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 Chronotron, the only
flash-based
video game out of ten games nominated for the 2008
Penny Arcade Expo's prestigious "PAX 10," was developed by only one person?
... that in February 1962, Motor Cycling magazine achieved a best one-way speed for the Norton 650SS of 119.5 mph—more than 10 mph faster than the rival
Triumph Bonneville?
... that
Canadianmartial artistTomasz Kucharzewski, who fought in an estimated 300 fights, was described as "happy-go-lucky" by his trainer due to his friendly demeanor?
... that the 21st Chancellor of the
University of Toronto, Samuel Beatty, was the first person to receive a PhD in mathematics from a Canadian university?
... that the
freshwaterturbellarianMicrostomum caudatum can swallow prey about as large as itself?
04:46, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that when
Vladimir Putin introduced
George W. Bush to his dog
Koni(pictured), Putin is reported to have said she is "Bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner—than
Barney"?
... that U.S. singer-songwriter
Phil Ochs recorded "Bwatue" with African musicians more than ten years before
Paul Simon famously did the same thing for his Graceland album?
... that the scientific-technical journal Oil Shale is the only journal in the world that focuses on
oil shale as a main subject?
... that Oregon banned alcohol twice before the rest of America: once prior to statehood (from 1844 to 1845) and then again in 1915, four years before passage of the
18th Amendment?
... that a bootstrapping node is a
node in an
overlay network that provides initial configuration information to newly joining computer nodes so that they may successfully join the overlay network?
... that when Frank Fitzsimmons was named acting president of the
Teamsters in 1967, a
union insider said, "He's just a peanut butter sandwich; he'll melt in no time"?
... that the Marine Corps Test Unit along with the 3rd Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade carried out mock maneuvers 3,500 yards away from the detonation site of a
nuclear bomb?
... that Royce Howes won the
Pulitzer Prize for an editorial on the shared responsibility of labor and management for an unauthorized strike that put 45,000
Chrysler workers out of work?
... that, according to the modern historian
Bo Yang, the large body of petitions written by
Tang DynastychancellorLu Zhi was important to understanding mid-Tang life?
... that the
Tang Dynasty general Li Shigu, in his illness, refused to endorse his brother Li Shidao as his successor because Li Shidao spent too much time painting and playing the
bili?
... that the 1930
silent filmA Daughter of the Congo was billed as a “talking, singing, dancing picture” although it only contained a single short sound sequence?
... that a principal work of mathematician Wilhelm Cauer was twice destroyed during
World War II and was only published after his death by his family, who reconstructed it from the table of contents?
... that Freedom House, founded in 1949, raised money to support Operation Exodus, a voluntary
desegregation and busing project in
Boston before court-ordered desegregation?
... that the history of the ancient
Mayan city of Dos Pilas has been reconstructed in more detail than almost any other Mayan site?
... that the
Chicago Transit Authority closed its Kostner station only eleven years after it opened, making it one of the city's shortest-lived train stations?
... that
Canadian authorities used the academic enrollment list of a
diploma mill to arrest 24 students they wrongly accused of being an "al-Qaeda sleeper cell" in Project Thread?
... that
English dramatist Edward Rose published The Rose Reader, "a new way of teaching to read," that only used words that were spelled as they sounded?
... that the former
Arab village of Majdal Yaba with its large fortress was the center of power of a clan that controlled up to 25 villages in
Sanjak Nablus?
... that Wang Shizhen, then a guard commander for his brother-in-law, the
Tang Dynasty warlord
Li Weiyue, turned against Li Weiyue to allow his father
Wang Wujun to kill Li?
... that Daniel Hoevels's work has been described as "helping critics rediscover
Hamburg's theater"?
02:20, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Flora Drummond was known as "The General" for her habit of leading
Women's Suffrage processions (lapel pin pictured) wearing an officer's cap and
epaulettes whilst riding a large horse?
... that 19th-century
CaliforniabanditProcopio, also known as Red-Handed Dick, was said to "love the feel and the color of warm blood," and his name was used by mothers to frighten their children?
... that, during the team's first official season, a Maryland Terrapins football player was accused of "unaccreditable ignorance of football" after running the wrong way for 30 yards (27 metres)?
... that the interior vaulting of the wooden synagogue of Wolpa is considered to have been "the most magnificent of all known wooden ceilings" in Europe?
... that in the town of Santa Claus, Arizona, visitors could once purchase Dasher and Dancer
omelettes and Santa burgers?
... that in 1599, English bookseller William Barley helped publish
Anthony Holborne's Pavans, Galliards, Almains, the first instrumental (rather than vocal) music to be printed in England?
... that despite being described as "one of the strongest
fortifications in the
Atlantic Wall", the fortress of
Le Havre fell after only three days of attacks by British and Canadian forces in Operation Astonia?
... that Julius Fast's first novel, Watchful at Night, won the first award presented at the inaugural
Edgar Allan Poe Award ceremonies in 1946 as Best First Novel by an American author?
... that
linguistCarol Chomsky developed the technique of repeated reading, in which children gain fluency by reading along with a recording of a text until they can do so on their own?
... that "Albino Ballerina", the final single by
indie rock band
Sweet Jesus, gained extensive critical acclaim before the band's commercial success dwindled and they soon disbanded?
... that one of the specimens used to describe the
extinctturtleCearachelys was actually procured eight years prior to it being formally described in 2001?
... that Mildred Constantine organized the 1968 exhibition Word and Image of 300 posters at the
Museum of Modern Art called "so handsome that for a minute you wonder why billboards are disfigurements"?
... that Gale Benson was not a
spy according to her brother, even though the 2008 film The Bank Job depicted her as one?
12:45, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Danebury(pictured), an
Iron Agehillfort in
Hampshire,
England, was occupied from about 550 BC until 100 BC when the gates were burnt down, probably in an attack?
... that the first themed Lego Modular Houses set, released in April 2007, was designed for people aged 16 and older and meant to be "toys for adults"?
... that Holy Deadlock, a 1934 novel by
A. P. Herbert, was credited with helping create a more favourable attitude toward reform of English
divorce law?
... that the
New York Giants' hype of Andy Cohen was called "the most efficient job of ballyhoo that has been performed in the sport industry", with "ice cream Cohens" sold to fans at the
Polo Grounds?
21 December 2008
18:25, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that
masters of
Singapore-registered ships are subject to a fine of
S$1,000 if they do not hoist the Red Ensign(pictured) before entering or leaving port?
... that during the 1975 earthquake in
Morris, Minnesota,
USA, one man thought the loud bangs he heard came from a nearby gas plant that he thought exploded?
... that 14th-century
shogunAshikaga Takauji(pictured) sent his son Motouji to
Kamakura to consolidate his rule there, but ended up creating a rival shogunate because Motouji started calling himself Kubō?
... that the USS PGM-17 received no enemy damage while stranded on a coral reef for over a month during intense
kamikaze attacks in the region during the
Battle of Okinawa?
... that the phrase "It's your Wally" refers to
Queensland's
test cricketerWally Grout and typically means that it is the listener's turn to buy a round of drinks?
... that the
Nazi German Reich Office for Economic Expansion got the nickname Office for the Expansion of
IG Farben, because its head Carl Krauch was also the chairman of that company?
... that
Pakistan's newly created Ministry of Human Rights has announced a law which will assist in uncovering the fate of thousands who have disappeared since the
War on Terror began?
... that Table to Table is an
Israelicharity that collects leftover and surplus food, gathering enough each week to provide 12,000 to 14,000 meals and 40 to 50 tons of produce?
... that after the inexplicable sinking of four identical
trawlers in
Acadia, the
Canadian government took possession of the "cursed ship" Marc Guylaine in 1972, simply changed its name and re-sold it?
... that A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter A.D. 1697, based on the diary of Henry Maundrell, was translated into
French,
Dutch and
German by 1792?
... that the Laogai Museum, which showcases
China's
laogai prison system, was financed by the same company that once turned a dissident,
Shi Tao, in to the Chinese authorities?
... that due to his blindness, it took Sir John Wall, the first visually impaired judge of the 20th-century
High Court of Justice, over 400 applications and 53 interviews before he was offered a job?
... that the
BZ-laden white smoke produced by the M44 generator cluster bomb was problematic because BZ is easily defeated with a few layers of cloth?
... that the 14th-century Tree House, the former
manor house of
Crawley,
England, was named after an ancient
elm whose trunk was hollowed out to form a room in which travellers stayed overnight?
... that the Monumento al Ahogado, a
Uruguayan landmark, was completed in only six days, even though the sculptor was given an entire summer to work on it?
... that
Greek singer
Katy Garbi's new album Kainourgia Ego is the last release on her current contract with
Sony BMG, which has in total lasted almost 20 years?
... that the sculpture Berlin(pictured), created as a testament to
East and
West Berlin being close yet separate, was commissioned for the city's 750th anniversary?
... that according to a legend, the Eliseyevs hid their treasures in the walls of Chicherin House before they fled
Russia after the
October Revolution in 1917, but this treasure was never found?
... that Mangaloreans hold a
Guinness world record for non-stop singing for 40 hours?
... that a technician at the Beijing Film Laboratory refused to print the film or return the negatives for sex scenes from Curiosity Kills the Cat, having been
punished over a similar matter?
... that the Vanity Ballroom, an intact dance hall that hosted the popular big bands of the
Swing Era, billed itself as "
Detroit's most beautiful dance rendezvous"?
... that the name of the Lasiognathusgenus of
anglerfish(L. amphirhampus pictured), distinctive for its huge upper jaw, derives from the
Greek for "hairy jaw"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive
fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early
country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that during construction of the church that now houses the Walters Cultural Arts Center in
Hillsboro, Oregon, the church was given all the rock they needed for US$1,000 as long as they hauled it away?
... that although it was the tallest building in
Perth,
Western Australia, for most of the 1960s, Citibank House is now only the 26th tallest in the city?
... that Congo, a
chimpanzee who made over 400 paintings (example pictured), would scream if a painting was taken away from him before he was finished?
... that Mark Rosenberg, described as "one of Hollywood's baby moguls", was only 35 years old when he succeeded Robert Shapiro as President of Worldwide Theatrical Production at
Warner Bros.?
... that of over 1,000 stone Buddha statues that once existed at the
Korean Buddhist templeUnjusa, only 91 remain intact?
... that stick candy, a form of
hard candy with a colorful,
barber pole-like spiral design, has a long history in the United States, dating to at least as early as 1837?
... that English
violinistJohn Lenton wrote one of the earliest extant treatises on violin playing?
10:21, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
... that "
grand design"
spiral galaxyNGC 6118(pictured) containing Supernova 2004dk is nicknamed the "Blinking Galaxy" for its tendency to flick in and out of view with different eye positions?
... that Humphrey Bate was the first to play
old-time music on
Nashville radio, and his "Possum Hunters" records are considered some of the most complex string band compositions in the genre?
... that British motorcycle pioneer Eugene Goodman joined his family's business,
Velocette motorcycles, only after his car-making business failed in 1916?
... that at least 343 persons on the SS Princess Sophia(pictured) died in 1918 when the ship was grounded near
Juneau, Alaska, the captain decided not to evacuate, and the ship sank?
... that Holy Land USA(pictured), a
Connecticut theme park intended to replicate
Bethlehem and
Jerusalem of the biblical era, once attracted more than 40,000 visitors annually?
... that the Velocette LE motorcycle was used by over fifty
British police forces and the police riders became known as "Noddys" because they were required to nod to senior officers?
... that A. Bernard Ackerman, called "a founding figure in the field of
dermatopathology", was skeptical of the notion that exposure to sun causes
melanoma, saying the link had not been proven?
... that after a kitten named Lucky survived a fall from the 65-foot-high (20 m) Granada Bridge at
Ormond Beach, Florida, Lucky's owners changed her name to Timmy?
14:10, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
... that, in the
lives of saints, the appearance of roses(example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of
God?
... that in exchange for US$50,000 from two undercover agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Arab
sheik in the
Abscam investigation,
U.S. CongressmanRaymond F. Lederer told the agents "I can give you me"?
... that Jonathan Leavitt was the leading publisher of theological and religious books in
New York City during the early 1800s?
... that the high-profile recalls in 2007 and 2008 of
China-manufactured toys led the U.S. to enact stricter limits on the amount of
lead in paint on children's products?
... that
MayorTom Weisner once considered outlawing untimely holiday decorations, when citizens of
Aurora, Illinois, complained of
Christmas decorations abounding during the summer?
... that due to standing among corpses in his coat and rubber gloves while holding a
syringe,
SS-OberscharführerJosef Klehr has been described as the ultimate caricature of the omnipotent
Auschwitz doctor?
... that the morph of
proteins that function as morpheeins can be explained by a dice analogy where the one spot must contact the die face with four spots?
... that
Italian noblewoman Bianca Riario acted as a substitute mother in the early 1500s to her half-brother, the celebrated
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, while her own mother was in prison?
... that despite being laughed off stage at a music contest as a young boy,
mugham singer Alim Qasimov went on to win the International
IMC–
UNESCO Music Prize?
... that Toto's seizure of power in
Rome,
Italy, in 767 is one of the first indications that the military aristocracy believed that supreme power in Rome rested with the
papal office?
... that the human mouth forms when the
opening that becomes the anus tunnels through the
embryo and comes out the other side?
... that at a 1972 re-election rally before a crowd of 15,000 at the
Nassau Coliseum,
Richard Nixon's opening words were "This is the biggest and best rally, Joe Margiotta, I have ever seen"?
10 December 2008
23:30, 10 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Velika Planina is a high-altitude settlement in
Slovenia having huts whose oval roofs (pictured) have
wooden shingles that extend nearly to ground level to accommodate
cattle?
... that approximately 10,000
communist miners left the Czechoslovak Miners' Union in 1923, after the union had accepted 9–13 percent cuts in salaries?
... that the director of Afghan Muscles ignored the role of
Afghan women in
bodybuilding, noting "It's men looking at men," and "60% [of men] have their first sexual experience with another man"?
... that from November to April every year Jammu is the capital of
Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost
Indian state, and that during the summer
Srinagar is the capital?
... that the "Old Perpetual" geyser (pictured) at Hunter's Hot Springs in
Lake County,
Oregon, releases a plume of near-boiling water 50 to 60 feet (15–18 m) into the air every 90 seconds?
... that the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award is named for a librarian who was jailed for refusing to testify in the 1972 trial of the
Harrisburg Seven anti-war activists?
... that the "noble polypore" (mushroom species Bridgeoporus nobilissimus) was the first fungus to be listed as
endangered by any private or public agency in the United States?
... that many of
Kentucky's early political leaders were part of the Danville Political Club, a debating society whose existence was not known publicly until a century later?
... that the Aquarama, built in 1945 as a
Liberty ship, was converted into the largest passenger ship ever to operate on the
Great Lakes?
... that Samuel McDowell fought in three wars and later presided over nine of the ten constitutional conventions needed to draft the first
Kentucky Constitution?
... that the innovative design of the
pre-Columbian twin pyramid of Tenayuca(pictured) in
Mexico was later used as a model for the temples of the
Aztecs?
... that Lac-Simon, in
Quebec,
Canada, is named after Marie-Louise Cimon, the wife of an early settler?
... that after Helmut Friedlaender sold most of his
rare-book collection at auction in 2001, he bought back some of the books on the open market to give them a good home?
... that one of the most gifted portrait painters of the 17th century is known as Cornelis Janssens, although he never used that name to sign his paintings?
... that Edwin Donayre, commander of the
Peruvian Army, sparked an international controversy when a video surfaced in the media showing him making anti-Chilean remarks?
... that the Moonlight Brewing Company sells its product only in
kegs because the brewmaster believes the process of bottling
beer "is cruel for the beer and a logistical nightmare"?
... that the three-story tall
Torah Ark(pictured) of the Great Synagogue in
Włodawa,
Poland, is decorated with carvings of 18th-century musical instruments to illustrate one of the
Psalms?
... that although only 170 cars were carried between Lympne and
Le Touquet airfields in 1948, by 1951 the
air ferry service was so successful that over 13,000 vehicles were carried that year?
... that the ingredients for facials recommended in Medicamina Faciei Femineae by
Ovid(pictured) more than 2,000 years ago, are still used in the production of modern
cosmetics?
... that ideational apraxia causes people to lose the ability to use everyday objects correctly, as they can no longer relate the object's purpose to the actions required to perform a task?
... that Clewer Mill Stream, a backwater of the
River Thames, used to be out of bounds to boys from nearby
Eton College and a punishment of 100 lines could be handed down for going there?
... that although its design and construction are now appreciated for being modern and futuristic, the Westland Dreadnoughtmonoplane crashed and was crippled on its inaugural flight?
... that the first two steamboats on the Kootenay River sank when they were overloaded with supplies by the
Northwest Mounted Police en route to quell an uprising?
... that the core group of paintings in the Orleans Collection(a
Rembrandt pictured) remained together for two centuries in Prague, Stockholm, Rome, Paris and London?
... that after
Caltech eliminated its
meteorology department, which was founded and led by Irving P. Krick, most of the staff left to join Krick's private weather business?
... that overchoice refers to the situation where when faced with too many
choices, people become indecisive and unhappy?
4 December 2008
20:45, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
... that
Alexander Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman(illustration pictured) has been described as "the best poem written anywhere in the 19th century"?
... that Serenity High School, the oldest public substance-abuse recovery high school in
Texas, has served students from over 25 area high schools since opening in 1999?
... that the 1932 National Hunger March, the largest hunger march in the 1920s and 1930s, led to days of widespread violence in central
London?
... that due to the subtly non-local nature of
quantum reality, apparent telepathy can be achieved in
games between separated players (example pictured)?
... that in 1954,
Israel walked out of the Israel-
Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission after the commission failed to condemn Jordan for the Scorpion Pass Massacre?
... that mathematician Karen Vogtmann co-authored a paper which produced a method for quantifying the difference and computing the distance between two
phylogenetic trees?
... that it now requires 250 employees and costs US$5-9 million to open a new location of the six-year-old America's Incredible Pizza Company?
... that after executing
CaesarGallus, officer Apodemius grabbed his shoes, ran quickly from
Pula to
Mediolanum, and threw them at the feet of Roman Emperor
Constantius II to prove his cousin's death?
... that as a result of the Saxon Brother War and the subsequent divisions of land,
Saxony was no longer one of the most powerful
German states?
... that a St. Andrew's cross(pictured) was printed in four positions in place of a stamp on each sheet of the 1850
Austrian stamps so that the price would be an even number of
Gulden?
... that the
pre-Columbian ruins of Teopanzolco in
Mexico are said to have been rediscovered during the
Mexican Revolution when an artillery emplacement shook loose some dirt from the stonework?
... that
checkers champion Richard Fortman learned the game from his father, a
telegraphist who would play the game with other operators by memorizing the board to avoid detection?
... that the first
Pilgrim settlement in
Massachusetts was on the site of a former Patuxet Indian village, all of whose residents had died in epidemics before the Pilgrims arrived?
... that the Handlebar Club(member pictured), a
gentleman's club for those with
handlebar moustaches, considers itself at war with a society that demands people choose "the bland, the boring and the generic"?
... that the Beverly Hills Diet, which starts with ten days of eating nothing but fruit, was labeled by doctors in 1981 as "perhaps the worst entry in the diet-fad derby"?
... that after
organistDudley Savage's radio request programme was cancelled in 1968, the
BBC faced a protest described as "perhaps the biggest demonstration of its kind"?
... that the Esma Sultana Mansion(pictured), a multipurpose event venue in
Istanbul,
Turkey, looks ruined because only its interior was reconstructed after a 1975 fire?
... that in spite of her great reputation in Europe,
operaticsopranoLucienne Bréval had limited success in America as critics thought her singing lacked polish?
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 Chronotron, the only
flash-based
video game out of ten games nominated for the 2008
Penny Arcade Expo's prestigious "PAX 10," was developed by only one person?
... that in February 1962, Motor Cycling magazine achieved a best one-way speed for the Norton 650SS of 119.5 mph—more than 10 mph faster than the rival
Triumph Bonneville?
... that
Canadianmartial artistTomasz Kucharzewski, who fought in an estimated 300 fights, was described as "happy-go-lucky" by his trainer due to his friendly demeanor?
... that the 21st Chancellor of the
University of Toronto, Samuel Beatty, was the first person to receive a PhD in mathematics from a Canadian university?
... that the
freshwaterturbellarianMicrostomum caudatum can swallow prey about as large as itself?
04:46, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that when
Vladimir Putin introduced
George W. Bush to his dog
Koni(pictured), Putin is reported to have said she is "Bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner—than
Barney"?
... that U.S. singer-songwriter
Phil Ochs recorded "Bwatue" with African musicians more than ten years before
Paul Simon famously did the same thing for his Graceland album?
... that the scientific-technical journal Oil Shale is the only journal in the world that focuses on
oil shale as a main subject?
... that Oregon banned alcohol twice before the rest of America: once prior to statehood (from 1844 to 1845) and then again in 1915, four years before passage of the
18th Amendment?
... that a bootstrapping node is a
node in an
overlay network that provides initial configuration information to newly joining computer nodes so that they may successfully join the overlay network?
... that when Frank Fitzsimmons was named acting president of the
Teamsters in 1967, a
union insider said, "He's just a peanut butter sandwich; he'll melt in no time"?
... that the Marine Corps Test Unit along with the 3rd Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade carried out mock maneuvers 3,500 yards away from the detonation site of a
nuclear bomb?
... that Royce Howes won the
Pulitzer Prize for an editorial on the shared responsibility of labor and management for an unauthorized strike that put 45,000
Chrysler workers out of work?
... that, according to the modern historian
Bo Yang, the large body of petitions written by
Tang DynastychancellorLu Zhi was important to understanding mid-Tang life?
... that the
Tang Dynasty general Li Shigu, in his illness, refused to endorse his brother Li Shidao as his successor because Li Shidao spent too much time painting and playing the
bili?
... that the 1930
silent filmA Daughter of the Congo was billed as a “talking, singing, dancing picture” although it only contained a single short sound sequence?
... that a principal work of mathematician Wilhelm Cauer was twice destroyed during
World War II and was only published after his death by his family, who reconstructed it from the table of contents?
... that Freedom House, founded in 1949, raised money to support Operation Exodus, a voluntary
desegregation and busing project in
Boston before court-ordered desegregation?
... that the history of the ancient
Mayan city of Dos Pilas has been reconstructed in more detail than almost any other Mayan site?
... that the
Chicago Transit Authority closed its Kostner station only eleven years after it opened, making it one of the city's shortest-lived train stations?
... that
Canadian authorities used the academic enrollment list of a
diploma mill to arrest 24 students they wrongly accused of being an "al-Qaeda sleeper cell" in Project Thread?
... that
English dramatist Edward Rose published The Rose Reader, "a new way of teaching to read," that only used words that were spelled as they sounded?
... that the former
Arab village of Majdal Yaba with its large fortress was the center of power of a clan that controlled up to 25 villages in
Sanjak Nablus?
... that Wang Shizhen, then a guard commander for his brother-in-law, the
Tang Dynasty warlord
Li Weiyue, turned against Li Weiyue to allow his father
Wang Wujun to kill Li?
... that Daniel Hoevels's work has been described as "helping critics rediscover
Hamburg's theater"?
02:20, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Flora Drummond was known as "The General" for her habit of leading
Women's Suffrage processions (lapel pin pictured) wearing an officer's cap and
epaulettes whilst riding a large horse?
... that 19th-century
CaliforniabanditProcopio, also known as Red-Handed Dick, was said to "love the feel and the color of warm blood," and his name was used by mothers to frighten their children?
... that, during the team's first official season, a Maryland Terrapins football player was accused of "unaccreditable ignorance of football" after running the wrong way for 30 yards (27 metres)?
... that the interior vaulting of the wooden synagogue of Wolpa is considered to have been "the most magnificent of all known wooden ceilings" in Europe?
... that in the town of Santa Claus, Arizona, visitors could once purchase Dasher and Dancer
omelettes and Santa burgers?
... that in 1599, English bookseller William Barley helped publish
Anthony Holborne's Pavans, Galliards, Almains, the first instrumental (rather than vocal) music to be printed in England?
... that despite being described as "one of the strongest
fortifications in the
Atlantic Wall", the fortress of
Le Havre fell after only three days of attacks by British and Canadian forces in Operation Astonia?
... that Julius Fast's first novel, Watchful at Night, won the first award presented at the inaugural
Edgar Allan Poe Award ceremonies in 1946 as Best First Novel by an American author?
... that
linguistCarol Chomsky developed the technique of repeated reading, in which children gain fluency by reading along with a recording of a text until they can do so on their own?
... that "Albino Ballerina", the final single by
indie rock band
Sweet Jesus, gained extensive critical acclaim before the band's commercial success dwindled and they soon disbanded?
... that one of the specimens used to describe the
extinctturtleCearachelys was actually procured eight years prior to it being formally described in 2001?
... that Mildred Constantine organized the 1968 exhibition Word and Image of 300 posters at the
Museum of Modern Art called "so handsome that for a minute you wonder why billboards are disfigurements"?
... that Gale Benson was not a
spy according to her brother, even though the 2008 film The Bank Job depicted her as one?
12:45, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Danebury(pictured), an
Iron Agehillfort in
Hampshire,
England, was occupied from about 550 BC until 100 BC when the gates were burnt down, probably in an attack?
... that the first themed Lego Modular Houses set, released in April 2007, was designed for people aged 16 and older and meant to be "toys for adults"?
... that Holy Deadlock, a 1934 novel by
A. P. Herbert, was credited with helping create a more favourable attitude toward reform of English
divorce law?
... that the
New York Giants' hype of Andy Cohen was called "the most efficient job of ballyhoo that has been performed in the sport industry", with "ice cream Cohens" sold to fans at the
Polo Grounds?
21 December 2008
18:25, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that
masters of
Singapore-registered ships are subject to a fine of
S$1,000 if they do not hoist the Red Ensign(pictured) before entering or leaving port?
... that during the 1975 earthquake in
Morris, Minnesota,
USA, one man thought the loud bangs he heard came from a nearby gas plant that he thought exploded?
... that 14th-century
shogunAshikaga Takauji(pictured) sent his son Motouji to
Kamakura to consolidate his rule there, but ended up creating a rival shogunate because Motouji started calling himself Kubō?
... that the USS PGM-17 received no enemy damage while stranded on a coral reef for over a month during intense
kamikaze attacks in the region during the
Battle of Okinawa?
... that the phrase "It's your Wally" refers to
Queensland's
test cricketerWally Grout and typically means that it is the listener's turn to buy a round of drinks?
... that the
Nazi German Reich Office for Economic Expansion got the nickname Office for the Expansion of
IG Farben, because its head Carl Krauch was also the chairman of that company?
... that
Pakistan's newly created Ministry of Human Rights has announced a law which will assist in uncovering the fate of thousands who have disappeared since the
War on Terror began?
... that Table to Table is an
Israelicharity that collects leftover and surplus food, gathering enough each week to provide 12,000 to 14,000 meals and 40 to 50 tons of produce?
... that after the inexplicable sinking of four identical
trawlers in
Acadia, the
Canadian government took possession of the "cursed ship" Marc Guylaine in 1972, simply changed its name and re-sold it?
... that A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter A.D. 1697, based on the diary of Henry Maundrell, was translated into
French,
Dutch and
German by 1792?
... that the Laogai Museum, which showcases
China's
laogai prison system, was financed by the same company that once turned a dissident,
Shi Tao, in to the Chinese authorities?
... that due to his blindness, it took Sir John Wall, the first visually impaired judge of the 20th-century
High Court of Justice, over 400 applications and 53 interviews before he was offered a job?
... that the
BZ-laden white smoke produced by the M44 generator cluster bomb was problematic because BZ is easily defeated with a few layers of cloth?
... that the 14th-century Tree House, the former
manor house of
Crawley,
England, was named after an ancient
elm whose trunk was hollowed out to form a room in which travellers stayed overnight?
... that the Monumento al Ahogado, a
Uruguayan landmark, was completed in only six days, even though the sculptor was given an entire summer to work on it?
... that
Greek singer
Katy Garbi's new album Kainourgia Ego is the last release on her current contract with
Sony BMG, which has in total lasted almost 20 years?
... that the sculpture Berlin(pictured), created as a testament to
East and
West Berlin being close yet separate, was commissioned for the city's 750th anniversary?
... that according to a legend, the Eliseyevs hid their treasures in the walls of Chicherin House before they fled
Russia after the
October Revolution in 1917, but this treasure was never found?
... that Mangaloreans hold a
Guinness world record for non-stop singing for 40 hours?
... that a technician at the Beijing Film Laboratory refused to print the film or return the negatives for sex scenes from Curiosity Kills the Cat, having been
punished over a similar matter?
... that the Vanity Ballroom, an intact dance hall that hosted the popular big bands of the
Swing Era, billed itself as "
Detroit's most beautiful dance rendezvous"?
... that the name of the Lasiognathusgenus of
anglerfish(L. amphirhampus pictured), distinctive for its huge upper jaw, derives from the
Greek for "hairy jaw"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive
fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early
country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that during construction of the church that now houses the Walters Cultural Arts Center in
Hillsboro, Oregon, the church was given all the rock they needed for US$1,000 as long as they hauled it away?
... that although it was the tallest building in
Perth,
Western Australia, for most of the 1960s, Citibank House is now only the 26th tallest in the city?
... that Congo, a
chimpanzee who made over 400 paintings (example pictured), would scream if a painting was taken away from him before he was finished?
... that Mark Rosenberg, described as "one of Hollywood's baby moguls", was only 35 years old when he succeeded Robert Shapiro as President of Worldwide Theatrical Production at
Warner Bros.?
... that of over 1,000 stone Buddha statues that once existed at the
Korean Buddhist templeUnjusa, only 91 remain intact?
... that stick candy, a form of
hard candy with a colorful,
barber pole-like spiral design, has a long history in the United States, dating to at least as early as 1837?
... that English
violinistJohn Lenton wrote one of the earliest extant treatises on violin playing?
10:21, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
... that "
grand design"
spiral galaxyNGC 6118(pictured) containing Supernova 2004dk is nicknamed the "Blinking Galaxy" for its tendency to flick in and out of view with different eye positions?
... that Humphrey Bate was the first to play
old-time music on
Nashville radio, and his "Possum Hunters" records are considered some of the most complex string band compositions in the genre?
... that British motorcycle pioneer Eugene Goodman joined his family's business,
Velocette motorcycles, only after his car-making business failed in 1916?
... that at least 343 persons on the SS Princess Sophia(pictured) died in 1918 when the ship was grounded near
Juneau, Alaska, the captain decided not to evacuate, and the ship sank?
... that Holy Land USA(pictured), a
Connecticut theme park intended to replicate
Bethlehem and
Jerusalem of the biblical era, once attracted more than 40,000 visitors annually?
... that the Velocette LE motorcycle was used by over fifty
British police forces and the police riders became known as "Noddys" because they were required to nod to senior officers?
... that A. Bernard Ackerman, called "a founding figure in the field of
dermatopathology", was skeptical of the notion that exposure to sun causes
melanoma, saying the link had not been proven?
... that after a kitten named Lucky survived a fall from the 65-foot-high (20 m) Granada Bridge at
Ormond Beach, Florida, Lucky's owners changed her name to Timmy?
14:10, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
... that, in the
lives of saints, the appearance of roses(example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of
God?
... that in exchange for US$50,000 from two undercover agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Arab
sheik in the
Abscam investigation,
U.S. CongressmanRaymond F. Lederer told the agents "I can give you me"?
... that Jonathan Leavitt was the leading publisher of theological and religious books in
New York City during the early 1800s?
... that the high-profile recalls in 2007 and 2008 of
China-manufactured toys led the U.S. to enact stricter limits on the amount of
lead in paint on children's products?
... that
MayorTom Weisner once considered outlawing untimely holiday decorations, when citizens of
Aurora, Illinois, complained of
Christmas decorations abounding during the summer?
... that due to standing among corpses in his coat and rubber gloves while holding a
syringe,
SS-OberscharführerJosef Klehr has been described as the ultimate caricature of the omnipotent
Auschwitz doctor?
... that the morph of
proteins that function as morpheeins can be explained by a dice analogy where the one spot must contact the die face with four spots?
... that
Italian noblewoman Bianca Riario acted as a substitute mother in the early 1500s to her half-brother, the celebrated
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, while her own mother was in prison?
... that despite being laughed off stage at a music contest as a young boy,
mugham singer Alim Qasimov went on to win the International
IMC–
UNESCO Music Prize?
... that Toto's seizure of power in
Rome,
Italy, in 767 is one of the first indications that the military aristocracy believed that supreme power in Rome rested with the
papal office?
... that the human mouth forms when the
opening that becomes the anus tunnels through the
embryo and comes out the other side?
... that at a 1972 re-election rally before a crowd of 15,000 at the
Nassau Coliseum,
Richard Nixon's opening words were "This is the biggest and best rally, Joe Margiotta, I have ever seen"?
10 December 2008
23:30, 10 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Velika Planina is a high-altitude settlement in
Slovenia having huts whose oval roofs (pictured) have
wooden shingles that extend nearly to ground level to accommodate
cattle?
... that approximately 10,000
communist miners left the Czechoslovak Miners' Union in 1923, after the union had accepted 9–13 percent cuts in salaries?
... that the director of Afghan Muscles ignored the role of
Afghan women in
bodybuilding, noting "It's men looking at men," and "60% [of men] have their first sexual experience with another man"?
... that from November to April every year Jammu is the capital of
Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost
Indian state, and that during the summer
Srinagar is the capital?
... that the "Old Perpetual" geyser (pictured) at Hunter's Hot Springs in
Lake County,
Oregon, releases a plume of near-boiling water 50 to 60 feet (15–18 m) into the air every 90 seconds?
... that the Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award is named for a librarian who was jailed for refusing to testify in the 1972 trial of the
Harrisburg Seven anti-war activists?
... that the "noble polypore" (mushroom species Bridgeoporus nobilissimus) was the first fungus to be listed as
endangered by any private or public agency in the United States?
... that many of
Kentucky's early political leaders were part of the Danville Political Club, a debating society whose existence was not known publicly until a century later?
... that the Aquarama, built in 1945 as a
Liberty ship, was converted into the largest passenger ship ever to operate on the
Great Lakes?
... that Samuel McDowell fought in three wars and later presided over nine of the ten constitutional conventions needed to draft the first
Kentucky Constitution?
... that the innovative design of the
pre-Columbian twin pyramid of Tenayuca(pictured) in
Mexico was later used as a model for the temples of the
Aztecs?
... that Lac-Simon, in
Quebec,
Canada, is named after Marie-Louise Cimon, the wife of an early settler?
... that after Helmut Friedlaender sold most of his
rare-book collection at auction in 2001, he bought back some of the books on the open market to give them a good home?
... that one of the most gifted portrait painters of the 17th century is known as Cornelis Janssens, although he never used that name to sign his paintings?
... that Edwin Donayre, commander of the
Peruvian Army, sparked an international controversy when a video surfaced in the media showing him making anti-Chilean remarks?
... that the Moonlight Brewing Company sells its product only in
kegs because the brewmaster believes the process of bottling
beer "is cruel for the beer and a logistical nightmare"?
... that the three-story tall
Torah Ark(pictured) of the Great Synagogue in
Włodawa,
Poland, is decorated with carvings of 18th-century musical instruments to illustrate one of the
Psalms?
... that although only 170 cars were carried between Lympne and
Le Touquet airfields in 1948, by 1951 the
air ferry service was so successful that over 13,000 vehicles were carried that year?
... that the ingredients for facials recommended in Medicamina Faciei Femineae by
Ovid(pictured) more than 2,000 years ago, are still used in the production of modern
cosmetics?
... that ideational apraxia causes people to lose the ability to use everyday objects correctly, as they can no longer relate the object's purpose to the actions required to perform a task?
... that Clewer Mill Stream, a backwater of the
River Thames, used to be out of bounds to boys from nearby
Eton College and a punishment of 100 lines could be handed down for going there?
... that although its design and construction are now appreciated for being modern and futuristic, the Westland Dreadnoughtmonoplane crashed and was crippled on its inaugural flight?
... that the first two steamboats on the Kootenay River sank when they were overloaded with supplies by the
Northwest Mounted Police en route to quell an uprising?
... that the core group of paintings in the Orleans Collection(a
Rembrandt pictured) remained together for two centuries in Prague, Stockholm, Rome, Paris and London?
... that after
Caltech eliminated its
meteorology department, which was founded and led by Irving P. Krick, most of the staff left to join Krick's private weather business?
... that overchoice refers to the situation where when faced with too many
choices, people become indecisive and unhappy?
4 December 2008
20:45, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
... that
Alexander Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman(illustration pictured) has been described as "the best poem written anywhere in the 19th century"?
... that Serenity High School, the oldest public substance-abuse recovery high school in
Texas, has served students from over 25 area high schools since opening in 1999?
... that the 1932 National Hunger March, the largest hunger march in the 1920s and 1930s, led to days of widespread violence in central
London?
... that due to the subtly non-local nature of
quantum reality, apparent telepathy can be achieved in
games between separated players (example pictured)?
... that in 1954,
Israel walked out of the Israel-
Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission after the commission failed to condemn Jordan for the Scorpion Pass Massacre?
... that mathematician Karen Vogtmann co-authored a paper which produced a method for quantifying the difference and computing the distance between two
phylogenetic trees?
... that it now requires 250 employees and costs US$5-9 million to open a new location of the six-year-old America's Incredible Pizza Company?
... that after executing
CaesarGallus, officer Apodemius grabbed his shoes, ran quickly from
Pula to
Mediolanum, and threw them at the feet of Roman Emperor
Constantius II to prove his cousin's death?
... that as a result of the Saxon Brother War and the subsequent divisions of land,
Saxony was no longer one of the most powerful
German states?
... that a St. Andrew's cross(pictured) was printed in four positions in place of a stamp on each sheet of the 1850
Austrian stamps so that the price would be an even number of
Gulden?
... that the
pre-Columbian ruins of Teopanzolco in
Mexico are said to have been rediscovered during the
Mexican Revolution when an artillery emplacement shook loose some dirt from the stonework?
... that
checkers champion Richard Fortman learned the game from his father, a
telegraphist who would play the game with other operators by memorizing the board to avoid detection?
... that the first
Pilgrim settlement in
Massachusetts was on the site of a former Patuxet Indian village, all of whose residents had died in epidemics before the Pilgrims arrived?
... that the Handlebar Club(member pictured), a
gentleman's club for those with
handlebar moustaches, considers itself at war with a society that demands people choose "the bland, the boring and the generic"?
... that the Beverly Hills Diet, which starts with ten days of eating nothing but fruit, was labeled by doctors in 1981 as "perhaps the worst entry in the diet-fad derby"?
... that after
organistDudley Savage's radio request programme was cancelled in 1968, the
BBC faced a protest described as "perhaps the biggest demonstration of its kind"?
... that the Esma Sultana Mansion(pictured), a multipurpose event venue in
Istanbul,
Turkey, looks ruined because only its interior was reconstructed after a 1975 fire?
... that in spite of her great reputation in Europe,
operaticsopranoLucienne Bréval had limited success in America as critics thought her singing lacked polish?