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.
Please add the line === {{subst:CURRENTDAY}} {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}} === for each new day and *'''''~~~~~''''' at the top for the newly posted set of archived hooks. This will ensure all times are based on UTC time and accurate. This page should be archived once a month. Thanks.
... that ex-professional
tennis player Claire Curran competed for both
Ireland and
Great Britain in the
Fed Cup and accumulated a win–loss record of 20–7 in Fed Cup matches over the course of her career?
... that since being dedicated for "park and parkway" purposes in 1909, Dickerman Park in
Saint Paul, Minnesota, has been primarily used for parking lots and front yards of businesses?
11:14, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
... that when the narrow Rock Creek Canyon Bridge(pictured) in
British Columbia was widened and strengthened in 1992, the works were carried out while keeping one lane open to traffic?
... that the Wrinkle-faced Bat is able to bite 20% harder than other
bats of a similar size allowing it to eat a wider range of
fruits?
... that, though ostensibly built to defend the city, the citizens of
Cork pulled down Elizabeth Fort within two years of its first construction for fear that it would be used against them by
James I?
... that an ancient
pagoda on the Toe River in Ma-ubin,
Burma, fell in 2002 due to river erosion and had to be rebuilt?
... that within 15 years of its construction, the J. Vivian, Jr. and Company Building was enlarged twice, firstly to add a third story, and secondly to increase its width?
... that the
Byzantine regiment of the Vigla, which served as an imperial bodyguard unit in the 8th–11th centuries, had its origin in
late Roman cavalry units of the 5th century?
... that Glensanda was an ancient deserted settlement in the
Highlands of Scotland, but is now a super-quarry which exports 6,000,000 tons of
granite every year?
... that
Richard Petty's victory at the 1966 Daytona 500 was the first and only time that he captured the
pole position, despite winning the event a record seven times?
... that the 13th-century settlements known as the Mise of Amiens and the Mise of Lewes are the only two such "mises" in
English history?
... that Alfred Proksch won two gold medals at the 2009 World's Masters Championships because he was the only competitor in the 100+ age bracket for
discus and
shot put?
... that the recording of "La Incondicional" by
Luis Miguel broke several airplay records in
Latin America, where it remained at the top of the charts for seven months?
... that the
calendarweb application30 Boxes is able to determine the time, date, and title of an event from a single sentence?
... that when the
FBI celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, Walter Walsh, its oldest living former agent, was one year older than the agency itself?
... that Tunisian philosopher Youssef Seddik attempted to publish a
Qur'an in the form of seven volumes of comics in 1992?
... that Basil "The Owl" Banghart (1900–1982), an American burglar and prison escape artist, acquired his nickname because of his abnormally large eyes?
... that the Rock Harbor Light(pictured), built in 1855, was used for only eight years before being permanently decommissioned?
... that the Rijksmonument designation has been applied to about 55,000 sites in the
Netherlands?
... that
Eileen McKenney, who was the inspiration for the title character in My Sister Eileen, was killed in an automobile accident four days before the play opened on
Broadway?
... that during her 16 years of active service, Kaganovich(pictured) was renamed twice to avoid being associated with disgraced members of the
Communist Party?
... that a British rower attempting to break the record for the quickest
solo crossing of the
Atlantic Ocean abandoned his boat due to the approach of Hurricane Bill?
... that 99 Fables, a posthumously published collection by
William March, "emphasizes the platitudes of life by the platitudinous nature of his
fables?"
... that as part of the cortisol awakening response, the stress hormone
cortisol normally increases by about half in the half hour after we awake?
... that kuisis are
Native Americanflutes crafted in distinct male and female pairs, but meant to be played together?
... that
oats have been ground at a
watermill on the site of Barry Mill, in Scotland, since 1539?
... that a 1999 excavation by the
Israel Antiquities Authority inside a sewer pipe in the depopulated Arab village of Bashshit revealed ceramic remains dating back to the Early Islamic period?
... that in 1904, gymnast George Eyser won six Olympic medals, including gold in the
vault, even though he had a wooden
prosthesis for a leg?
... that the Battle for Lake Tanganyika involved an expedition dragging
two motor boats through Africa, led by
a man who was "court-martialled for wrecking his own ships, an inveterate liar and a wearer of skirts"?
05:07, 26 August 2009 (UTC)
... that it took two weeks and 23 vessels to free the
battleshipMissouri after she ran aground(pictured) on 17 January 1950?
... that as the
SS struggled to keep up sorting the valuables plundered from prisoners at
Auschwitz, Karl Möckel stated that fifteen to twenty suitcases of them were sent to the
WVHA quarterly?
... that in Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb(pictured), the tomb chamber has two graves, one of
Jamali the poet, and another of an unknown Kamali, who might have been chosen because his name rhymes with Jamali?
... that the former Palestinian Arab village of Khiyam al-Walid is believed to be a reference to the tents of
Khaled ibn al-Walid's
army which conquered the
Levant in the 7th century?
... that Freeheld is an Academy Award-winning documentary by Cynthia Wade that follows a
New Jersey detective fighting for the right to pass on her pension to her female
domestic partner?
... that Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein(pictured), the only person in
Egyptian history to voluntarily renounce his rights of succession to the throne, did so to pursue a life of discovery and travel?
... that John Earls, the chief writer and editor of
Teletext's
Planet Sound music section, used to write reader music reviews during his
teenage years for Blue Suede Views on
ORACLE, the predecessor to Teletext?
... that historian Jack T. Kirby decried popular media depictions of
Southerners that used "clichés of racists, graceful landed gentry, poverty, homespun rural values, stock-car racers and moonshiners"?
... that when large numbers of the sap-feeding redeye cicada gather on a tree their waste products may fall in a constant shower?
05:00, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the first can opener(original drawing and a modern version pictured) was patented in 1855, more than 80 years after the introduction of canned food?
... that despite entering the finals of 2009
Inter-Provincial Twenty20 unbeaten, Basnahira South collapsed from a strong position of 133 for 1, losing their last nine
wickets for just eleven runs?
... that according to LGBT interpretations, the
Hindu fire god
Agni's role in accepting sacrifices is paralleled by his accepting semen from other gods like
Shiva and
Soma?
... that
New YorkerMarcey Jacobson had planned to visit
Chiapas for 10 days in 1956, but ended up staying there for most of the next 50 years, taking 14,000 photos of daily life in Southern Mexico?
... that
recovery of the
oil in Spraberry Trend, an
oil field ranked third in the
U.S. by total proven
reserves, is so difficult that the area was dubbed "the world's largest unrecoverable oil reserve"?
... that a branch of
Exeter City Supporters' Trust members helped finance James Norwood's contract at the
football club, paying
£19 per month?
... that
neuroscientistIra Black expressed frustration with U.S. federal restrictions on
stem cell research, as it could lead to therapies that would "get patients out of bed and out of wheelchairs"?
... that Schwartz Communications, the largest
PR agency in
Massachusetts, started by making campaigns for
baby food before specializing on counseling pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies?
... that a riot broke out between English and Irish labourers who had consumed 1000 gallons of strong beer following the completion of the New Cut waterway in
Bristol in May 1809?
05:00, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the rainforest plant Wilkiea huegeliana (pictured) is most likely pollinated by a species of
thrips?
... that the only survivor of the 1944 killing of 10 civilians ordered by Josef Scheungraber testified against him at his
war crimes trial, where Scheungraber received a life sentence in August 2009?
... that studies by Mark Rosenzweig showed that the
brain(pictured)develops anatomically into adulthood based on life experiences, overturning conventional wisdom that it reached full maturity in childhood?
... that the theme of
pederasty in the 1977 German film Die Konsequenz was so controversial that one regional broadcaster refused to relay the transmission signal?
... that while running for the presidential nomination in 2008,
Hillary Clinton credited political advisor and lobbyist Anne Wexler with providing her first job in politics?
... that master distiller Jimmy Bedford "held what he considered one of the most enviable jobs imaginable — making sure
Jack Daniel's Old No. 7
Tennessee Whiskey tasted just the way it had since 1866"?
... that after Rokuzan Ogiwara viewed
Auguste Rodin's just-completed masterpiece, The Thinker, he abandoned his career as a painter and became a sculptor instead?
... that when the Water Tower in
Chester,
Cheshire, England, was built in 1322–25 it stood in the
River Dee, but it is now about 200 yards (183 m) inland due to
silting of the river?
... that John 3:7, once flung from a train window, made the news again in 2009 after going missing on a train?
16:00, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the
ROV on
NOAA's new exploratory vessel, Okeanos Explorer(pictured), can descend nearly 19,000 feet (5,800 m) and provides real-time viewing of the
ocean floor?
... that the sandakada pahana design originally had carvings of a procession of elephants, lions, horses and bulls, but bulls were later removed due to influences of
Hinduism?
... that Hugh Murray was both the youngest Justice and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of California, having been appointed at ages 25 and 27, respectively?
... that due to the John Wood Community College's "Common Market" approach, its first class of graduates in 1976 never set foot in a classroom of the college?
04:00, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
... that spiderhunters(Spectacled Spiderhunter pictured) have tubular
tongues able to form a pressure difference which is used to suck up
nectar?
... that the Gull River system of
reservoirs in Ontario controls the water levels of the
Trent-Severn Canal, although they were not originally created for this purpose?
... that the whitetip reef shark(pictured) may have contributed to the
Hawaiian myth of ʻaumākua, family guardian spirits, due to the "loyalty" of sharks that stay in the same area for years?
... that on his wife
Nancy's birthday,
Ronald Reagan would send flowers to his mother-in-law, Edith Luckett Davis, to thank her for giving birth to Nancy?
... that the concert selected for the
Dave Matthews Band's newest live album, Live Trax Vol. 16, was chosen by the staff at a Dave Matthews Band fansite?
... that the history of Bali dates back at least 200,000 years, with evidence of
paleolithic tools such as hand axes found in Sembiran and Trunyan villages?
... that the House of Neville, one of the most powerful families in England during the Middle Ages, descended from the same line as the
Scottish monarchy?
... that Benson, Britain's "biggest and best-loved"
common carp, was known as "the people's fish"?
... that because the only approach to
Badrinath,
Uttarakhand, India, since early times was along a path through a forest of berries, the word "Badri" (berry) was suffixed to Sapta Badri temples?
... that
Irish multi-instrumentalist musician R.S.A.G. performs with a
virtual band projected onto a screen in a style which has been likened to
Gorillaz?
... that the
Irish triadCambrai Homily, which outlines three categories of
martyrdom, each designated by a different colour, is the oldest single example of an extended prose passage in
Old Irish?
... that after the settlement of the Shen-kuang-szu Incident in 1851,
Fuzhou became the first Chinese
treaty port where missionaries were given official permission to reside within the walled city?
... that collective punishment meted out to mostly innocent
Ukrainian peasants by
Polish authorities during the Galicia Pacification campaign resulted in increased bitterness and encouraged extremists on both sides?
... that despite significantly reforming the law relating to
indictments, the Indictments Act 1915 does not actually define what an indictment is?
... that the
medical ethicist and tutor Maurice Henry Pappworth (1910–1994) was instrumental in the establishment of stricter codes of practice for human experimentation?
... that
CaptainCharles Lydiard died in the wreck of
his ship(pictured) when he became exhausted after trying to ensure that as many of his crew as possible were saved?
... that 14 American fugitives showed up at the phony Puño Airlines counter to claim their prize, after authorities sent phony congratulations on winning a free trip to the Bahamas?
... that the website Like.com allows users to highlight a part of a product image and search for similar-looking products based on the
pattern,
shape, and
color of the highlighted part?
14:14, 12 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the first (pictured) of four bridges on the current Taipei Bridge location was designed for
rail traffic, but the railway was removed after only ten years?
... that
Infinity Broadcasting, sold for nearly $4 billion in 1996, was started in 1972 when co-founder Michael A. Wiener bought
FM station
KOME with $5,000 from the sale of his father's stamp collection?
... that a square metre patch of Phylactolaemata, a
freshwater class of
Bryozoa, can produce 800,000 statoblasts, "survival pods" withstanding freezing and drying that get carried long distances?
... that Lynn Pressman, while president of the Pressman Toy Corporation, promised not to create "any of the dreadful weapons that can destroy life as playthings for children"?
... that two county attorneys were sued for not reporting the plot by a jealous ophthalmologist to murder another ophthalmologist, who later lost his eyesight in prison?
08:14, 11 August 2009 (UTC)
... that
U2(pictured) released a film titled Linear as a companion to their
latest studio album, to enhance the album's listening experience with visuals?
... that when
George Booth built Booth Mansion in
Chester,
Cheshire, England, he angled the building to make it more visible from Chester Cross, but was fined £10 for encroaching into the street?
02:14, 11 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the work of Pelagius of Oviedo(pictured) as a historian is generally reliable, but he is known as the "prince of falsifiers" for various altered documents emanating from his office in the 12th century?
... that
federal judgePaul Jones sentenced a pregnant mother of ten to jail for selling a quart of liquor, lectured her on birth control, and asked, "Doesn't this woman know how to stop it?"
... that recruiting analysts thought Da'Rel Scott was too small for a
collegerunning back, but in 2008 he ran for more than 1,000 yards and led his conference in
rushing for most of the season?
... that I Anzac Corps suffered 6,300 casualties during the
Battle of Mouquet Farm in 1916 and as a result had to be withdrawn from offensive operations on the
Western Front for the next two months?
... that Clayton Hill, who played the "sweater zombie" in the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead, was described by a member of the film's crew as "one of the most convincing zombies of the bunch"?
... that according to a 1977 book, the 1905
sentimental ballad "Nellie Dean" "must surely be the song most often sung in pubs during the present century"?
... that Wilma Scott Heide grew
NOW to 50,000 members and an annual budget of $750,000 during her four-year term as president, having taken office in 1971 with 3,000 members and spending of $28,000?
... that it was not realized for 70 years that the Brazilian False Rice Rat was described twice under two different names?
08:14, 9 August 2009 (UTC)
... that Jasmin Ouschan(pictured), who was born in 1986 and won her first European Championship in 1999, is a nineteen-time European
billiards champion?
... that
MichiganendCurtis Redden(pictured) died in
World War I after he had described the night sky over the battlefield as "weird, hideous, fascinating, sublime"?
... that Khan al-Harir, built by Darwish Pasha, the
Ottoman governor of
Damascus, was the first great caravanserai to be built inside the old city walls of Damascus?
... that one critic claims
William Hazlitt's (pictured) view of poets in Characters of Shakespear's Plays is "perhaps the most original, and surely the most heretical, idea in the entire range of his criticism"?
... that in Mexico, the mushroom Boletus frostii(pictured) is
commonly known as panzia agria, which translates to "sour belly"?
... that
NYU professor Lionel Casson built a view of ancient maritime history by studying classical texts and archeological studies of ancient shipwrecks and the contents of the
amphorae they carried?
... that English poet Mary Jones, called "the Chantress" by
Samuel Johnson, did not consider publishing her efforts until pushed to do so by her friends?
... that Congregation Shaarey Zedek constructed five new
synagogue buildings in fewer than 100 years as it followed its congregants toward the
Detroit suburbs?
... that after both of the 2008 U.S. short course
off-road racing series became defunct, two new series replaced them—LOORRS and TORC(car pictured)?
... that when The Mountaineers opened at the
Savoy Theatre in London in 1909, The Times declared that "it forms one of those instances of respectable mediocrity"?
... that Way to Heaven is a play about a 1944 visit to
Theresienstadt during which the
Nazis duped the
Red Cross into reporting that rumors of mass murder were untrue?
... that multi-platinum selling artist
Harry Connick, Jr., is scheduled to release his new album Your Songs on
vinyl, a whole month before its
CD release?
... that Richard Leroy Walters, a
homeless man who managed his money from the billiards room of a senior center in
Phoenix, Arizona, converted to Catholicism on his deathbed and left $4 million to charity?
... that Pope Pius XII's 1942 Christmas address was interpreted differently throughout Europe by contemporaries and remains a "lightning rod" of historical interpretations?
... that the river
Vaitarani that flows near the Rudranath Hindu shrine is identified with the "river of salvation", where souls of the dead cross to the other world?
... that Percival C. Pope'sMarine Corps Brevet Medal, at the Navy Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., is the only known original Marine Corps Brevet Medal on public display?
... that the Softwarepark Hagenberg has also been called the "miracle of Hagenberg" for its success?
... that in 1969,
Côte d'Ivoire severed its relations with the
Soviet Union, following accusations that the Soviet ambassador had supported Ivorian student protests?
... that according to
Hindu mythology, the god
Shiva assumed the form of a bull and his hump, arms, face, navel and hair are worshipped at the Panch Kedar temples (Kedarnath pictured) in
Uttarakhand, India?
... that Anton Roman's literary magazine The Californian, published in 1880, was a continuation of his earlier Overland Monthly?
... that the National Union of Algerian Farmers, one of the six main mass organizations of the
FLN period, enjoyed less political autonomy than the other mass organizations in
Algeria at the time?
... that astronaut-politicianJohn Glenn's 1964 run for the
U.S. Senate in Ohio was criticized as an "undesirable precedent in astronauts' capitalizing on their fame to enter political roles"?
... that William Smalley, the first settler in the area of Cowan Lake State Park in Ohio, was held captive by the
Lenape twice, for a total of 6 years and 7 months?
... that Roman commander Gaius Considius Longus was killed by his own men during the Roman
civil war as he attempted to escape
Caesar's victorious forces?
... that
John Marsh, the first
Anglo owner of Rancho Los Meganos, was murdered in 1856 by employees who thought he was cheating them?
... that a June 5, 1981, report by Dr. Joel Weisman in MMWR about five gay men with an unusual illness is recognized as the start of the
AIDS pandemic and "the first report on
AIDS in the medical literature"?
... that the
Hindu shrine Tungnath(pictured) is closed during winter and a symbolic image of the temple's presiding deity is moved to Mukunath, 19 km (12 mi) away?
... that the old rank of
mate was revived in 1913 as part of the Selborne-Fisher scheme for the accelerated promotion of promising enlisted personnel to become engineering officers?
... that All-Pro
linebackerMilan "Sheriff" Lazetich, a
rodeo rider before joining the
NFL, reported that no end or back ever threw a block like a wild pony "when he feels the first touch of a saddle"?
... that Abdel Latif Boghdadi resigned his position as vice president of
Egypt because
Nasser adopted a more
Soviet Union-style system for Egypt rather than closer United States relations?
... that a plot on the American
soap operaOne Life to Live featuring sexually confused police officer Oliver Fish invited controversy when an actress objecting to the storyline was replaced?
... that despite a poor economy, a record number of people anted up $1,000 in a "Stimulus Special"?
... that in 1961, the
Soviet ambassador to
GuineaDaniel Solod was accused of being involved in an anti-government plot, and was expelled from Guinea?
... that on Reek Sunday, in a tradition of the past 1,500 years, thousands of people from across the world have embarked on an annual national
pilgrimage up
Croagh Patrick, some barefoot?
... that Kalpeshwar is the only temple in the
Panch Kedar circuit, a group of five sacred
Shiva temples in the Garhwal
Himalayas, accessible throughout the year?
... that the Macmillan Report's most briefly discussed issue, an alleged "gap" in British
industrialfinancing, was one of the only recommendations acted upon?
... that over 5,000 people applied to the
quiz showJeopardy! to be a part of the show's Clue Crew, a team of correspondents that film videos used to accompany some of the show's clues?
... that in April 2009, a team of scientists uncovered evidence suggesting that the
endangeredVisayan Spotted Deer(pictured) survived in a tiny forest in
Negros?
... that the building known as Three Old Arches in
Chester,
Cheshire, has a shop front which is considered to be the oldest in England?
... that Mahesh Rangarajan is a researcher, author and historian who analysed present-day conservation conflicts in
India and found their roots in India's
colonial past?
... that a former
Bear Stearns executive and magazine mogul are part of the November Nine trying to prevent
logger Darvin Moon from winning millions of dollars?
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.
Please add the line === {{subst:CURRENTDAY}} {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}} === for each new day and *'''''~~~~~''''' at the top for the newly posted set of archived hooks. This will ensure all times are based on UTC time and accurate. This page should be archived once a month. Thanks.
... that ex-professional
tennis player Claire Curran competed for both
Ireland and
Great Britain in the
Fed Cup and accumulated a win–loss record of 20–7 in Fed Cup matches over the course of her career?
... that since being dedicated for "park and parkway" purposes in 1909, Dickerman Park in
Saint Paul, Minnesota, has been primarily used for parking lots and front yards of businesses?
11:14, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
... that when the narrow Rock Creek Canyon Bridge(pictured) in
British Columbia was widened and strengthened in 1992, the works were carried out while keeping one lane open to traffic?
... that the Wrinkle-faced Bat is able to bite 20% harder than other
bats of a similar size allowing it to eat a wider range of
fruits?
... that, though ostensibly built to defend the city, the citizens of
Cork pulled down Elizabeth Fort within two years of its first construction for fear that it would be used against them by
James I?
... that an ancient
pagoda on the Toe River in Ma-ubin,
Burma, fell in 2002 due to river erosion and had to be rebuilt?
... that within 15 years of its construction, the J. Vivian, Jr. and Company Building was enlarged twice, firstly to add a third story, and secondly to increase its width?
... that the
Byzantine regiment of the Vigla, which served as an imperial bodyguard unit in the 8th–11th centuries, had its origin in
late Roman cavalry units of the 5th century?
... that Glensanda was an ancient deserted settlement in the
Highlands of Scotland, but is now a super-quarry which exports 6,000,000 tons of
granite every year?
... that
Richard Petty's victory at the 1966 Daytona 500 was the first and only time that he captured the
pole position, despite winning the event a record seven times?
... that the 13th-century settlements known as the Mise of Amiens and the Mise of Lewes are the only two such "mises" in
English history?
... that Alfred Proksch won two gold medals at the 2009 World's Masters Championships because he was the only competitor in the 100+ age bracket for
discus and
shot put?
... that the recording of "La Incondicional" by
Luis Miguel broke several airplay records in
Latin America, where it remained at the top of the charts for seven months?
... that the
calendarweb application30 Boxes is able to determine the time, date, and title of an event from a single sentence?
... that when the
FBI celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, Walter Walsh, its oldest living former agent, was one year older than the agency itself?
... that Tunisian philosopher Youssef Seddik attempted to publish a
Qur'an in the form of seven volumes of comics in 1992?
... that Basil "The Owl" Banghart (1900–1982), an American burglar and prison escape artist, acquired his nickname because of his abnormally large eyes?
... that the Rock Harbor Light(pictured), built in 1855, was used for only eight years before being permanently decommissioned?
... that the Rijksmonument designation has been applied to about 55,000 sites in the
Netherlands?
... that
Eileen McKenney, who was the inspiration for the title character in My Sister Eileen, was killed in an automobile accident four days before the play opened on
Broadway?
... that during her 16 years of active service, Kaganovich(pictured) was renamed twice to avoid being associated with disgraced members of the
Communist Party?
... that a British rower attempting to break the record for the quickest
solo crossing of the
Atlantic Ocean abandoned his boat due to the approach of Hurricane Bill?
... that 99 Fables, a posthumously published collection by
William March, "emphasizes the platitudes of life by the platitudinous nature of his
fables?"
... that as part of the cortisol awakening response, the stress hormone
cortisol normally increases by about half in the half hour after we awake?
... that kuisis are
Native Americanflutes crafted in distinct male and female pairs, but meant to be played together?
... that
oats have been ground at a
watermill on the site of Barry Mill, in Scotland, since 1539?
... that a 1999 excavation by the
Israel Antiquities Authority inside a sewer pipe in the depopulated Arab village of Bashshit revealed ceramic remains dating back to the Early Islamic period?
... that in 1904, gymnast George Eyser won six Olympic medals, including gold in the
vault, even though he had a wooden
prosthesis for a leg?
... that the Battle for Lake Tanganyika involved an expedition dragging
two motor boats through Africa, led by
a man who was "court-martialled for wrecking his own ships, an inveterate liar and a wearer of skirts"?
05:07, 26 August 2009 (UTC)
... that it took two weeks and 23 vessels to free the
battleshipMissouri after she ran aground(pictured) on 17 January 1950?
... that as the
SS struggled to keep up sorting the valuables plundered from prisoners at
Auschwitz, Karl Möckel stated that fifteen to twenty suitcases of them were sent to the
WVHA quarterly?
... that in Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb(pictured), the tomb chamber has two graves, one of
Jamali the poet, and another of an unknown Kamali, who might have been chosen because his name rhymes with Jamali?
... that the former Palestinian Arab village of Khiyam al-Walid is believed to be a reference to the tents of
Khaled ibn al-Walid's
army which conquered the
Levant in the 7th century?
... that Freeheld is an Academy Award-winning documentary by Cynthia Wade that follows a
New Jersey detective fighting for the right to pass on her pension to her female
domestic partner?
... that Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein(pictured), the only person in
Egyptian history to voluntarily renounce his rights of succession to the throne, did so to pursue a life of discovery and travel?
... that John Earls, the chief writer and editor of
Teletext's
Planet Sound music section, used to write reader music reviews during his
teenage years for Blue Suede Views on
ORACLE, the predecessor to Teletext?
... that historian Jack T. Kirby decried popular media depictions of
Southerners that used "clichés of racists, graceful landed gentry, poverty, homespun rural values, stock-car racers and moonshiners"?
... that when large numbers of the sap-feeding redeye cicada gather on a tree their waste products may fall in a constant shower?
05:00, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the first can opener(original drawing and a modern version pictured) was patented in 1855, more than 80 years after the introduction of canned food?
... that despite entering the finals of 2009
Inter-Provincial Twenty20 unbeaten, Basnahira South collapsed from a strong position of 133 for 1, losing their last nine
wickets for just eleven runs?
... that according to LGBT interpretations, the
Hindu fire god
Agni's role in accepting sacrifices is paralleled by his accepting semen from other gods like
Shiva and
Soma?
... that
New YorkerMarcey Jacobson had planned to visit
Chiapas for 10 days in 1956, but ended up staying there for most of the next 50 years, taking 14,000 photos of daily life in Southern Mexico?
... that
recovery of the
oil in Spraberry Trend, an
oil field ranked third in the
U.S. by total proven
reserves, is so difficult that the area was dubbed "the world's largest unrecoverable oil reserve"?
... that a branch of
Exeter City Supporters' Trust members helped finance James Norwood's contract at the
football club, paying
£19 per month?
... that
neuroscientistIra Black expressed frustration with U.S. federal restrictions on
stem cell research, as it could lead to therapies that would "get patients out of bed and out of wheelchairs"?
... that Schwartz Communications, the largest
PR agency in
Massachusetts, started by making campaigns for
baby food before specializing on counseling pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies?
... that a riot broke out between English and Irish labourers who had consumed 1000 gallons of strong beer following the completion of the New Cut waterway in
Bristol in May 1809?
05:00, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the rainforest plant Wilkiea huegeliana (pictured) is most likely pollinated by a species of
thrips?
... that the only survivor of the 1944 killing of 10 civilians ordered by Josef Scheungraber testified against him at his
war crimes trial, where Scheungraber received a life sentence in August 2009?
... that studies by Mark Rosenzweig showed that the
brain(pictured)develops anatomically into adulthood based on life experiences, overturning conventional wisdom that it reached full maturity in childhood?
... that the theme of
pederasty in the 1977 German film Die Konsequenz was so controversial that one regional broadcaster refused to relay the transmission signal?
... that while running for the presidential nomination in 2008,
Hillary Clinton credited political advisor and lobbyist Anne Wexler with providing her first job in politics?
... that master distiller Jimmy Bedford "held what he considered one of the most enviable jobs imaginable — making sure
Jack Daniel's Old No. 7
Tennessee Whiskey tasted just the way it had since 1866"?
... that after Rokuzan Ogiwara viewed
Auguste Rodin's just-completed masterpiece, The Thinker, he abandoned his career as a painter and became a sculptor instead?
... that when the Water Tower in
Chester,
Cheshire, England, was built in 1322–25 it stood in the
River Dee, but it is now about 200 yards (183 m) inland due to
silting of the river?
... that John 3:7, once flung from a train window, made the news again in 2009 after going missing on a train?
16:00, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the
ROV on
NOAA's new exploratory vessel, Okeanos Explorer(pictured), can descend nearly 19,000 feet (5,800 m) and provides real-time viewing of the
ocean floor?
... that the sandakada pahana design originally had carvings of a procession of elephants, lions, horses and bulls, but bulls were later removed due to influences of
Hinduism?
... that Hugh Murray was both the youngest Justice and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of California, having been appointed at ages 25 and 27, respectively?
... that due to the John Wood Community College's "Common Market" approach, its first class of graduates in 1976 never set foot in a classroom of the college?
04:00, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
... that spiderhunters(Spectacled Spiderhunter pictured) have tubular
tongues able to form a pressure difference which is used to suck up
nectar?
... that the Gull River system of
reservoirs in Ontario controls the water levels of the
Trent-Severn Canal, although they were not originally created for this purpose?
... that the whitetip reef shark(pictured) may have contributed to the
Hawaiian myth of ʻaumākua, family guardian spirits, due to the "loyalty" of sharks that stay in the same area for years?
... that on his wife
Nancy's birthday,
Ronald Reagan would send flowers to his mother-in-law, Edith Luckett Davis, to thank her for giving birth to Nancy?
... that the concert selected for the
Dave Matthews Band's newest live album, Live Trax Vol. 16, was chosen by the staff at a Dave Matthews Band fansite?
... that the history of Bali dates back at least 200,000 years, with evidence of
paleolithic tools such as hand axes found in Sembiran and Trunyan villages?
... that the House of Neville, one of the most powerful families in England during the Middle Ages, descended from the same line as the
Scottish monarchy?
... that Benson, Britain's "biggest and best-loved"
common carp, was known as "the people's fish"?
... that because the only approach to
Badrinath,
Uttarakhand, India, since early times was along a path through a forest of berries, the word "Badri" (berry) was suffixed to Sapta Badri temples?
... that
Irish multi-instrumentalist musician R.S.A.G. performs with a
virtual band projected onto a screen in a style which has been likened to
Gorillaz?
... that the
Irish triadCambrai Homily, which outlines three categories of
martyrdom, each designated by a different colour, is the oldest single example of an extended prose passage in
Old Irish?
... that after the settlement of the Shen-kuang-szu Incident in 1851,
Fuzhou became the first Chinese
treaty port where missionaries were given official permission to reside within the walled city?
... that collective punishment meted out to mostly innocent
Ukrainian peasants by
Polish authorities during the Galicia Pacification campaign resulted in increased bitterness and encouraged extremists on both sides?
... that despite significantly reforming the law relating to
indictments, the Indictments Act 1915 does not actually define what an indictment is?
... that the
medical ethicist and tutor Maurice Henry Pappworth (1910–1994) was instrumental in the establishment of stricter codes of practice for human experimentation?
... that
CaptainCharles Lydiard died in the wreck of
his ship(pictured) when he became exhausted after trying to ensure that as many of his crew as possible were saved?
... that 14 American fugitives showed up at the phony Puño Airlines counter to claim their prize, after authorities sent phony congratulations on winning a free trip to the Bahamas?
... that the website Like.com allows users to highlight a part of a product image and search for similar-looking products based on the
pattern,
shape, and
color of the highlighted part?
14:14, 12 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the first (pictured) of four bridges on the current Taipei Bridge location was designed for
rail traffic, but the railway was removed after only ten years?
... that
Infinity Broadcasting, sold for nearly $4 billion in 1996, was started in 1972 when co-founder Michael A. Wiener bought
FM station
KOME with $5,000 from the sale of his father's stamp collection?
... that a square metre patch of Phylactolaemata, a
freshwater class of
Bryozoa, can produce 800,000 statoblasts, "survival pods" withstanding freezing and drying that get carried long distances?
... that Lynn Pressman, while president of the Pressman Toy Corporation, promised not to create "any of the dreadful weapons that can destroy life as playthings for children"?
... that two county attorneys were sued for not reporting the plot by a jealous ophthalmologist to murder another ophthalmologist, who later lost his eyesight in prison?
08:14, 11 August 2009 (UTC)
... that
U2(pictured) released a film titled Linear as a companion to their
latest studio album, to enhance the album's listening experience with visuals?
... that when
George Booth built Booth Mansion in
Chester,
Cheshire, England, he angled the building to make it more visible from Chester Cross, but was fined £10 for encroaching into the street?
02:14, 11 August 2009 (UTC)
... that the work of Pelagius of Oviedo(pictured) as a historian is generally reliable, but he is known as the "prince of falsifiers" for various altered documents emanating from his office in the 12th century?
... that
federal judgePaul Jones sentenced a pregnant mother of ten to jail for selling a quart of liquor, lectured her on birth control, and asked, "Doesn't this woman know how to stop it?"
... that recruiting analysts thought Da'Rel Scott was too small for a
collegerunning back, but in 2008 he ran for more than 1,000 yards and led his conference in
rushing for most of the season?
... that I Anzac Corps suffered 6,300 casualties during the
Battle of Mouquet Farm in 1916 and as a result had to be withdrawn from offensive operations on the
Western Front for the next two months?
... that Clayton Hill, who played the "sweater zombie" in the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead, was described by a member of the film's crew as "one of the most convincing zombies of the bunch"?
... that according to a 1977 book, the 1905
sentimental ballad "Nellie Dean" "must surely be the song most often sung in pubs during the present century"?
... that Wilma Scott Heide grew
NOW to 50,000 members and an annual budget of $750,000 during her four-year term as president, having taken office in 1971 with 3,000 members and spending of $28,000?
... that it was not realized for 70 years that the Brazilian False Rice Rat was described twice under two different names?
08:14, 9 August 2009 (UTC)
... that Jasmin Ouschan(pictured), who was born in 1986 and won her first European Championship in 1999, is a nineteen-time European
billiards champion?
... that
MichiganendCurtis Redden(pictured) died in
World War I after he had described the night sky over the battlefield as "weird, hideous, fascinating, sublime"?
... that Khan al-Harir, built by Darwish Pasha, the
Ottoman governor of
Damascus, was the first great caravanserai to be built inside the old city walls of Damascus?
... that one critic claims
William Hazlitt's (pictured) view of poets in Characters of Shakespear's Plays is "perhaps the most original, and surely the most heretical, idea in the entire range of his criticism"?
... that in Mexico, the mushroom Boletus frostii(pictured) is
commonly known as panzia agria, which translates to "sour belly"?
... that
NYU professor Lionel Casson built a view of ancient maritime history by studying classical texts and archeological studies of ancient shipwrecks and the contents of the
amphorae they carried?
... that English poet Mary Jones, called "the Chantress" by
Samuel Johnson, did not consider publishing her efforts until pushed to do so by her friends?
... that Congregation Shaarey Zedek constructed five new
synagogue buildings in fewer than 100 years as it followed its congregants toward the
Detroit suburbs?
... that after both of the 2008 U.S. short course
off-road racing series became defunct, two new series replaced them—LOORRS and TORC(car pictured)?
... that when The Mountaineers opened at the
Savoy Theatre in London in 1909, The Times declared that "it forms one of those instances of respectable mediocrity"?
... that Way to Heaven is a play about a 1944 visit to
Theresienstadt during which the
Nazis duped the
Red Cross into reporting that rumors of mass murder were untrue?
... that multi-platinum selling artist
Harry Connick, Jr., is scheduled to release his new album Your Songs on
vinyl, a whole month before its
CD release?
... that Richard Leroy Walters, a
homeless man who managed his money from the billiards room of a senior center in
Phoenix, Arizona, converted to Catholicism on his deathbed and left $4 million to charity?
... that Pope Pius XII's 1942 Christmas address was interpreted differently throughout Europe by contemporaries and remains a "lightning rod" of historical interpretations?
... that the river
Vaitarani that flows near the Rudranath Hindu shrine is identified with the "river of salvation", where souls of the dead cross to the other world?
... that Percival C. Pope'sMarine Corps Brevet Medal, at the Navy Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., is the only known original Marine Corps Brevet Medal on public display?
... that the Softwarepark Hagenberg has also been called the "miracle of Hagenberg" for its success?
... that in 1969,
Côte d'Ivoire severed its relations with the
Soviet Union, following accusations that the Soviet ambassador had supported Ivorian student protests?
... that according to
Hindu mythology, the god
Shiva assumed the form of a bull and his hump, arms, face, navel and hair are worshipped at the Panch Kedar temples (Kedarnath pictured) in
Uttarakhand, India?
... that Anton Roman's literary magazine The Californian, published in 1880, was a continuation of his earlier Overland Monthly?
... that the National Union of Algerian Farmers, one of the six main mass organizations of the
FLN period, enjoyed less political autonomy than the other mass organizations in
Algeria at the time?
... that astronaut-politicianJohn Glenn's 1964 run for the
U.S. Senate in Ohio was criticized as an "undesirable precedent in astronauts' capitalizing on their fame to enter political roles"?
... that William Smalley, the first settler in the area of Cowan Lake State Park in Ohio, was held captive by the
Lenape twice, for a total of 6 years and 7 months?
... that Roman commander Gaius Considius Longus was killed by his own men during the Roman
civil war as he attempted to escape
Caesar's victorious forces?
... that
John Marsh, the first
Anglo owner of Rancho Los Meganos, was murdered in 1856 by employees who thought he was cheating them?
... that a June 5, 1981, report by Dr. Joel Weisman in MMWR about five gay men with an unusual illness is recognized as the start of the
AIDS pandemic and "the first report on
AIDS in the medical literature"?
... that the
Hindu shrine Tungnath(pictured) is closed during winter and a symbolic image of the temple's presiding deity is moved to Mukunath, 19 km (12 mi) away?
... that the old rank of
mate was revived in 1913 as part of the Selborne-Fisher scheme for the accelerated promotion of promising enlisted personnel to become engineering officers?
... that All-Pro
linebackerMilan "Sheriff" Lazetich, a
rodeo rider before joining the
NFL, reported that no end or back ever threw a block like a wild pony "when he feels the first touch of a saddle"?
... that Abdel Latif Boghdadi resigned his position as vice president of
Egypt because
Nasser adopted a more
Soviet Union-style system for Egypt rather than closer United States relations?
... that a plot on the American
soap operaOne Life to Live featuring sexually confused police officer Oliver Fish invited controversy when an actress objecting to the storyline was replaced?
... that despite a poor economy, a record number of people anted up $1,000 in a "Stimulus Special"?
... that in 1961, the
Soviet ambassador to
GuineaDaniel Solod was accused of being involved in an anti-government plot, and was expelled from Guinea?
... that on Reek Sunday, in a tradition of the past 1,500 years, thousands of people from across the world have embarked on an annual national
pilgrimage up
Croagh Patrick, some barefoot?
... that Kalpeshwar is the only temple in the
Panch Kedar circuit, a group of five sacred
Shiva temples in the Garhwal
Himalayas, accessible throughout the year?
... that the Macmillan Report's most briefly discussed issue, an alleged "gap" in British
industrialfinancing, was one of the only recommendations acted upon?
... that over 5,000 people applied to the
quiz showJeopardy! to be a part of the show's Clue Crew, a team of correspondents that film videos used to accompany some of the show's clues?
... that in April 2009, a team of scientists uncovered evidence suggesting that the
endangeredVisayan Spotted Deer(pictured) survived in a tiny forest in
Negros?
... that the building known as Three Old Arches in
Chester,
Cheshire, has a shop front which is considered to be the oldest in England?
... that Mahesh Rangarajan is a researcher, author and historian who analysed present-day conservation conflicts in
India and found their roots in India's
colonial past?
... that a former
Bear Stearns executive and magazine mogul are part of the November Nine trying to prevent
logger Darvin Moon from winning millions of dollars?