part of their diet?
...that the construction of the Édifice Price was originally so criticized that it caused an ordinance prohibiting buildings exceeding 65 feet in
Old Québec?
...that nineteenth-century
ventriloquistAlexandre Vattemare originally studied to be a physician, but was refused a diploma after making
cadavers seem to speak during surgical exercises?
...that Father Joseph Le Caron, the first European to see
Lake Huron, also assisted at the first Catholic mass in Quebec and performed the first Christian marriage in Canada?
...that in three days of nearly non-stop negotiations, Nathan Feinsinger mediated an end to a 1947
pineapple workers'
strike which threatened the entire
Hawaiian economy?
...that girls received the right to inherit the
Danish throne as the result of a referendum in 1953?
...that despite only being eight inches tall, the Tiny Hawk, a
raptor found throughout much of the central
neotropics, successfully hunts
hummingbirds?
...that
Lapland'sSjisjka railway stop was built in part because it was the only place in the country where the letters SJ occurred in the name twice?
...that
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority founder Myra Hemmings starred, co-produced and co-directed the
1941 film Go Down, Death! The Story Of Jesus and the Devil?
...that while
Mary Wollstonecraft (pictured) wrote her revolutionary treatise the Rights of Woman in six weeks, its novelistic sequel, The Wrongs of Woman, was still unfinished at her death, despite a year's work?
...that the Hibbs Bridge on the Snicker's Gap Turnpike, which partly replaced the first
toll road in the
United States, still carries traffic, and is being rebuilt in its original state?
...that after the
HMS Tyger wrecked in 1742, the crew survived 56 days on a desert island and another 56 days sailing to
Jamaica in small boats, at a loss of only 11 out of 281 men?
...that the racially charged Escambia High School riots, which reached a climax in 1976, continued in various forms for five years?
...that despite being dissolved as a
kibbutz in the 1980s, Ir Ovot continues to host Christian volunteers working on its
Solomonic/
First Temple period archaeologic site?
...that more than 13.5 tonnes of
gold were extracted in 13 months at Poverty Reef, near the
Australian town of Tarnagulla, Victoria (pictured) from an area only 3 metres wide and 120 metres deep?
...that although no fossils of the extinct Malagasy Hippopotamus have been dated within the last 1,000 years, villagers in
Madagascar described a similar creature still alive as recently as 1976?
...that the SS Suevic of the
White Star Line ran into rocks off the coast of
England while steaming at full speed in dense fog at night in 1907 but everyone on board survived?
...that although Paul MacGillivray's main interest was
natural history, he was also the president of the Medical Society of
Victoria and a member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria?
...that the Luxtorpeda, looking more like a cross between a rail bus and a
limousine than a train, was the fastest and most luxurious
train in interbellum
Poland?
...that students at
Iowa State University are traditionally not considered "true Iowa Staters" until after they have been kissed underneath the Campanile(pictured) at the stroke of midnight?
...that
4th centurymartyrEmygdius is said to have carried his own severed head away after being decapitated?
...that in 1942 survivors of the British submarine P36 were shipwrecked again less than six weeks later when the submarine
HMS Olympus hit a mine off
Malta?
...that the last territorial expansion of
Bratislava, the capital of
Slovakia, took place in 1972, creating Greater Bratislava with the 17 current boroughs?
...that the prehistoric marine reptile Excalibosaurus(pictured) was named after
King Arthur's sword because of the sword-like appearance of its upper jaw?
...that Takemoto Gidayū's contributions to the form of bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) were so influential that all chanters (narrators) in bunraku are now called gidayū?
...that David Nash, the managing director of Nash Timbers, single-handedly stopped the
Australian Government's practice of burning down old railway bridges, thus saving timber up to 400 years old?
...that HNoMS Heimdal became the first Norwegian ship to apprehend a ship for
illegal fishing when she seized the British
trawlerLord Roberts in 1911?
4 July 2007
19:10, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
...that the stray dogs Bummer and Lazarus(pictured) were so popular with the people of
San Francisco in the 1860s that they were given special exemption from the leash laws?
...that Operation Tracer was a top-secret
WWII mission in which six men were to be buried alive inside the
Rock of Gibraltar so that they could monitor enemy movements after the Rock's capture?
...that Huynh Phu So, the founder of the
Hoa Hao religious sect, converted his doctor after being put in a
mental asylum by the French colonial forces?
...that the
Australian legal case of D'Emden v Pedder followed
United States legal precedent in holding that state and federal governments were immune from each other's laws?
...during the annual
romeria from the Guadalajara Cathedral to the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan, the statue of Our Lady of Expectation is accompanied by more than 3,000,000 people?
...that Robert Raymond founded
Australia's longest running current affairs television program?
...that the steam rail motors, introduced by the
Great Western Railway in 1903 to stimulate traffic, were so successful that they had to be replaced by conventional trains?
...that
Australian male singing duo Bobby & Laurie had a national number-one hit with Hitchhiker for five weeks in 1966?
00:58, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
...that the organizers of the 1937 Soviet Census(poster pictured) were imprisoned because the counted population numbers were far lower than expected by
Joseph Stalin?
...that Fort Pasir Panjang, part of the 11 coastal fortifications built to repel the Japanese invasion, saw little action during the
Battle of Singapore?
...that legend has it that Alexander Campbell slapped a muddy handprint on a
prison cell wall in 1877 which has never been removed, despite extensive efforts?
...that the discovery of Icadyptes salasi, a prehistoric five-foot-tall
penguin in
Peru, has caused scientists to reconsider the timeline of penguin evolution?