Wikipedia:Recent additions/2004/December

31 December 2004

 * ...that Kordylewski clouds are large concentrations of dust that orbit Earth at the distance of the Moon?
 * ...that Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm survived a brain tumor in 1997 and completed a tour with his new band in 2004?

30 December 2004

 * ...that dew ponds are man-made ponds placed on the top of hills, built for watering livestock?

29 December 2004

 * ...that crème fraîche is made by inoculating pasteurized light cream with lactobacillus cultures?
 * ...that the actress Viviane Romance rejected the offer of a Hollywood contract in the 1930s preferring to work in French cinema?
 * ...that the 2001 UBK protest campaign in Kiev's Independence Square anticipated the current Orange Revolution in Ukraine?

28 December 2004

 * ...that Je Tsongkhapa founded the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizing monastic discipline and scholarly pursuits?
 * ...that Albert Calmette developed "Calmette's Serum", the first antivenom developed for snake venom?
 * ...that the book Hollywood Babylon was condemned for including photographs of the dead bodies of actresses Carole Landis and Thelma Todd?

27 December 2004

 * ...that the charity Heifer International allows you to give a family a gift of livestock in the spirit of sustainability?
 * ...that Agathokleia was an Indo-Greek queen who ruled parts of Northern India from 135 to 125 BC?
 * ...that Bridgett Riley lost her contact lenses in the fifth round of a boxing match against Theresa Arnold on September 19, 1996, leading to her first ever defeat?
 * ...that endochondral ossification is one of two types of bone formation and is the process responsible for much of the bone growth in vertebrate skeletons?

25 December 2004

 * ...that a statue of Joan of Arc in Meridian Hill Park is the only female equestrian statue in Washington, D.C.?

24 December 2004

 * ...that Endochondral ossification is one of two types of bone formation and is the process responsible for much of the bone growth in vertebrate skeletons?
 * ...that there are so many species of Murinae (Old World rats and mice) that it is said they are in the process of taking over the world, and humans just came along in the middle of it?
 * ...that Rumaisa Rahman, born prematurely in Chicago on September 19, 2004, was 8 inches (20 cm) long and weighed 8½ oz. (244 g) at birth?
 * ...that Les Horribles Cernettes, a humorous rock band based in the CERN, supplied the first image on the web, posted in 1992 by Silvano de Gennaro and Tim Berners-Lee?

23 December 2004

 * ...that the eruption of Pu'u 'O'o added 544 acres (2.2 km²) of land to the island of Hawaii?
 * ...that the Humboldt Museum in Berlin is home to the largest mounted dinosaur in the world, a Brachiosaurus; and the most exquisitely preserved specimen of the earliest known bird, the Archaeopteryx?
 * ...that J002E3 was at first thought to be a new moon of the Earth when discovered in 2002 but later found to be the third stage of the Apollo 12 Saturn V?
 * ...that Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski was a policy analyst at the Pentagon for four and a half years before retiring and becoming a vocal critic of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq?

22 December 2004

 * ...that Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka learned to read at the age of four and was able to read nine languages in addition to her native Ukrainian?
 * ...that Bill Boaks, a retired Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander, won only 5 votes (a record low in a British Parliamentary election) in a 1982 by-election?
 * ...that Mildred Dunnock played the role of Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman in three mediums &mdash; on Broadway, and for both film and television?
 * ...that Major Mykola Mel'nychenko, who started the Cassette Scandal by accusing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma of ordering a journalist's assassination, continues to release disputed audio excerpts from political asylum in the USA?

21 December 2004

 * ...that Julius Schreck ended his SS career as Adolf Hitler's chauffeur, and that Hitler read the eulogy at his state funeral in 1936?
 * ...that actor Leslie Banks used facial injuries he received in World War I to good effect during his acting career when playing villains?
 * ...that Cold Sunday was a specific meteorological event which took place on January 17, 1982, when unprecedentedly cold air swept down from Canada, sending temperatures in the United States far below existing all-time record lows?
 * ...that Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand is known colloquially as "The Cake-tin"?

20 December 2004

 * ...that in the Catalan region of Spain, a Caganer is often tucked away in some corner of a Christmas Nativity scene where he is not easily noticed, because he is defecating?
 * ...that in gold mining, cyanide may be used to extract gold in areas where gold-bearing rocks are found at the surface?
 * ...that the Kri-kri is a type of wild goat once common around the Mediterranean but now restricted to a few parts of the island of Crete in Greece?
 * ...that television presenter Lynda Lopez is a sister of Jennifer Lopez?

18 December 2004

 * ...that the painter Jan Matejko always depicted Sta&#324;czyk, Poland's most famous court jester, with a concerned and reflective look on his face?
 * ...that the largest African crocodile, the Nile crocodile, is both hated and revered, especially in Ancient Egypt where crocodiles were mummified, and worshipped as gods?
 * ...that playboating is a discipline of kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place, as opposed to whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river?
 * ...that Bill Barker's alien-infested Schwa artwork became such a hit in the 1990s that he eventually teamed with AOL to make an online game based on it?

17 December 2004

 * ...that Yamada Nagamasa was a Japanese adventurer who played a key military role in 17th century Thailand?
 * ...that in Greek and Roman mythology, the Palladium was an ancient statue of Pallas Athene which kept the city of Troy safe, until it was stolen by Odysseus?
 * ...that the 1643 Westminster Assembly was appointed by Parliament to restructure the Church of England and produced the Westminster Confession, which is the foundation of the Presbyterian Church?
 * ...that The Happy Mutant Handbook might be the only book to chronicle a large number of underground subcultures of the 1980s and 1990s?

15 December 2004

 * ...that the Japanese Paleolithic includes the earliest known examples of polished stone tools in the world, dated around 30,000 BCE?
 * ...that Monty Norman is the film composer who wrote the "James Bond theme", even though John Barry usually gets credited for it?
 * ...that Thomas Usk's 1387 The Testament of Love, once attributed to Chaucer, was written while in prison to drum up sympathy?
 * ...that the fairy in nVidia's Dawn technology demo was designed by Steven Giesler, who also created many characters for the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Flight of the Osiris films by Square?

14 December 2004

 * ...that Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" is credited as achieving the highest combined sales, airplay and downloads in the world, since Cher's single "Believe" in 1998?
 * ...that Daskalogiannis was an 18th-century Cretan rebel skinned alive by Ottoman rulers?
 * ...that cadigans are a class of placeholder names of unnamed or unknown objects such as gadgets, thingamajigs, or widgets?

13 December 2004
100x100px|Aliens of the Deep film poster
 * ...that the documentary film Aliens of the Deep by Academy Award winner James Cameron and Steven Quale was made using footage of at least 40 deep sea dives in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean?
 * ...that Cornwall's South West Coast Path came into being as a working path used by Revenue Officers to patrol the coast near Polperro in search of smugglers?
 * ...that "Teewurst" is a German sausage made from two parts of raw pork (and sometimes beef) and one part bacon?
 * ...that the Christian flag was the idea of a superintendent of a U.S. Sunday school who gave a speech asking students what a flag representing Christianity would look like?


 * ...that Wordsworth thought that the purpose of poetic diction is to flatter the reader's self-love?

12 December 2004

 * ...that the rock group Foghat had five gold records in the 1970s and believes that the movie This Is Spinal Tap was based on their career?

11 December 2004

 * ...that the geography of Tasmania results in a climate so similar to that of pre-industrial England that it was once referred to as a Southern England?
 * ...that up to 70 percent of the small intestine can be surgically removed as a treatment for Crohn's disease before short bowel syndrome becomes a factor?
 * ...that a rod sagging under the weight of clothes on coat hangers is an example of a beam experiencing bending?
 * ...that Zentropa is the name of both Lars von Trier's production company and his third theatrical feature film, released in 1991?

9 December 2004

 * ...that the climate in Tasmania was so similar to that of pre-industrial England that it was referred to by some English colonists as "a Southern England"?


 * ...that Thomas Jefferson offered James Monroe many design suggestions for the Oak Hill plantation?
 * ...that The Book of Sports was a 1617 declaration of James I of England listing archery and dancing as permissible on Sundays and that Puritans in Parliament had it publicly burned in 1643?
 * ...that soccer player Paul Reaney was briefly a car mechanic before signing with Leeds United?
 * ...that Palestinian presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi is a distant cousin of Marwan Barghouti, another presidential candidate?

8 December 2004

 * ...that the term apicophilicity was first proposed in 1963 for the structural analysis of pentacoordinate phosphorus fluorides by 19F NMR?
 * ...that damask, a fabric with a rich pattern formed by weaving, got its name from ornamental silk fabrics from Damascus, Syria?
 * ...that after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Free Republic of Schwarzenberg existed for some time in an area that Allied forces neglected to occupy?
 * ...that Tunde Baiyewu, the singer from Lighthouse Family, is the step-son of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo?

7 December 2004

 * ...that Damask, a fabric with a rich pattern formed by weaving got its name from ornamental silk fabrics from Damascus?


 * ...that one of the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic was the Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boat, which went on to serve in the Luftwaffe in WWII?
 * ...that Lin Wang was an elephant that served with distinction with the Chinese army during World War II?
 * ...that Eastern Mountain Sports employees are required to take a training course covering not only store policies, product information, and sales techniques, but also the science behind all the products they sell?
 * ...that J. Harlan Bretz's  theories on the origins of the Channeled Scablands started a forty year debate between neocatastrophist and uniformitarianist geologists?

6 December 2004

 * ...that Léonce Verny was a French Naval engineer who directed the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal in Japan from 1865 to 1876, thus helping jump-start Japan's modernization?
 * ...that the television movie Born Innocent is credited with airing the first all-female rape scene on American television?
 * ...that Luis Rafael Sanchez is considered to be the greatest playwright to hail from Puerto Rico?
 * ...that Johnny Temple became a sportscaster after he retired from Major League baseball?

5 December 2004

 * ...that Jemmy Button was an American Indian from Tierra del Fuego who was bought for a mother of pearl button in 1830 and taken on HMS Beagle to meet the King and Queen of England?
 * ...that although he was a German national, Ken Adam fought in the Royal Air Force during World War II?
 * ...that the store that would eventually become Waldenbooks was started during the height of the Great Depression?
 * ...that the first all-steel passenger car in the world was built by American Car and Foundry in 1904 for Interborough Rapid Transit in New York City?

3 December 2004

 * ...that in ancient Greece, small bowls, such as pateras, were used for libations?
 * ...that Steve Kipner originally wrote Olivia Newton-John's biggest hit "Physical" for a "Mr Universe" pageant?
 * ...that at over 310,000 words, the Alabama Constitution is the longest constitution in the world?
 * ...that comedian Bill Saluga is the man behind the character Ray Jay Johnson, who is known for the catch phrase "You can call me Ray, you can call me Jay"?

2 December 2004

 * ...that Edgeworth's Limit theorem examines the range of possible outcomes resulting from barter or free market exchange between groups of traders of various sizes?


 * ...that King Christian IV of Denmark was probably the most notable person in history to be afflicted with the hair disease known as Polish plait?
 * ...that actress Michele Lee appeared in four episodes of Knots Landing without pay when the show suffered a budgeting problem?
 * ...that the United States' National Governors Association serves as a key interface betweeen state governments and the federal government?

1 December 2004

 * ...that the Smyth Report was the first official administrative history written on the development of the first atomic weapons?
 * ...that songwriter Billy Steinberg spent more than a year trying to find someone to record his song Like a Virgin before it was accepted by Madonna?
 * ...that in 1975 a freak typhoon caused the Banqiao Dam in China's Henan Province to fail, killing over 200,000 people?
 * ...that American lions were probably cave lions who crossed the Bering land bridge into Alaska?