Wikipedia:Recent additions 170

Did you know...

 * ...that the Railways of Jamaica were the first built outside of Europe and North America and the first in a British colony?
 * ...that cryptologist Harry Hinsley's realisation that German weather ships were the Achilles' heel of the Enigma code led to the capture of the weather ship Lauenburg?
 * ...that Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia is the second Palestinian Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem?
 * ...that Lois DeBerry is the first African-American woman speaker pro tempore of the Tennessee House of Representatives?
 * ...that the planetary nebula luminosity function is an accurate extra-galactic standard candle despite the average error factor of two for distance estimates to planetary nebulae within our own galaxy?
 * ...that Swan and Maclaren is the oldest architectural firm in Singapore?
 * ...that the first complete map of Iceland (pictured), based on Björn Gunnlaugsson's 1831–43 survey, appears in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth?
 * ...that Ross Detwiler, the sixth 2007 overall and highest Major League Baseball Draftee in Missouri State University history, was the first of the 1453 2007 draftees to play a MLB game?
 * ...that the Fama-DFA Prize is named after University of Chicago Graduate School of Business professor Eugene Fama, a financial economist whose publications are the foundation of efficient market theory?
 * ...that Rachel Carson was so disappointed in the Oscar-winning film adaptation of her 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us that she never again sold film rights to her work?
 * ...that the Crown Colony-class light cruiser HMS Nigeria made one of the earliest captures of German Enigma material?
 * ...that the chairman of the Tennessee House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, Rob Briley, was arrested for vandalism and driving under the influence of alcohol after a 100 mph car chase?
 * ...that fossilised crinoid columnals from Lindisfarne which were strung together as a necklace or rosary became known as St Cuthbert's beads?
 * ...that the SGH War Memorial (pictured) was gazetted as one of the nine historical landmarks that are closely linked with the history of medical education in Singapore?
 * ...that Rush Street, now known for its nightlife, has had four bridges over the Chicago River connecting the Loop to the Near North Side and once handled 50% of Chicago's north-south traffic?
 * ...that the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Army is the only airmobile unit of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces which has BMD-1 and BMD-2 airborne infantry fighting vehicles?
 * ...that the annual Gorolski Święto is the largest cultural and folklore festival in the Zaolzie region?
 * ...that hotels in Mannum, South Australia served patrons in boats from the second floor when floodwaters rose during the 1956 Murray River flood?
 * ...that Kentucky governor William S. Taylor was implicated in the assassination of William Goebel, his political rival, and fled to Indiana to avoid indictment?
 * ...that the efforts by Taiwan to distinguish itself from mainland China have their roots in the Cold War of the 1950s?
 * ...that since 2002, New York's Middletown High School (pictured} has seen the district superintendent convicted of sexual abuse, had one principal resign and another suspended, had two student walkouts and was ordered to reinstate a teacher?
 * ...that Libya's Sirte Basin&mdash;which in some places lies more than 47 metres below sea level&mdash;contains roughly 80% of the country's known crude oil reserves?
 * ...that pianist Glenn Gould later criticized his own 1956 recording Bach: The Goldberg Variations, which had made him instantly famous?
 * ...that the Ryan White Care Act, responsible for U.S. federal government HIV/AIDS services, is named after Ryan White, a teenager who was expelled from his Indiana middle school in 1985 for having AIDS?
 * ...that in 2006, nearly 50,000 people were marooned in Labhpur and surrounding areas of Birbhum district in West Bengal because of floods?
 * ...that the military doctrine of the cult of the offensive was one of the main causes of World War I?
 * ...that Buddhist monk Ekai Kawaguchi was the first Japanese citizen to travel to Nepal?
 * ...that the Loch Lomond Golf Club (pictured) occupies land previously held by Clan Colquhoun and uses the clan's seat of Rossdhu Mansion as its clubhouse?
 * ...that Harriet Howard was not only Louis Napoleon's mistress, but also financed his successful 1851 coup d'état?
 * ...that the supply of natural gas and electricity in New Orleans, Louisiana ceased as a result of the General Strike of 1892, plunging the city into darkness for four nights?
 * ...that the Doctorfish tang has the largest range of its genus, which includes 38 species from three oceans?
 * ...that the Plaza film theatre in Bangalore, India was modelled after the Piccadilly Circus in London?
 * ...that Parke County, Indiana bills itself as the Covered Bridge Capital of the World because it has more covered bridges than any other county in the United States?
 * ...that Igo Sym, one of the most popular actors of interbellum Poland, was executed in 1941 by the Polish resistance for cooperating with German occupiers?
 * ...that the popularity of the Hexar AF (pictured), a 35mm fixed-lens, autofocus camera sold by Konica in 1993, was in part due to its "silent" operating mode?
 * ...that Clayton Jacobson II, a banker from Arizona, is credited with inventing the personal water craft?
 * ...that the memo calling for the 1907 International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam went unsigned by French anarchists, as many rejected the very idea of organized collaboration?
 * ...that an advertising spot immediately following Xinwen Lianbo, a daily news programme shown by most terrestrial television stations in mainland China, can sell for an estimated US$100,000?
 * ...that Colonel Gerardo Huber, a former DINA agent in charge of buying military supplies for the Chilean Army, disappeared in 1991 shortly after weapons disguised as humanitarian aid were discovered in Budapest?
 * ...that investment analyst Martin Fridson is often referred to as the "Dean of high-yield debt"?
 * ...that ADP-ribosylation, a posttranslational protein modification, is involved in the actions of several bacterial toxins in diseases such as cholera and whooping cough?
 * ...that the 6th-century Songyue Pagoda (pictured) is the oldest extant large pagoda in China and the earliest multiple-eave pagoda known?
 * ...that Vera Pezer, current Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan, is a four-time Canadian Ladies' curling champion and a member of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame?
 * ...that a woman, chamberlain Urszula Mayerin, was among the most influential figures at Sigismund III Vasa's court, signing official state documents in his name and receiving foreign ambassadors during his illness?
 * ...that Jay Barbree is the only journalist to have covered every manned space flight in the United States, beginning with Alan Shepherd's maiden voyage in 1961?
 * ...that between 1872 and 1876 the buildings of Tampico, Illinois' central business district were destroyed by fire three times and tornado once?
 * ...that Duke University Fuqua School of Business Professor, financial economist and regular CNBC Closing Bell guest, John Graham was nominated for four Journal of Finance best paper awards before winning.
 * ...that King of Sweden Charles Gustav was so impressed by Kazimierzowski Palace in Warsaw (pictured) that he even ordered the window frames to be removed and transported to Sweden during the Swedish invasion?
 * ...that the Classic Veracruz culture of pre-Columbian Mexico was obsessed with human sacrifice as part of the Mesoamerican ballgame?
 * ...that The Harvey School, a rural school in New York, was established to give an education to the founder's handicapped son?
 * ...that Garth Butcher was a member of Canada's first-ever gold medal team at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships before becoming a pest and setting team records for penalty minutes in the National Hockey League?
 * ...that Harvard Business School Associate professor and financial economist Randolph Cohen has published research on the valuation of baseball star Alex Rodriguez?
 * ...that the Arly-Singou ecosystem shelters the largest remaining population of lions in West Africa?
 * ...that Mob turncoat Peter Chiodo was so heavy that he had to be flown in a special plane?
 * ...that a variant of the helmet (pictured) used by the Bulgarian Army in World War II is still in service?
 * ...that the Irish politician the O'Gorman Mahon commanded a Chilean fleet, fought thirteen duels, and won a by-election aged 87?
 * ...that Norman Williams shot down eight German aircraft while serving as an air gunner in Halifax bombers in the Second World War, becoming the most highly decorated non-commissioned officer in the RAAF and its only "ace" who was not a fighter pilot?
 * ...that Fischer Black Prize, first awarded in 2003, is the finance analogue to the Clark Medal in economics and the Fields Medal in mathematics, introduced in 1947 and 1936, respectively?
 * ...that a Lesser Caymans iguana was the longest living Cyclura lizard ever at thirty-three years?
 * ...that The Encyclopædia of Ball Juggling contains completely cross-referenced A to Z article indexing, complemented by Charlie Dancey’s light-hearted writing and cartoon illustration style?
 * ...that St. Anne's Church in Warsaw was the place of execution of Bishop Józef Kossakowski during the Warsaw Uprising of 1794?
 * ...that according to Believe It or NotFlorian ZaBach played "The Flight of the Bumblebee" faster than any known violinist?
 * ...that the 18th century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pictured) was buried in a communal grave?
 * ...that the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in the southwestern United States was established in 1939 to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep and the name Kofa is a contraction of King of Arizona?
 * ...that in 1745 William Cleghorn won a University of Edinburgh position after his rival, David Hume, was described by the town council as amoral, an atheist, and a sceptic?
 * ...that Saskatchewan Deputy Minister of Agriculture F. H. Auld's personal papers are among the few records that chronicle the drought years of the 1920s and 1930s in Alberta?
 * ...that cultivated Christmas trees are susceptible to such pests and diseases as the Balsam woolly adelgid and sudden oak death?
 * ...that Kellom Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska is the alma mater of Fred Astaire, Gale Sayers and Bob Gibson, as well as youth programs once led by Whitney Young?
 * ...that Kumaran Pathmanadan, former chief procurer of arms for the Tamil Tigers rebel group, used over 200 passports and at least 23 pseudonyms to evade Interpol, CIA and MI-5?
 * ...that Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, born in Potsdam, Brandenburg, became Princess of Albania in March 1914 (arrival pictured), but had to leave the country just six months later because of nationalist turmoil?
 * ...that the first public interest litigation case to be heard in the Karnataka High Court  in India was to prevent the demolition of the very building from which it was functioning?
 * ...that after the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation, postglacial Lake Michigan used to drain through Mackinac Falls, which are now completely submerged under Lake Huron?
 * ...that Peggy McKercher was the first woman to serve on the Corman Park Council?
 * ...that each year over 1000 research papers are submitted to the Journal of Finance (the most widely-cited finance mournal), and five of these are awarded Smith Breeden or Brattle Prizes?
 * ...that Patience Strong was the pen name by which the English poet Winifred Emma May was best known?
 * ...that Nicholas Hilliard (pictured), portrait miniaturist to Elizabeth I and James I of England, was chronically short of funds and was briefly imprisoned in Ludgate for debt?
 * ...that Omaha, Nebraska's Krug Park was the site of the worst roller coaster accident in the U.S. when it happened in 1930?