Wikipedia:Recent additions/2007/February

This is a record of material that was recently featured on the Main Page as part of Did you know (DYK). Recently created new articles, greatly expanded former stub articles and recently promoted good articles are eligible; you can submit them for consideration.

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 the article's talk page and follow the archive link in the DYK talk page message box.

Current archive
2025	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
2024	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2023	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2022	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2021	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2018	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2017	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2016	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2015	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2014	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2013	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2012	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2011	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2010	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2009	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2008	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2007	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2006	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2005	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2004		Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Edit the DYK archive navigation template

Did you know...

28 February 2007

21:42, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the proposals for a new Crimean flag after the collapse of the Soviet Union included a white flag with seven rainbow colors at the top and a blue-white-red tricolor design (pictured), which was officially adopted in 1999?
...that the fast bowling during West Indies' tour to England in 1984 was so hostile that England Test cricketer Andy Lloyd was struck on the head and hospitalised, despite wearing a helmet, and Paul Terry's arm was broken?
...that Tropical Depression One in June 1992 produced 100-year floods in portions of southwestern Florida?
...that Romanian politician Teohari Georgescu was dismissed from his post as Interior Minister in 1952 after being simultaneously accused of left-wing and right-wing deviationism?
...that the fourth Nordic Football Championship tournament was started in 1937 but did not end until eleven years later as it was interrupted by the Second World War?
...that Jennifer Pike was the youngest person to ever win the BBC Young Musician of the Year award, at twelve years of age?

12:24, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

...that a Drascombe (Drascombe Dabber pictured) is a class of small sailing boats designed by John Watkinson?
...that Air Marshal Sir Richard Gordon Wakeford flew Catalina flying boats in the Second World War, and was involved in the last sinking of a German U-boat on 8 May 1945?
...that the National Language Authority in Pakistan is the first autonomous regulatory institution to have internationally standardized the Urdu language code table and Urdu keyboard for typewriters, teleprinters, and computer software?
...that in the Lithuanian calendar, three months are named for birds and two for trees?
...that Winnie Winkle by Martin Branner was, in 1920, the first American comic strip to have a working woman as the main character?
...that the Volga Tatars believed that the Volga Bulgarian medieval city of Aşlı was founded there by Alexander the Great?

05:42, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Louis IX of France resided in the walled city of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne (pictured) before departing on the Eighth Crusade, during which he died in 1270 near Tunis?
...that A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant had its name changed due to threats of litigation from the Church of Scientology?
...that the official recognition of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Transylvania in the late 18th century was the result of the activity of an Orthodox monk who was canonized two centuries later as Saint Sofronie of Cioara?
...that the Ludlow Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution requiring a national referendum for declaration of war?
...that despite using sharp needles, bird control spikes do not harm the animals, and are recommended by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds?
...that Jim Zumbo was forced out of a 30-year career at Outdoor Life magazine, had his television show pulled from the air, and was dropped from sponsorship by companies including Remington and Cabelas due to a single blog post?

27 February 2007

22:02, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Steam yacht Kanawha

...that Kanawha (pictured) was a steam-powered luxury yacht aboard which industrialist Henry H. Rogers met Booker T. Washington to secretly fund the education of African Americans?
...that the Haitian palm, Attalea crassispatha, is so rare that there were only 25 of them left in 1991?
...that Belarusian political authorities denounced Mitrofan Dovnar-Zapol'skiy's book History of Belarus in 1926 as a "Cathechesis of Belarusian National Democratism", banned it and confiscated its manuscript?
...that British Member of Parliament George Chetwynd seconded a Private Member's Bill to ban toy weapons because he believed they were an incentive to acquire a "gangster mentality"?
...that Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa committed murder, kidnapping, racketeering, and tax evasion during the 1990s, all in an attempt to establish a chain of gas stations in New York City?

12:53, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

...that one of the statues at the erotic temple Candi Sukuh (pictured) in Java, Indonesia, is a 1.82 m (6 feet) standing phallus with four balls placed below the tip?
...that Derek Gardner became a leading British painter of marine subjects after retiring from a civil engineering career due to deafness?
...that Kobe Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, was the only person to play in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship for both the 1989 champion Michigan and for both of the 1992 and 1993 runners-up known as the Fab Five teams?
...that Fort William College, set up for the training of British officials, fostered the development of Indian languages?
...that the lower species diversity among certain mammals of New England compared to mammals of the American West is thought to be due to fewer glacial refugia in the Eastern United States?
...that according to legend, Joseph Stalin remained in Moscow during World War II partly due to a prophecy from Matryona Nikonova, who he covertly visited while she was hiding from his government?

02:12, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the archaeological cave of Juxtlahuaca contains Mesoamerica's earliest sophisticated painted art (pictured), as well as its only known example of non-Maya deep cave art?
...that Dembei, a fisherman stranded on the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1701 or 1702, is believed to have been the first Japanese person to settle in Russia?
...that when John Horden sent his Cree-language translation of the Bible back to England, the printers returned it with a printing press but no instructions on how to operate it?
...that Italian-Swiss entrepreneur Carlo Gatti pioneered the sale of ice cream to the general public in London from 1849, and later ran several music halls?
...that "Nocturne" is the Eurovision Song Contest winner with the fewest words, the Norwegian language original having only 25?
...that banking regulations in Russia include significant specifics, such as mandatory deposits placed in special reserve accounts at the Russian Central Bank?

26 February 2007

18:29, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the South Cameroon Plateau (pictured) takes up over half the land area of Cameroon?
...that on December 20, 2006, two members of the Italian Radical Party controversially introduced two homosexual figures to the nativity scene at the Italian Congress?
...that fast neutron therapy utilizes neutrons, typically with more than twenty megaelectronvolts, to treat diseases like cancer?
...that the West Indian cricket team lost only two matches during their three-month tour to England in 1980?
...that Weston State Hospital in West Virginia was designed in accordance with the Kirkbride Plan for mental illness treatment?
...that the Port of Redwood City is the only deep-water port in southern San Francisco Bay?
...that Vakıflı is the only ethnic Armenian village in Turkey?

00:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

...that in constructing the Via della Conciliazione (pictured), Benito Mussolini ordered the demolition of an entire Roman neighborhood, and the forcible eviction of its residents to settlements outside the city?
...that the Evangelist portraits of early medieval Gospel Books used compositions taken from the pagan author portraits of the Late Classical period?
...that in Tampa, Florida in 1998, Hank Earl Carr successfully unlocked his handcuffs, disarmed a detective, and killed three law enforcement personnel before killing himself?
...that Artin Penik, a Turkish-Armenian, set himself on fire in protest of the attacks against Turks by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)?
...that Bernard de Marigny, a New Orleans playboy and politician, introduced the dice game craps to the United States in the early 1800s?
...that the common idiom behind the eight ball is derived from the pocket billiards game of kelly pool?

25 February 2007

16:23, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

...that there are over 2,300 local historic districts (pictured) in the United States?
...that British General Sir Charles Harington was president of the Hurlingham Club for over 25 years?
...that in order to accommodate the rock musical Dude, the Broadway Theatre in Manhattan was turned into an arena filled with ramps, runways, catwalks, columns, trapezes, and trapdoors at a cost of US$800,000?
...that "Black May" was a turning point in the World War II Battle of the Atlantic?
...that Stephen Gilbert was one of only two British artists to join the CoBrA avant-garde art group?
...that Chip Berlet's non-fiction book Clouds Blur the Rainbow: The Other Side of New Alliance Party was referenced in a 1993 United States Federal Court lawsuit involving the FBI?
...that British architect Stephen Gardiner wrote biographies of sculptors Jacob Epstein and Elisabeth Frink, both of whom were family friends?
...that the Western Blue-tongued Lizard displays its tongue to frighten off predators?

05:35, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the King Jagiello Monument (pictured) in Central Park, New York, was forced to remain in the United States after the Nazi invasion of Poland made its return from the 1939 New York World's Fair impossible?
...that Anne-Marie Javouhey, the founder and abbess of a new religious order, was one of the first women to establish missions in Africa?
...that the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope, an annual and televised footrace held at Mount Cameroon, was first held in 1995?
...that hundreds of historic tobacco barns in Maryland were rendered obsolete after many farmers took advantage of a 2001 state program offering to buy out tobacco farmers?
...that Henry le Chen was put in control of a sheriffdom by King Edward I, despite being a senior royal councillor during the reign of King John, whom Edward deposed?
...that Martha, the mother of Simeon Stylites, is said to have only consented to marriage after John the Baptist appeared to her telling her to do so?

24 February 2007

19:56, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Dethridge wheel (pictured), invented in Australia in 1910, measures the flow of water delivered to farms for irrigation?
...that Alan de St Edmund, while in Rome as chaplain to Cardinal Hugh of Evesham, was made Bishop of Caithness after its previous bishop-elect died there while seeking consecration?
...that in 1828, Hillfields became the first suburb of Coventry to be located outside of the city walls marking the beginning of a large expansion for the city?
...that cross-country cyclists are more prone to injury than road cyclists but the injuries sustained by the former are less severe on average?
...that the spring and village Águas Santas are believed to be named for the spring where Marina of Aguas Santas was beheaded?
...that retired District of New Jersey judge William G. Bassler is currently teaching at three New York City area law schools?

11:35, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Germany built two merchant submarines (pictured) in World War I to trade for valuable raw materials with the United States?
...that bridges carrying India's Grand Trunk Road over the Barakar River were washed away in 1913 and 1946?
...that the effects of Hurricane Wilma in the Bahamas were generally unexpected and primarily concentrated on the western portion of Grand Bahama Island?
...that some weather records include a 57.8°C (136°F) air temperature in Libya, 3.8 cm (1.5 in) of rain in just one minute in Guadeloupe, and a 47.6 cm (18.75 in) circumference hailstone in Nebraska?
...that the offices of the Labour Leader, the newspaper of the British Independent Labour Party, were raided in 1915, and editor Fenner Brockway was charged with publishing seditious material?
...that Canadian water slide manufacturer ProSlide's first water coaster driven by linear induction motors opened at Australia's WhiteWater World in 2006?

23 February 2007

22:19, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

...that local mountaineers have organized daily canoe trips down Dunajec River Gorge (pictured) in Pieniny National Park, Poland since the early 19th century?
...that Indian poet Gopalakrishna Adiga is known as the pioneer of Navya literature?
...that the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956 was said by opponents to be part of a Communist, Catholic, Jewish or psychiatric conspiracy to set up concentration camps in Alaska for political prisoners?
...that, after 34 years as Roman Catholic abbot of Coupar Angus, Donald Campbell converted to Protestantism in 1559, and destroyed the icons and altars of his monastery in Scotland?
...that 28 civilians were killed in the Bisho massacre in 1992, when soldiers opened fire on marchers demanding that the bantustan of Ciskei be reincorporated into South Africa?

13:43, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Bruce Smith (pictured) was the only member of the first Parliament of Australia to oppose the White Australia Policy?
...that George Crichton's death in 1544 initiated a decade long quarrel over the position of Bishop of Dunkeld until the appointment of his nephew, Robert Crichton?
...that The Log from the Sea of Cortez documents a trip taken by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts around the Gulf of California, but neither is mentioned by name in the book?
...that as part of a publicity stunt, the 1927 Texas Relays held a 89 mile (143 km) running race from San Antonio to Austin?
...that the entire Kannada film industry lead by Dr.Rajkumar participated in the Gokak agitation to demand the first language status of Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka?

06:42, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Anne Lynch Botta (pictured) introduced Edgar Allan Poe to literary society at her receptions?
...that German painter Ludwig Thiersch influenced the debate over Byzantine and Western influences in modern Greek art, and painted church frescoes in Greece, Austria, Germany, England, and Russia?
...that Emil Calmanovici, the main financial backer of the Romanian Communist Party in the 1940s, was later imprisoned by Communist authorities and died as a result of force-feeding?
...that the performance of "Romeo" at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, was the first time that a drag queen or any other sexual minority had been openly visible onstage at Eurovision?
...that 2007 Grammy Award winning single Eyes of the Insane by American thrash band Slayer had two alternative endings filmed for its war-themed music video?
...that four artillery submarines were among many uncompleted U-boat projects planned by Nazi Germany?

22 February 2007

23:54, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Saint Reineldis (pictured) is commonly depicted in art being dragged by the hair by Huns?
...that the Hungarian village of Beloiannisz was founded in 1950 by Greek refugees?
...that Robert Adler invented the Space Command ultrasonic television remote control?
...that John McFee and the late Keith Knudsen were the only band members of the country rock group Southern Pacific to stay for its entire eight-year run from 1983 to 1991?
...that to save weight while walking 1,000 km along the Camino de Santiago, Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer packed a sleeping bag and clothes around his violin instead of using a case?
...that Oscar-winning executive producer Randy Stone co-founded The Trevor Project, which provided the first 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention hotline aimed at gay and questioning youth in the United States?

17:40, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the artist and illustrator N. C. Wyeth (pictured) was the grandfather of Howard Wyeth, the stride pianist and drummer for Bob Dylan?
...that large-scale Greek settlement in what is today Bulgaria dates to the 7th century BC?
...that the novel Raptor Red, by paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, is told from the perspective of an intelligent therapod dinosaur, Utahraptor?
...that Japanese author Kodō Nomura, who patterned his fictional detective Zenigata Heiji after Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, wrote 383 detective stories set in Edo period Japan?
...that the Potawatomi tribe believed that the natural pond in the backyard of the Chauncey Ellwood House in Sycamore, Illinois was once a watering hole for native buffalo?
...that Professor Józef Łukaszewicz took part in a failed attempt to assassinate Tsar Alexander III of Russia?

09:42, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Old Sycamore Hospital (pictured), founded in 1899, was designed and funded by the first female doctor in Sycamore, Illinois?
...that the Alignment is the only political party in Israel ever to have held a majority of seats in the Knesset?
...that the venomous snake used for murder in Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is most likely the Indian Cobra or one of its hybrids?
...that according to the framework interpretation of Genesis Chapter One, the first three days of creation are poetically reflected in the last three days of creation?
...that the website of the rock magazine Rock Street Journal has a database of over a thousand South Asian rock bands?
...that Hurricane Wilma set records for the lowest recorded pressure and the smallest eye of any Atlantic hurricane?
...that an estimated 20 people died after eating peppermint humbugs that had accidentally been made with arsenic in the 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning?

21 February 2007

19:31, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the potential for the production of renewable energy in Scotland (5 MW wind turbine pictured) includes up to 25% of the EU’s capacity for both wind and tidal power generation?
...that although Russian playwright Viktoriya Tokareva's writing style is often compared to that of Anton Chekhov, none of her work has been published in English?
...that the Polish manoeuvre in the Battle of Koziatyn in 1920 is an example of a blitzkrieg-like offensive before the advent of tank warfare?
...that the bulk of Bulgarians in Hungary descend from gardeners and other professionals who settled in the country prior to World War I?
...that Eric Jansson led a pietist sect of Swedish immigrants to Bishop Hill, Illinois in 1846, where they founded a collective religious colony?
...that Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan preferred to close down his weekly newspaper Somprakash rather than sign an undertaking for it?

13:01, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Charles Irving Thornton Tombstone

...that Charles Dickens composed the epitaph for the tombstone of Charles Irving Thornton (pictured) despite never having met the dead child or his family?
...that John de Ralston, the chaplain of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, rose to become Bishop of Dunkeld and helped to arrange the marriage of King James II of Scotland to Mary of Gueldres?
...that although the series 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + · · · is ordinarily said to diverge to infinity, there is at least one generally useful method that gives its sum as −1?
...that Ivan Ray Tannehill ruled out weather balloons as the cause of a rash of UFO sightings, which included the Roswell UFO incident, seen during the summer of 1947?
...that a discharge petition can force a bill to be considered by the United States House of Representatives if the leadership tries to suppress it?
...that children as young as three were employed to hurry around British coal mines?

20 February 2007

23:04, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Šárka Záhrobská (pictured) was the first Czech alpine skier to win a medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships?
...that Robert Coleman, owner of several iron furnaces, was Pennsylvania's first millionaire?
...that the Vorontsovsky Palace in Ukraine was designed by the English architect Edward Blore?
...that the World War II Italian submarine Cappellini was in all three major Axis navies, before being captured by the U.S. Navy?
...that the Australian Test cricketer "Ranji" Hordern played for Philadelphia while studying dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania?
...that Charles Grant of the British East India Company wanted it to promote Christianity as well as trade in India?
...that the comic strip Happy Hooligan by Frederick Burr Opper is said to be the first comic to consistently use speech balloons, and was the first North American comic to be adapted into a movie?

16:54, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets American college basketball player Thaddeus Young (pictured) was a McDonald's All-American and graduated from high school with a 4.3 grade point average?
...that the Russian Fascist Party was the most influential Russian émigré group in Manchukuo in the 1930s?
...that the three-day S.S. California strike in 1936 triggered a wave of strikes by merchant seamen and led to the founding of the National Maritime Union?
...that the view that Jesus and John were lovers, considered a blasphemy, evolved during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries?
...that the Grand Crimean Central Railway was built to transport artillery ammunition from Balaclava to the Allied troops besiging Sevastopol during the Crimean War?

10:10, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Sir Edwin Lutyens included a landscaped circular depression in his design for the Hooge Crater Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery (pictured) in Flanders, to evoke the mine craters that once surrounded it?
...that the United States Department of Agriculture expects the boll weevil to be eradicated by 2009 as a result of its Boll Weevil Eradication Program?
...that in penny gaffs, theatrical entertainments enjoyed by the working classes in 19th century England, the plays were often brought to an end by a timekeeper, regardless of what point in the script the actors had reached?
...that Nabisco's bakery in Chicago Lawn was the biggest in the world when it opened in 1941?
...that the town of Cheshire, Massachusetts created the Cheshire Mammoth Cheese, a four-foot-wide cheese wheel, to honor Thomas Jefferson following his Presidential electoral victory?

19 February 2007

21:18, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

...that poverty in France (homeless Parisian depicted) went down by 60% from 1970 to 2001, despite an increase in poverty among the workforce?
...that the term "stay the course" was dropped by United States President George W. Bush two weeks before the 2006 U.S. midterm elections?
...that the unusual configuration of the running track at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas – 84 m straights and 118 m curves – has garnered it a reputation as one of the fastest tracks in the world?
...that after one group he founded was banned, the neo-Nazi leader Michael Kühnen began a policy of regularly starting up new organizations in order to confuse the authorities?
...that the Broadway opening of the musical Wildcat had to be postponed, because the trucks hauling the sets and costumes to New York were stranded as a result of a major blizzard?

12:33, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

...that from 1897 until his retirement in 1908, American cricketer John Lester (pictured) led the batting averages of the Philadelphians?
...that English theatre director Steven Pimlott directed a wide variety of performances from popular musicals, through avant garde theatre and Shakespeare, to opera?
...that Cornwall Iron Furnace in Pennsylvania is the only intact charcoal-burning iron blast furnace on its original plantation in the western hemisphere?
...that the Romanian Union of Communist Youth underwent a total of four purges, which resulted in the expulsion of tens of thousands of members?
...that Hurricane Able of 1951 was the strongest hurricane to form outside of the Atlantic hurricane season?
...that Sulejman Talović, who went on a shooting rampage at a shopping mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina?
...that Peter Böhler and other Moravian followers founded the towns of Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania?

18 February 2007

20:27, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

...that a fluidized bed reactor (pictured) can be used in the creation of fuel, rubber, vinyl chloride, polyethylene, and styrenes?
...that Wye Valley Brewery’s Dorothy Goodbody line of beers were all originally supposed to feature Herefordshire-grown hops, but the best-known beer in that line contains hops grown in Ireland?
...that in Islamic law, a mukataba is a contract of manumission according to which the slave buys his freedom from his master?
...that Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, was rescued by UNICEF and has written about his ordeal and rehabilitation in his new book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier?
...that Beverley Baxter raised circulation of the Daily Express from under one million to over two million during his four years as editor?
...that ice-minus bacteria, a variant of genus Pseudomonas, are useful in agriculture, because they can prevent the formation of ice on crops?

13:54, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Rembrandt collected the works of Hercules Seghers (example pictured) and partially reworked two of his works?
...that Ponary massacre lasted for 3 years as 100,000 Jews, Poles and Russians were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators near Vilnius?
...that Joseph Legros, who first performed in 1764, was the principal tenor at the Paris Opéra until his retirement in 1783?
...that Archbishop Anthony Forbes Moreton Clavier was ordained as a priest by five different churches in five years?
...that New York's "Timothy's Law" mandated that New York health insurance plans provide coverage for biologically-based mental health conditions comparable to coverage for physical ailments?
...that England's cricket selectors picked "coloured" Basil D'Oliveira to replaced the injured Tom Cartwright for the tour to South Africa in 1968-69, triggering the cancellation of the tour and leading to the exclusion of the South African cricket team from international cricket until apartheid was abolished in 1991?

07:46, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Eldon Hill (quarry pictured) in the Peak District, England lost much of its area through limestone quarrying between 1950 and 1999?
...that Kazimierz Pelczar, a Polish professor of the Stefan Batory University and pioneer of oncological research, was one of the 100,000 victims of the Ponary massacre?
...that M. Athalie Range was the first black since Reconstruction and the first woman to head a state agency in Florida?
...that the non-fiction book Inside Scientology, published in 1972 by Olympia Press, was the first to disclose secret Scientology materials?
...that during the 100 point game, Philadelphia Warriors player Wilt Chamberlain became the only player in history to score at least 100 points in a National Basketball Association match?
...that Thomas Vose Daily resigned his position as Archbishop of Brooklyn one week after being criticized by the Massachusetts attorney general in a report on the recent Roman Catholic sex abuse cases?

00:05, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

...that American college basketball player Javaris Crittenton (pictured) is projected by major media outlets such as ESPN to be a potential first round draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft?
...that a planning application for a 42-storey building in the recent New England Quarter development in Brighton, England, was rejected on twenty separate counts, including the negative effect it would have on the local microclimate?
...that Dallas Theological Seminary, a center of dispensational Christian theology and alma mater for people including Chuck Swindoll and Hal Lindsey, has been in operation since 1924?
...that the Mifflin Street Block Party, which attracted around 20,000 participants in 2005, began as a street dance in protest against the Vietnam War?
...that archaeologists at the El Manatí Olmec site have not only found the earliest rubber balls yet discovered and the earliest wooden artifacts in Mexico, but also the skeletons, femurs, and crania of human infants?

17 February 2007

17:45, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Old Walton Bridge was the subject of a painting by Canaletto in which he included an image of himself painting?
...that a general contractor makes submittals which are required by the architect and engineer for verification that correct products will be installed in a construction project?
...that the 1971 Harley-Davidson Super Glide, the first factory custom motorcycle, used an Electra Glide frame mated to Sportster forks?
...that the British Indian Association played a catalytic role in building up Indian political consciousness?
...that Jamestown Rediscovery is an ongoing archaeological project of the APVA which discovered the long-lost remains of the first fort built by the settlers at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony?
...that retired Seventh United States Army General Frederick Kroesen survived an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket attack by the Red Army Faction?

11:35, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Great Western Railway's Cornish Riviera Express (pictured) was named following a public competition in The Railway Magazine?
...that one method of torture used by the French Army in the Algerian War of Independence was to throw prisoners into the sea from helicopters in so-called death flights?
...that the Bronx, New York farmhouse which belonged to Isaac Varian, mayor of New York City from 1839-41, currently houses the Museum of Bronx History?
...that Brian Williams was one of three Welsh farmers in the "farming" front row at Neath RFC?
...that Hawaii Route 560 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 because of its historical character of one lane bridges?
...that grape and raisin toxicity is a potential cause of acute renal failure in dogs?

00:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Aaron Clark (pictured) was the only Whig Party candidate ever elected mayor of New York City?
...that approximately 10,000 young Germans known as the Ritchie Boys served in the United States Army in World War II helping conduct psychological warfare against Nazi Germany?
...that Adelaide was the first city in Australia to introduce horse trams and the last to discard them for more modern public transport?
...that Hurricane Sergio in 2006 was the strongest Pacific hurricane on record in the month of November?
...that Blackadder Goes Forth, the final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, is noted for its sensitive depiction of World War I trench warfare, and was placed 16th in the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes by the British Film Institute?
...that the insanity of Australian serial killer Catherine Birnie is believed to have been caused by the death of her son?

16 February 2007

17:39, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Isidore van Kinsbergen had to dig and to clean for four months before he could take the first picture of the 9th century Indonesian Buddhist monument of Borobudur (pictured) in 1873?
...that the San Bruno Creek Trail provides a key link in the San Francisco Bay perimeter trail, but a two-mile detour inland is required?
...that the town of Sayram in Kazakhstan has earned the nickname "Little Uzbekistan" because of its large Uzbek population?
...that Lyman Reed Blake devised a sewing machine for sewing the sole to the vamp of the shoe?
...that French Major General René Cogny, who later commanded French forces during the First Indochina War, was captured in June 1940 by the German army, and had to escape by crawling naked through a drainpipe?
...that the Pianta Grande di Roma by Giambattista Nolli of 1748 was still being used in urban planning in Rome down to the 1970s?

10:24, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

...that besides founding Phi Tau Sigma, Guy Livingston was also responsible for developing a sanitation certification program for foodservice managers that was later adopted by the federal, state, and local governments in the United States?
...that kissing the statue Il Gobbo di Rialto marked the conclusion of a traditional Venetian punishment in which petty criminals were forced to run naked through the streets from Piazza San Marco?
...that New Zealand rugby union player Billy Stead co-authored The Complete Rugby Footballer while on tour with the All Blacks in 1905-6?
...that the Frank and Ernest comic strip first remarked that Fred Astaire "was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, ... backwards and in high heels," according to The Yale Book of Quotations?
...that Pinchas Rosen, Israel's first Minister of Justice, served in the German army during World War I?

00:31, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the original Act of Independence of Lithuania (pictured), which was signed on February 16, 1918, is still being searched for by historians?
...that the subtropical ridge helps steer tropical cyclones?
...that the Old Admiralty House, a national monument in Singapore, was used by the British Armed Forces for strategic planning during World War II?
...that robotic jockeys are used in camel racing events in Qatar in an effort to phase out the widespread use of forced child labor in the races?
...over 250,000 pieces of 15th century Vietnamese pottery were recovered from the Hoi An Wreck over a four-year period from 1996, at a cost of USD 14 million?
...that British Postmaster General Reginald Bevins's promise in November 1962 to "do something" about the BBC programme That Was The Week That Was was immediately countered by the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan?

15 February 2007

15:44, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Mark Kellogg (pictured) became the first Associated Press correspondent to die in the line of duty when he was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn?
...that Colony Collapse Disorder is a syndrome describing the increasing die-off of honey-bees and other arthropods?
...that the first of the Joe McDoakes series of one-reel short subjects began as a project to teach students at the University of Southern California movie making before being bought by Warner Bros. for $2500 in 1942?
...that the Polish Second Army was the second major formation of the Peoples' Army of Poland fighting alongside the Soviet Union in the Second World War?
...that RNA-binding piwi proteins are required for the formation of sperm in many animals, including mammals?
...that Uzbekistani artist Nikolai Shin spent more than two decades working on his 44-metre-long painting Requiem, which depicts the 1937 deportation of the Koryo-saram to Central Asia?

09:36, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

...that French geologist Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois (pictured) was the first to arrange the chemical elements by atomic weight, but his design was ignored by many chemists?
...that a road in Charlcombe, Somerset, England is closed for two months every spring to allow frogs and toads to cross safely?
...that Colin McDonald and George Thoms were Australian cricketers who, uniquely, opened the batting for their club, state and national teams in the same season?
...that the 101 female Members of Parliament elected in the United Kingdom in Labour's landslide general election victory in 1997 were popularly known as Blair Babes?
...that plant cells go through an additional stage in their cell cycle, the preprophase, which does not occur during mitosis in animal cells?
...that the five themes of geography is an educational framework for geography adopted in 1984 by the Association of American Geographers?

14 February 2007

20:23, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Sausenburg Castle (pictured) in Germany was destroyed in 1678 by the army of French Marshall Creque during the Franco-Dutch War?
...that the House of Lords declined to hear an appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Aerotel v Telco and Macrossan's application, concerning the patentability of computer programs in the United Kingdom?
...that Little Mikey was a character who appeared in a television advertisement for Quaker Oats' Life cereal that was aired in the United States for over 12 years?
...that the The Bull Ring is a henge that was built in the late Neolithic period near Dove Holes in Derbyshire?
...that the causes and extent of Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures are still being debated long after they were first raised at a conference in Tuxtla Gutiérrez in 1942?
...that the Seal Slough tidal channel in California hosts a thriving marshland habitat despite encroachment by a sewage treatment plant and two schools?

12:53, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

...that grid fins (pictured) are used on the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) so it can fit inside a C-130 aircraft?
...that Ann Ebsworth was the first female High Court judge to be assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, the previous five having all been assigned to the Family Division?
...that Iñaki de Juana Chaos began a hunger strike in November 2006 to protest what he believes to be unlawful imprisonment by the Spanish government?
...that because the horse does not have a gall bladder, they can only have up to 20% fat as part of their equine nutrition?
...that Able Seaman Just Nuisance is the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy?
...that the Dutch barn was the first non-native barn model ever built in the United States?

00:23, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

...that, as well as being used to clear snow, winter service vehicles (pictured) can be used to repair roads which have melted in hot weather?
...that Indian Test cricketer Murali Kartik was expelled from the first intake of the National Cricket Academy due to indiscipline?
...that 16th-century Genevan reformer John Calvin held Bible studies in the Calvin Auditory?
...that the Brunswick Manifesto, issued during the French Revolution to intimidate Paris, backfired and spurred further revolutionary action?
...that archaeologist Francis Turville-Petre, discoverer of Neanderthal remains in Israel, was portrayed in works by authors W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood?
...that 17th-century philosopher Cesare Cremonini refused to look at the Moon's mountains through Galileo's telescope, believing that Aristotle had proven the Moon was a perfect sphere?

13 February 2007

15:10, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the relics of St. Florian (pictured) kept in St. Florian's Church were brought to Kraków from Rome for political reasons?
...that a recent oil discovery in Bojonegoro is the biggest in Indonesia for three decades and one of the biggest reserves in Indonesia?
...that the Minute Women of the U.S.A. was a militantly anti-communist organization for American housewives in the 1950s?
...that General Stanislav Poplavsky was one of thousands of Soviet officers who served as commanders, advisors and officials in the People's Republic of Poland during the Stalinization period?
...that Philip Blaiberg survived for more than nineteen months after receiving the second heart transplant ever?
...that the four corners of the main crossroads in the historic town of Ross in Tasmania are known as Temptation, Recreation, Salvation and Damnation?
...that the Empire State Building in New York City was illuminated with blue lights on April 5, 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of National Poetry Month which is celebrated every April in the United States?
...that Squad Five-O grew from an indie band and eventually signed to the general market label Capitol Records before disbanding in 2006?

08:25, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Charles Calhoun (pictured), the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, served in the United States Navy during World War II before enlisting in the Coast Guard?
...that the representatives at the Vilnius Conference in 1917 elected a 20-member Council of Lithuania to negotiate with the Germans for the independence of Lithuania?
...that the statue of the Virgin and Child in the porch of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford was cited as evidence in Archbishop Laud's execution trial, and has bullet holes made by Oliver Cromwell's troops?
...that Polish Navy admiral Włodzimierz Steyer commanded the Polish Army in the Battle of Hel, the longest battle of the Polish September Campaign?
...that John Oliver Wheeler and his grandfather Arthur Oliver Wheeler mapped the Selkirk Mountains?
...that George Washington's threshing barn was an early example of an American round barn?

12 February 2007

23:50, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

...that balloonist Sophie Blanchard (pictured) was Napoleon's Chief Air Minister of Ballooning, and was named "Official Aeronaut of the Restoration" by Louis XVIII of France?
...that Jablunkov is the easternmost town of the Czech Republic?
...that Daniel Friedmann, Israel's Minister of Justice, is a seventh-generation sabra, a rarity in a country where mass Jewish immigration did not begin until the late 19th century?
...that 49 of Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Quddous's novels have had film adaptations?
...that Caffè Florian, established in 1720, was the first coffeehouse in Venice to admit women?
...that the 7th-century King Cynegils, the first West Saxon ruler known to have been baptised as a Christian, is called the son of at least three different fathers in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

16:41, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Anstruther Fish Bar (pictured) in Fife has won the accolade "best fish and chip shop" in Scotland, on three occasions?
...that Bryan Pearce overcame learning disabilities from congenital phenylketonuria to be recognised as one of the UK's leading naïve artists?
...that the deadly mushroom Clitocybe dealbata is known as the "sweating mushroom" because this is a striking side effect of consuming it?
...that laminopathies are a diverse group of genetic diseases caused by mutations in nuclear envelope filaments?
...that a strike in the Hipolit Cegielski Industries in Poznań, June 1956, led to the first major Polish protest against communism?
...that Charles R. Stelck proved that ancient coral reefs had once existed in the Arctic and that oil could be found there?
...that despite being illiterate, Duncan Bàn MacIntyre became one of the most famous Scottish Gaelic poets?
...that, worldwide, only 9 cases of the genetic disorder atransferrinemia have ever been reported?

02:58, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Gerhard Schröder sponsored a star for Dieter Hildebrandt on the Walk of Fame of Cabaret (pictured) during his time as Chancellor of Germany ?
...that the advertising campaign "Love in the Afternoon" only became lucrative for ABC when advertisements chronicling the troubled union of Luke and Laura were aired, bringing General Hospital to the top of the U.S. soap opera ratings?
...that Polish general Jan Rządkowski was dismissed from his post as the commander of the armed forces of Central Lithuania when it was discovered that he did not have citizenship in that state?
...that even though Denis Potvin retired in 1988, fans of the New York Rangers still practice a tradition aimed at insulting him?
...that the United States Africa Command, the newest U.S. military Unified Combatant Command, will cover all of Africa, except for Egypt?

11 February 2007

19:15, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

...that lead shot for the Napoleonic Wars was made at Chester Shot Tower (pictured), probably the oldest surviving shot tower in the world?
...that J.M. Legard's 2006 novel Giraffe is based on the real-life mass killing of giraffes at the zoo in the Czechoslovakian town of Dvůr Králové nad Labem on the night of 30 April 1975?
...that Private Passions, a weekly classical music programme on BBC Radio 3, has occasionally featured interviews with hoax characters played by comedian John Sessions?
...that Robin Wilson was not only a science fiction author and editor, but President of California State University, Chico?
...that the Newgate novels of the 19th century were attacked by the press for glamorizing the criminals portrayed in their stories?
...that of the world's largest wooden ships, almost all those longer than 300 feet leaked or were not seaworthy?

12:59, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

The Palanok Castle in Mukacheve, constructed in the 14th century.

...that the Palanok Castle (pictured) in Mukacheve, Ukraine, was used as an all-European political prison after the fall of the French Bastille, and as a shelter for the Crown of St. Stephen, protecting it from Napoleon I's troops?
...that Corona Schröter, an 18th century German singer, composed musical settings for several works by Friedrich Schiller, as well as two dramas, hundreds of arias and duets, and an autobiography given to Johann Wolfgang Goethe, but that all of these works are now lost?
...that Australian-born American actor Marc McDermott joined an acting troupe to support his mother and sister after his father's death?
...that current Journal of Food Science scientific editor Daryl B. Lund was a college roommate of future Governor of Wisconsin and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson?

10 February 2007

21:21, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Charlotte Stuart (pictured) was the illegitimate daughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the secret mistress of the Archbishop of Bordeaux?
...that Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame member Allan Pickard built and managed amateur ice hockey organizations that produced future NHL stars and became a model for modern organized amateur hockey?
...that the history of science and technology in China was made known in the West largely through the work of the Jesuits and later through Joseph Needham?
...that Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University publishes the largest number of research papers among agricultural universities in India?

11:43, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
...that a major source for Greek mythology, the first Vatican Mythographer, survives in a single text in the Vatican Library?

9 February 2007

23:06, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

...that five of the nine Metal Highway Bridges of Fulton County, Illinois (pictured) have been destroyed since their inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980?
...that the first foreigner decorated in World War Two with the highest Soviet medal, Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Czechoslovak soldier, Otakar Jaroš after the Battle of Sokolovo in 1943?
...that Radishchev Museum in Saratov founded by Russian painter Alexey Bogolyubov was the first museum in the country opened to the general public?
...that the Ganesha Purana is a religious text in Hinduism dedicated to the elephant-headed deity Ganesha and was produced by the Hindu sect Ganapatya?

15:28, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

...that an odd-eyed cat (pictured) is a cat with one blue eye and one green, orange or yellow eye, a feline form of heterochromia?
...that British Labour politician Fiona Jones was disqualified from the House of Commons when she was convicted for submitting fraudulent election expense returns, but was later reinstated?
...that John T. Ford was the only American theatre manager to pay Gilbert and Sullivan royalties for H.M.S. Pinafore during its initial U.S. run?
...that Władysław Wejtko joined the Polish Army and constructed fortifications in the decisive Battle of Warsaw?
...that the Iowa horticultural professor Griffith Buck created over 80 named cultivars of the rose?
...that in 1263 Fürstenfeld Abbey was founded by Ludwig the Severe of Bavaria as a penance for killing his wife?

8 February 2007

22:39, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the painting by Melchior d'Hondecoeter known as the The Floating Feather (pictured) gained its name from a tiny detail he added to the pool?
...that on February 1, the National Weather Service began using the Enhanced Fujita Scale to assess tornado damage, replacing the Fujita scale?
...that Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine is supported by both the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez?
...that in 1965 Marguerite Legot became the first female Belgian federal government minister?
...that link-boys were paid to carry a torch to guide pedestrians at night before street lighting became commonplace?
...that the Tomlin order, a court order in England and Wales under which a court action is stayed on terms which have been agreed in advance between the parties, is named from a 1927 ruling of the High Court judge, Mr Justice Tomlin?

06:44, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Freedom Monument (pictured) in Riga, Latvia, features a woman lifting three stars, the emblem of a united Latvia?
...that French Champagne merchant Charles Heidsieck was imprisoned for espionage during the American Civil War, sparking an international incident?
...that Calabazas Creek in Sonoma Valley cuts through a volcanic watershed with nearby relict hot springs?
...that Torbjörn Nilsson is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish footballers of all time, despite only having played 28 matches for the national team?
...that the levée of Louis XIV, the privilege of removing the king's nightshirt, was a great honour only accorded to a high noble?
...that the Gippeumjo is a "pleasure group" that was established in 1978 during the administration of Kim Il-sung?

7 February 2007

21:31, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Osu Castle (pictured) is the seat of government in Ghana?
...that the Krazy Kat cartoons printed in the San Francisco Examiner prompted a serious physical assault on author Agnes Newton Keith?
...that Norwegian politician Harald T. Nesvik claimed to have nominated George W. Bush and Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace prize?
...that Lublin Castle was the place where the Union of Lublin, creating the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was signed?
...that Salmson 2, along with the Breguet 14, was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in the First World War?
...that "Vrede" was the first Eurovision entry to feature DJ scratching?

10:32, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the construction of Basilica Cathedral St. Peter and St. Patern, Vannes (pictured) took seven centuries and featured styles from Romanesque to Neo Gothic?
...that U-256 was one of seven German World War II submarines converted into anti-aircraft submarines, and the last German submarine to leave Brest, France?
...that Gordon Macklin was the first president and CEO of NASDAQ, and later a board member of WorldCom up to its bankruptcy in 2002?
...that Carnival in Flanders, which was performed only six times, is the least performed play to be recognized with a Tony Award?
...that Ludwig Preiss collected the first specimen of the Western Swamp Tortoise in 1839, but no further collections occurred until 1953?
...that Kesatuan Melayu Muda was the first Malayan political body to request Malayan independence?

6 February 2007

23:44, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Passeio Público (pictured) of Rio de Janeiro, built between 1779 and 1783, is one of the oldest public parks in the Americas?
...that Fossil Cycad National Monument, established in South Dakota in 1922, was withdrawn as a national monument in 1956 because all of the visible fossils had been stolen?
...that English seaman John Vincent lost part of his upper lip when it froze to a metal cup during the voyage of the James Caird?
...that the first class Kaunas Fortress was captured by German forces in 1915 after eleven days of fighting?
...that Hurricane Flossy was the first tropical cyclone to significantly impact oil refining in the Gulf of Mexico?
...that Southern stingrays, originally drawn to an area in Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize by food from fishermen cleaning their nets, are now a tourist attraction fed by local tour guides?

13:19, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Roman bronze bust Pseudo-Seneca (pictured), known not to be Seneca since 1813, is probably an imaginary portrait of Hesiod?
...that Třinec Iron and Steel Works produces more than a third of the steel in the Czech Republic?
...that Aeroplanes Voisin, a major French aircraft manufacturer during World War I, was dissolved after the war when its cofounder Gabriel Voisin became more interested in designing automobiles than planes?
...that television executive Barry Crane was such an avid contract bridge player his record number of masterpoints was not matched until six years after his death?
...that on Malaita in the Solomon Islands, the mean daily temperature in the warmest month is only 3.4°F warmer than that of the coolest?
...that the lyrics of the debut song of Indian rock musician Rabbi Shergill were written by the 18th century Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah?

06:44, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Lumber Exchange Building (pictured) in Minneapolis, Minnesota (1885) is the oldest remaining building in the United States outside of New York City with more than eleven floors?
...that the Monkey River feeds the second largest barrier-reef complex in the world?
...that the Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro was the setting for the coronation of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil in 1822 and several other important historical events?
...that the Arado Ar 197 plane was designed by Germany before World War II for a never completed aircraft carrier?
...that modern dye tracing techniques are capable of detecting concentrations of dye as low as one part per trillion?
...that U-106 was one of Germany's most successful submarines, sinking twenty-two Allied ships in World War II?
...that highwayman Henry Simms invented a plot against the King to try to gain a pardon?

5 February 2007

21:04, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Château de Clermont (pictured) belonged to the French actor Louis de Funès?
...that the bulbs of Utah's state flower, the Sego Lily, were an important food source for Native Americans and the Mormon pioneers?
...that Robert King High was mayor of Miami for ten years and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Florida as a Democrat in 1966?
...that the Ramban Synagogue, founded by Nahmanides in 1267, is the oldest active synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem?
...that zookeeper Ram Brahma Sanyal's pioneering works on the scientific treatment of captive breeding led to his zoo's hosting the first live birth in captivity of a Sumatran Rhinoceros, a feat not replicated for 112 years?
...that the Palace in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was inhabited by one King of Portugal and the two Brazilian Emperors?

11:09, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

...that endangered arthropods (example pictured) are becoming extinct in such large numbers that many are not catalogued?
...that free-diver Herbert Nitsch can hold his breath for over nine minutes?
...that the Norte Chico civilization is the oldest known civilization in the Americas?
...that the fictional planet Zenn-La, homeworld of the Silver Surfer, has been destroyed at least three times?
...that the Kaleva, a Finnish passenger plane carrying diplomatic post, was shot down by Soviet bombers in an act of aggression?
...that even though the Mooney aircraft company bears Albert Mooney's name, upon his death he held no ownership in the company?
...that in 2003-2004, ANA had to pay almost ¥100 m for flying too many passengers to Noto Airport?
...that the tyranny and the perceived dread of Gobindram Mitter, a British deputy in Calcutta, earned him a place in a Bengali rhyme?
...that the Duchy of Veragua, granted to the grandson of Christopher Columbus, is a perfect square of land 25 leagues to a side?

05:00, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Berlin Stadtbahn (pictured) is built mostly as an elevated railway line with viaducts totalling eight kilometres of length, including 731 masonry viaduct arches?
...that the Polish cochineal gave its name to the color red and the month of June in many Slavic languages?
...that John Perlman, one of South Africa's most popular radio presenters, resigned after blowing the whistle on political censorship at the South African Broadcasting Corporation?
...that the 1916 Lorado Taft work, The Soldiers' Monument, constructed for $21,000, is now worth over $1,000,000?
...that Disco D specialized in hip hop music and was a 2005 pioneer in composing original ring tone works for cell phones?
...that Lauren Nelson, newly crowned Miss America 2007, is the second consecutive winner from Oklahoma?
...that Jacob Nolde was so inspired by a pine tree on his land in the early 1900s that he planted 500,000 more in what is now Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center in Pennsylvania?
...that the Singing Priests of Tagbilaran not only proclaim the gospel in the pulpit but also on stage in songs and dances?

4 February 2007

22:42, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

...that tourism in Cameroon (bush taxi pictured) centers around wildlife such as elephants, giraffes, and gorillas?
...that Guy de Rothschild temporarily moved to New York when the French government under François Mitterrand nationalized his bank?
...that Mount Burgess is nicknamed the Ten Dollar Mountain because it was featured on Canadian currency?
...that Antoni Bohdziewicz, a Polish film director, was a member of the Armia Krajowa Polish resistance and worked on a documentary film made and shown entirely in besieged Warsaw?
...that one of Atomic Games' most successful titles, Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, topped their previous sale record by a factor of ten?
...that the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in the United Kingdom was found at Aveline's Hole, one of the Caves of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England?
...that French historian Augustin Cochin was the son of Denys Cochin, a prominent right wing Deputy in the National Assembly of France?

13:07, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

...that as a teenager, Russian novelist Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov (pictured) was convicted of stealing mail and sentenced to three months in a monastery?
...that the Swedish spelman Anders Ljungqvist, according to rumors, had a contract with the Nix, signed in blood on human bones from the local churchyard?
...that ball culture, as seen in Paris is Burning, has drag houses that compete for 12' tall trophies and prizes of $1000 or more?
...that one person was killed and another injured when they entered a tiger's cage in Alipore Zoological Gardens, Calcutta, and tried to put a floral garland round his neck?
...in 1293, the Bartian tribe of Prussia asked Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytenis for protection against the Teutonic Knights?
...that according to Germanic legends, the cruel king Níðuðr captured the divine smith Weyland and had him hamstrung to prevent escape?
...that Egyptian actor Omar Sharif's first film role was in the 1954 film Sira` Fi al-Wadi?

3 February 2007

22:15, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Old St Paul's Cathedral (pictured) in the City of London, destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London, had one of the tallest spires in the world?
...that French soprano Germaine Lubin was imprisoned for three years after World War II for her alleged support of Nazi Germany?
...that Emperor Frederick II ran an experiment that involved raising infants in isolation to discover what language God spoke?
...that the life of Polish ship captain Mamert Stankiewicz was immortalized in a popular book series?
...that William Frederick Yeames' painting, And When Did You Last See Your Father?, has been reproduced as a waxwork at Madame Tussauds, London?
...that the discovery of Archaeamphora longicervia, the first known carnivorous plant, suggests that flowering plants should have originated much earlier than previously thought?

10:38, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
...that John Murray of Broughton was a Jacobite turncoat, whose evidence led to Lord Lovat's execution for high treason?
...that students who finish a doctorate at the Georg-August University of Göttingen traditionally kiss the Gänseliesel, a statue in the center of Göttingen?

2 February 2007

22:43, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Golden Conure (pictured) is also known as the Queen of Bavaria conure?
...that Jonas Vileišis was a member of the Council which proclaimed Lithuania's independence in 1918?
...that the charity Facing the World offers cosmetic surgery to children with facial disfigurements who live in countries where effective treatment is unavailable?
...that Julius Caesar appears in Norse mythology as the legendary king Kjárr?
...that Bulgarian Dobri Zhelyazkov founded the first textile factory in the Ottoman Empire?
...that Samuel T. Wellman built the first commercially successful open hearth furnace in the United States?
...that Charles Leach was the only British Member of Parliament to have been disqualified under the Lunacy (Vacating of Seats) Act?
...that Japanese author Mushanokōji Saneatsu emulated Leo Tolstoy in establishing a commune based on humanism and utopian socialism?

12:02, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

...that Komati Gorge (pictured) has colourful bluffs that harbor the threatened Southern Bald Ibis?
...that Archibald Cameron of Locheil was the last man to be executed for his part in Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite rebellion?
...that the Piraeus Lion is an ancient Greek statue "embellished" with runic graffiti by Vikings?
...that Lithuanian collective farm workers were 50% more productive than the Soviet average?
...that the Strangeways Prison inmate Gordon Park was convicted of murdering his first wife 28 years after the fact?
...that Humshaugh in Northumberland, England, is acknowledged as the site of the first official Scout camp?
...that economist J. C. Kumarappa coined the term Gandhian economics to describe a school of thought based on Gandhism?
...that construction of Żarnowiec, Poland's only nuclear power plant, was cancelled as the project neared completion?

03:42, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

...that the Loch Arkaig treasure, a large amount of specie provided by Spain to finance the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1745, is said to be still hidden at Loch Arkaig (pictured) in the Scottish Highlands?
...that New Zealand rugby player Andy Dalton suffered an injury that kept him from captaining the All Blacks side that went on to win the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup?
...that the standing army created during the Thirty Years' War by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, developed into the Prussian Army?
...that the Young Bengal leader Ramgopal Ghosh was threatened with ostracism for opposing the Hindu religion?
...that about 1,400 people of Fryštát died in 1623 because of bubonic plague?
...that the Suzuki MR Wagon was previewed as a concept car called Mum's Personal Wagon?

1 February 2007

21:25, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Banjee

...that a banjee (pictured) is a young Latino or Black man who has sex with men and dresses in thuggish urban fashion?
...that since the first Urdu language typewriter was created in 1911, the Urdu keyboard layout has evolved to accommodate the needs of the digital age?
...that historian Henry William Carless Davis once served as a member of the British contingent to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919?
...that the PEI Tenant League was an agrarian populist movement created in 1863 which overthrew the proprietary land system created by King George III in Prince Edward Island?
...that Jeannette Piccard piloted a hydrogen balloon to the stratosphere for Jean Piccard, likely namesake of Captain Picard of Star Trek?

14:54, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

...that St. George's Cathedral (pictured) in Lviv, Ukraine served as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during the 19th and 20th century?
...that a Lithuanian Heavy Draught horse could weigh up to 920 kilograms?
... that Gandhian economics, centering around the values of trusteeship, human dignity and equality, has been viewed as an alternative to left-wing and right-wing economic models?
...that the Bellefonte Central Railroad once carried passengers and freight to Pennsylvania State University?
...that John McShain was a successful American contractor known as The Man Who Built Washington?
...that Bodysgallen Hall sits on the site of the home of a 5th century AD Welsh king?
...that New Zealand rugby union player Mark Hammett won four Super 12 titles with the Crusaders between 1996 and 2003 before being appointed as their assistant coach for 2007?