Showing posts with label article of the day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label article of the day. Show all posts

Saturday, 17 October 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for October 18, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 18, 2020 is Canada lynx.
The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a medium-sized North American cat breeding across Alaska, Canada and much of the contiguous United States. It has long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts, and broad paws. It is a good swimmer and climber. A specialist predator, the lynx depends heavily on snowshoe hares for food, which leads to a prey–predator cycle, as populations of the two species respond to each other. The lynx hunts at twilight or at night, ambushing hares and killing them by biting the head or throat. After a gestation period of two to three months, up to eight kittens are born which are weaned at three months. This lynx occurs predominantly in dense boreal forests, its range coinciding with that of the hare. Given its abundance and no severe threats, the Canada lynx is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is regularly trapped for the international fur trade in most of Alaska and Canada but is protected in the south due to threats such as habitat loss.

Monday, 12 October 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for October 13, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 13, 2020 is Mike Capel.
Mike Capel (born October 13, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Houston Astros. In 49 career games, Capel pitched 62.1 innings, struck out 43 batters, and had a career win–loss record of 3–4 with a 4.62 earned run average. A starting pitcher in college and parts of his Minor League Baseball career, he converted to relief pitching while in Chicago's minor league system. The Philadelphia Phillies chose Capel in the 24th round of the 1980 Major League Baseball draft, but instead of signing with the team, he opted to attend the University of Texas. He played on the 1982 USA College All-Star Team, which placed third in the Amateur World Series in Seoul. The next year, Capel and the Texas Longhorns won the College World Series. After he was drafted by the Cubs, Capel left Texas and played in six seasons of the minor leagues before he made his major league debut in 1988.

Sunday, 11 October 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for October 12, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 12, 2020 is Hurricane Gonzalo.
Hurricane Gonzalo formed on October 12, 2014, and became the first Category 4 Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Ophelia in 2011. It made landfall on Antigua, Saint Martin, and Anguilla as a Category 1 hurricane. Antigua and Barbuda sustained US$40 million in losses, and three people died on Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. Gonzalo intensified into a major hurricane, peaking on October 16 with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h). It struck Bermuda less than a week after the surprisingly fierce Hurricane Fay; the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season was the first in recorded history with two hurricane landfalls in Bermuda. Gonzalo battered the island with wind gusts as high as 144 mph (232 km/h), downing hundreds of trees and causing widespread roof damage and power outages, but no deaths or serious injuries were reported. A large storm system from the remnants of Gonzalo battered the British Isles and central Europe on October 21, killing three people in the United Kingdom.

Friday, 9 October 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for October 10, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 10, 2020 is Battle of Cape Ecnomus.
The Battle of Cape Ecnomus was a naval battle fought off the coast of Sicily in 256 BC between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by Hanno the Great and Hamilcar; the Roman fleet was led by the consuls for the year, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus. The Roman fleet of 330 warships sailed with approximately 140,000 men on board. The Romans' plan was to cross to Africa and invade the Carthaginian homeland, in what is now Tunisia. The Carthaginians were apparently aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered 350 warships off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. With a combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and marines, the battle was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved. After a prolonged and confused day of fighting the Carthaginians were decisively defeated.

Thursday, 8 October 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for October 9, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 9, 2020 is Hassium.
Hassium is a highly radioactive chemical element with symbol Hs and atomic number 108. The most stable known isotopes have half-lives of around 10 seconds. Natural occurrences of this superheavy element have been hypothesised, but none has ever been found. The first attempts to artificially prepare element 108 by nuclear fusion began in 1978 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the Soviet Union; though likely successful by 1984, these experiments did not prove conclusively that the element had been synthesised. For this reason, the discovery is principally credited to a team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung who bombarded lead-208 with iron-58 and produced hassium-265. The name hassium was selected as a reference to the German state of Hesse, where the research was conducted. The observed chemical properties of hassium are consistent with its expected placement as the group 8 element in period 7 of the periodic table.

Saturday, 12 September 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for September 13, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 13, 2020 is Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario All-Stars is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It contains remakes of Nintendo's four Super Mario titles released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its Family Computer Disk System add-on: Super Mario Bros. (1985), Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986), Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988), and Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). They are faithful recreations that adapt the games' original premises and level designs with updated graphics and music. Parallax scrolling was added, physics simulations were modified, and some glitches were fixed. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto (pictured) suggested that Nintendo develop the compilation. It received critical acclaim and is one of the bestselling Super Mario titles, with 10.55 million copies sold by 2015. Reviewers praised the effort that went into remastering the compilation's games and appreciated the updated graphics and music, but criticized its lack of innovation.

Sunday, 6 September 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for September 7, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 7, 2020 is Flora of Madagascar.
The flora of Madagascar consists of more than 12,000 species of vascular and non-vascular plants. Around 83 per cent of Madagascar's vascular plants are found only on the island. These include five entirely endemic plant families as well as most of the over 900 orchid species, the traveller's tree, the Madagascar periwinkle, six species of baobab (pictured) and around 200 species of palms. The high degree of endemism is due to Madagascar's long isolation following its separation from the African and Indian landmasses in the Mesozoic Era. Today, humid forests, including the lowland forests, are found on the eastern plateau. Much of the central highlands is grassland. In the west are dry forest and succulent woodland. Unique spiny thickets are in the southwest, and mangroves occur on the west coast. While 10 per cent of the land surface is protected, much of the native flora is threatened, especially through dramatic deforestation.

Sunday, 23 August 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 24, 2020 is California Pacific International Exposition half dollar.
The California Pacific International Exposition half dollar is a fifty-cent piece that was struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935 and 1936 as a commemorative coin. Its obverse depicts Minerva and other elements of the Seal of California; the reverse shows buildings from the California Pacific International Exposition (held 1935–1936), which the coin was issued to honor. Legislation for the half dollar moved through Congress without opposition in early 1935, and Robert I. Aitken was hired to design it. The San Francisco Mint produced 250,000 coins, but expected sales did not materialize. The Exposition Commission, left with over 180,000 pieces they could not sell, sought and obtained legislation authorizing new coins. Although there was a spike in prices for many commemorative coins in 1936, the Exposition Commission's new coins also sold poorly, and 150,000 pieces were returned to the Mint.

Saturday, 8 August 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 9, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 9, 2020 is 2nd Red Banner Army.
The 2nd Red Banner Army was a Soviet field army of World War II that was formed at Khabarovsk in the Soviet Far East in July 1938. It spent most of the war guarding the border in the Blagoveshchensk area, sending formations to the Eastern Front while undergoing several reorganizations. At the time of its creation, the unit was part of the army group known as the Far Eastern Front. The unit was designated as the 2nd Army and was led by corps commander Ivan Konev (pictured). It became the 2nd Independent Red Banner Army in September 1938 when the front was dissolved and its troops were split into two independent armies, and was redesignated in June 1940 as the 2nd Red Banner Army. In August 1945, the army fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, capturing the Japanese fortified regions of Aihun and Sunwu adjacent to its sector of the border, and advancing into Manchuria to Qiqihar. The army was disbanded after the war in late 1945.

Saturday, 1 August 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2020 is Trials of Mana.
Trials of Mana is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. The third installment in the Mana series, it follows three heroes in a high fantasy world as they attempt to claim the Mana Sword. The game features three lengthy main plotlines, a choice of six main characters, and a wide range of character classes and skills. It was designed by series creator Koichi Ishii, directed by veteran Square designer Hiromichi Tanaka (pictured), and produced by Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono, with artwork by Nobuteru Yūki and music by Hiroki Kikuta. The game was published in Japan, and an English fan translation appeared in 1999. It was first officially released in English in a 2017 port for the Nintendo Switch. Trials of Mana received considerable acclaim from reviewers for its graphics and gameplay, but some found the characters and plotlines clichéd. In April 2020, a 3D remake of the same name was released for Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 4.

Saturday, 25 July 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for July 26, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for July 26, 2020 is Carlos Castillo Armas.
Carlos Castillo Armas (November 4, 1914 – July 26, 1957) was a military officer and the 28th president of Guatemala. He came to power in a 1954 coup d'état backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency that overthrew the democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz, and consolidated his position in an October 1954 election in which he was the only candidate. A member of the right-wing National Liberation Movement party, he was also the first of a series of authoritarian rulers in Guatemala who were close allies of the United States. Under Castillo Armas, the reforms of the Guatemalan Revolution were largely undone. Land was confiscated from small farmers and returned to large landowners, and thousands of people were arrested, tortured, or killed under suspicion of being communists. In 1957 Castillo Armas was assassinated by a presidential guard. His policies sparked a series of leftist insurgencies culminating in the Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted from 1960 to 1996.

Sunday, 24 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 25, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 25, 2020 is Hurricane Fred (2015).
Hurricane Fred was the easternmost Atlantic hurricane ever to form in the tropics, and the first to move through Cape Verde since 1892. The second hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, Fred became a Category 1 hurricane on August 31 as it approached Cape Verde, which was placed under a hurricane warning for the first time ever. The Barlavento Islands endured gales and flooding rains as the eye of the hurricane paralleled their shorelines. Structural damage across Boa Vista and Sal presented as leveled roofs, damaged homes and toppled utility poles. Farmers on São Nicolau suffered crop and livestock losses when they saw their lands flood. Fred's rains, though destructive, alleviated a drought across the Sotavento Islands of Cape Verde. Elsewhere, violent seas along the West African shoreline destroyed fishing villages and submerged homes in Senegal. Between the coasts of West Africa and Cape Verde, nine people died in maritime incidents.

Wednesday, 20 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 21, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 21, 2020 is Marcel Lihau.
Marcel Lihau (1931–1999) was a Congolese jurist, law professor, and politician who helped create two constitutions for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He attended the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, becoming one of the first Congolese to study law, and was made dean of the law faculty at Lovanium University in 1963. The following year, he helped deliver the Luluabourg Constitution, which the Congolese adopted by referendum. In 1965, Joseph-Desiré Mobutu seized control of the country and directed him to produce a new constitution. Lihau was First President of the new Supreme Court of Justice of the Congo from 1968 until 1975, when Mobutu summarily removed him from his post and placed him under house arrest. After Lihau helped found the reform-oriented Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social, Mobutu suspended his rights and banished him to a rural village. Lihau eventually moved to the United States, where he continued to advocate for political reform in the Congo until his death.

Saturday, 16 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 17, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 17, 2020 is Frank Matcham.
Frank Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920) was an English theatre architect and designer. Matcham was best known for his work in London, under Moss Empires, which included the designs of the Hippodrome (1900), Hackney Empire (1901), Coliseum (1903), Palladium (1910), and the Victoria Palace (1911). During his 40-year career, he was responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the United Kingdom. According to the dramatist Alan Bennett, there was a Matcham theatre in every corner of the UK. Matcham's use of cantilevers for the galleries allowed him to discontinue the use of columns, which would otherwise obstruct the audience's view of the stage. The auditorium decorations were often mixed with Tudor strap-work, Louis XIV detail, Anglo-Indian motifs, naval and military insignia, rococo panels, classical statuary, and baroque columns.

Tuesday, 12 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2020 is These Are the Voyages....
"These Are the Voyages..." is the series finale of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The episode, which first aired on the UPN network on May 13, 2005, is a frame story, where the 22nd-century events of Star Trek: Enterprise are recreated on a 24th-century holodeck on Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Featuring guest stars Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Jeffrey Combs, the episode has Commander William Riker grappling with making a difficult admission to his commanding officer about a cover-up. Riker turns for guidance to the simulated events of the year 2161, when the crew of Enterprise travels home to Earth for the formation of the United Federation of Planets and Commander Trip Tucker, played by Connor Trinneer (pictured), saves the captain's life. UPN and Paramount had announced in February 2005 that the fourth season would be the show's last. Reaction to the series finale was negative, although it attracted 3.8 million viewers.

Monday, 11 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2020 is Superliner (railcar).
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. The design was based on Budd's Hi-Level vehicles, employed by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I (lounge pictured), from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. Car types include coaches, dining cars, lounges, and sleeping cars. Most passenger spaces are on the upper level, which features a row of windows on both sides. Boarding is on the lower level; passengers climb up a center stairwell to access the upper level. The first Superliner I cars entered service in February 1979, with deliveries continuing through 1981. Amtrak assigned the cars to both long-distance and short-distance trains in the Western United States. The first permanent assignment, in October 1979, was to the Chicago–Seattle Empire Builder.

Sunday, 10 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 11, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 11, 2020 is Sega Saturn.
The Sega Saturn is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Sega. Released in 1994 in Japan, and 1995 in North America and Europe, the Saturn is the successor to the Sega Genesis, and Sega's fourth game console. It has dual-CPU architecture and eight processors, and was designed around a CPU developed by electronics company Hitachi. Its games are in CD-ROM format. The system was initially successful in Japan, but failed to sell large numbers in the United States after a surprise launch four months before its scheduled release, and an aggressive price war against Sony's PlayStation. Following the release of the Nintendo 64 in late 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share in the U.S., and was discontinued in 1998 in the country. The console is considered a commercial failure, selling just over 9 million units worldwide, blamed in part due to Sega's failure to release a Sonic the Hedgehog video game, known in development as Sonic X-treme, for the system.

Saturday, 9 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 10, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 10, 2020 is Banksia speciosa.
Banksia speciosa, the showy banksia, is a large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. First collected and described by Robert Brown in the early 19th century, the species occurs on the south coast of Western Australia between Hopetoun and the Great Australian Bight, growing on white or grey sand in shrubland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has thin leaves with prominent triangular "teeth" along each margin, which are 20–45 cm (7.9–17.7 in) long and 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide. The prominent cream-yellow flower spikes appear throughout the year, developing up to 20 follicles each that store seeds until opened by bushfire. Though widely occurring, the species is highly sensitive to dieback. The flowers attract nectar- and insect-feeding birds, particularly honeyeaters. In cultivation, B. speciosa grows well in a sunny location on well-drained soil in areas with dry summers.

Friday, 8 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 9, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 9, 2020 is Target ship.
USS Oberrender (DE-344) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Thomas Olin Oberrender, Jr., the engineering officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau, killed when that ship was torpedoed and sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Laid down in November 1943, launched in January 1944, and commissioned almost four months later, Oberrender commenced convoy escort duty in the Pacific in late 1944, with an interlude protecting escort carriers during the early stages of the invasion of Leyte. She was heavily damaged by the explosion of the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood at Manus and was repaired there during November. Returning to service in December, Oberrender served on anti-submarine patrol during the Battle of Okinawa, during which she was irreparably damaged by a kamikaze attack in early May 1945. She was decommissioned and sunk as a target late that year.

Thursday, 7 May 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for May 8, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 8, 2020 is 1974 White House helicopter incident.
The 1974 White House helicopter incident occurred when U.S. Army private Robert K. Preston stole a Bell UH-1B Iroquois helicopter (a "Huey") from Tipton Field, Maryland, and, in a major breach of security, landed it on the South Lawn (pictured) of the White House. Preston had enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot, but did not graduate from the helicopter training course. Shortly after midnight on February 17, 1974, he was returning from leave when he took off in a helicopter. Preston flew towards Washington, D.C., where he hovered close to the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument and over the South Lawn of the White House. He then flew back towards Tipton Field, pursued by two police Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters. He returned to Washington, and again hovered over the South Lawn. The Secret Service opened fire; lightly wounded, Preston landed and was arrested. At his court-martial, he was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $2400.