Wikipedia:Recent additions/2011/December

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31 December 2011

21:30, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

... that there is an electrical substation in the backyard of the McVickar House (pictured), the second oldest house on Main Street in Irvington, New York?
... that Tyler Lockett, the only player in Kansas State Wildcats football history to return a kickoff for a touchdown in consecutive games, was a high school state champion in football and basketball?
... that Black Loch in East Ayrshire, which has outflows draining in two directions, is connected to Loch o' th' Lowes and Creoch Loch by a manmade ditch?
... that the optometry and dental schools of the defunct North Pacific College are still operating 65 years after the college closed?
... that the extinct maple Acer dettermani is only known from the flank of a volcano?
... that the Andrzej Fidyk's documentary Defilada about North Korea, despite its anti-totalitarian message, was initially praised both by communist Poland's censors and in North Korea itself?

13:15, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the factory in which the Messerschmitt P.1112 (concept model pictured) would have been built was occupied by Allied troops before construction of the aircraft's prototype could be started?
... that in 1984, Thomas Suluk gained election to the Canadian House of Commons by just 247 votes?
... that in the 1950s Congregation Beth Israel of Asheville, North Carolina, shortened and moved its Shabbat service two hours earlier, so members could open their stores following prayers?
... that the film Vana Mohini included an elephant among the credits?
... that current Denver Nuggets basketball player Julyan Stone holds both the University of Texas-El Paso and Conference USA record for most assists in a career with 714?
... that the flowers of the Sydney blue gum are eaten by the grey-headed flying fox?

05:00, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Lawang Sewu: Kuntilanak's Vengeance was described by a critic as "truly 'raping' an icon of Semarang", Lawang Sewu (pictured)?
... that during the Aboakyer festival of Winneba in Ghana, warrior groups compete to be the first to capture a live bushbuck from a game reserve?
... that Mike Pegues scored 2,030 points during his college career between 1996 and 2000, setting a Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's basketball record that still stands?
... that the Wyoming State Legislature has a Nicholas in the House and a Nicholas in the Senate?
... that playwright Jerzy Szaniawski, a member of the Polish Academy of Literature who married at age 76, was starved and physically abused by his wife, 20 years his junior, until his death in 1970?
... that the first words of the first AFN broadcast from Allied-occupied Germany in July 1945 so enraged General Patton that he demanded that the responsible person be court-martialed?

30 December 2011

20:45, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

... that New Zealand's Blue Lake (pictured) has the clearest fresh water reported anywhere in the world?
... that when the Dalai Lama visited Taiwan in 1997, he was treated as a Republic of China national without household registration?
... that Frank Langella is the only person to win the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play more than once?
... that Texas Governor Hardin Richard Runnels signed a bill into law allowing a free Negro to return to slavery by selecting a new master?
... that the Triple Alliance of 1788, formed on the verge of the French Revolution, almost led to a war which would have pitted Great Britain and Prussia against Russia?
... that the deputy mayor of Safed was indicted for selling paintings from the museum that Emanuel Romano founded for his father, the sculptor Enrico Glicenstein?

12:30, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the 14-volume The Kingdom of the Netherlands During World War II, a standard reference work written by Dr. Loe de Jong (pictured) between 1955 and 1991, is now available for download?
... that when wood carver Patrociño Barela premiered at the Museum of Modern Art, he was the "discovery of the year"?
... that Acer castorrivularis is one of five extinct maples from the Eocene Beaver Creek flora in Montana?
... that diplomat Barry Steers served as Canada's first Commissioner to Bermuda from 1976 to 1979?
... that the high-pressure metamorphic rock whiteschist may be formed from both basaltic and granitic rocks by metasomatism?
... that the death of Jeannie Saffin has been cited as an example of spontaneous human combustion, due to witness reports that flames were coming from her mouth and she was roaring like a dragon?

04:15, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Navajo tribe used sand sagebrush (pictured) as toilet paper?
... that among Amir Hamzah's works are poems that are both explicitly religious and have an erotic element present?
... that Kansas State's all-time leading wide receiver Kevin Lockett completed his only two National Football League pass attempts for touchdowns?
... that a complete set of the treatises of Japanese playwright Zeami Motokiyo was not published until almost 500 years after his death?
... that Charles Howard McIlwain won a Pulitzer Prize for his analysis of the American Revolution as a disagreement over interpretation of the constitution of the United Kingdom?
... that prospector John Brackett Allen‎ did not strike it rich until he turned to pies?

29 December 2011

20:00, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the grooved brain coral (pictured) was featured on postage stamps from Belize and Mayotte?
... that when goalkeeper Sam Gillam replaced Alf Pugh for Wales against Scotland on 15 April 1889, he became the first substitute in international football?
... that Oregon politician Shawn Lindsay proposed a law in response to the acquittal of Casey Anthony in Florida?
... that the Thoroughbred racehorse George Frederick was named after the future King George V, and won the 1874 Derby Stakes on the young prince's birthday?
... that Indonesian actress Titi Sjuman agreed to make her film debut only after being cajoled by her brother and sister-in-law (the film's director)?
... that larval buckeyes eat bluehearts?

12:00, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

... that May Night (pictured) by Willard Metcalf was the first contemporary painting purchased by the Corcoran Gallery of Art?
... that the Triassic archosaur Poposaurus walked on two legs like some dinosaurs, but was more closely related to crocodiles?
... that a Turkic language was spoken in the Avar Khaganate and an inscription on a golden bowl preserves a fragment of it?
... that Rachel Feinstein, whose latest art work is inspired by The Snow Queen, is half of what the New York Times called the American art world's "power couple"?
... that the current speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Hunter Tootoo, is the last remaining member of the Legislative Assembly elected in Nunavut's first election in 1999?
... that debris from the failed Russian Meridian 5 satellite launch landed on a house on Cosmonaut Street?

01:57, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

... that colonies of lobe coral (pictured) are sometimes broken into fragments by the feeding activity of stone triggerfish?
... that a dance at the Ritz Ballroom scheduled for May 22, 1955, featuring Fats Domino was cancelled by the Bridgeport Police Department, citing worries about rioting over rock and roll music?
... that Indonesian judge Soeprapto was aided in his escape from Pekalongan during Operatie Product by a man whom he had just sentenced to death?
... that the Eocene maple Acer clarnoense is not found in the Clarno Formation even though the species was named after it?
... that Alabama's first superintendent of public education, Confederate brigadier general and college professor William F. Perry, had little or no formal education?
... that The X-Files Mythology, Volume 1 was well-received, despite its lack of liver-eating elastic monsters?

28 December 2011

16:00, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

... that French baritone Jean-Vital Ismaël (caricature pictured), who sang in the premieres of Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles and Gounod's Mireille, had left home at age 16 to become a street singer?
... that Polish magazine Miasto Kobiet organizes Szafobranie, a recurring event in which people give and get clothes without exchanging money?
... that weeping lovegrass is used for funeral rituals in Lesotho, and sometimes hybridizes with Lehmann's lovegrass?
... that two New Zealand Members of Parliament, David Buick and Alfred Hindmarsh, died in the 1918 influenza epidemic?
... that the unorganized territory of Mont-Albert in Quebec, Canada, is a home to the only remaining herd of migratory woodland caribou south of the Saint Lawrence River?
... that Katrina Kaif considers the item number Sheila ki jawani to be one of her raunchiest ever?

08:00, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Grand Palace (pictured) in Bangkok was once the home of the kings of the Chakri Dynasty and several thousand other inhabitants?
... that Florida state legislator C. A. Roberts was named to the first Board of Union County Commissioners at the age of 18?
... that the murder of Sadia Sheikh has been called Belgium's first honour killing trial?
... that Russian-born pianist Alexander Zakin performed with violinist Isaac Stern for 37 years and played the piano at the White House under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson?
... that the term sex and/or gender diverse is beginning to be used in Australia to replace transgender?
... that upon being asked whether he would like to join the Canadian Senate by Warren Allmand in 1977, Inuit politician Willie Adams responded, "What's the Senate?"?

00:00, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the psychedelic mushroom Psilocybe yungensis (pictured) is used in mystic rituals by the Mazatecs?
... that although no deaths occurred, the United States Weather Bureau was criticized for its inadequate warnings in advance of Hurricane Debra?
... that a reviewer described the film Khalifah as a "veiled warning" to Indonesians about wearing the niqab?
... that although the Dungarvan Town Council of County Waterford, Ireland, was formed in 1855, records indicate that a local authority existed in the town as early as the 15th century?
... that during the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia, the Relief Society of Tigray organized a mass exodus of Tigrayan villagers to camps in Sudan?
... that the Rebbe of Ruzhin lived like a king, with a palatial home, many servants, a carriage drawn by four white horses, stylish clothing, and solid-gold boots studded with diamonds?

27 December 2011

16:00, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Martin-Baker Mk.1 (pictured), used by a test pilot to escape a crashing Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52, was the first ejection seat to save the life of a British pilot?
... that although it ended peacefully, the Rotem Crisis of 1960 was later seen as a "trial run" for events leading to the 1967 Six-Day War?
... that Swampy, the lead character in the game Where's My Water?, is the first original character created by Disney for a mobile video game?
... that the Church of St Thomas the Martyr, and the adjoining Monnow Bridge, were both damaged by fire in the Battle of Monmouth in 1233?
... that American painter and lithographer Bolton Brown was the first person to climb Mount Clarence King?
... that the European windstorm Friedhelm was colloquially called Hurricane Bawbag, from a Scots word for a scrotum?

08:00, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

... that in Alpine countries, Saint Nicholas has a devilish companion named Krampus (pictured)?
... that in 1924 a rifle range was built in the basement of the parish hall at the Church of St. Barnabas in Irvington, New York?
... that a documentary film by Ucu Agustin led to a prostitution district in Tulungagung, East Java, being shut down?
... that copyright infringement not involving profit was not a criminal offense in the United States between the 1994 U.S. v. LaMacchia ruling and the 1997 passage by Congress of the NET Act?
... that the growth of thickspike wheatgrass in an area can inhibit the spread of weeds including Russian and diffuse knapweed?
... that Deep Throat was inspired by Deep Throat?

00:00, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Freemason and socialist writer Andrzej Strug declined to join the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature (pictured) because he was upset by criticism of the Freemason movement?
... that merchant Solomon Warner was obsessed with building a perpetual motion machine?
... that the British destroyer HMS Imogen was accidentally sunk by the light cruiser Glasgow during the night of 16 July 1940?
... that the 1932 Jalisco earthquake was the first of three earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater to strike western Mexico in June that year?
... that as minister of justice Sahardjo suggested rescinding Indonesia's civil and commercial codes?
... that during the Prohibition era in the United States, Marsoui in Quebec, Canada, was a favorite hideout for smugglers fleeing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

26 December 2011

16:00, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Persimmon (pictured), a Thoroughbred race horse owned by Edward, Prince of Wales, broke the race record when he won the 1896 Derby Stakes?
... that Frederick B. Karl served in the Florida House of Representatives, Florida Senate and Florida Supreme Court?
... that Muddy Waters switched from semi-acoustic guitar to electric guitar for his album At Newport 1960?
... that President Sukarno slighted Chief Justice Wirjono Prodjodikoro by inviting Ruslan Abdulgani for breakfast when Abdulgani was supposed to be before the Supreme Court of Indonesia?
... that the Los Angeles Lakers recently signed Malcolm Thomas, whose father goes by the same name and also played college basketball?
... that millions of chickens have viewed life through rose-colored glasses?

08:00, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Tsukasa Fujimoto (pictured) and Hikaru Shida, two actresses on the Japanese television series Muscle Venus, later became professional wrestling champions as a tag team also named Muscle Venus?
... that the Kupol Gold Mine north of the Arctic Circle is only accessible in winter via an ice road, which can only be built when temperatures are below −25 °C (−13 °F)?
... that Maya Angelou's sixth and final autobiography A Song Flung Up to Heaven is framed by the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.?
... that Indonesian Minister of Justice Moeljatno attempted to ensure Prosecutor General Soeprapto's subservience to him by passing a law?
... that the Lancaster City Museum houses a Roman tombstone with a dramatic depiction of a Roman soldier with a decapitated opponent at his feet?
... that Graves's grave is unknown, but his memorial is not?

00:00, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Bach's earliest surviving Christmas cantata Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, which is scored lavishly but has "no music for the shepherds or for the angels", was performed in the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle (pictured)?
... that holiday mail seeking a Christmas postmark continued to be sent to Christmas, Arizona, two decades after the town's post office had closed?
... that Georges Bizet dedicated his song "Rêve de la bien-aimée" ("Dream of the beloved") to the Belgian coloratura soprano Léontine de Maësen?
... that Yorkshire fog occurs on the Cornish coast between Polruan and Polperro?
... that Plante and Sherman's Faith and Health states that highly religious people have a 29% higher odds of survival than less religious people?
... that the early Oligocene maple, Acer ashwilli, is known from only eight places in Oregon?

25 December 2011

16:00, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Joseph Farquharson's 1901 painting Beneath the Snow Encumbered Branches (pictured) is a popular choice for Christmas cards?
... that Cliff at Christmas was the only album released during Cliff Richard's second period with music label EMI, to whom he'd previously been signed for over forty years?
... that Gemiler Island, off the coast of Turkey, may have been the location of Saint Nicholas' original tomb?
... that sculptor Alexander Finta, who worked for 20th Century Fox, studied with Auguste Rodin?
... that the 1989 Ungava earthquake was the first earthquake in eastern North America known to be associated with ground rupture?
... that a 1640 Act of the Parliament of Scotland abolished the observation of Christmas in Scotland?

08:00, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

... that it is not known which of the three Le Nain brothers painted the Adoration of the Shepherds (detail pictured), now in London's National Gallery?
... that one critic thought Hulk Hogan's acting in Santa with Muscles made "Arnold Schwarzenegger seem like Laurence Olivier"?
... that the opening chorus of Bach's Christmas cantata Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133, is thought to persuasively express "the essence, the exuberance and the sheer exhilaration of Christmas"?
... that artist Letterio Calapai was taken as a boy to the Fogg Art Museum and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which now own examples of his work?
... that salad spinners use centrifugal force to remove excess water?
... that, contrary to a popular urban legend, Coca-Cola did not create the modern Santa suit?

00:00, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

... that President Bill Clinton said he would personally pay the bill to keep the National Christmas Tree (pictured) lit during the government shutdown resulting from disagreements on the 1996 federal budget?
... that when high school junior Jabari Parker held an open practice, Mike Krzyzewski, Bruce Weber, Thad Matta, Bill Self, Roy Williams and Tom Izzo all attended?
... that during the Dunkirk evacuation on June 1, 1940, the British destroyer HMS Ivanhoe was hit by a German bomb that killed 26 men and knocked out two of her three boiler rooms?
... that when the Thoroughbred racehorse Pinza won the 1953 Derby Stakes, it gave 25 times Champion Jockey, Gordon Richards, his first win after 27 previous starts in the race?
... that when sick, galaxy coral can be fed brine shrimps incorporating specific antibiotics?
... that West Virginia House Delegate Dr. Margaret Anne Staggers considered retiring from emergency medicine following an attack by an elderly patient?

24 December 2011

16:00, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Froebel star (pictured), a common Christmas decoration in Germany, is created by folding and weaving four identical strips of paper?
... that Jan Sandström composed the Motorbike Concerto, and a setting of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen for two choirs a cappella: one in four parts, singing Praetorius, and the other in eight parts?
... that baseball pitcher Brad Boxberger was named to the Arizona Fall League's 2011 Top Prospects Team?
... that prior to its passage of the Human Rights Act 2003, Nunavut was the only Canadian jurisdiction without protections against discrimination for its gay, lesbian and bisexual residents?
... that the New York Yankees traded for Allie Reynolds on the advice of Joe DiMaggio?
... that the lesser long-tongued bat can extend its tongue for up to 50% of its own body length – even when its jaws are closed?

08:00, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the National Gallery's purchase of The Family of Darius before Alexander (detail pictured) by Paolo Veronese sparked a debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom?
... that Kyra Markham, whose images were used as propaganda against the Nazis, briefly had Frank Lloyd Wright as a father-in-law?
... that "hardly a single aspect of life" lacks deep consideration in Bandura's 1997 book Self-Efficacy, "one of the most significant books of the last 50 years," according to reviewers?
... that Nemo Gaines is the only graduate of the United States Naval Academy to play in Major League Baseball?
... that in 2002 the Norwegian Poodle Topscore Contradiction was the first foreign dog to win Best in Show at the Crufts dog show in the UK?
... that Emmaus United Methodist Church has helped survivors of the 2004 Gatumba massacre in Burundi resettle in Albany, New York?

00:00, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

... that according to Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz, Karol Hubert Rostworowski (pictured) is most remembered for his tragedy about the killing of an unrecognised son?
... that Egor the Animator, an early computer animation program released on February 6, 1996, by Sausage Software, was the first commercial software Java applet?
... that the lecture notes of Marcel Riesz were dubbed by physicist David Hestenes "the midwife of the rebirth" of Clifford algebras?
... that members of the Moldavian Kogălniceanu family contributed to the abolition of serfdom (1749), the abolition of slavery (1855), and several land reforms?
... that the seeds of poverty grass can remain in the soil for decades before they germinate?
... that according to New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, the killing of Gadzhimurat Kamalov, founder of the newspaper Chernovik in Dagestan, Russia, is "a lethal blow to press freedom"?
... that when George Harrison's song "Awaiting on You All" was originally released on his All Things Must Pass album, lyrics critical of the Pope were omitted from the lyric sheet?

23 December 2011

16:00, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the banded wedge shell (shell pictured) is consumed by gulls that later regurgitate the shell fragments in "gobbets" on the beach?
... that the Mayan archaeological site Baking Pot covered a 9-square-kilometre (3.5 sq mi) area?
... that 2011 Ohio Mr. Basketball Trey Burke has won both an Ohio High School Athletic Association State championship and an Amateur Athletic Union national championship?
... that over 110 species of vascular plants have been discovered on the small Eastern Isles, of the Isles of Scilly, UK?
... that Compugen's first computer system, the "Bioccelerator," could analyze DNA sequences at speeds up to 1,000 times faster than other computers of its time?
... that Helmut Damerius spent 18 years of his life in a gulag and banishment to Kazakhstan, and was finally released on condition that he never talk or write about it?
... that Italian Renaissance artist Girolamo Mocetto was long thought to have been born a generation before he actually was?

08:00, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the only death in the Action of 5 November 1813 (pictured) was accidental?
... that Polish actor and singer-songwriter Andrzej Bogucki and his wife were awarded the title Righteous among the Nations for helping Polish Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman escape the Warsaw Ghetto?
... that the life cycle of the no-brand crow may pass through several generations in a year?
... that over a 26-year span the Illinois Central Railroad's Land O'Corn used self-propelled cars, steam and finally diesel locomotives?
... that the Westminster Psalter contains what may be the earliest representation of Saint Christopher in English art, from about 1250?
... that Danish marathon champion Henning Larsen took up pigeon racing after his retirement from athletics?

00:00, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the extinct Miocene age maple Acer smileyi has been classified as closely related to the living Acer nipponicum (pictured)?
... that the Silverdale Hoard, discovered in Lancashire in September 2011, contains over 200 items of Viking treasure and has revealed the existence of a previously unknown Viking king?
... that the U.S. Patent Office 1836 fire occurred in the same building that housed the local fire department?
... that in 1907, statues of the Twelve Apostles helped English sculptor Harry Hems pay his income tax?
... that the Mountaineer was the first passenger train Amtrak operated over the Norfolk and Western Railway?
... that the head of the Indonesian Communist Party addressed Wongsonegoro so softly that other people had to "be his microphone"?

22 December 2011

16:00, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the songs of the Pied Butcherbird (pictured) have inspired and been incorporated into musical compositions of Henry Tate, Olivier Messiaen, Elaine Barkin, John Rodgers, and John Williamson?
... that the 2007 Morocco–Spain diplomatic conflict arose after the announcement of the impending visit of the King of Spain to the Spanish autonomous cities Ceuta and Melilla?
... that a band or singer can only qualify for the UK Indie Breakers Chart if they have never had a Top 20 hit on the UK's mainstream charts before?
... that in 1884 Frederick Stanley Arnot determined that the Zambezi, the largest river flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa, rose near Kalene Hill?
... that some 3000 to 5000 people were killed in Haiti in 1804 in an ethnic cleansing that targeted white people?
... that what Matthew Morrison calls "the most spectacular [marriage] proposal I've ever seen" is scheduled to occur on Glee in January 2012?

08:00, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

... that sand reedgrass (pictured) is a food source for pocket gophers and California quail?
... that Wilopo, in office only 26 days, is the shortest-serving Foreign Minister of Indonesia to date?
... that Arthur Duncan was a small Backscratcher in Chicago?
... that Gholhak Garden, a British diplomatic compound in northern Tehran, has been at the centre of diplomatic controversy between Britain and Iran?
... that The Naval and Military Magazine warned that people might not like the cut of Sir Henry Heathcote's jib?
... that a Russian state prosecutor proposes to put a commented translation of the Bhagavad Gita on the same list of banned materials as Hitler's Mein Kampf?

00:00, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the British destroyer HMS Highlander (pictured) escorted Convoy SC 122 through the largest convoy battle of World War II in March 1943 and was unsuccessfully attacked by U-441 and U-608?
... that the version of Rossetti's Lady Lilith in The Met was said to be mostly painted by Henry Treffry Dunn?
... that Papa Celestin's Golden Wedding featured Papa Celestin's final recording session before his death?
... that in the United Kingdom the George Marshall Trophy is awarded annually to an individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution towards helping visually impaired people?
... that the OPEN Act is a proposed alternative to SOPA that would not require American ISPs to block access to suspect Web sites?
... that Captain Joseph Spear married two women named Grace Grant?

21 December 2011

16:00, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

... that when architect Sir Robert Smirke planned St Philip's Church in Salford, Greater Manchester (pictured), he re-used his design for St Mary's Church in Bryanston Square, London?
... that Ania Bien's 1986 photographic installation on the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam, which was destroyed in a fire that killed 33 people, included images alluding to the Holocaust?
... that the extinct Eocene maple Acer republicense is known from only one fossil seed?
... that brothers Frank and John Rolleston were both simultaneously elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1922 and defeated in 1928?
... that the seeds of Bigelow's sedge can remain viable for two centuries?
... that Swedish hip hop artist Roffe Ruff has kept his identity secret to make listeners concentrate more on his music than his personality?

08:00, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the native swamp thistle (pictured) of eastern North America is the sole food source for the caterpillars of the swamp metalmark butterfly?
... that although Verle A. Pope was nicknamed "The Lion of St. Johns" for his oratory skills, he didn't start speaking until age seven?
... that the writs for the next New Zealand general election must be issued no later than 24 December 2014?
... that the mustache that Frenchy Bordagaray grew in 1936 is likely to have been the only mustache worn in Major League Baseball between 1914 and 1972?
... that the British destroyer HMS Havelock and her sister Hesperus attacked the wreck of U-246 on 30 April 1945 thinking that it was another German submarine which had been spotted earlier that day?
... that Euripides' lost play Andromeda may have contained the first ever depiction of a man falling in love with a woman onstage?

00:00, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Théâtre de la Mode is an exhibit of small-scale fashion mannequins (examples pictured) crafted by Paris fashion designers to help revive the French fashion industry after World War II?
... that Jack Nicholson and Lou Adler bought the historic Newberry House so they would have a place in Aspen, Colorado, to watch televised Lakers games together?
... that Karl Marx's theory of historical trajectory attempted to prove the long-term unsustainability of capitalism?
... that although William Jennings Bryan delivered the Cross of Gold speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, he was not even a delegate when the convention started?
... that Theodore M. Stuart, an end and halfback for the "Point-a-Minute" football teams at the University of Michigan in 1904 and 1905, was also the university's tennis champion?
... that the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki contains an illustration of the regent extorting poems from two ladies?

20 December 2011

16:00, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

... that, when he died in Monte Carlo in 1962, the 16th Marquess of Winchester (pictured) was the oldest-ever member of the House of Lords?
... that the king of the Mataram Sultanate during the First Java War used the reconstruction of a terrace as an excuse for not providing soldiers?
... that architect Peter Beaven founded New Zealand's first heritage lobby group?
... that the application Read It Later obtained venture capital investments totaling $2.5 million in 2011?
... that the U.S. House of Representatives has had a Princeton University alumnus in its membership in every year since it was established in 1789?
... that despite its name, the long-stolon sedge does not form stolons?

08:00, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Cherokee and other Native American tribes used river cane (pictured) to make items including blowguns, spears, flutes and candles?
... that The Wall Street Journal called the scandal involving Olympus Corporation "one of the biggest and longest-running loss-hiding arrangements in Japanese corporate history"?
... that although St Silas' Church in Blackburn, Lancashire, was designed in 1878, building did not start until 1894, and the tower was not completed until 1914?
... that mezzo-soprano Martina Koppelstetter has recorded Lieder by Rudi Spring for BR, Bavarian Radio?
... that cyanobacteria can be washed up on the shore in a green scum, which may contain an acute neurotoxin known as the Very Fast Death Factor, which leads to fast death by paralysis?
... that a spree killer from Ontario, saved from the death penalty by reason of insanity, later received a "hero's funeral"?

00:00, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Peter Edward Stroehling's portrait of George III (pictured) shows the king with an adoring spaniel?
... that a small volume 2 of The Young Men's Magazine written by a teenaged Charlotte Brontë sold for £690,850?
... that the seeds of six-weeks grama grass are eaten by desert kangaroo rats?
... that Gavin Bryars's Doctor Ox's Experiment is the third opera to be based on Jules Verne's science fiction novella "Dr. Ox's Experiment"?
... that mathematician Mikhail Kadets became interested in the theory of normed spaces after reading the Ukrainian edition of the French treatise by the Pole Stefan Banach?
... that one of the highest-ranking generals in China was injured in battle nine times?

19 December 2011

16:00, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Rossetti overpainted the face of his former mistress in his painting of Lady Lilith (detail pictured) with the face of one of his later models?
... that a trademark dispute between piano makers Steinway & Sons and Grotrian-Steinweg resulted in establishing the legal concept of "initial interest confusion"?
... that the vulnerable buttercup Ranunculus allenii was first collected from Mount Albert in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1881?
... that the music video for the Tanglish song "Why This Kolaveri Di" had more than 10 million YouTube hits in the two weeks after its posting?
... that Perry Dorrestein's first start for the Michigan Wolverines football team was in a Michigan–Notre Dame football rivalry game?
... that Nikolaus Pevsner described All Saints' Church, Hertford, as "completely alien" in Hertfordshire?

08:00, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

... that in zoos the Scarlet Ibis (pictured) is often fed beetroots and carrots to maintain its plumage coloring, which in the wild comes from carotenoid pigments in shrimp and shellfish?
... that the galaxy Markarian 501 produces very high energy gamma rays?
... that after directing several episodes of Glee, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directed large choreographed musical television advertisements for Chevrolet and T-Mobile?
... that The Relaxation Response describes two steps as essential: a passive attitude and a mental device to keep the mind from wandering?
... that Gustav Sobottka, Jr. was imprisoned by the Nazis at age 18 and by Stalin's secret police at age 23?
... that the opening of San Francisco's Tiffany Building included a roast pig and a lion dance for good luck?

00:00, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

... that General George S. Patton (pictured) praised the tactic of marching fire during World War II?
... that the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies pioneered the usage of video testimonies to record eyewitness accounts of major historical events and inspired video testimony projects documenting other atrocities?
... that Jean-Claude Bajeux was Haiti's culture minister under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide but later turned against him?
... that the extinct, Miocene age, maple Acer browni ranged from southern Oregon to the north shore of the Haida Gwaii?
... that tight end Martell Webb was a 2006 USA Today All-USA second team selection along with fellow Michigan matriculant Ryan Mallett?
... that the ancient Greek drama Lysistrata by Aristophanes has been adapted as a Broadway musical titled Lysistrata Jones about a basketball team and its cheerleaders?

18 December 2011

16:00, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

... that lithographer Adolph Friedländer's printshop produced over 9,000 posters (example pictured) for artists, magicians and circus and vaudeville performers?
... that in Wildwood by The Decemberists' Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, "bespectacled, bike-riding, vinyl-browsing, Kurosawa-referencing" Portland kids save a baby kidnapped by a murder of crows?
... that the dance performed during the Kundum Festival of the Ahanta people of Ghana originated from dwarfs?
... that the communist newspaper Deutsche Zentral Zeitung ran volumes of show trial transcripts, but never the consequences, and ceased publication after most of the staff were also arrested?
... that Euripides' posthumously produced lost play Alcmaeon in Corinth was part of a trilogy that won first prize at the Dionysia in Athens?
... that decisional balance sheets are used to help people with addictive behaviours decide to make changes in their lives?

08:15, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

... that 26 new MPs were elected to the 50th New Zealand Parliament, including Julie Anne Genter (pictured) and Denise Roche (both Greens), Rino Tirikatene (Labour), Maggie Barry, Paul Goldsmith and Alfred Ngaro (National), and Richard Prosser and Denis O'Rourke (both NZ First)?
... that the spiny lobster Jasus caveorum lives only on one of the Foundation Seamounts in the southern Pacific Ocean?
... that comedian Graham Norton won his first comedy award after standing in as a guest presenter on The Jack Docherty Show while Docherty was on holiday?
... that after suffering from polio as a youth, Maria Farida Indrati went on to become the first female justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia?
... that a month after its launch, the Facebook game CastleVille had amassed 26.6 million players?

00:30, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Michelangelo's Study of a Kneeling Nude Girl for The Entombment (pictured) is believed to be the earliest existent European drawing of a nude female model?
... that, in 1987, German ice hockey executive Heinz Weifenbach negotiated a deal in which his club, the ECD Iserlohn, would advertise Muammar Gaddafi's Green Book?
... that former Indonesian Minister of the Interior Hazairin released his own currency?
... that in 1963, a whole farm—including machinery, staff and a pedigree herd of Hereford cattle—travelled by train from Tetbury railway station to Stranraer in advance of the Beeching Axe?
... that blackfellows hemp is associated with turpentine?
... that according to The People's Book of Records, the record for the number of times a person has been licked on the buttocks by a dog in two minutes is 145?

17 December 2011

16:45, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Dutch clergyman W.R. van Hoëvell (pictured), after being forced to resign his post in Batavia in 1848, became a radical and eloquent spokesman against Dutch colonialism and slavery in the East and West Indies?
... that the British destroyer HMS Hurricane rescued 451 survivors from the passenger-cargo liner SS City of Nagpur and landed them at Greenock, Scotland, on 1 May 1941?
... that the aerial photograph of Palembang taken in 1984 revealed the ancient canal network that is now Srivijaya archaeological park?
... that Max Gresham, the 18-year-old 2011 NASCAR East Series champion, started racing at the age of 8?
... that the perennial herb Frasera caroliniensis can take up to thirty years to flower?
... that "Red Lipstick" was reminiscent of songs featured on Rihanna's fourth studio album Rated R (2009), with specific comparisons to "G4L" and "Wait Your Turn"?

09:00, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Yongjia Xuanjue (pictured) is believed to have written the 8th-century Song of Enlightenment, a text still popular with Zen practitioners nowadays?
... that the ideology of Ba'athism was developed mostly in Syria by Zaki al-Arsuzi, Salah al-Din al-Bitar and Michel Aflaq, who is considered the founder of Ba'athist thought, as a way to unite the Arab world into one nation?
... that Jerry Blackwell's Southern Championship Wrestling was the last "territorial" wrestling promotion in the U.S. state of Georgia?
... that Bill Bellamy, who was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry as a tank commander in 1944, raised £30,000 by trekking across Cuba in 2005, at the age of 81?
... that Israeli businessman Dan Gertler bought the Kolwezi tailings project for $20 million and two months later sold half of it for $175 million?
... that Ruislip High School is the fictional "Rudge Park Comprehensive" from the E4 television series The Inbetweeners?

00:00, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

... that in Mesopotamian mythology, the Apkallu (relief sculpture pictured) were sent by the god Enki, from Dilmun to teach human beings various aspects of civilization?
... that poet W. H. Auden said of the letters of Vincent van Gogh "there is scarcely one ... which I ... do not find fascinating"?
... that Polish model and fashion designer Joanna Horodyńska has presented a TV program while lying in a foam-filled bath tub, and posed three times for Playboy?
... that the prairie goldenrod can flourish during drought conditions where native plants and grasses have died out?
... that Koji Mitsui was unsuccessfully posted to Major League Baseball twice in one offseason?
... that Kenneth Stewart Cole, an organizer of the Biophysical Society's first meeting, said that the meeting had "the ulterior motive of finding out if there was such a thing as biophysics"?

16 December 2011

16:00, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the resilience of coral reefs may be improved to the point where they can resist coral bleaching (example pictured) if they are seeded with thermally-resistant zooxanthellae?
... that Lost in Paradise is considered Vietnam's first gay film?
... that the 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake badly damaged the Sans-Souci Palace built by Henri Christophe?
... that the 2013 United States federal budget may impose a 23% cut on the defense budget due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, according to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta?
... that Canadian mystery writer Eric Wilson based the formula for his Tom and Liz Austen books on the preferences of his eighth-grade students?
... that the Experiment was a boat powered by horses running on a treadmill and propelled by a then-novel type of screw propeller?

08:00, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Indus River Delta (pictured) in Pakistan is home to the largest arid zone mangrove forests in the world?
... that Dolphin D. Overton became a flying ace in just four days during the Korean War, the fastest in history for a jet fighter pilot?
... that stores on Malkhei Yisrael Street, the Haredi urban shopping district in north Jerusalem, pay the same or even higher rents than stores in Israel's major malls?
... that Michigan Wolverines American football linebacker Kenny Demens had 11 tackles in the 2007 Michigan High School Athletic Association championship game?
... that livestock eating white locoweed develop a neurological syndrome known as locoism?
... that according to one critic, Rihanna appeared to be "channelling" Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry on "Cockiness (Love It)" in a "pseudo-melodic" impersonation?

00:00, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

... that of the 800 men who received Father Francis Gleeson's general absolution on 8 May 1915 (pictured), 389 were killed or wounded in the subsequent Battle of Aubers Ridge?
... that the song "Cosas del Amor" has been performed by several female singers including Vikki Carr, Ana Gabriel, Milly Quezada, Jenni Rivera, Olga Tañón and Yuri?
... that Adolphe Braun, whose photos were published worldwide and shown in prominent museums, first took up photography to aid in designing floral patterns for textiles?
... that the failed 2010 Brown–Kaufman amendment aimed to break up the largest U.S. banks based on Alan Greenspan's idea that "If they're too big to fail, they're too big"?
... that Besar Mertokusumo has been called the first Indonesian advocate?
... that Paleodictyon nodosum made use of a new source of energy not dependent on the Sun?

15 December 2011

16:00, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the annual European theatre festival Ruhrfestspiele (main venue pictured), which collaborates with companies such as The Old Vic, originated in a coal shortage in 1946?
... that Ryan Van Bergen was ranked among the top-20 high school football players nationally as both a tight end and defensive end?
... that Soepomo, Indonesia's first Minister of Justice, criticized Dutch colonialism in his thesis on the agrarian system of Surakarta?
... that Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling once promoted a benefit show in Louisburg, North Carolina, from which all the proceeds went to a seriously injured wrestler?
... that the ideas of 17th-century Polish reformer Stanisław Dunin-Karwicki have been both praised as the harbinger of later reforms, and criticized for not going far enough?
... that architects Fisher & Fisher, the sibling partnership of Arthur and William Ellsworth Fisher, designed the oil company town of Parco, Wyoming, in a unified Spanish colonial style to foster community?

08:00, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Raphael's Portrait of Balthasar Castiglione (pictured) was admired and copied by Titian, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens and Henri Matisse?
... that the coastline from Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth, in north Cornwall, was one of the last British breeding sites of the Large Blue butterfly, which was declared nationally extinct in 1979?
... that Thomas Crawford captured Dumbarton Castle with ropes and scaling ladders under cover of darkness?
... that future Minister of Justice Abdoel Gaffar Pringgodigdo reported losing much of his archive when the Dutch seized Yogyakarta?
... that in December 2011, the Home Affordable Refinance Program was expanded so many U.S. homeowners can refinance their mortgage even if their home value is underwater?
... that Michigan Wolverines American football cornerback J. T. Floyd made his first two interceptions against Notre Dame, but in different seasons?

00:00, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Georgia O'Keeffe praised her art teacher John Vanderpoel, whose book The Human Figure is a standard reference for art students (example drawing pictured), as "one of the few real teachers I have known"?
... that some music critics hear echoes of work by Diana Ross and Leslie Gore in Selena's song "Missing My Baby", which was featured on Entre a Mi Mundo?
... that Indonesian legal scholar Notonagoro, who married into royalty, placed the needs of individual citizens last in his hierarchy of government priorities?
... that Chief Wahoo McDaniel came out of retirement in 1996 to wrestle Death & Destruction in a tag team match?
... that, while still a schoolboy, Rhys Morgan led an effort to raise awareness of the risks of the alternative medicine product Miracle Mineral Supplement?
... that Traveler's Rest near Lolo, Montana, is the only place along the Lewis and Clark Trail where physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been found?

14 December 2011

16:00, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the rare magic mushroom Psilocybe tampanensis (pictured) was found after its discoverer skipped a "boring taxonomic conference" to go mushroom hunting?
... that Sancti Spiritu, the first European settlement in modern Argentina, was destroyed by natives two years later?
... that Yad Sarah, the largest national volunteer organization in Israel, has over 6,000 volunteers – including its founder, Uri Lupolianski, former mayor of Jerusalem?
... that the cliffs and offshore rocks from Godrevy Head to St Agnes are host to the largest colony of breeding Black-legged Kittiwakes in Cornwall, UK?
... that Jeff Wright, a county drain commissioner in Michigan, has also served as an FBI informant?
... that The Who's 1971 song "Bargain" and 1981 song "Don't Let Go the Coat" were both inspired by Indian mystic Meher Baba?

08:00, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Mojo Mathers (pictured) became New Zealand's first deaf MP during the 2011 general election?
... that before Brighton's Montpelier suburb developed, three people lived on the hilly site – including an eccentric corporal who lived in a cave and fired celebratory pistols on military anniversaries?
... that after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars, Jagadguru Kripalu Maharaj was named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher) at the age of 34?
... that female baseball player Mary Rountree earned a medical degree by studying in the off-season?
... that Three Sisters, a musical by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, played for only two months in London in 1934, and didn't debut in America until 2011?
... that 30-to-120-centimetre (12 to 47 in) tall hairy pagodas can be found throughout eastern North America?

00:00, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

... that an abolitionist pastor at New York's First Baptist Church of Tarrytown (pictured) was succeeded by a Confederate veteran who had walked to the church from Alabama?
... that Kazimierz Karwowski holds the record for being elected to the most Sejms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth?
... that the leaves of the beard-heath Leucopogon amplexicaulis surround the stem?
... that the Glee episode "Hold On to Sixteen" featured covers of songs by Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and The Jackson 5?
... that the sea whip, a colonial soft coral, produces chemicals which prevent algae, barnacles and bryozoans from growing on it?
... that the mixed-breed dog Tich was awarded the animal's Victoria Cross for devotion to duty with the King's Royal Rifle Corps during the Second World War?

13 December 2011

16:00, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Ghirlandaio's An Old Man and his Grandson (detail pictured) portrays a man with a deformed nose sympathetically, in contrast to theories of the era by which external deformities imply character defects?
... that the Left Column theater troupe left Germany on the eve of Nazism only to lose many members to the Stalinist purges?
... that Wroniec, a dark fairy tale by Jacek Dukaj, was a taboo-breaking take on martial law in Poland, which was in effect from 13 December 1981?
... that Bat-El Gatterer, Israeli women's taekwondo champion, is a religiously observant Jew who was born in the West Bank?
... that during Royce White's two-and-a-half-year hiatus from competitive basketball, he spent time on his music career and learned how to play the piano?
... that in November 1921, the schooner Cymric collided with a tram in Dublin?

08:00, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Miró's Dona i Ocell (pictured), a sculpture in Barcelona, was decorated with colour by ceramicist Joan Gardy Artigas?
... that Boston Celtics center Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year playing career, including two titles as player-coach?
... that jewel beetle larvae live in galls on the stems of the Australian shrub Daviesia corymbosa?
... that the Frank Kameny House in Washington, D.C., was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in the gay rights activism of its namesake?
... that Juan Martínez de Recalde was second-in-command of the Spanish Armada?
... that Pro Wrestling Illustrated has called manager Count Grog the "least employee friendly boss around" due to his frequently double-crossing his own wrestlers?

00:00, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the goose barnacle (pictured) is found attached to driftwood, flotsam and even whales?
... that the Grammy Award-winning album Bachata Rosa by Juan Luis Guerra brought bachata music into the mainstream in the Dominican Republic?
... that seven of the twenty-nine times when Duke and Michigan played one another in men's basketball, both teams were ranked in the top ten in the AP Poll?
... that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, opened in 1889, is the oldest purpose-built museum of portraits in the world?
... that 1992 U.S. vice presidential candidate James Stockdale replied, "Who am I? Why am I here?" in response to a question from debate moderator Hal Bruno of ABC News?
... that Mt. Shasta Brewing Company's slogan, "Try Legal Weed", was initially refused by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau?

12 December 2011

16:00, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Thomas Harrison's first commission was for Skerton Bridge (pictured), the first large public bridge in England to have a flat roadway, and his last commission was for Grosvenor Bridge, which has the longest masonry arch in Britain?
... that singer Madonna appeared only as an animated fairy in the music video for her song "Dear Jessie"?
... that efforts by George Tchobanoglous have contributed to UV disinfection of wastewater being accepted as a technology for water reuse?
... that Dutch Antillean sprinter Churandy Martina would have won silver at the 2008 Summer Olympics if he had not been disqualified?
... that William Hamlin was the first engraver for the state of Rhode Island?
... that several pelagic gooseneck barnacles were once found attached to an American crocodile?

08:00, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Voltaire's tragedy Olimpie premiered in 1762 and Henze's opera Elegie für junge Liebende in 1961 at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen (pictured)?
... that the rights to freedom of speech, assembly and association are guaranteed by Article 14 of the Singapore Constitution only to Singapore citizens?
... that Donald Norman rewrote his 1988 book The Design of Everyday Things after some industrial designers felt affronted by an earlier draft?
... that the Tonhalle, a concert hall in Zurich praised for its acoustics, was inaugurated by Johannes Brahms conducting in 1895?
... that the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs annually receives $1.7 billion of research and development funding for the Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development?
... that the mother of Korean American composer Donald Sur was a picture bride?

00:00, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Major General Alfred K. Flowers (pictured) is the longest serving airman in United States Air Force history?
... that the Harrington Hump has been built for railway stations in the United Kingdom for mobility-impaired access, since platform heights are not standardised and refurbishment is very expensive?
... that the Rihanna song "Where Have You Been" contains compositional elements of Geoff Mack's "I've Been Everywhere"?
... that the Jacksonville headquarters of the Atlantic National Bank was the tallest building in Florida when it was completed in 1909?
... that the seeds of Petrophile pulchella can be found germinating in bushland up to 700 days after bushfire?
... that the Four Square Laundry in Belfast was a front company for a British Army intelligence unit?

11 December 2011

16:00, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the coloration of the veins on flower petals of the wood shamrock (pictured) is intensified at lower elevations?
... that South Africa were coached by former New Zealand international Paul Matete at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup?
... that Wyoming's Secretary of State Max Maxfield won an award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Web Development' from WebAwards in 2009?
... that Tadeusz Wrona, who safely landed LOT Flight 16 from New York to Warsaw after the landing gear failed to deploy, was awarded one of Poland's most prestigious awards?
... that the Supreme Court of South Ossetia annulled the 2011 presidential election and barred its winner from running again?
... that although award-winning Indonesian director Hanung Bramantyo is "intrigued" with the left, his most successful films have been to the right?

08:00, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is often compared to Walden, a work on which author Annie Dillard (pictured) based her master's thesis?
... that Marco Melandri became the 2002 250cc World Champion after a 0.007 second win over Fonsi Nieto at Phillip Island?
... that the role of football coach Shannon Beiste was created for actress and 15-time world arm wrestling champion Dot-Marie Jones after she ran into Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk while shopping?
... that the 2000 concert recorded for Ravi Shankar's live album Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 occurred 62 years after his first performance at Carnegie Hall?
... that the 1971 Łódź strikes were the only industrial action in pre-1980 Communist Poland that ended with workers' success?
... that a junior officer on the USS Ancon refused King George VI entry to the ship's intelligence centre because no-one told him the King "was a Bigot"?

00:00, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

... that since its 16th-century closure, Bilsham Chapel (pictured) in West Sussex has been two cottages, a shed and now a house?
... that between 1887 and 1888 Alexandre Delcommune explored 12,000 kilometres (7,500 mi) of water routes in the Congo Basin?
... that a 2004 glitch in TriTech emergency-response software rendered Austin, Texas dispatchers unable to locate their patrol cars on the street?
... that the British destroyer HMS Basilisk evacuated a total of 695 men on 31 May 1940 from Dunkirk before she was sunk by German aircraft the next day?
... that ablastin, a rat antibody, prevents the parasite Trypanosoma lewisi from reproducing, yet keeps it in adult form?
... that Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Chesbro received his nickname "Happy Jack" while working in a psychiatric facility?

10 December 2011

16:00, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the giant plumose anemone (pictured) can grow to a height of one metre (39 inches)?
... that Papon appeared on music documentary TV series The Dewarists with Rabbi Shergill and recorded a song "Khule Da Rabb"?
... that the newly discovered Puhinui Craters form the only cluster of three small maars in the Auckland volcanic field?
... that numerous Polish formations fought in Russia from the First World War, through the Russian Revolution of 1917 up to the Polish–Soviet War?
... that Alexis Bachelot, who led the first Catholic mission to Hawaii, was suspected of being a covert agent of the French government by some Hawaiian chiefs?
... that the scene showing a dead woman with her lips sewn shut, in the music video for the song "Oh Father", was inspired by singer Madonna's memory of her mother's funeral?

08:00, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Caractacus (pictured), winner of the 1862 Epsom Derby, avoided disqualification because of the weight of his bridle?
... that after earning the Navy Cross and getting wounded in combat, Lieutenant Kurt Chew-Een Lee took a Jeep and returned to the battle arena with his arm in a sling?
... that Jermain Street in Albany has the largest contiguous group of Lustron houses in New York state?
... that eating seeds of the asparagus flower sacahuista can cause a chukar partridge to have diarrhea?
... that Tonya Butler, while playing for the University of West Alabama under head coach Randy Pippin, became the first female to score a field goal in a NCAA college football game?
... that the electoral system for the 1883 elections in Egypt was said to have been based on the design of a pyramid?

00:00, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

... that French photographer Constant Puyo was an advocate of pictorialism, aiming to emulate painting in his photographic images (example pictured)?
... that the just-world hypothesis is a cognitive bias that has negative social effects but positive mental health effects?
... that the prolific composer and Westminster Cathedral conductor Colin Mawby said, "I cannot write choral music unless I work with choirs ... I have to write for particular people"?
... that when Mitch McGary committed to be a member of the 2012–13 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team their recruiting class jumped from below 25th to 5th?
... that The Who songs "Getting in Tune," "Going Mobile" and "Love Ain't for Keeping" were all originally conceived for Pete Townshend's abandoned Lifehouse project?
... that the first words of the first radio broadcast in Swedish history, transmitted from Boden Fortress Radio Bunker, were the profanity "jävlar anamma"?

9 December 2011

16:00, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

... that painter and poet Fritz Graßhoff (pictured) published the collection of poetry Halunkenpostille in 1947, made money with hits for singers Lale Andersen and Hans Albers, and translated poems from Latin and Swedish?
... that the song "Another Nail in My Heart" has a "McCartneyesque" melody and peaked at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart?
... that the COEX Aquarium in Gangnam district, Seoul, is one of South Korea's largest aquariums with over 40,000 creatures from over 650 species on display?
... that Heinrich Wiegand refused an appointment as State Secretary for the Colonies to remain head of the Norddeutscher Lloyd?
... that Sevmorput is the only nuclear-powered cargo ship currently in service?
... that the dark-scaled knight is in danger of extinction in the Netherlands?

08:00, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the mansion that became the Weehawken Public Library (pictured) was spared demolition during construction of the Lincoln Tunnel?
... that 94 known Category 4 hurricanes have occurred in the Pacific Ocean since 1900?
... that the 10,000 year old Pesse canoe, the world's oldest known boat, was found in a Dutch peat bog?
... that the 2011–12 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team was the first Harvard men's basketball team ever ranked in the AP Poll, leaving only seven schools that have never been ranked in it?
... that the 1975 Kinnaur earthquake was a result of west–east extension within the NW Himalayas?
... that The Who sang about a tattoo of "a lady in the nude"?

00:00, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Strict Baptists travelled from miles around to the remote Zoar Chapel (pictured) in East Sussex, so stables for 40 horses were built at the back?
... that Ed Walker, who reenlisted in the U.S. Army specifically to go to Alaska, was the last surviving member of Castner's Cutthroats?
... that in certain rural areas of Denmark such as Fanø, Læsø, and in parts of Western Jutland local musical traditions dating back to the late 18th century were maintained well into the 20th century?
... that in 1972, foggy conditions meant rescue crews at O'Hare International Airport were unaware a second aircraft had been involved in a crash until 28 minutes after the accident?
... that the granite gilia can grow in lava-based soils?
... that the builder of Chirton Hall received a gift from the Countess of Northumberland of materials from the demolished Warkworth Castle to build it?

8 December 2011

16:00, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

... that some important "bronzes" (example pictured) aren't bronze at all, but copper electrotypes?
... that Hieronim Ossoliński, a 16th-century Polish politician who helped to unite Poland and Lithuania, also wanted to establish a Protestant national church?
... that Paris Mountain was named for the Indian trader Richard Pearis?
... that East German politician Gustav Sobottka lost both of his sons; one died in a Communist prison and one shortly after liberation from a Nazi concentration camp?
... that the Gazi Race, named in honor of Gazi Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was won by racehorses owned by succeeding presidents İsmet İnönü and Celâl Bayar?
... that during the 1960s, some women opted to circumvent restaurant restrictions on women's clothing by wearing palazzo trousers or culottes as evening wear?

08:00, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Norwegian skiing pioneers Fritz R. Huitfeldt and Karl Roll were both active members of the exclusive ski club Ull, named after the Norse deity Ullr (pictured)?
... that Florence Violet McKenzie, Australia's first female electrical engineer, taught Morse code to thousands of sailors free of charge?
... that Elmer Stricklett is considered to have been the first baseball pitcher to master the spitball?
... that an airliner version of the supersonic B-58 bomber was expected to carry 52 passengers at over Mach 2?
... that a study conducted by the BBC series Son of God concluded that the skin of Jesus Christ would have been "olive-coloured" and "swarthy"?
... that controversial American entomologist Alexandre Arsène Girault once described a new species of wasp from the planet Jupiter?

00:00, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Glenorchy Parish Church (pictured) and the burial place of the Macgregor clan are both located on an islet in the River Orchy?
... that West Alabama football head coach Will Hall won the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2003 as the top player in NCAA Division II college football?
... that the "unassuming" villain of The X-Files episode "2Shy" has been compared to those from the earlier episodes "Squeeze" and " Irresistible"?
... that American composer William Arms Fisher was called "a worthy pupil and disciple of Antonín Dvořák" in the February 1927 issue of The Crisis?
... that in 1938, the Soviet Union secret police executed 40 teenagers and adults in pursuit of an alleged Hitler Youth Conspiracy, which was later found baseless?
... that the roots of the bean flower alpine sweetvetch are edible and taste like young carrots?

7 December 2011

16:00, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

... that cliffs on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall are a breeding site for the rare Cornish Chough (pictured)?
... that Indian cricketer Ibrahim Khaleel recently set a record for the number of wicket-keeper dismissals in a first-class match, taking 14 of his team's 20 wickets?
... that the progressive feminist magazine On The Issues has also published articles about animal rights?
... that Section 20A of South Africa's Sexual Offences Act, which prohibited all sexual acts between men at a party, defined "party" as "any occasion where more than two persons are present"?
... that William Hazlitt was an influential Irish Unitarian minister who defended American prisoners of war from abuse at the hands of their British captors?
... that the Arab governor of Safed offered money to persuade rabbi Joseph Saragossi not to leave the town?

08:00, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

... that All Saints Episcopal Church (pictured) is the oldest wooden-framed church in the city of Chicago?
... that Dick Attlesey set two world records in the 110-meter hurdles in 1950 and was the gold medalist in this event at the first Pan American Games?
... that one pair of tickets for Children in Need Rocks Manchester was auctioned by BBC Radio Jersey for £2010?
... that, in 1986, Charles Liteky renounced his Medal of Honor before embarking on the Veterans Fast for Life, to protest against the U.S. policies in Central America?
... that point guard Craig Lathen helped his high school set a record for 100-point performances and helped his college score 120, a school single-game record?
... that according to ancient rhetorician Athenaeus, in Sophocles' satyr play Amphiaraus, a character "dances the letters" of words he is unable to read?

00:00, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the D.E. Frantz House (pictured) is the only Victorian house in Aspen, Colorado, that still has its oriel window?
... that the 1693 Sicily earthquake caused about 60,000 deaths and prompted an architectural revival described as "the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe"?
... that although the Michigan–Michigan State basketball rivalry has had 167 games, the two teams have never played while both were ranked in the top 10?
... that when you can see a person speaking, sometimes you hear something different than what is being said because the brain cannot tell whether it is seeing or hearing speech?
... that Lance Dunbar led the North Texas Mean Green football team in rushing yards in 2009 and 2010?
... that Bart Millard intended the music to the song "Word of God Speak" to mirror its overall lyrical theme?

6 December 2011

16:00, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Lope de Vega Theater (pictured) in Seville has twice been flooded by the Guadalquivir river?
... that the red sheep of the Maasai have been studied for their potential to save farmers hundreds of millions of dollars?
... that four judges were chosen in the 2011 election for the International Court of Justice, but the UN General Assembly and Security Council deadlocked on the fifth?
... that engineer and inventor William Mason worked for Remington, Colt, and Winchester in the 19th century and patented 125 inventions?
... that TAT Technologies Ltd. was established in 1969 in response to a French arms embargo that principally affected Israel?
... that the black velvet bolete is not the false one?

08:00, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

... that fish-knives inscribed with Elokeshi's name were sold after her husband decapitated her with a fish-knife (pictured) following her adulterous affair with a Hindu head-priest?
... that Vice President Garret Hobart not only advised President William McKinley, but also invested part of his salary for him?
... that Rabbi Nachum Dov Brayer became the Rebbe of the Boyan Hasidic dynasty more than 13 years after the death of the previous Rebbe?
... that "Talk That Talk" is the third musical collaboration between Rihanna and Jay-Z?
... that Denis Law, the all-time top goalscorer for the Scotland national football team, played for the Italian League against the Scottish League XI?
... that ultrahigh energy gamma-rays can be detected by MAGIC?

00:00, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

... that maté tea served in a traditional gourd cup (pictured) should never be stirred with the straw according to Argentine tea culture etiquette?
... that Confederate brigadier general Alfred E. Jackson was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson because of his kindness toward Johnson's family during the Civil War?
... that Melville Lyons of the New Zealand National Party unsuccessfully contested by-elections in 1935, 1939 and 1943?
... that adolescents with Excessive Internet video Game Play (EIGP) addiction have high reward dependence scores?
... that the bicolor lespedeza and Chinese bushclover are invasive species that can suppress growth of native plants in some areas of the United States?
... that Peaches Golding, the first black High Sheriff of Bristol, England, is the daughter of Charlie Brady Hauser, who was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus in North Carolina?

5 December 2011

16:00, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

... that if eaten by a pregnant cow, the silky lupine (pictured) can cause the unborn calf to be deformed?
... that Yehuda Tzadka started learning at Porat Yosef Yeshiva after his bar mitzvah, and remained there for nearly 70 years?
... that baseball historian John Thorn has credited Doc Adams with inventing the concept of the shortstop position?
... that Chrisye faced accusations of plagiarism due to similarities between the title song of his album Hip Hip Hura and "Footloose"?
... that Rajinikanth was given the "Superstar" title through the film Bairavi?
... that the U.S. Navy's Sparoair sounding rocket could be launched by any aircraft capable of launching the Sparrow air-to-air missile?

08:00, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

... that General of Division Samuel-François, Baron Lhéritier (pictured) was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo while leading a combined division of cuirassiers and dragoons?
... that the Great Fire of Pittsburgh in 1845 destroyed a third of the city, including a bank that was thought to be fireproof?
... that Navajo cradleboards are made with a Ponderosa pine frame with buckskin laces?
... that Red Moor in Cornwall, UK, was likely to have been named for the loose tin-bearing gravels found and mined in the area?
... that Timmy Hill won the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year award, despite being too young to compete at the start of the season?
... that the Glee episode "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" shares its title with an original song performed in the episode?

00:00, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the central chameleon cage in M. C. Escher's 1948 woodcut Stars has the shape of a compound of three octahedra (pictured)?
... that Roger Craig holds the record for largest one-day winnings on the regular version of Jeopardy! and is thought to have won the largest single Daily Double prize in the show's history?
... that the use of īhām in Persian poetry means that a text may have a surface meaning different from the one actually intended?
... that Swami Nirmalananda was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa?
... that Hans Krieger, an award-winning German essayist, influential in papers such as Die Zeit, wrote the text for a Christmas cantata by Graham Waterhouse that premieres today?
... that while normally associated with rockets and jet engines, shock diamonds can also be produced by artillery, volcanoes, and quasars?

4 December 2011

16:00, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

... that in the 16th century the Church of St. Mary of Constantinople (pictured) in Istanbul was the center of a quarter mainly inhabited by Italians deported from the city of Caffa in Crimea?
... that an anime music video was produced for the song "Perfect Day" on Supercell's album Today Is A Beautiful Day?
... that 49 people died and 135 were injured in the 1979 Warsaw gas explosion?
... that Eng Foong Ho v. AG held that the Singapore Constitution was not breached when a Chinese temple was compulsorily acquired and an Indian mission and a Christian church nearby were not?
... that the extinct Eocene maple species Acer rousei is a possible ancestor to the vine maple?
... that after HMS Porcupine was nearly split in two by a torpedo, the halves were nicknamed HMS Pork and HMS Pine?

08:00, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

... that bird's nest ferns (pictured) grow in trees?
... that a critic's calling The Clash a "garage band" that ought to be "returned to the garage ... with the motor still running" prompted the band to write the song "Garageland"?
... that the false toadflax has an orange drupe?
... that when Jimmy Iovine asked will.i.am who he wanted to collaborate with on "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)", will mentioned Mick Jagger because he felt it would never happen?
... that One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, called "the funniest book you will see this year", has references to works by Charles Dickens and Samuel Pepys?
... that Peter Harburn was named in the Great Britain football squad for the 1956 Olympic Games, for which, as a professional, he was ineligible?

00:00, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the dotted gayfeather (pictured) is a source of nectar for the rare Pawnee montane skipper butterfly?
... that anarchists from the Whiteaker neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon, played a key role in organizing black bloc tactics during the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization Conference?
... that 211 hectares (520 acres) of woodland near Peterborough, UK, has recorded 462 species of plants?
... that a 2007 analysis of tsunami deposits from the Sendai and Ishinomaki plains gave a 99% chance in 30 years of a great tsunami striking the coast that was devastated in 2011?
... that the late Miocene whale Joumocetus shimizui is the third oldest Cetotheriid known?
... that Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first female driver in Formula One, finished in a career best of last place despite being told by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio that she was "too fast"?

3 December 2011

16:00, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Red Cross (pictured) is a kitchen stove?
... that the acoustics at Tarrytown Music Hall in Westchester County, New York, are so good that the Canadian Brass did not need amplification for a 2009 concert?
... that Josh Romanski's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer the same day he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team?
... that the stone fireplace that Mary Jane Colter designed for the Bright Angel Lodge incorporates the rock strata of the Grand Canyon in correct order?
... that Polish fashion blogger Glamourina participated in the Warsaw Fashion Weekend?
... that, in supporting peace negotiations to end the Vietnam War and opposing a U.S. withdrawal, AFL–CIO President George Meany stated that "in Vietnam the AFL–CIO is neither hawk nor dove nor chicken"?
... that Prostoma jenningsi, a ribbon worm found in a recreational fishing pond in Lancashire, England, is the county's only endemic species?

08:00, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the historic Lake of the Woods Ranger Station was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps at the north end of Lake of the Woods (pictured) near the crest of the Cascade Range in southern Oregon?
... that upon the death of Chief Rabbi Sholom Rivkin of St. Louis, Missouri, in October 2011, the institution of Chief Rabbi of a city in the United States came to an end?
... that the extinct Eocene maples Acer hillsi and Acer stewarti are distinguished by how inflated the nut is?
... that the Bishop of Ilagan described the 4th district special election of 2003 as the most fraudulent in the history of the Philippines' Isabela province?
... that Martell Bailey stole the basketball from his brother, David, and made a layup with 13 seconds left to put his team ahead in the 2002 Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament championship game?
... that the earnings from Isha Life's Chennai Wellness Centre are channeled into supporting education in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu?
... that in the first phase of the defunct drug rehabilitation program Straight, Incorporated, teenage clients were led around by their belt loops?

00:00, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the Jurassic conifer Araucaria mirabilis (cone pictured) of Argentina may have been a primary food for sauropods?
... that otium, a Latin term, has a variety of meanings including leisure time in which a person can enjoy eating, playing, resting, contemplation and academic endeavors?
... that Charles Richards, the designer of the Colt Peacemaker, later became chair of Mechanical Engineering at Yale University?
... that the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced subduction for over 200 million years?
... that Australian Paralympic medalist Elizabeth Wright published a paper about her prosthesis?
... that Ruth von Mayenburg was born into an aristocratic German family, became a spy for the Soviet Union during World War II, and in the 1960s, wrote the first history of Hotel Lux?
... that "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)", described as one of Squeeze's catchiest songs, is based on a band member's experiences at a holiday camp?

2 December 2011

16:00, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Siegfried Strohbach composed a program of music for Advent for the Knabenchor Hannover, performed today at the Marktkirche (pictured)?
... that in 506 BCE, Chu general Shen Yin Shu, wounded battling against Wu general Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, asked an officer to kill him and bring his head home?
... that the key inspiration for Palestinian-American performance poet Remi Kanazi was seeing Def Poetry Jam on Broadway?
... that during the Battle of Moon Sound on 17 October 1917, the Russian armoured cruiser Bayan was hit by a shell from the dreadnought SMS König, starting a fire that was not extinguished until the next day?
... that South Africa were coached by former New Zealand international Paul Matete at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup?
... that the Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1953 banned native Africans from taking strike action?
... that Dude Harlino's given name is derived from his birthdate, 2 December?

08:00, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Manuel Belgrano handed the command of the Army of the North to José de San Martín in 1814 (meeting pictured)?
... that the 1936 movie Speed was the first film in which James Stewart had a major starring role?
... that the periwinkle plant from which indigenous Carib in Dominica made tea to treat diabetes also provides ingredients for modern pharmacology?
... that Russell J. Rickford moved into his parents' garage to write a biography of Betty Shabazz?
... that the Christchurch suburb of Brooklands will effectively be wiped off the map?
... that, according to activist Nichita Smochină, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin promised self-determination to the Romanians of Transnistria, provided they "drown the hell out of the Romanian king"?
... that Australian Paralympians Karni Liddell, Branka Pupovac and Hamish MacDonald were all photographed for a nude calendar?

00:10, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the anti-religious campaign culminating in the Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia (pictured) led to the imprisonment of 123 Polish Roman Catholic priests in just one year?
... that, according to Ho v. Taflove, ideas are not subject to protection under the copyright law of the United States?
... that Samoilă Mârza took the only photographs of the Great National Assembly at Alba Iulia that proclaimed the Union of Transylvania with Romania on this day in 1918?
... that You Are the Apple of My Eye is the directorial debut of Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also wrote the story on which this film is based?
... that Sam Nujoma, first president of the Republic of Namibia, spoke at the funeral of Michael Hishikushitja?
... that a year after the Romanian Volunteer Corps was being forced out of Kiev, some of its troops were reluctantly holding the Trans-Siberian Railway for the Whites?
... that Jeff Koons' giant Banality sculptures feature Michael Jackson, Odie, Saint John the Baptist, The Pink Panther, and a porn star?

1 December 2011

16:00, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

... that Gerrit Beneker's 1918 poster "Sure! We'll Finish the Job" (pictured) sold over three million copies?
... that, when Bukovina was united with Romania, the Democratic Union Party was the only local group to campaign for the abolition of regional autonomy?
... that Mark Antony aided Herod the Great's siege of Jerusalem?
... that Rodion Markovits became "the best-known Transylvanian writer" with his account of World War I captivity and survival in the Russian Far East?
... that although Glen Rice, Jr. scored 20 points six times during the 2010–11 college basketball season, he also scored 0 points three times?
... that Gherman Pântea, who facilitated Bessarabia's union with Romania in 1918, protected Odessan Jews targeted by Romanian troops during the 1941 Massacre?
... that a cardboard box in Kurt and Sid, about Sid Vicious trying to convince Kurt Cobain not to kill himself, was said to have more empathy than the script?

08:00, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

... that, six years after shocking the public with his primitivist paintings in 1910, Ion Theodorescu-Sion (self portrait pictured) was employed to depict the Romanian Armed Forces in action?
... that HMS Blanche was the first British destroyer sunk by the Germans during the Second World War?
... that Nicolae Fleva, who helped prepare Romania's independence in 1877, allegedly sold his loyalty to the Central Powers in 1915?
... that Lee Patterson portrayed newspaper editor Joe Riley as a member of the original cast of the American soap opera One Life to Live?
... that the 1949 MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 crash was, at the time, the worst civil aviation accident in Western Australia and the third-worst in Australia?
... that the Cathedral of the Unity of the People in Alba Iulia was built to commemorate the Union of Transylvania with Romania, in the city where the union was proclaimed?
... that Australian wheelchair racer Angie Ballard was named the Female Athlete of the Games for the 1999 Australia Junior Wheelchair Nationals?

00:00, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

... that the invertebrate amphioxus (pictured) serves as a model organism for studying the development of vertebrates?
... that Australian Paralympic medalist Marayke Jonkers won Cosmopolitan's "fun fearless female award" in 2007?
... that publisher and collector George Arthur Plimpton is the namesake of "one of the world's most famous mathematical artifacts"?
... that the Austro-Hungarian scout cruiser Helgoland was ceded to Italy on 19 September 1920 as part of the peace settlements that ended World War I?
... that CNN Radio news anchor Stan Case was also a licensed attorney in the U.S. state of Georgia?
... that in 1998, Paul McCartney rearranged Wings' 1976 songs "She's My Baby" and "Warm and Beautiful" for string quartet for concerts in memory of his late wife Linda?