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
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Please add the line ==={{subst:CURRENTDAY}} {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}=== for each new day and the time the set was removed from the DYK template 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.
30 June 2011
18:00, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the waistcoat of Haiti's
Toussaint Louverture had 18 buttons that were decorated with reproductions of Agostino Brunias's paintings (one pictured)?
... that the Windawski Canal in northern Lithuania was built as an extension of the
Augustów Canal to circumvent high customs duties introduced by Prussia for the transit of goods to the Baltic Sea?
... that Mexican pointy boots, made by elongating the toes of normal boots by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), are popular among Mexican men in parts of Mexico and the U.S.?
05:45, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the wildlife of Zanzibar included its own subspecies of leopard (mounted specimen pictured) that survived from the ice age but may now be extinct?
... that the Moran Dam, one of the largest proposed hydroelectric projects in North America, was defeated by environmentalists well before the time of anti-dam environmentalism?
... that between 1932 and 1962, Iowa Republican Governor and U.S. Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper won 17 of 19 elections in which he was a candidate?
... that Judge Hugo Friend, who presided over the
1921 Black Sox trial, smiled as the defendants were acquitted and died in 1966 while listening by radio to a
White Sox game?
... that a proud Massachusetts father commissioned award-winning composer Peter Child to compose a
string quartet in honor of his son's birth?
... that Maria Bashir(pictured), Chief Prosecutor General of
Herat Province, Afghanistan, is the first ever woman Chief Prosecutor in Afghan history?
... that the 1952 NATO exercise Operation Longstep featured a large-scale amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey?
... that in 1952 the communist candidate Baddam Yella Reddy defeated
P. V. Narasimha Rao (later the Prime Minister of India) in a parliamentary election?
... that Jeune Fille Endormie by the iconic 20th-century painter Picasso recently sold for nearly £13.5 million, and had only been on public display once?
... that Norwegian poet Nils Collett Vogt wrote newspaper articles at the age of 17?
... that an unsuccessful month-long siege in Yemen during the expedition of Surad ibn Abdullah was broken when Abdullah trapped the enemy by pretending to withdraw from the area into the hills?
... that in August 1947 French authorities banned a pro-independence mass rally of the French India Students Congress, but were forced to withdraw the ban after spontaneous protests?
... that
King George VI owned Royal Blue, a messenger pigeon that went on to be awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery during the Second World War?
00:00, 29 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the light of South Africa's Cape Agulhas Lighthouse(pictured) was originally fuelled by the tail-fat of sheep?
... that
Beijing police dedicate 4,500 officers to preventing the Shouwang Church from holding Sunday prayer meetings?
... that efforts made by television journalist Alan Sepinwall partially inspired
NBC officials to renew the television series Chuck?
... that
Muhammad ordered the demolition of Masjid al-Dirar because he believed this mosque was built to create disunity among Muslims by drawing people away from another mosque?
... that the US fought Polynesian warriors in the South Pacific Nuku Hiva Campaign during the
War of 1812, even though that war was against the British?
06:00, 28 June 2011 (UTC)
... that a Nasothek(example pictured) is a collection of noses?
... that
bas reliefs being made by the sculptor Henryk Kuna for a public monument in
Vilnius were used as cemetery pavers during the Nazi occupation of the city?
... that
brain–computer interface chips, like those that connect a scientist's brain with test subjects in the Fringe episode "
Dream Logic", have long been used in real life?
... that the novel Madaling Araw ("Dawn") features a blend of clashing characters, such as advocates of anarchy against the subjugators of the
Filipino lower class?
... that Seattle's Hillman City neighborhood was named after a real estate developer whose fraudulent practices eventually landed him in a
federal penitentiary?
... that the rare and endangered Knowlton's miniature cactus(pictured) is considered to be an adult when it exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in diameter?
... that rates of syphilis have increased in the United States, Australia, and Europe since the year 2000?
... that Joseph S. Freedman, professor of education at
Alabama State University, worked in over 200 libraries and archives to prepare his series Philosophy and the Liberal Arts in the Early Modern Period?
... that the world's fastest computer is the Japanese K?
... that the Brampton Walk of Fame, meant to honour "Brampton citizens—both past and present", includes a plaque for actress
Bipasha Basu, who lives in India?
... that Baconnaise is a
kosher mayonnaise-based product that tastes like bacon, but has no bacon in it?
... that China is the largest peach-producing(peach flowers pictured) country in the world, accounting for about 50% of world production, but is not the world's largest exporter of them?
... that the 27th Street Historic District in Los Angeles includes a
Gothic Revival church that since 1906 has housed white, Armenian, African-American and Hispanic congregations?
... that June mating displays of Photinus carolinus(pictured) create moving bands of light and darkness that draw crowds one
firefly scientist calls "obscene"?
... that in 2006, in the UK, 14 Approved Premises (residential units for offenders) were banned from housing
paedophiles due to their proximity to schools and nurseries?
... that in the 1970s,
Frank Serpico and David Durk both believed that Robert Leuci was the only honest detective in the New York City Police Department's narcotics bureau?
... that Slim Dunlap has been called "one of the last old-school cool guitar players"?
... that Madeline Mitchell overcame a 12-day coma, 21 days on a respirator, two months in a wheelchair and a
femur broken in 12 places to become
Miss Alabama USA and compete in
Miss USA 2011 two years later?
... that a kiss between Dan Hamilton and Antoine Malick in the UK medical drama Holby City was criticised for "following the trend" of depicting gay relationships?
... that Anthony Stewart believes he made it to the
National Hockey League partly because a good Samaritan picked him up while he was walking in a blizzard?
12:00, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
... that 4,476 tickets were auctioned for the first concert by the "Swedish Nightingale", soprano
Jenny Lind(pictured) in her 1850–52 tour of the United States?
... that mathematician Kosmas Balanos claimed in his work Antipelargisis that he had solved the problem of
doubling the cube?
... that
Christina Grimmie's song "Liar Liar" from her first album Find Me shot to Number 63 on the US
iTunes Singles Charts in less than 72 hours from its release?
... that in the quartier of Mjikura in Mtsamboro on the north coast of
Mayotte, there are the ruins of a royal palace and tombs from the time when it was an important town of the Sultans of Mayotte?
... that
Royal Navy surgeon Belgrave Ninnis attempted to revive a drowned sailor by, among other things, injecting brandy into his rectum?
06:00, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the sulfur-rich saline Laguna Hedionda (English: Stinky Lake) in
Bolivia is notable for various migratory species of
flamingoes(pictured)?
... that the ideas of Indonesian novel Pertemuan Jodoh are considered the opposite of
Abdul Muis' earlier work, Salah Asuhan, which deals with the incompatibilities in Western and Eastern cultures?
... that the most prestigious award of the association of World War II's black US airmen, the
Tuskegee Airmen, is named for Noel F. Parrish, their white commanding officer?
... that PYKKA had sought the aid of
FIFA in implementing its rural sports initiatives for
football in India?
... that the white knight smells of honey and radishes?
... that medieval scholar and astrologer David ben Yom Tov refused to contemplate
a divorce until his wife had all of his books and instruments taken away and hidden?
24 June 2011
18:00, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
... that a
fairy ring of the mushroom Clitocybe geotropa(pictured) in France is over half a mile (0.8 km) in diameter and 800 years old?
... that singer-pianist Rosie Vanier, whose musical style has been described as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths", grew up in
Bodmin Moor without electricity and TV?
... that the Lincoln Theater in
Los Angeles was known as the "West Coast
Apollo" and featured performances by jazz legends before being converted into a church?
... that
McDonald's does not have a policy of charging African Americans more for their food?
12:00, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
... that British stage-actor Kyrle Bellew(pictured) was accused of being
Mrs. Leslie Carter's lover at her 1889 divorce trial?
... that the State of Pennsylvania and its twin sister, the State of Delaware, were both the first
steamboats to make a live radio broadcast and to show movies?
... that
Derrida's 1974 text Glas is printed in two columns, one commenting on
Hegel and the other on
Genet, woven around and separated by "marginalia, supplementary comments, [and] lengthy quotations"?
... that some 19th-century newspapers in
South Australia published articles in the Cornish dialect of English to meet the needs of miners who had
migrated there?
... that Henry Mayes won the
Queen's Club Championships three times in 1922, 1926, and 1927 while in his 40s, but died the year following his last win?
... that Barbara Longhi's painting Saint Catherine of Alexandria(pictured) is believed to be a self-portrait, presented as a devotional image to avoid the appearance of indulging in the sin of vanity?
... that with support from the Iraqi government, magazines and audio cassettes produced by the exiled Libyan National Movement were smuggled into Libya during the 1980s?
... that after an unexploded bomb burst through her bedroom wall, a resident of Hillingdon Court told staff it was time she went to the air-raid shelter?
... that
Iran is currently the only country in the world that legally allows a person to trade their kidney for monetary compensation?
... that the Heryford Brothers Building in
Lakeview, Oregon, cost $100,000 to construct in 1913, and is still one of the most important commercial buildings in the city?
... that American philosopher John Arthur helped organize a lawsuit against the state of
Tennessee to address
racial segregation in the higher education system?
... that the site of the coach station in London used by the British Coachways consortium between 1980 and 1982 is now occupied by the
British Library?
... that the Ghana Standards Board was established in 1973 and has a function of inspecting all goods that enter through the six entry points of
Ghana?
... that Tammy Locke was called "an especially endearing little dumpling" for her role in 1960s western TV series The Monroes, but her antics on set included giving a live frog to the show's hairdresser?
... that Aenigmastacus, a fossil
crayfish from Canada, belongs to
a family only otherwise known from the Southern Hemisphere?
... that at Villa de Etla's weekly market in
Oaxaca,
Mexico, one can find traditional merchandise such as a local variety of white cheese, frames for donkeys and goat
barbacoa prepared in an earthen oven?
... that the Southwestern pygmy possum can give birth just two days after weaning a previous litter, even though this requires dramatic changes to her
mammary glands?
... that the upcoming
FX television series Wilfred is based on the Australian series
of the same name and will star series co-creator
Jason Gann in the titular role of Wilfred the dog?
... that as president of
St. Petersburg College, Carl M. Kuttler, Jr. used to phone and send a card to each of the college's 1,000 full-time employees on their birthdays?
06:00, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
... that, because of their unique genetic makeup, the
feral horses(mare and foal pictured) on the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range "may be the most significant wild-horse herd remaining in the U.S."?
... that the cargo ship Empire Defender was seized by Britain twice – during World War I under a German flag and in World War II under an Italian flag?
00:00, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
... that American William P. Cronan(pictured), once described as "the most popular man in the Navy", lost two fingers when he shoved his hand in a
breechblock to prevent a potentially deadly explosion?
... that A Glorious Way to Die is a book about the World War II
kamikaze mission of the world's largest battleship, the
Yamato, against the American Pacific Fleet?
... that in 1463 Thomas Bettz left
£26 13s 4d in his will—a fortune in those days—to help pay for the repair of the bells of St Martin's Church in
Ruislip?
... that when railway telegrapher Alfred Atherton was accused of manslaughter for his role in the Canoe River train crash, he hired his
MP,
John Diefenbaker as defence counsel, who won an acquittal?
... that at the 1933 première of the film Das häßliche Mädchen there was a Nazi-instigated riot in which tomatoes and rotten eggs were thrown, because of the male lead,
Max Hansen?
... that according to legend, the Chiapa people committed suicide by jumping off the Sumidero Canyon in
Chiapas, Mexico, rather than submit to Spanish domination?
... that Brazilian band A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade was little known until one of its music videos went
viral, attracting international media attention?
... that following Galima Bukharbaeva's eyewitness account of the
Andijan massacre, the
Uzbek government charged her with providing "informational support to terrorism"?
... that the market of the city of Tehuantepec,
Oaxaca,
Mexico, is dominated by women, with men subject to ridicule if they enter?
... that as the
mayor of
Oakdale,
Louisiana, George B. Mowad in 1985 secured the establishment of the largest U.S. federal correctional institute of its time in his city?
... that the jumping spider Portia fimbriata in Queensland plays a deadly game of hide-and-seek with its favorite prey, Jacksonoides queenlandicus, another jumping spider?
... that the Lament for Ur which describes the fall of Ekur, c. 2000 BC, is similar in style to the
Book of Lamentations which bewails the destruction of
Jerusalem in the 6th century BC?
... that the novel Sampagitang Walang Bango was written while the "highly westernized middle and upper classes" of
Filipinos were beginning to establish themselves in Philippine society?
... that actor Patrick Fischler flew back and forth between Hawaii and Los Angeles for six months so he could film roles on Lost and Southland at the same time?
... that after Roger Marie Bricoux,
cellist on the
RMS Titanic, drowned in the disaster, he was declared a "
deserter" by the French army and not officially registered dead until 2000?
... that sculptor Richard MacDonald(pictured) was a successful commercial illustrator until his late 30s when a fire destroyed his entire art studio along with all his illustrations and paintings?
... that Aelita Andre, an
Australian artist who recently sold
US$30,000 worth of paintings at a New York exhibition, is just four years old?
17 June 2011
18:00, 17 June 2011 (UTC)
... that
Filipina TV host Daphne Oseña-Paez(pictured) got her big break by waiting for a network executive in the
ABS-CBN parking lot to show him a TV program that she filmed, shot, and edited herself?
... that Aretino had the largest spindle hole, at three inches (76 mm), of any
phonograph record?
... that the tall tower of the Anglican Church of St Mark in Preston, Lancashire, was built to rival the height of the steeple of the nearby Catholic
Church of St Walburge?
00:00, 17 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the
Sumerian "river of paradise", the Hubur(pictured), derived partly from real
geography before becoming a demonic fantasy?
... that the Malfatti circles, three
tangent circles inside a triangle, are named after
Malfatti because of an incorrect conjecture he made, and were studied earlier by
Ajima and di Cecco?
... that in
Waugh's Scott-King's Modern Europe (1947), Scott-King concludes that "It would be very wicked indeed to do anything to fit a boy for the modern world"?
... that the environmental license granted for the El Quimbo Dam in May 2009 was for the first private sector hydroelectric project to be built in
Colombia under a new policy?
... that American paleontologist Claude W. Hibbard became a school principal when he was only 18?
12:00, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the 96,000 people who visited the The Derby Exhibition of 1839 (pictured) were able to view a coconut?
... that the Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum in
Virginia displays a combination of artifacts and replicas in order to provide a full and authentic view of the
Pamunkey people's lifestyle for the last 12,000 years?
... that Haki Stërmilli's novel Sikur t'isha djalë (English: If I Were a Boy) is his best known work and the first literary work in
Albanian that dealt with the subject of the emancipation of women?
... that the Ministry of Energy of
Ghana fitted
solar panels for 160 rural junior high schools so that pupils could watch a weekly television programme?
... that Patricia Preece persuaded artist
Stanley Spencer to divorce his wife, marry her, and sign his house over to her, but never left her lesbian lover?
... that Parks and Recreation character Chris Traeger has been described as "one of the great comedic creations of the past couple years" and one of
Rob Lowe's funniest performances?
... that journalist Ahmad Taufik was acquitted after being taken to court by both the
Suharto government and Tomy Winata, one of Indonesia's richest businessmen?
... that Alexios Palaiologos was
heir apparent of the
Byzantine Empire from 1199 to his death in 1203, and was directly involved in the suppression of no less than four revolts during this time?
... that the Californian commune Black Bear Ranch was founded using money from both entertainment industry executives and from an
LSD deal?
... that Mexican-American singer-songwriter
Selena was murdered by
an employee who (falsely) claimed she was raped and needed the singer's help?
... that one of the first European books to contain Chinese characters was written by an officer of the Spanish Inquisition, and translated into English by an
escaped former prisoner of the Inquisition?
... that Indonesian journalist Bambang Harymurti originally wanted to be an
astronaut and qualified as a potential candidate?
... that a biologist discovered a population of the rare and endangered Michigan monkeyflower after he found a specimen used as a
garnish on his plate at a restaurant?
00:41, 13 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the White-headed Buffalo Weaver(pictured) builds nests with multiple rooms and a downward-facing entrance?
... that planet WASP-13b, despite a radius 25% larger than
Jupiter's, has less than half the mass?
... that the 2005
Gwangju Prize winner Wardah Hafidz was told to vacate her office after disclosing that numerous groups had used social security funds for "money politics"?
... that Carra Castle was once occupied by
Shane O'Neill who held
Sorley Boy McDonnell as a prisoner there in 1565, and the McDonnells later got their revenge by beheading O'Neill there?
... that Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel, a non-profit association for the benefit of Norway's capital city, celebrates its 200-year anniversary this year?
... that
visual effects supervisor Jay Worth found inspiration for the "Ash Man" storyline in the Fringe episode "Earthling" from holding his grandmother-in-law's hands at her funeral?
... that a Popular Mechanics article noted it is possible to die from "parasitic asphyxiation", as shown in the Fringe episode "Snakehead"?
00:00, 12 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the town of Cassel in
France is located on a hill that is said to have been created when two giants (nineteenth century representation pictured) tripped and dropped a heap of earth that they were carrying?
... that despite tests showing "virtually zero" risk, utility companies still cite islanding concerns to refuse connection of new
distributed generation systems?
... that Jamaican sprinter Nickel Ashmeade beat a former Olympic and World champion in the
100 m and set a meet record at the
Ponce Grand Prix in May 2011?
... that in May 2011 members of Lulz Security took responsibility for an attack on the website of
PBS that resulted in the posting of a fake news story that claimed
Tupac Shakur was still alive and living in New Zealand?
... that one reason for establishing the National Sports College of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of
Ghana was that Ghanaian sportsmen were under-performing in international competitions?
... that although the continued attack by the German auxiliary cruiser
Michel on Empire Dawn after she had surrendered was considered to be a
war crime,
Michel's captain was acquitted of the charge?
... that Norwegian botanist Finn Wischmann wrote more than 45,000
herbarium sheets and 21,000 checklists, recording more than half a million plant discoveries?
... that the setting of
Nippur in the
Sumerian creation myth of Enlil and Ninlil has been noted as "civitas dei", existing before the "
axis mundi" and the creation of man?
... that when Warqenah Eshate returned to
Ethiopia 32 years after being carried away by British soldiers, his grandmother recognized him by examining scars on his arms and legs?
... that the offspring of the
stallionSaxon were the subject of teasing from his owner's brother, resulting in a
challenge race that Saxon's daughter won by four lengths?
... that after the science fiction anthology Machine of Death reached No. 1 on the
Amazon.com bestseller list instead of his own book, Fox News commentator
Glenn Beck denounced it as part of a liberal "culture of death"?
... that gifted primary school students attend Rose Bay Secondary College for a day a week for the length of a school term to undertake advanced studies?
... that newspaper editor Col. William Thompson won his 1871 shootout with a rival newspaper editor despite sustaining severe gunshot wounds, including a bullet lodged behind his eye, and a beating from a cane?
... that when the male Yellow-crowned Bishop(pictured) is ready to mate, his head and back turn a brilliant yellow color?
... that the duet aspect of
Sonny & Cher's first recorded hit single, "Baby Don't Go", was not originally planned but established the pair's unusual harmonic style?
... that Walter Egerton, last Governor of Lagos Colony, initiated annual "pacification patrols" in southeast
Nigeria which usually achieved submission without using force?
... that when workers staged a 1978 wildcat strike for higher wages at
Volkswagen's new Westmoreland Assembly Plant that built the
Rabbit model, the picketers shouted "No Money, No Bunny"?
... that the 1945 Augustów roundup which resulted in the disappearance and likely murder of about 600 Polish citizens by the
Soviet Union is considered the largest crime committed in Poland after
World War II?
... that
Arab princeAl-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun refused to take the throne even though he was the only son of the previous
caliph and had the support of the army?
... that Dandeniya Gamage Jayanthi founded the group "Friends and Relatives of the
Disappeared" following the abduction, shooting, and burning of her fiancé?
... that the square-shaped Phnom Bok hill temple in
Cambodia is dedicated to the
Trimurti(pictured) images (893–927 AD) installed in individual
sanctums?
... that a committee in the 1920s raised the funds to turn a collection of tracks into Anzac Avenue, the longest
World War I memorial road in
Queensland?
... that Norwegian Jens Bache-Wiig, a former professor of engineering, resigned from his position at
IT&T in 1935 in protest against New York head office intervention in his area of responsibility?
... that Tennessee governor Newton Cannon's animosity toward fellow Tennessean
Andrew Jackson, who was U.S. president during his governorship, may have started with gambling losses at Jackson's racetrack?
... that the First Battle of Newbury has been described as "both the longest battle of the
English Civil War and the one that historians have found the greatest difficulty in describing"?
... that giggle incontinence, the involuntary release of
urine in response to
giggling or laughter, may be related to
cataplexy, a sudden transient episode of loss of
muscle tone often triggered by strong emotions?
00:00, 5 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the Manipur Bush Rat(pictured) was described from the collection of
A. O. Hume which he donated after his life's work of
ornithological notes were sold by a servant as waste paper?
... that the
2011–12 season's television adaptation of The Firm is a sequel to a
1991 novel that sold 7 million copies and a
1993 film that grossed $270 million worldwide?
... that Bolo Pasha, a Frenchman with an Egyptian title, was convicted and executed in France in 1918 for being a German spy using evidence collected by the
New York Attorney General?
... that actor
Ed Westwick(pictured) liked the idea of playing a "nice guy" in the British film Chalet Girl?
... that the Shannon Irish pub in
Montevideo often features performances by the Celtic band Grianan, which is led by Conrad O'Neill, a fourth-generation Irish Uruguayan?
... that in 1212 Thomas of Galloway, brother of the
Lord of Galloway, sacked and looted the Irish city of
Derry in a raid of 76 ships, and returned in 1214 to devastate the city again?
... that after visiting Miami County Jail for his documentary Miami Mega Jail,
Louis Theroux told The Sun newspaper that "it's a bit like walking through a zoo"?
3 June 2011
16:00, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
... that
John Dillinger is said to have frequented a bar in Cottage Home(pictured) while preparing for his heist of the Massachusetts Avenue State Bank?
... that
Alfredo Alcala's Voltar was described as one of the earliest epic
comic book series to result from a single creator's vision?
... that the
video gameSissy's Magical Ponycorn Adventure was created by designer Ryan Creighton and his five-year old daughter Cassie, who created the illustrations and dialogue?
... that because of its elongated orbit, the maximum surface temperature of the
extrasolar planetHD 205739 b is thought to vary by about 100 °C?
... that Florida's longest-serving state legislator, W. D. Childers, earned the
nickname "Banty Rooster" for his eccentric mannerisms and colorful, folksy expressions?
08:00, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
... that participants in
performance art by Polish-born American artist Olek(pictured) are literally crocheted into her body suits, without fasteners?
... that one proposed reason for constructing the Takoradi Harbour in
Ghana was for it to serve as a
naval port for the
British empire in times of war?
... that revenues from
Tennessee's Hall income tax vary by as much as 26 percent from one year to the next, due to the "roller-coaster behavior" of capital gains from investments?
... that the productions of American stage director Nathaniel Merrill at the
Metropolitan Opera, "such as Dulcamara's arrival via hot-air balloon in
Elisir, kept Met audiences diverted and amused for a generation"?
... that the collapse of
Teton Dam in 1976 was foreshadowed by a similar near-disastrous failure at Fontenelle Dam in 1965?
... that every two years, an award named after German
civil engineerErich Lackner is presented to young engineers for their "outstanding contributions in scientific and technical work"?
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 the time the set was removed from the DYK template 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.
30 June 2011
18:00, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the waistcoat of Haiti's
Toussaint Louverture had 18 buttons that were decorated with reproductions of Agostino Brunias's paintings (one pictured)?
... that the Windawski Canal in northern Lithuania was built as an extension of the
Augustów Canal to circumvent high customs duties introduced by Prussia for the transit of goods to the Baltic Sea?
... that Mexican pointy boots, made by elongating the toes of normal boots by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), are popular among Mexican men in parts of Mexico and the U.S.?
05:45, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the wildlife of Zanzibar included its own subspecies of leopard (mounted specimen pictured) that survived from the ice age but may now be extinct?
... that the Moran Dam, one of the largest proposed hydroelectric projects in North America, was defeated by environmentalists well before the time of anti-dam environmentalism?
... that between 1932 and 1962, Iowa Republican Governor and U.S. Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper won 17 of 19 elections in which he was a candidate?
... that Judge Hugo Friend, who presided over the
1921 Black Sox trial, smiled as the defendants were acquitted and died in 1966 while listening by radio to a
White Sox game?
... that a proud Massachusetts father commissioned award-winning composer Peter Child to compose a
string quartet in honor of his son's birth?
... that Maria Bashir(pictured), Chief Prosecutor General of
Herat Province, Afghanistan, is the first ever woman Chief Prosecutor in Afghan history?
... that the 1952 NATO exercise Operation Longstep featured a large-scale amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey?
... that in 1952 the communist candidate Baddam Yella Reddy defeated
P. V. Narasimha Rao (later the Prime Minister of India) in a parliamentary election?
... that Jeune Fille Endormie by the iconic 20th-century painter Picasso recently sold for nearly £13.5 million, and had only been on public display once?
... that Norwegian poet Nils Collett Vogt wrote newspaper articles at the age of 17?
... that an unsuccessful month-long siege in Yemen during the expedition of Surad ibn Abdullah was broken when Abdullah trapped the enemy by pretending to withdraw from the area into the hills?
... that in August 1947 French authorities banned a pro-independence mass rally of the French India Students Congress, but were forced to withdraw the ban after spontaneous protests?
... that
King George VI owned Royal Blue, a messenger pigeon that went on to be awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery during the Second World War?
00:00, 29 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the light of South Africa's Cape Agulhas Lighthouse(pictured) was originally fuelled by the tail-fat of sheep?
... that
Beijing police dedicate 4,500 officers to preventing the Shouwang Church from holding Sunday prayer meetings?
... that efforts made by television journalist Alan Sepinwall partially inspired
NBC officials to renew the television series Chuck?
... that
Muhammad ordered the demolition of Masjid al-Dirar because he believed this mosque was built to create disunity among Muslims by drawing people away from another mosque?
... that the US fought Polynesian warriors in the South Pacific Nuku Hiva Campaign during the
War of 1812, even though that war was against the British?
06:00, 28 June 2011 (UTC)
... that a Nasothek(example pictured) is a collection of noses?
... that
bas reliefs being made by the sculptor Henryk Kuna for a public monument in
Vilnius were used as cemetery pavers during the Nazi occupation of the city?
... that
brain–computer interface chips, like those that connect a scientist's brain with test subjects in the Fringe episode "
Dream Logic", have long been used in real life?
... that the novel Madaling Araw ("Dawn") features a blend of clashing characters, such as advocates of anarchy against the subjugators of the
Filipino lower class?
... that Seattle's Hillman City neighborhood was named after a real estate developer whose fraudulent practices eventually landed him in a
federal penitentiary?
... that the rare and endangered Knowlton's miniature cactus(pictured) is considered to be an adult when it exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in diameter?
... that rates of syphilis have increased in the United States, Australia, and Europe since the year 2000?
... that Joseph S. Freedman, professor of education at
Alabama State University, worked in over 200 libraries and archives to prepare his series Philosophy and the Liberal Arts in the Early Modern Period?
... that the world's fastest computer is the Japanese K?
... that the Brampton Walk of Fame, meant to honour "Brampton citizens—both past and present", includes a plaque for actress
Bipasha Basu, who lives in India?
... that Baconnaise is a
kosher mayonnaise-based product that tastes like bacon, but has no bacon in it?
... that China is the largest peach-producing(peach flowers pictured) country in the world, accounting for about 50% of world production, but is not the world's largest exporter of them?
... that the 27th Street Historic District in Los Angeles includes a
Gothic Revival church that since 1906 has housed white, Armenian, African-American and Hispanic congregations?
... that June mating displays of Photinus carolinus(pictured) create moving bands of light and darkness that draw crowds one
firefly scientist calls "obscene"?
... that in 2006, in the UK, 14 Approved Premises (residential units for offenders) were banned from housing
paedophiles due to their proximity to schools and nurseries?
... that in the 1970s,
Frank Serpico and David Durk both believed that Robert Leuci was the only honest detective in the New York City Police Department's narcotics bureau?
... that Slim Dunlap has been called "one of the last old-school cool guitar players"?
... that Madeline Mitchell overcame a 12-day coma, 21 days on a respirator, two months in a wheelchair and a
femur broken in 12 places to become
Miss Alabama USA and compete in
Miss USA 2011 two years later?
... that a kiss between Dan Hamilton and Antoine Malick in the UK medical drama Holby City was criticised for "following the trend" of depicting gay relationships?
... that Anthony Stewart believes he made it to the
National Hockey League partly because a good Samaritan picked him up while he was walking in a blizzard?
12:00, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
... that 4,476 tickets were auctioned for the first concert by the "Swedish Nightingale", soprano
Jenny Lind(pictured) in her 1850–52 tour of the United States?
... that mathematician Kosmas Balanos claimed in his work Antipelargisis that he had solved the problem of
doubling the cube?
... that
Christina Grimmie's song "Liar Liar" from her first album Find Me shot to Number 63 on the US
iTunes Singles Charts in less than 72 hours from its release?
... that in the quartier of Mjikura in Mtsamboro on the north coast of
Mayotte, there are the ruins of a royal palace and tombs from the time when it was an important town of the Sultans of Mayotte?
... that
Royal Navy surgeon Belgrave Ninnis attempted to revive a drowned sailor by, among other things, injecting brandy into his rectum?
06:00, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the sulfur-rich saline Laguna Hedionda (English: Stinky Lake) in
Bolivia is notable for various migratory species of
flamingoes(pictured)?
... that the ideas of Indonesian novel Pertemuan Jodoh are considered the opposite of
Abdul Muis' earlier work, Salah Asuhan, which deals with the incompatibilities in Western and Eastern cultures?
... that the most prestigious award of the association of World War II's black US airmen, the
Tuskegee Airmen, is named for Noel F. Parrish, their white commanding officer?
... that PYKKA had sought the aid of
FIFA in implementing its rural sports initiatives for
football in India?
... that the white knight smells of honey and radishes?
... that medieval scholar and astrologer David ben Yom Tov refused to contemplate
a divorce until his wife had all of his books and instruments taken away and hidden?
24 June 2011
18:00, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
... that a
fairy ring of the mushroom Clitocybe geotropa(pictured) in France is over half a mile (0.8 km) in diameter and 800 years old?
... that singer-pianist Rosie Vanier, whose musical style has been described as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths", grew up in
Bodmin Moor without electricity and TV?
... that the Lincoln Theater in
Los Angeles was known as the "West Coast
Apollo" and featured performances by jazz legends before being converted into a church?
... that
McDonald's does not have a policy of charging African Americans more for their food?
12:00, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
... that British stage-actor Kyrle Bellew(pictured) was accused of being
Mrs. Leslie Carter's lover at her 1889 divorce trial?
... that the State of Pennsylvania and its twin sister, the State of Delaware, were both the first
steamboats to make a live radio broadcast and to show movies?
... that
Derrida's 1974 text Glas is printed in two columns, one commenting on
Hegel and the other on
Genet, woven around and separated by "marginalia, supplementary comments, [and] lengthy quotations"?
... that some 19th-century newspapers in
South Australia published articles in the Cornish dialect of English to meet the needs of miners who had
migrated there?
... that Henry Mayes won the
Queen's Club Championships three times in 1922, 1926, and 1927 while in his 40s, but died the year following his last win?
... that Barbara Longhi's painting Saint Catherine of Alexandria(pictured) is believed to be a self-portrait, presented as a devotional image to avoid the appearance of indulging in the sin of vanity?
... that with support from the Iraqi government, magazines and audio cassettes produced by the exiled Libyan National Movement were smuggled into Libya during the 1980s?
... that after an unexploded bomb burst through her bedroom wall, a resident of Hillingdon Court told staff it was time she went to the air-raid shelter?
... that
Iran is currently the only country in the world that legally allows a person to trade their kidney for monetary compensation?
... that the Heryford Brothers Building in
Lakeview, Oregon, cost $100,000 to construct in 1913, and is still one of the most important commercial buildings in the city?
... that American philosopher John Arthur helped organize a lawsuit against the state of
Tennessee to address
racial segregation in the higher education system?
... that the site of the coach station in London used by the British Coachways consortium between 1980 and 1982 is now occupied by the
British Library?
... that the Ghana Standards Board was established in 1973 and has a function of inspecting all goods that enter through the six entry points of
Ghana?
... that Tammy Locke was called "an especially endearing little dumpling" for her role in 1960s western TV series The Monroes, but her antics on set included giving a live frog to the show's hairdresser?
... that Aenigmastacus, a fossil
crayfish from Canada, belongs to
a family only otherwise known from the Southern Hemisphere?
... that at Villa de Etla's weekly market in
Oaxaca,
Mexico, one can find traditional merchandise such as a local variety of white cheese, frames for donkeys and goat
barbacoa prepared in an earthen oven?
... that the Southwestern pygmy possum can give birth just two days after weaning a previous litter, even though this requires dramatic changes to her
mammary glands?
... that the upcoming
FX television series Wilfred is based on the Australian series
of the same name and will star series co-creator
Jason Gann in the titular role of Wilfred the dog?
... that as president of
St. Petersburg College, Carl M. Kuttler, Jr. used to phone and send a card to each of the college's 1,000 full-time employees on their birthdays?
06:00, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
... that, because of their unique genetic makeup, the
feral horses(mare and foal pictured) on the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range "may be the most significant wild-horse herd remaining in the U.S."?
... that the cargo ship Empire Defender was seized by Britain twice – during World War I under a German flag and in World War II under an Italian flag?
00:00, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
... that American William P. Cronan(pictured), once described as "the most popular man in the Navy", lost two fingers when he shoved his hand in a
breechblock to prevent a potentially deadly explosion?
... that A Glorious Way to Die is a book about the World War II
kamikaze mission of the world's largest battleship, the
Yamato, against the American Pacific Fleet?
... that in 1463 Thomas Bettz left
£26 13s 4d in his will—a fortune in those days—to help pay for the repair of the bells of St Martin's Church in
Ruislip?
... that when railway telegrapher Alfred Atherton was accused of manslaughter for his role in the Canoe River train crash, he hired his
MP,
John Diefenbaker as defence counsel, who won an acquittal?
... that at the 1933 première of the film Das häßliche Mädchen there was a Nazi-instigated riot in which tomatoes and rotten eggs were thrown, because of the male lead,
Max Hansen?
... that according to legend, the Chiapa people committed suicide by jumping off the Sumidero Canyon in
Chiapas, Mexico, rather than submit to Spanish domination?
... that Brazilian band A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade was little known until one of its music videos went
viral, attracting international media attention?
... that following Galima Bukharbaeva's eyewitness account of the
Andijan massacre, the
Uzbek government charged her with providing "informational support to terrorism"?
... that the market of the city of Tehuantepec,
Oaxaca,
Mexico, is dominated by women, with men subject to ridicule if they enter?
... that as the
mayor of
Oakdale,
Louisiana, George B. Mowad in 1985 secured the establishment of the largest U.S. federal correctional institute of its time in his city?
... that the jumping spider Portia fimbriata in Queensland plays a deadly game of hide-and-seek with its favorite prey, Jacksonoides queenlandicus, another jumping spider?
... that the Lament for Ur which describes the fall of Ekur, c. 2000 BC, is similar in style to the
Book of Lamentations which bewails the destruction of
Jerusalem in the 6th century BC?
... that the novel Sampagitang Walang Bango was written while the "highly westernized middle and upper classes" of
Filipinos were beginning to establish themselves in Philippine society?
... that actor Patrick Fischler flew back and forth between Hawaii and Los Angeles for six months so he could film roles on Lost and Southland at the same time?
... that after Roger Marie Bricoux,
cellist on the
RMS Titanic, drowned in the disaster, he was declared a "
deserter" by the French army and not officially registered dead until 2000?
... that sculptor Richard MacDonald(pictured) was a successful commercial illustrator until his late 30s when a fire destroyed his entire art studio along with all his illustrations and paintings?
... that Aelita Andre, an
Australian artist who recently sold
US$30,000 worth of paintings at a New York exhibition, is just four years old?
17 June 2011
18:00, 17 June 2011 (UTC)
... that
Filipina TV host Daphne Oseña-Paez(pictured) got her big break by waiting for a network executive in the
ABS-CBN parking lot to show him a TV program that she filmed, shot, and edited herself?
... that Aretino had the largest spindle hole, at three inches (76 mm), of any
phonograph record?
... that the tall tower of the Anglican Church of St Mark in Preston, Lancashire, was built to rival the height of the steeple of the nearby Catholic
Church of St Walburge?
00:00, 17 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the
Sumerian "river of paradise", the Hubur(pictured), derived partly from real
geography before becoming a demonic fantasy?
... that the Malfatti circles, three
tangent circles inside a triangle, are named after
Malfatti because of an incorrect conjecture he made, and were studied earlier by
Ajima and di Cecco?
... that in
Waugh's Scott-King's Modern Europe (1947), Scott-King concludes that "It would be very wicked indeed to do anything to fit a boy for the modern world"?
... that the environmental license granted for the El Quimbo Dam in May 2009 was for the first private sector hydroelectric project to be built in
Colombia under a new policy?
... that American paleontologist Claude W. Hibbard became a school principal when he was only 18?
12:00, 16 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the 96,000 people who visited the The Derby Exhibition of 1839 (pictured) were able to view a coconut?
... that the Pamunkey Indian Tribe Museum in
Virginia displays a combination of artifacts and replicas in order to provide a full and authentic view of the
Pamunkey people's lifestyle for the last 12,000 years?
... that Haki Stërmilli's novel Sikur t'isha djalë (English: If I Were a Boy) is his best known work and the first literary work in
Albanian that dealt with the subject of the emancipation of women?
... that the Ministry of Energy of
Ghana fitted
solar panels for 160 rural junior high schools so that pupils could watch a weekly television programme?
... that Patricia Preece persuaded artist
Stanley Spencer to divorce his wife, marry her, and sign his house over to her, but never left her lesbian lover?
... that Parks and Recreation character Chris Traeger has been described as "one of the great comedic creations of the past couple years" and one of
Rob Lowe's funniest performances?
... that journalist Ahmad Taufik was acquitted after being taken to court by both the
Suharto government and Tomy Winata, one of Indonesia's richest businessmen?
... that Alexios Palaiologos was
heir apparent of the
Byzantine Empire from 1199 to his death in 1203, and was directly involved in the suppression of no less than four revolts during this time?
... that the Californian commune Black Bear Ranch was founded using money from both entertainment industry executives and from an
LSD deal?
... that Mexican-American singer-songwriter
Selena was murdered by
an employee who (falsely) claimed she was raped and needed the singer's help?
... that one of the first European books to contain Chinese characters was written by an officer of the Spanish Inquisition, and translated into English by an
escaped former prisoner of the Inquisition?
... that Indonesian journalist Bambang Harymurti originally wanted to be an
astronaut and qualified as a potential candidate?
... that a biologist discovered a population of the rare and endangered Michigan monkeyflower after he found a specimen used as a
garnish on his plate at a restaurant?
00:41, 13 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the White-headed Buffalo Weaver(pictured) builds nests with multiple rooms and a downward-facing entrance?
... that planet WASP-13b, despite a radius 25% larger than
Jupiter's, has less than half the mass?
... that the 2005
Gwangju Prize winner Wardah Hafidz was told to vacate her office after disclosing that numerous groups had used social security funds for "money politics"?
... that Carra Castle was once occupied by
Shane O'Neill who held
Sorley Boy McDonnell as a prisoner there in 1565, and the McDonnells later got their revenge by beheading O'Neill there?
... that Selskabet for Oslo Byes Vel, a non-profit association for the benefit of Norway's capital city, celebrates its 200-year anniversary this year?
... that
visual effects supervisor Jay Worth found inspiration for the "Ash Man" storyline in the Fringe episode "Earthling" from holding his grandmother-in-law's hands at her funeral?
... that a Popular Mechanics article noted it is possible to die from "parasitic asphyxiation", as shown in the Fringe episode "Snakehead"?
00:00, 12 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the town of Cassel in
France is located on a hill that is said to have been created when two giants (nineteenth century representation pictured) tripped and dropped a heap of earth that they were carrying?
... that despite tests showing "virtually zero" risk, utility companies still cite islanding concerns to refuse connection of new
distributed generation systems?
... that Jamaican sprinter Nickel Ashmeade beat a former Olympic and World champion in the
100 m and set a meet record at the
Ponce Grand Prix in May 2011?
... that in May 2011 members of Lulz Security took responsibility for an attack on the website of
PBS that resulted in the posting of a fake news story that claimed
Tupac Shakur was still alive and living in New Zealand?
... that one reason for establishing the National Sports College of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of
Ghana was that Ghanaian sportsmen were under-performing in international competitions?
... that although the continued attack by the German auxiliary cruiser
Michel on Empire Dawn after she had surrendered was considered to be a
war crime,
Michel's captain was acquitted of the charge?
... that Norwegian botanist Finn Wischmann wrote more than 45,000
herbarium sheets and 21,000 checklists, recording more than half a million plant discoveries?
... that the setting of
Nippur in the
Sumerian creation myth of Enlil and Ninlil has been noted as "civitas dei", existing before the "
axis mundi" and the creation of man?
... that when Warqenah Eshate returned to
Ethiopia 32 years after being carried away by British soldiers, his grandmother recognized him by examining scars on his arms and legs?
... that the offspring of the
stallionSaxon were the subject of teasing from his owner's brother, resulting in a
challenge race that Saxon's daughter won by four lengths?
... that after the science fiction anthology Machine of Death reached No. 1 on the
Amazon.com bestseller list instead of his own book, Fox News commentator
Glenn Beck denounced it as part of a liberal "culture of death"?
... that gifted primary school students attend Rose Bay Secondary College for a day a week for the length of a school term to undertake advanced studies?
... that newspaper editor Col. William Thompson won his 1871 shootout with a rival newspaper editor despite sustaining severe gunshot wounds, including a bullet lodged behind his eye, and a beating from a cane?
... that when the male Yellow-crowned Bishop(pictured) is ready to mate, his head and back turn a brilliant yellow color?
... that the duet aspect of
Sonny & Cher's first recorded hit single, "Baby Don't Go", was not originally planned but established the pair's unusual harmonic style?
... that Walter Egerton, last Governor of Lagos Colony, initiated annual "pacification patrols" in southeast
Nigeria which usually achieved submission without using force?
... that when workers staged a 1978 wildcat strike for higher wages at
Volkswagen's new Westmoreland Assembly Plant that built the
Rabbit model, the picketers shouted "No Money, No Bunny"?
... that the 1945 Augustów roundup which resulted in the disappearance and likely murder of about 600 Polish citizens by the
Soviet Union is considered the largest crime committed in Poland after
World War II?
... that
Arab princeAl-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun refused to take the throne even though he was the only son of the previous
caliph and had the support of the army?
... that Dandeniya Gamage Jayanthi founded the group "Friends and Relatives of the
Disappeared" following the abduction, shooting, and burning of her fiancé?
... that the square-shaped Phnom Bok hill temple in
Cambodia is dedicated to the
Trimurti(pictured) images (893–927 AD) installed in individual
sanctums?
... that a committee in the 1920s raised the funds to turn a collection of tracks into Anzac Avenue, the longest
World War I memorial road in
Queensland?
... that Norwegian Jens Bache-Wiig, a former professor of engineering, resigned from his position at
IT&T in 1935 in protest against New York head office intervention in his area of responsibility?
... that Tennessee governor Newton Cannon's animosity toward fellow Tennessean
Andrew Jackson, who was U.S. president during his governorship, may have started with gambling losses at Jackson's racetrack?
... that the First Battle of Newbury has been described as "both the longest battle of the
English Civil War and the one that historians have found the greatest difficulty in describing"?
... that giggle incontinence, the involuntary release of
urine in response to
giggling or laughter, may be related to
cataplexy, a sudden transient episode of loss of
muscle tone often triggered by strong emotions?
00:00, 5 June 2011 (UTC)
... that the Manipur Bush Rat(pictured) was described from the collection of
A. O. Hume which he donated after his life's work of
ornithological notes were sold by a servant as waste paper?
... that the
2011–12 season's television adaptation of The Firm is a sequel to a
1991 novel that sold 7 million copies and a
1993 film that grossed $270 million worldwide?
... that Bolo Pasha, a Frenchman with an Egyptian title, was convicted and executed in France in 1918 for being a German spy using evidence collected by the
New York Attorney General?
... that actor
Ed Westwick(pictured) liked the idea of playing a "nice guy" in the British film Chalet Girl?
... that the Shannon Irish pub in
Montevideo often features performances by the Celtic band Grianan, which is led by Conrad O'Neill, a fourth-generation Irish Uruguayan?
... that in 1212 Thomas of Galloway, brother of the
Lord of Galloway, sacked and looted the Irish city of
Derry in a raid of 76 ships, and returned in 1214 to devastate the city again?
... that after visiting Miami County Jail for his documentary Miami Mega Jail,
Louis Theroux told The Sun newspaper that "it's a bit like walking through a zoo"?
3 June 2011
16:00, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
... that
John Dillinger is said to have frequented a bar in Cottage Home(pictured) while preparing for his heist of the Massachusetts Avenue State Bank?
... that
Alfredo Alcala's Voltar was described as one of the earliest epic
comic book series to result from a single creator's vision?
... that the
video gameSissy's Magical Ponycorn Adventure was created by designer Ryan Creighton and his five-year old daughter Cassie, who created the illustrations and dialogue?
... that because of its elongated orbit, the maximum surface temperature of the
extrasolar planetHD 205739 b is thought to vary by about 100 °C?
... that Florida's longest-serving state legislator, W. D. Childers, earned the
nickname "Banty Rooster" for his eccentric mannerisms and colorful, folksy expressions?
08:00, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
... that participants in
performance art by Polish-born American artist Olek(pictured) are literally crocheted into her body suits, without fasteners?
... that one proposed reason for constructing the Takoradi Harbour in
Ghana was for it to serve as a
naval port for the
British empire in times of war?
... that revenues from
Tennessee's Hall income tax vary by as much as 26 percent from one year to the next, due to the "roller-coaster behavior" of capital gains from investments?
... that the productions of American stage director Nathaniel Merrill at the
Metropolitan Opera, "such as Dulcamara's arrival via hot-air balloon in
Elisir, kept Met audiences diverted and amused for a generation"?
... that the collapse of
Teton Dam in 1976 was foreshadowed by a similar near-disastrous failure at Fontenelle Dam in 1965?
... that every two years, an award named after German
civil engineerErich Lackner is presented to young engineers for their "outstanding contributions in scientific and technical work"?