User:Violetriga/DYK

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May 18

 * 6th ... that vaudeville star Don the Talking Dog once helped rescue a drowning man?
 * 6th ... that bisexual lighting (colours pictured) has been criticized for contributing to the perpetuation of bisexual stereotypes?
 * 3rd ... that Simon Dale lived mainly in the kitchen and one bedroom of his 50-room Hopton Heath mansion, where he was found bludgeoned to death?
 * 2nd ... that Edward Frank Gillett competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics the year after he died?
 * 1st ... that an automobile graveyard in Georgia, United States, has become an open-air art gallery?

April 18

 * 30th ... that a train graveyard in Uyuni, Bolivia, has become a tourist attraction?
 * 26th ... that Christopher Little has been described as "the luckiest agent ever" for his association with Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling?
 * 16th ... that Brian Santos was described in 1995 as "the dominant blind skier in the world" after winning nine U.S. Championships and six Paralympic gold medals?
 * 12th ... that war veteran Owen Pick carried the flag for Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony?
 * 6th ... that Robin Surgeoner, a multiple Paralympic gold medal-winner in swimming, performs as a poet, artist, and musician under the stage name "Angryfish"?

March 18

 * 26th (2) ... that sisters Carmen and Ramona Brussig were born within 15 minutes of each other and won Paralympic gold medals within 15 minutes of each other?
 * 13th ... that blind swimmer John Morgan won 13 gold medals across two Paralympic Games and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro?
 * 3rd ... that Paralympian Tommy Taylor won 16 medals across five sports, including 10 gold medals?

February 18

 * 27th ... that Kenneth Cairns won four gold medals and one silver in his first Paralympic Games?

November 13

 * 1st ... that pigeons are given performance-enhancing drugs?
 * 1st ... that Cecil Duckworth, executive chairman of Premiership rugby union club Worcester Warriors, earned his fortune selling boilers?

October 13

 * 17th ... that participants in the 1984 Summer Olympics torch relay had to pay $3,000 to run a kilometer?
 * 13th ... that the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay saw the torch travel into space?
 * 12th ... that Rainham Hall is hailed as having such an "outstanding level of significance" that even its vases are Grade II* listed?
 * 12th ... that Mr Straw's House is "the nearest thing to a time capsule that the National Trust has ever received"?
 * 7th ... that the groom was not always a willing participant in a knobstick wedding?
 * 7th ... that supergroup 8in8, featuring Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and Damian Kulash, tried to write and record eight songs in eight hours with the help of their Twitter followers?
 * 6th ... that British charity SARbot UK use remote-controlled robots to perform underwater search and rescue missions?

September 13

 * 28th ... that Verity (sculpture) stands on the pier in Ilfracombe showing the internal anatomy of a pregnant woman?
 * 25th ... that a chandelier in the sewers under Cologne provides light for jazz and classical music performances?
 * 25th ... that the Titlis Cliff Walk, the highest elevation suspension bridge in Europe, has been described as the "world's scariest bridge"?
 * 24th ... that Orda Cave underneath the Ural Mountains in Russia is the largest underwater gypsum cave in the world?
 * 23rd ... that U Bein Bridge is believed to be the oldest and longest teak wood bridge in the world?
 * 20th ... that botanist Charles Budd Robinson may have been murdered by natives when he mistook the words "coconut" and "head"?
 * 14th ... that Great Dane Juliana received a medal for extinguishing an incendiary bomb by urinating on it?
 * 12th ... that a hotel built to resemble a cruise ship sits on top of a cliff in South Korea?
 * 2nd ... that it is important to manage poverty levels in London?

August 13

 * 31st ... that Michael Edgson won 18 Paralympic gold medals, making him one of Canada's most successful athletes?
 * 31st ... that the board game Discworld: Ankh-Morpork lets players take on the roles of different Discworld characters?
 * 28th ... that the board game K2 gives players a realistic simulation of climbing a mountain?
 * 26th ... that Rufus the Hawk was named "the world's most notable bird" after being stolen in 2012?
 * 26th ... that Prince Charles had to close his fruit and vegetable shop this year because it was no longer profitable?
 * 25th ... that there are proposals to build a 2 km tall mountain in The Netherlands?
 * 24th ... that William Cantelo invented an early machine gun, then mysteriously disappeared?
 * 24th ... that 259 people were hospitalised because of an incident at a marching band competition?
 * 24th ... that Simon Jackson, Britain's most successful judoka, also won gold medals in tandem cycling races?
 * 21st ... that you should swear when you hurt yourself?
 * 21st ... that Valerie Robertson won gold medals in swimming and athletics before having a highly successful wheelchair lawn bowling career?
 * 18th ... that, having competed at eight different Games, Deanna Coates is Britain's most experienced Paralympian?
 * 17th ... that Caroline Baird has won Paralympic gold medals in 100m, 200m, and 400m sprints?
 * 11th ... that Paralympian Gwen Buck won gold medals in table tennis, lawn bowls, and swimming?

November 12

 * 29th ... that the unfinished Ocean Tower was the tallest reinforced concrete structure to be imploded?
 * 25th (14) ... that Formula One World Drivers' Champions have come from Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany (2011 champion Sebastian Vettel pictured), Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States?

September 12

 * 8th ... that five-time gold medallist Thomas Oelsner was the first athlete to be sent home from any Winter Paralympic Games when he failed a drugs test in 2002?
 * 6th ... that British swimmer James Crisp has won medals in every different competitive stroke style?
 * 6th ... that Mike Kenny is the most successful British Paralympian, having twice retained his gold medals in three swimming events?
 * 5th ... that Liz Johnson won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics just eleven days after the death of her mother?
 * 4th ... that British Paralympian Caz Walton won gold medals in athletics, table tennis, and fencing?
 * 2nd ... that Harrison Brown led the Manhattan Project team that first successfully isolated gram quantities of plutonium?
 * 1st ... that the first of a record-breaking 26 consecutive formation loops performed by British aerobatic team The Blades was executed by a blind pilot?

August 12

 * 30th ... that some athletes have been known to break their own toes and electrocute their own testicles to gain a performance boost?
 * 28th ... that Edmé-Gilles Guyot was highly influential in the development of phantasmagoria and the cups and balls magic trick?
 * 26th ... that Henry Dircks created a ghost to prove that others could not?
 * 24th ... that Doctor Quicksilver took a break from his lucrative medical career to sail the seas, capture ships, and raid South America?
 * 21st ... that Professor Pepper could make ghosts appear but could not make it rain despite the use of swivel guns, rockets, and a land mine?
 * 20th ... that the Olympic Flame once burned at 2,000 degrees Celsius to ensure that it stayed alight under water?
 * 19th ... that François Dominique Séraphin developed and popularised shadow plays in 18th-century France?
 * 15th ... that Mollie Phillips was the first woman to carry the flag and lead out her national team at an Olympic Games?
 * 12th ... that Englishman John Copley was the oldest person ever to receive an Olympic medal, winning silver at the age of 73?
 * 12th (2) ... that German sculptor Walter Lemcke designed the first Olympic torch for the 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay, which began the tradition of taking the Olympic Flame to the host city?
 * 12th ... that the first Winter Olympic torch relay did not carry the Olympic Flame?
 * 11th ... that the Olympic Flame was transmitted by satellite from Greece to Canada in 1976?
 * 10th ... that some runners in the 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay were burned by exploding torches?
 * 9th ... that the Japanese Olympic Committee did not like the suggestion that the 1940 Summer Olympics torch relay could go through China?
 * 8th ... that sculptor Chintamoni Kar received civilian awards from India and France and won an Olympic medal for Great Britain?

November 11

 * 15th ... that racing driver and world champion bobsledder "Suicide Freddie" was an "internationally known Australian playboy" under surveillance by the FBI?
 * 14th ... that Olympic discus thrower Jules Noël was drinking champagne during the 1932 Games in Los Angeles despite the prohibition and might have won the gold medal if the officials had been paying attention?
 * 13th ... that George Spencer's resemblance to a stillborn, deformed piglet led him to become the first white man executed in Connecticut?
 * 13th (5) ... that the most expensive sculptures ever sold include modern works such as Picasso's Tete de femme, Modigliani's Tête, and Giacometti's Grande tête mince, and ancient statues like Artemis and the Stag? (contains my 100th DYK entry)
 * 6th ... that only two competitors have carried the flag for Great Britain at the Olympic Games on more than one occasion?

October 11

 * 21st (2) ... that Welsh lock Huw Richards, a former sheep shearing champion, was the first player to be sent off in a Rugby World Cup tournament?
 * 15th ... that bees and wasps can be trained to detect explosives, illegal drugs, cancer, and pregnancy?
 * 13th ... that the reaction of the public to a 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn Monroe has been criticized as "juvenile"?
 * 8th ... that Thomas Edison hoped to make furniture, refrigerators, and pianos using the concrete he developed but it was instead used to make the Yankee Stadium?
 * 7th ... that Thomas Edison lost a fortune in his ore-milling company (building pictured) but "had a hell of a good time spending it"?
 * 6th ... that Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, and Maria Callas have all performed in Verona's Bra?

September 11

 * 27th ... that White House Honey Ale is the only beer known to have been brewed in the White House?
 * 26th ... that while some prolific authors used pen and paper or typewriters, Philip M. Parker has used a computer to write more than 200,000 books?
 * 23rd ... that a listing on eBay led to the discovery of a new species?
 * 20th ... that Wojciech Pietranik was told to replace the Sydney Opera House with the Roman Colosseum in his design for the Sydney 2000 Olympic medals?
 * 17th ... that Olympic gold medals (example pictured) have been made out of silver, jade, and glass?
 * 8th ... that many children have been injured or died while sweeping up cotton?
 * 8th ... that renowned poet William Wordsworth was inspired by a leech collector (leech pictured)?
 * 3rd ... that phantom rides were often filmed by a cameraman tied to the front of a speeding train?

August 11

 * 31st ... that causes of the deaths at the Berlin Wall (examples of memorials pictured) included shooting, drowning, suffocation, suicide, and falling from a balloon?
 * 28th ... that a giant elephant (engraving pictured) in Paris was protected by a man living in one of its legs? Top 50
 * 22nd ... that Pierre-François Palloy (pictured) began the demolition of the Bastille on the same day that it was attacked?
 * 16th ... that Giuseppe Cassioli created a design for the Summer Olympic Games medals (1980 bronze medal pictured) that was used for 40 years?
 * 13th ... that phantasmagoria showman Paul Philidor convinced Marie Tussaud to exhibit her waxworks in England?

January 08

 * 17th ... that Stubbins Ffirth drank vomit and smeared bodily fluids over himself in an attempt to prove that yellow fever was not contagious?

August 07

 * 27th ... that a picture of Mary Ann Bevan, "the ugliest woman in the world", featured on a birthday card until a complaint led to its withdrawal?
 * 26th ... that children up to the age of five can find it difficult to distinguish between television programmes and toy advertising campaigns?
 * 24th ... that Malcolm X, James Brown, and the current President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva all worked as shoeshiners when they were young?
 * 21st ... that A Tragedy by 19th century poet, singer and composer Theo Marzials is frequently referred to as the worst poem ever written in the English language?
 * 18th ... that the Spanish Paralympic basketball team were stripped of their gold medals from the 2000 Sydney Games because ten of their players did not have a disability?
 * 10th ... that towns across the United States and Australia have memorials dedicated to the birth of their first white child?
 * 9th ... that snail races usually start with the words "Ready, Steady, Slow!"?
 * 7th ... that the 850-ton Belle Tout lighthouse was pushed 17 metres (56 feet) away from a cliff face to save it from coastal erosion?
 * 3rd ... that Étienne-Gaspard Robert terrified audiences with his pioneering phantasmagoria shows and greatly influenced others with his ballooning feats? 05:47, August 2007

July 07

 * 6th ... that the inmates of San Pedro prison run a hotel for visiting tourists and sell cocaine to the local community?

June 07

 * 19th ... that Horace Liveright published the works of numerous important authors, including Ernest Hemingway and T. S. Eliot, and hired Béla Lugosi for Dracula, but still died penniless?
 * 11th ... that worm charming, grunting, and fiddling competitions are held around the world?
 * 8th ... that giant vegetables are entered in competitions around the world, with seeds being traded over the Internet?
 * 2nd ... that the £4.2m ($7m) estate of Gregory Hemingway, the youngest son of Ernest Hemingway, could not be left to his wife because of the same-sex marriage laws in Florida?
 * 1st ... that the pasilalinic-sympathetic compass was an attempt to communicate across vast distances using the telepathic link between snails?

May 07

 * 4th ... that Bold Lane car park, used by shoppers in Derby, England, is one of the ten most secure places in the world alongside Air Force One, Area 51, and Fort Knox?

April 07

 * 1st ... that the Tempest Prognosticator is a device that employs a "jury" of twelve leeches that use small hammers to ring a bell to indicate the approach of a storm?

February 07

 * 20th ... that children as young as three were employed to hurry around British coal mines?

January 07

 * 17th ... that the Rouse Simmons, known as "The Christmas Tree Ship", was transporting over 5,000 Christmas trees to Chicago when it sank in 1912?
 * 15th ... that the failure to meet standards for toy safety has led to numerous deaths and injuries of babies and small children, with millions of products recalled worldwide?

September 06

 * 21st ... that stereotypes of animals are common in television and film and usually emphasise particular traits of the species?
 * 17th ... that "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically valid sentence?
 * 4th ... that "bin bugs" are being attached to British wheelie bins to monitor the amount of domestic waste produced by each household?
 * 4th ... that Rembrant's portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III is the most stolen painting in the world?
 * 1st ... that at the height of the Cold War U.S. President Ronald Reagan committed a microphone gaffe by inadvertently informing the nation that he had ordered the bombing of Russia?

August 06

 * 29th ... that the sport of mobile phone throwing can be judged by the throwing distance or by the creative choreographics of the throw?
 * 29th ... that structure relocation has been used to save several buildings from destruction by moving them without the need for disassembly.
 * 22nd ... that unfinished buildings can be found throughout the world that will never be completed or demolished because of the costs involved?
 * 9th ... that the largest body parts do not all belong to the largest animal, and that there are numerous Guinness World Records for the largest human body parts?
 * 9th ... that Albert Bigelow Paine was the literary executor for Mark Twain, a member of the Pulitzer Prize Committee, and a recipient of the title of Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur for his books about Joan of Arc?
 * 8th ... that there are many examples of unfinished work in the arts, some of which remain incomplete but others have been finished by other people?
 * 7th ... that Frederick Lorz was initially greeted as the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics despite having been driven for ten miles in the car of his manager?
 * 3rd ... that animals have delivered mail throughout history, with different postal services using pigeons, reindeer and even cats?
 * 1st ... that conger cuddling was once described as the "most fun a person could have with a dead fish"?

July 06

 * 31st ... that overacting can be intentional for some roles, particularly when exaggerating the evil characteristics of a villain, but is often the subject of parody and satire?
 * 29th ... that footprints have revealed clues about the activity of criminals and dinosaurs, and have also been the source of several myths and legends?
 * 11th ... that supernumerary body parts can include fingers, toes, and ribs, or can even be as extreme as additional sex organs or heads?
 * 10th ... that cow fighting, unlike bull fighting, is a sport that does not have human participants but is fought between cows, and that it often does not include any physical contact?
 * 9th ... that there is a long history of animals in sport, ranging from common horse racing and fox hunting events to the more unusual rabbit show jumping and camel wrestling competitions?
 * 4th ... that hollowed-out books have been used in bombings, for smuggling, and for covertly photographing people?
 * 2nd ... that there have been several proposals for space advertising projects, including the use of a giant, 1km² billboard that could be seen from Earth?
 * 1st ...an increasing number of countries are looking to regulate fast food advertising in order to avoid childhood obesity?

January 06

 * 31st ... that secret passages have helped people to hide in or flee from a building, or even to enter it without being spotted?
 * 27th ... that placenta accreta can see the placenta attach itself not only to the muscle of the uterus but also to the bladder or other organs?
 * 9th ... that there are many multi-headed animals in mythology and fiction, but there have also been numerous real animals that had two heads?

December 05

 * 6th ... that there have been many castaways both in fiction and on real desert islands?
 * 4th ... that the Havengore is a ceremonial vessel that was used to carry the body of Winston Churchill during his state funeral on 30 January 1965?

November 05

 * 28th ... that geographical renaming can take place to change the name of a city or country for many reasons, including as part of a sponsorship deal?
 * 18th ... that the parents of Rachel Whitear allowed a photograph of her dead body to be used in a campaign against heroin?
 * 1st ... that there have been many toilet-related injuries throughout history as well as in urban legends?

October 05

 * 29th ... that the 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be the third London Olympics and that no other city has hosted the games three times?

September 05

 * 24th ... that virtual plagues can infect and kill the characters in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and are usually caused by unexpected problems with the programming code?
 * 6th ... that there have been many attempts to deliver mail by rocket, but none have met with much success?

August 05

 * 22nd ... that the largest organism in the world is a honey fungus which covers more than 3.4 square miles (8.9 km&sup2;) and is thousands of years old?
 * 21st ... that umchwasho is a traditional chastity rite in Swaziland that restricts the sexual relations of unmarried women?

July 05

 * 30th ... that alcohol advertising is heavily restricted in many countries to avoid associating the drinking of alcoholic beverages with sexual success and physical attractiveness?
 * 30th ... that Wayne McLaren, an American model who portrayed the Marlboro Man in the famous cigarette advertising campaign, died of lung cancer?
 * 26th ... that superfecundation is the fertilisation of two or more ova by sperm from separate acts of sexual intercourse and can lead to twins with different fathers?
 * 21st ... that the hyaloid artery helps the lens of the eye to develop during the fetal stage but is usually fully regressed before birth?
 * 21st ... that the Working Group on Internet Governance is a United Nations body set up to investigate the future governance of the Internet and the role of ICANN?
 * 11th ... that tobacco advertising one of the most highly-regulated forms of marketing, along with alcohol, and is banned in many countries?
 * 8th ... that the Olympic Javelin is a high-speed rail service announced as part of the public transport regeneration of London in readiness for the 2012 Summer Olympics?

June 05

 * 11th ... that the virtual economy of massively multiplayer online games sometimes attracts virtual crime, which is punishable by real laws in some countries?
 * 2nd ... that facial symmetry is a determinant of the health, physical attractiveness and beauty of a person and is a factor in interpersonal attraction?
 * 1st ... that macrosomia refers to a fetus that is above a defined weight at childbirth, and occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies?
 * 1st ... that MOMO syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder characterised by obesity, macrocephaly and ocular abnormalities?

April 05

 * 8th ... that a smokie is a West African delicacy made by blowtorching the carcass of a sheep or goat without removing its fleece?
 * 7th ... that a love letter is a popular way to express feelings of love in written form?

March 05

 * 30th ... that an automatic number plate recognition system uses optical character recognition to read the license plates on vehicles.

February 05

 * 24th ... that Empty nest syndrome is a form of depression that affects parents when a child leaves home?
 * 14th ... that Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome is a form of dyslexia which makes it very difficult for a person to read black text on white paper?

January 05

 * 18th ... that in January 2005 Romanian Adriana Iliescu became the oldest woman to give birth at the age of 66?
 * 16th ... that a modern baby monitor can use a digital camera similar to a web cam to watch the baby as well as listen to them?
 * 14th ... that BBC television series Watchdog helped uncover the Hoover Company "free flights" scam?

December 04

 * 8th ... that Tunde Baiyewu, the singer from Lighthouse Family, is the step-son of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo?
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