Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2006
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| An archive of Wikipedia's featured articles that appeared on the Main Page | ||||||
- July 1
The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969. It was the first round-the-world yacht race in any format. The Golden Globe Race was sponsored by the British Sunday Times newspaper and was designed to capitalise on a number of individual round-the-world voyages which were already being planned by various sailors; for this reason, there were no qualification requirements, and competitors were permitted to start at any time between June 1 and October 31, 1968. Nine sailors started the race; four retired before leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Of the five remaining, Chay Blyth, who had set off with absolutely no sailing experience, sailed past the Cape of Good Hope before retiring, Nigel Tetley sank as he approached the finishing line, Donald Crowhurst, who attempted to fake a round-the-world voyage, went insane and then committed suicide, and Bernard Moitessier, who rejected the philosophy behind a commercialised competition, abandoned the race while in a strong position to win, kept sailing non-stop, and stopped in Tahiti after circling the globe one and a half times. Only one of the nine sailors finished the race: Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. Knox-Johnston was awarded both prizes and later donated the £5,000 to a fund supporting Crowhurst's family. (More...)
Recently featured: Manila Light Rail Transit System – Right whale – Deconstructivism
- July 2
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop music singer, and former fashion model. She started in show business as a child model for magazine ads and television commercials. At age ten, she began her acting career on a soap opera; at eleven, she made her motion picture début by playing both twins in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Lohan's breakout role as a leading actress came six years later with Mean Girls, which shone the media spotlight on her professional and personal lives—including her nightlife and her parents' marital and legal struggles. As an adult, Lohan began to take on more varied roles and projects, including Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. While filming Herbie: Fully Loaded in 2004, Lohan launched her career in music, recording and releasing her first studio album, Speak; her second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), was released in 2005. (More...)
Recently featured: Sunday Times Golden Globe Race – Manila Light Rail Transit System – Right whale
- July 3
Pope Pius XII reigned as the 260th pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and sovereign of Vatican City State from March 2, 1939 until his death on October 9, 1958. His leadership of the Catholic Church during World War II and the Holocaust remains the subject of continued historical controversy. Before his election as pope, Pacelli served as a priest, monsignor, papal nuncio, cardinal, cardinal Secretary of State, and camerlengo in which roles he worked to conclude treaties with other nations, most notably the Reichskonkordat with Germany. After World War II, he was a vocal supporter of amnesty for war criminals and a staunch opponent of communism. Pius is one of few popes in recent history to exercise his papal infallibility by issuing an apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, which defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. He also promulgated forty-six encyclicals, including Humani Generis, which retains continued relevance to the Church's position of evolution. He also decisively eliminated the Italian majority in the College of Cardinals with the Great Consistory. (More...)
Recently featured: Lindsay Lohan – Sunday Times Golden Globe Race – Manila Light Rail Transit System
- July 4
The written history of New Jersey began with the exploration of the Jersey Coast by Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524, though the region had been settled for millennia by Native Americans. The New Jersey region soon came under the control of the Swedes and the Dutch resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch were victorious. However, the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized by the English in 1664. New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies that joined the American Revolutionary War in 1776. In 1787, New Jersey was the third state to ratify the United States Constitution. In the nineteenth century, New Jersey cities led the nation into the Industrial Revolution and provided soldiers for many of the wars the United States fought, including 88,000 soldiers for the American Civil War. During the early 1900s, New Jersey prospered but weakened in the Great Depression in the 1930s. During World War II and the Cold War New Jersey's shipyards and military bases played an important role in the defense of the United States. In the 1960s New Jersey was the site of several race riots and the Glassboro Summit Conference, between American President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin. (More...)
Recently featured: Pope Pius XII – Lindsay Lohan – Sunday Times Golden Globe Race
- July 5
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three science fiction laws written by Isaac Asimov, which most robots appearing in his fiction have to obey. First introduced in his short story "Runaround" (1942), they state the following: 1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. The Three Laws are an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's fiction, appearing in the Foundation Series and the other stories linked to it, as well as Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter. Other authors working in Asimov's fictional universe have adopted them, and references (often parodic) appear throughout science fiction and in other genres. Technologists in the field of artificial intelligence, working to create real machines with some of the properties of Asimov's robots, have speculated upon the role the Three Laws play in such research. (More...)
Recently featured: History of New Jersey – Pope Pius XII – Lindsay Lohan
- July 6
Cystic fibrosis is a common hereditary disease that affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and early death. Breathing difficulties are the most common symptom and result from frequent lung infections that are treated, though not always cured, by antibiotics and other medications. A multitude of other symptoms, including sinus infections, poor growth, diarrhea, and infertility, result from the effects of the disease on other parts of the body. Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common fatal inherited diseases. It is most prevalent among Caucasians and Ashkenazi Jews; one in 25 people of European descent is a carrier for this disease. Individuals with cystic fibrosis can be diagnosed prior to birth by genetic testing or in early childhood by a sweat test. There is no cure, and most patients die young — many in their 20s and 30s from respiratory failure. Ultimately, lung transplantation is often necessary as the symptoms worsen. Cystic fibrosis is caused by a mutation in a gene called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. (More...)
Recently featured: Three Laws of Robotics – History of New Jersey – Pope Pius XII
- July 7
Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known. An Anglo-Saxon herdsman attached to the double monastery of Streonæshalch (Whitby Abbey) during the abbacy of St. Hilda, it is said that he was originally ignorant of the art of song until he learned to compose one night in the course of a dream. He later became a zealous monk and an accomplished and inspirational religious poet. Cædmon is one of twelve Anglo-Saxon poets identified in medieval sources, and one of only three for whom both roughly contemporary biographical information and examples of literary output have survived. His story is told to us in the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum by St. Bede. Cædmon's only known surviving work is Cædmon's Hymn, the nine-line alliterative vernacular praise poem in honour of God he supposedly learned to sing in his initial dream. The poem is one of the earliest attested examples of Old English and is, with the runic Ruthwell Cross and Franks Casket inscriptions, one of three candidates for the earliest attested example of Old English poetry. (More...)
Recently featured: Cystic fibrosis – Three Laws of Robotics – History of New Jersey
- July 8
Nauru is an island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific. The nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in the Republic of Kiribati, 300 km due east. Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 km² (8.1 sq. mi), the smallest independent republic, and the only nation in the world without an official capital. Initially inhabited by Micronesian and Polynesian peoples, Nauru was annexed by Germany in the late 19th century, and became a mandate territory administered by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom following World War I. The island was occupied by Japan during World War II, and after the war entered into trusteeship again. Nauru achieved independence in 1968. With the exhaustion of phosphate reserves, its environment severely degraded by mining, and the trust established to manage the island's wealth significantly reduced in value, the government of Nauru has resorted to unusual measures to obtain income. In the 1990s, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and since 2001 has accepted aid from the Australian government; in exchange for this aid, Nauru houses an 'offshore' detention centre that holds and processes asylum seekers trying to enter Australia. (More...)
Recently featured: Cædmon – Cystic fibrosis – Three Laws of Robotics
- July 9
The Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that were built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria. Though initially it consisted of a single camp at Mauthausen, with time it was expanded to become one of the largest labour camp complexes in German-occupied Europe. Apart from the four main sub-camps at Mauthausen and nearby Gusen, more than 50 sub-camps of the camp complex, located in all parts of Austria and southern Germany used the inmates as slave labour. Several subordinate camps of the KZ Mauthausen complex included quarries, munitions factories, mines, arms factories and Me 262 fighter-plane assembly plants. In January 1945, the camps — directed from the central office in Mauthausen — had a total of roughly 85,000 inmates. The death toll remains unknown, although most sources place it between 122,766 and 320,000 for the entire complex. The camps formed one of the first massive concentration camp complexes in Nazi Germany, and were the last ones to be liberated by the Allies. (More...)
Recently featured: Nauru – Cædmon – Cystic fibrosis
- July 10
The Michigan State Capitol is the building housing two branches of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan and is located in the state capital of Lansing in Ingham County. The present structure, at the intersection of Capitol and Michigan Avenues, is a National Historic Landmark that currently houses the chambers and offices of the Michigan Legislature as well as the offices of Michigan's governor and lieutenant governor. Historically, this is the third building to house the Michigan state government. The first state capitol was located in Detroit, the original capital of Michigan, and was relocated to Lansing in 1847, due to the need to develop the western portions of the state and for easy defense from British troops stationed in Windsor, Ontario. The present capitol building, preceded by a temporary wood frame structure, was dedicated in January 1879 and is designed in a Neoclassical architectural style. (More...)
Recently featured: Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp – Nauru – Cædmon
- July 11
Microsoft is an international computer technology corporation with 2005 global sales of US$42.64 billion and more than 63,000 employees in 102 countries and regions that develop, manufacture, license, and support a wide range of software products for computing devices. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, its most popular products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, each of which has achieved near ubiquity in the desktop computer market. Microsoft possesses footholds in other markets, with assets such as the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia. The company also markets both computer hardware products such as the Microsoft mouse, as well as home entertainment products such as the Xbox, the Xbox 360, and MSN TV. (More...)
Recently featured: Michigan State Capitol – Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp – Nauru
- July 12
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur for which fossils have been found dating from 80 to 75 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous Epoch of the Cretaceous Period. There is only one universally-recognized species, although others have been attributed in the past. Fossils of this species have been found in central Asia, from both Inner and Outer Mongolia. It was a bipedal carnivore with a long, stiffened tail and had an enlarged, sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill its prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. Due in large part to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park motion picture series, Velociraptor is one of the most familiar dinosaur genera among the general public. It is also well-known to paleontologists, with over a dozen recovered fossil skeletons - the most of any dromaeosaurid. (More...)
Recently featured: Microsoft – Michigan State Capitol – Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
- July 13
Wayne Gretzky is a former professional ice hockey player and is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is regarded as the best player of his era and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by sportswriters, coaches, and fans. Along with his many awards and achievements, he is the only player to ever have his playing number, 99, officially retired across the entire National Hockey League. Gretzky set 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, 6 All-Star records, and won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. He won more MVP awards (9) and scoring titles (10) than any player in NHL history. He was the only player to total over 200 points in a season, accomplishing the feat 4 times. He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He became part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000, and their head coach following the 2004-05 NHL lockout. (More...)
Recently featured: Velociraptor – Microsoft – Michigan State Capitol
- July 14
Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on three sides and Myanmar to the southeast; the Bay of Bengal forms the southern coastline. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it comprises the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The borders of Bangladesh were set by the Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of Pakistan (East Pakistan), separated from the western wing by 1,600 km (1,000 miles). Despite their common religion, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two wings was compounded by an apathetic government based in West Pakistan. This resulted in the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 after a bloody war, supported by India. The years following independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of government, and at least four military coups. The population of Bangladesh ranks eighth in the world, but its area of approximately 144,000 sq km is ranked ninety-third. It is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Geographically dominated by the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the country has annual monsoon floods, and cyclones are frequent. (More...)
Recently featured: Wayne Gretzky – Velociraptor – Microsoft
- July 15
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 science fantasy film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga, and the third in terms of chronology. Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Separatists. After the kidnapping of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is dispatched to kill the evil General Grievous, while Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker's growing friendship with the Chancellor suddenly becomes frowned upon by the Jedi order, and dangerous to the Jedi Knight himself. The film was released on May 19, 2005, and received generally positive reviews from critics, especially in contrast to the previous two prequels. It broke several box office records in its opening week, and went on to earn over US$850 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 in the U.S., the second highest grossing film of 2005 worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and the 12th highest grossing worldwide film of all time. (More...)
Recently featured: Bangladesh – Wayne Gretzky – Velociraptor
- July 16
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majesty's Government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. According to custom, the Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are accountable for their actions to Parliament, of which they are members by (modern) convention. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997. As the title suggests, the Prime Minister is the monarch's principal advisor. Historically, the monarch's chief minister might have held any of a number of offices: Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord High Steward, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Privy Seal, or Secretary of State among others. With the emergence, in the 18th century, of government by a cabinet of these ministers, its head came in time to be called the "Prime Minister"; to this day the Prime Minister always also holds one of the more specific ministerial positions, usually that of First Lord of the Treasury, if only in a nominal sense. Sir Robert Walpole is generally regarded as the first Prime Minister in the modern sense. (More...)
Recently featured: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – Bangladesh – Wayne Gretzky
- July 17
The F-35 Lightning II, called in development the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is a military fighter aircraft designed by the United States and the United Kingdom. It is intended to replace the current generation of strike fighters, particularly the vertical take off and landing (VTOL) Harrier jump jets: the AV-8 Harrier II (US), Harrier GR7/9 (UK), and the Sea Harrier, along with the conventional A-10 Thunderbolt II, F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It will be a multi-role strike fighter (a plane with a strong emphasis on close air support and tactical bombing as well as being capable of air-to-air combat), and will make considerable use of stealth technology in that it will be almost undetectable (stealthy) to X-band radars (tracking radars, often short range) in the forward hemisphere but not particularly stealthy in the rear hemisphere and not stealthy to L band (search radars, often long range) in either hemisphere. It is currently in production with Lockheed Martin, along with partners Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and Smiths Aerospace. (More...)
Recently featured: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – Bangladesh
- July 18
Cape Town is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Often regarded as one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its geography, Cape Town is the most popular South African destination for tourism. Cape Town originally developed as a refuelling station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and Asia. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on April 6, 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in sub-Saharan Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope. It was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg. (More...)
Recently featured: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- July 19
Final Fantasy X is the tenth installment in the Final Fantasy role-playing game series, and the first game of the series to be released on the PlayStation 2. Introduced in 2001, it was once among the top twenty best-selling console games of all time, and has sold in excess of 7.93 million copies worldwide. Set in the fantasy world of Spira, the game's story centers around a group of adventurers and their quest to defeat a rampaging force known as "Sin". The game is significant in the Final Fantasy series in that it marks the transition from entirely pre-rendered backdrops to fully three-dimensional areas with the PlayStation 2's robust graphical capabilities. Additionally, it is the first in the series to feature a wide range of realistic facial expressions, extensive voice acting, and other innovations. Final Fantasy X was also the first game in the series to spawn a direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. (More...)
Recently featured: Cape Town – F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- July 20
Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Until the two Voyager spacecraft and Pioneer 11 passed near it in the early 1980s, very little was known about this small moon, other than the presence of water ice on its surface. The Voyagers showed that Enceladus is only 500 kilometers in diameter and reflects almost 100% of the sunlight that strikes it. The Cassini orbiter performed several close flybys of Enceladus in 2005, revealing the moon's surface and environment in greater detail. In particular, the probe discovered a water-rich plume venting from the moon's south polar region. This discovery, along with the presence of escaping internal heat and very few, if any, impact craters in the south polar region, shows that Enceladus is geologically active today. Enceladus is one of only three outer solar system bodies where active eruptions have been observed. Analysis of the outgassing suggests that it originates from a body of sub-surface liquid water, which, along with the unique chemistry found in the plume, has fueled speculation that Enceladus may be important in the study of astrobiology. (More...)
Recently featured: Final Fantasy X – Cape Town – F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
- July 21
The National Anthem of Russia is the "Hymn of the Russian Federation". The music of the anthem, composed by Alexander Alexandrov, was used for the Soviet anthem, but the revised lyrics were written by Sergey Mikhalkov in 2000. It was adopted in late 2000 by President Vladimir Putin and replaced the former anthem, "The Patriotic Song". Before and after the adoption of the anthem, liberal groups raised concerns that the re-adoption of the Soviet anthem was returning Russia to the Soviet era. The revised lyrics removed mention of Lenin's ideas and the "unbreakable union" of the Soviet state, instead speaking of a country that is vast in distance and in resources that will be entrusted to future generations. (More...)
Recently featured: Enceladus – Final Fantasy X – Cape Town
- July 22
Cryptography is a discipline of mathematics and computer science concerned with information security and related issues, particularly encryption and authentication. Prior to the early 20th century, cryptography was chiefly concerned with linguistic patterns. Since then, the emphasis has shifted, and cryptography now makes extensive use of areas of mathematics such as of information theory, computational complexity, statistics, combinatorics, and especially number theory. Cryptography is also a branch of engineering, but an unusual one, as it deals with active, intelligent and malevolent opposition. There is also active research examining the relationship between cryptographic problems and quantum physics. Cryptography is central to the techniques used in computer and network security for such purposes as access control and information confidentiality. Cryptography is used in many applications that touch everyday life; the security of ATM cards, computer passwords, and electronic commerce all depend on cryptography. (More...)
Recently featured: National Anthem of Russia – Enceladus – Final Fantasy X
- July 23
"Read my lips: no new taxes" was a famous phrase spoken by American Republican presidential candidate George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention in his acceptance speech on August 18. Written by speechwriter Peggy Noonan, the line was one of the most prominent soundbites from the speech. The impact of the pledge was considerable, and many believe it helped Bush win the 1988 United States presidential election. Once elected, however, Bush agreed to raise several taxes as part of a 1990 budget agreement. This has been attributed to a declining economy, ballooning budget deficits, and the need to compromise with the Democrat-controlled Congress. This reversal caused great controversy, especially in the more conservative wing of the Republican Party. In the 1992 presidential election campaign, Pat Buchanan made extensive use of the phrase in his surprisingly strong challenge to Bush in the Republican primaries. In the election itself, Bill Clinton also pointed to the quote as evidence of Bush's untrustworthiness, contributing to Bush losing his bid for reelection. (More...)
Recently featured: Cryptography – National Anthem of Russia – Enceladus
- July 24
Lastovo is an island, town and municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The island has an area of 46 km² and a population of 835, of which 93% are ethnic Croats. The municipality is slightly larger, as it includes another 46 islands and islets, covering a total area of approximately 56 km². Lastovo, like the rest of Roman Dalmatia, was settled by Illyrians. Around the year 1000, the Venetians attacked the island due to its participation in piracy along the Adriatic, destroying the settlement. In the 13th century, Lastovo joined the Dubrovnik Republic, where it mostly enjoyed a certain level of autonomy until the republic's conquest by the French under Napoleon. Austria then ruled the island for the next two centuries until it finally became a part of Croatia. The island is noted for its 15th and 16th century architecture. There are a large number of churches for the island's size, a testament to the island's long-standing Roman Catholic tradition. Lastovo's major cultural event, aside from the normal celebrations on the Catholic calendar, is the event known as the Poklad. The island relies primarily on its history and natural beauty to attract tourists. (More...)
Recently featured: Read my lips: no new taxes – Cryptography – National Anthem of Russia
- July 25
Alpha Phi Alpha is an American intercollegiate fraternity that is generally recognized as the first established by African Americans. Founded on December 4, 1906 on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, the fraternity has initiated over 175,000 men into the organization. Beginning in 1908, the Howard chapter became the prototype for six of the remaining eight National Pan-Hellenic Council members, a predominantly African-American fraternal council. It has been open to men of all races since 1945. Today, there are over 700 Alpha chapters in the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the West Indies. The national organization has established a number of community programs and combined its resources with other organizations on philanthropic projects. The fraternity jointly leads programming initiatives with March of Dimes, Head Start, Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, which Congress authorized in 1996 with Public Law 104-333, is a project of Alpha Phi Alpha. Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include former Jamaican Prime Minister and Rhodes Scholar Norman Manley, Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King, Jr., former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Olympian Jesse Owens, and Justice Thurgood Marshall. (More...)
Recently featured: Lastovo – Read my lips: no new taxes – Cryptography
- July 26
Malwa is a region in western India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin in the western part of Madhya Pradesh state and the south-eastern part of Rajasthan. The region was a separate political unit from the time of the Aryan tribe of Malavas until 1947. Most of the region is drained by the Chambal River and its tributaries; the western part is drained by the Mahi River. Ujjain was the capital in ancient times, and Indore is presently the largest city. The culture of the region has had influences from Gujarati, Rajasthani and Marathi cultures. Malvi is the most commonly used language, especially in rural areas, while Hindi is widely understood in cities. The first significant kingdom in the region was Avanti, an important power in western India by around 500 BCE, when it was annexed by the Maurya Empire. The 5th-century Gupta period was a golden age in the history of Malwa. The region has given the world prominent leaders in the arts and sciences, including the poet Kālidāsa and the polymath king Bhoja. (More...)
Recently featured: Alpha Phi Alpha – Lastovo – Read my lips: no new taxes
- July 27
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Mosques are widely recognized for their importance in the Muslim community and in Islamic architecture. They have evolved significantly from the open-air spaces of the Quba Mosque and Masjid al-Nabawi of the 7th century, and most modern mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer halls. Mosques originated on the Arabian Peninsula, but can now be found on all six inhabited continents. They are not only places for worship and prayer, but also places for believers to interact and to learn about Islam. Other faiths' places of worship, such as synagogues and churches, have often been converted into mosques. (More...)
Recently featured: Malwa – Alpha Phi Alpha – Lastovo
- July 28
Bulbasaur is one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. CNN has called Bulbasaur one of the "lead critters", referring to it and its later forms as "the Carmen Miranda of Pokémon figures" due to the "increasingly exotic foliage on its head" as it evolves. Bulbasaur are one of the first Pokémon that a player can obtain in the first of the series’ video games (Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue). Bulbasaur also appear often in the Pokémon anime. In every version of the Pokémon series, Bulbasaur are vaguely reptilian creatures that move on all fours. They are small and squat, and have a light blue-green body coloration, with darker blue-green spots. The artwork design of Bulbasaur was created by Ken Sugimori for the creature's 1996 debut in the Pokémon video games, and has since remained unchanged. (More...)
Recently featured: Mosque – Malwa – Alpha Phi Alpha
- July 29
The Second Battle of Smolensk was a major World War II Red Army offensive in western Russia, staged almost simultaneously with the Battle of the Lower Dnieper. The two-month offensive led by Generals Andrei Yeremenko and Vasily Sokolovsky was aimed at clearing the German presence from the Smolensk and Bryansk regions. Smolensk had been under German occupation since the first Battle of Smolensk in 1941. Despite an impressive German defense setup, the Red Army was able to stage several breakthroughs, liberating several major cities, including Smolensk and Roslavl, and moving into occupied Belorussia. Although playing a major military role in its own right, the Smolensk Operation was also important for its effect on the Battle of Dnieper. It has been estimated that as many as 55 German divisions were committed to counter the Smolensk Operation—divisions that were critically needed to prevent Soviet troops from crossing the Dnieper River in the south. Additionally, the operation allowed the Red Army to repulse German forces definitively from the Smolensk landbridge, historically the most important approach for an attack on Moscow from the west. (More...)
Recently featured: Bulbasaur – Mosque – Malwa
- July 30
Chromatophores are pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells found in amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. They are largely responsible for generating skin and eye colour in cold-blooded animals and are generated in the neural crest during embryonic development. Some species can rapidly change colour through mechanisms that translocate pigment and reorient reflective plates within chromatophores. This process, often used as a type of camouflage, is called physiological colour change. Cephalopods such as octopuses have complex chromatophore organs controlled by muscles to achieve this, while vertebrates such as chameleons generate a similar effect through cell signaling. Such signals can be hormones or neurotransmitters, and may be initiated by changes in mood, temperature or stress, or by visible changes in the local environment. Unlike cold-blooded animals, mammals and birds have only one class of chromatophore-like cells, the melanocyte. The cold-blooded equivalents, melanophores, are studied by scientists to understand human disease, and are used as a tool in drug discovery. (More...)
Recently featured: Battle of Smolensk (1943) – Bulbasaur – Mosque
- July 31
Thrasybulus was an Athenian general and democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at Samos elected him as a general, making him a primary leader of the successful democratic resistance to that coup. As general, he was responsible for recalling the controversial nobleman Alcibiades from exile, and the two worked together extensively over the next several years. In 411 and 410, Thrasybulus commanded several critical Athenian naval victories, along with Alcibiades and others. After Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Thrasybulus led the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, that the victorious Spartans imposed on Athens. In 404 BC, he commanded a small force of exiles that invaded Attica and, in successive battles, defeated first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchics. In the wake of these victories, democracy was reestablished in Athens. As a leader of this revived democracy in the 4th century BC, Thrasybulus advocated a policy of resistance to Sparta and sought to restore Athens' imperial power. He was killed in 388 BC while leading an Athenian naval force in the Corinthian War. (More...)
Recently featured: Chromatophore – Battle of Smolensk (1943) – Bulbasaur
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Today is Friday, March 30, 2007; it is now 12:07 UTC
