Wikipedia:Recent additions 184

Did you know...

 * ...that according to the book The World Without Us radioactive waste, bronze statues, and Mount Rushmore will be the longest lasting evidence of human presence on Earth?
 * ...that 10TP was a Polish tank design, which advanced the Polish armor programme but came too late to provide the Polish Army with tanks of sufficient number and quality before the German invasion of Poland in 1939?
 * ...that Marrack Goulding, a former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, was Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford from 1997 to 2006?
 * ...that Cornelius, Oregon is named after pioneer Thomas R. Cornelius, who served in the both the Territorial and State legislatures?
 * ...that the Ferranti Argus was developed to control the Bristol Bloodhound missile, but went on to be Ferranti's most successful industrial control computer?
 * ...that Thai filmmaker Aditya Assarat writes his scripts in English and then translates them to the Thai language?
 * ...that chryselephantine sculptures (fragments pictured) were monumental statues made of gold and ivory that depicted the gods in Ancient Greek temples?
 * ...that Bolivia-Chile relations have been strained due to a border dispute unresolved since the 19th century?
 * ...that the transport ship USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg is scheduled to be sunk in 2008 to form an artificial reef off the Florida Keys?
 * ...that there is no statutory body in India to investigate academic misconduct such as scientific plagiarism?
 * ...that Acme Tackle Company's Little Cleo fishing lure was deemed by Field & Stream to be one of the "50 greatest lures of all time"?
 * ...that IKB Deutsche Industriebank was the first European bank to announce substantial losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis?
 * ...that the 13th century Venetian troubadour Bertolome Zorzi composed songs while a prisoner of war for seven years in Genoa?
 * ...that Marcela de Agoncillo, who made the first Philippine flag, was married to the first Filipino diplomat?
 * ...that the Fayum mummy portraits (pictured) are detailed paintings of individuals from 1st to 3rd century CE Egypt, representing a rare survival of ancient Graeco-Roman painting?
 * ...the Provisional IRA attack on Derryard checkpoint was carried out by a flying column of volunteers, created in an attempt to avoid infiltration by informers?
 * ...that the Bushy-tailed Woodrat is the original "pack rat" due to its strong affinity for shiny objects such as coins and spoons?
 * ...that French conductor Louis Antoine Jullien received thirty-six given names at his baptism?
 * ...that the harvesting of wine grapes can happen every month of the calendar year somewhere in the world?
 * ...that Horace King was the architect of dozens of bridges in the Southern United States in the 1800s, despite being a slave?
 * ...that the far right in Switzerland has experienced a revival in the 2000s with a membership growth of around 20% in 2005 alone, according to police?
 * ...that Kirsten Sheridan, director of the new movie August Rush, got her start in film portraying the younger sister of Irish artist Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis) in her father Jim Sheridan's 1989 film, My Left Foot?
 * ...that Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett was born in the United States to a Scottish father, educated in England and eventually became the Australian Chief of the Air Staff?
 * ...that Matthew Vassar's Springside estate (pictured), Andrew Jackson Downing's only extant work, has been a proposed site for a cemetery, high school and condominiums?
 * ...that the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis began in the home of Harriet G. Walker and her husband T. B. Walker?
 * ...that Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard and his seven siblings all had first names beginning with the letter "M"?
 * ...that China supported the Zimbabwe African National Union's fight against British rule in the country and recognized it right from independence day on April 18, 1980?
 * ...that the history of Rioja wine has been greatly influenced by the Bordeaux wine industry with many Riojan bodegas benefiting from the influx of Bordeaux winemakers into the region following the phylloxera epidemic of the 1860s?
 * ...that visitors to the House of the Binns in Scotland can see the table where General Tam Dayell is supposed to have played cards with Satan?
 * ...that Elijah White's only two children drowned in separate instances in Oregon Country during 1838?
 * ...that the principles of learning pioneered by Edward Thorndike nearly a century ago are still widely used in practical instruction?
 * ...that rabbi Balfour Brickner was selected as one of the 50 sexiest New Yorkers at age 77?
 * ...that Australian rock band Small Mercies first encountered their producer, Matt Wallace, when he left a message on their MySpace?
 * ...that when the Texan schooner Austin (pictured) led the brig Wharton and several Yucatecan ships to victory over a Mexican fleet in the Battle of Campeche in 1843, it was the only time that steam-driven warships were defeated by sailing ships?
 * ...that although the first specimen of the smallmouth scad, a tropical fish endemic to northern Australia, was already taken in 1984 and deposited in the Queensland Museum, it was not officially named till 1987?
 * ...that when English composer Sir Edward Elgar died in 1934, he left more than 130 pages of sketches for a third symphony?
 * ...that in Sell v. United States, the Supreme Court decided a dentist was unconstitutionally jailed for eight years without trial for refusing to be medicated with psychiatric drugs?
 * ...that Julian Howard Ashton, a prominent figure of media and art in Britain and Australia in the 19th and 20th century, won the Sydney sesquicentenary prize for landscape drawings for his art work?
 * ...that the Nachtigall Battalion of the German army consisting of Ukrainian volunteers actively participated in the murder of around 4,000 Jews of Lviv in July 1941?
 * ...that Buganda, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, maintained a fleet of large outrigger canoes, which allowed commandos to raid any shore on Lake Victoria?
 * ...that the Great French Wine Blight, caused by the deadly phylloxera (cartoon pictured), destroyed over 40% of France's vineyards in the mid-19th century?
 * ...that measuring the oxidizable carbon ratio is a way to determine the age of charcoal samples up to 35,000 years old?
 * ...that the Pitsa panels from 530 BCE are the only surviving examples of ancient Greek panel painting, the most important art style of Ancient Greek art?
 * ...that Billy the pygmy hippo was the pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, outlived him by 23 years, and sired 18 children all named Gumdrop?
 * ...that Canada was the first Western country to recognize Ukraine's independence in 1991?
 * ...that in 1918, the National Federation of Federal Employees became the first labor union in the United States to win the legal right to represent federal employees?
 * ...that Apaliunas, a Luwian deity of Wilusa (Troy) attested among gods in a treaty inscription, ca. 1280 BCE, is a likely precursor of Apollo of Greek mythology?
 * ...that the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel is a seventh-century Hebrew apocalypse in which the angel Metatron revealed to Zerubbabel that the Messiah would appear in 1058?
 * ...that the Joseph Priestley House (pictured) in Northumberland, Pennsylvania was the site of the first and only laboratory Priestley designed, built and outfitted himself, as well as several American Chemical Society celebrations?
 * ...that Scouting in displaced persons camps was very active during and after World War II and that Scout groups provided postal delivery in Displaced Persons camps?
 * ...that vaudeville performer Birdie Reeve was billed as the "World's Fastest Typist" in the 1920s, typing 200 words a minute using just two fingers of each hand?
 * ...that Slovak collaborationist Ferdinand Durčanský was both dismissed by the Nazis as pro-Jewish and later condemned to death for complicity in the murder of Jews?
 * ...that Simon Sainsbury, who had given funds to establish the Judge Business School in the old Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, also gave paintings worth £100 million to the Tate and National Gallery?
 * ...that the Fightmaster Cup is the first and only international golfing tournament for one-handers?
 * ...that runemaster Ulf of Borresta was a successful Viking who returned from England thrice with a share of the Danegeld?
 * ...that the irises of Saint Gaugericus Island became a symbol of Brussels, and the iris is now on the flag of the Brussels-Capital Region (pictured)?
 * ...that Series III of the Sri Lanka Navy's Ultra Fast Attack Craft is the fastest of its class of patrol boats in the South Asian region, with a maximum speed of 53 knots?
 * ...that in 2006, only 79% of the population in Peru had access to electricity, well below the 94.6% average for Latin America?
 * ...that the Knightly Order of Vitéz, formed by Miklós Horthy, the Regent of Hungary, for distinguished World War I veterans, was originally established by Imre Thököly, Prince of Transylvania, during an anti-Habsburg uprising in the late 17th century?
 * ...that a small silicon disc containing goodwill messages from 73 countries was left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts?
 * ...that for his part in the Bangladesh Liberation War, Dutch Australian commando officer William Ouderland is the only foreign recipient of Bir Pratik, Bangladesh's fourth highest gallantry award?
 * ...that the Þingalið was a standing army of 3,000 elite Viking warriors, whose main purpose was to defend England against other Vikings?
 * ...that the Berlin Committee was formed during World War I by Indian nationalists to foment a revolution against the British Raj?
 * ...that "Professor" Jerry Thomas (pictured), who wrote the first book of cocktail recipes in the United States in 1862, at one time earned more than the Vice President of the United States?
 * ...that the Catholic Church denied the German-Nicaraguan Enrique Gottel burial in a Managua cemetery?
 * ...that Excello Records did not release south Louisiana black Creole musician King Karl's 1958 rock and roll ballad "This Should Go On Forever" until it had already become a national hit for Karl's hometown friend, Cajun swamp pop musician Rod Bernard?
 * ...that NHS Together, a group of unions which support Britain's National Health Service, are supported by celebrities such as football (soccer) player Geoff Hurst, adventurer Ranulph Fiennes, actress Tamsin Greig and comedian Arthur Smith?
 * ...that the highly toxic all-white toadstool Amanita virosa, one of several species known as the destroying angel, can be confused with the common mushroom when young?
 * ...that despite losing almost one third of their men in the Battle of Osuchy (reenactment pictured), Polish resistance in the Zamość region successfully engaged Germans during the nationwide Operation Tempest only a month later?
 * ...that milestone home runs by Barry Bonds have caused crowd mêlées, necessitating police escorts, and that special baseballs were issued to avoid counterfeiting?
 * ...that the Texan schooner Zavala was the first steamship-of-war in North America?
 * ...that the Gothic king Radagaisus abandoned his forces and tried escaping after a counterattack by the Roman army in 406?
 * ...that Rev William Cotton, vicar of Frodsham, Cheshire, introduced the skills of beekeeping to New Zealand in the 1840s?
 * ...that your biological chronotype characterizes your morningness or eveningness?
 * ...that Singapore’s Sungei Road, formerly a place designated for affluent Europeans and Asians, is now the largest and oldest flea market better known as the Thieves' Market?
 * ...that at 24, Wilfred Arthur was the youngest Group Captain in the history of the Royal Australian Air Force?
 * ...that the Lesser Antillean Iguana (pictured) uses a nasal salt gland to rid its body of excess potassium from its herbivorous diet?
 * ...that the slang term brass razoo is speculated to have originated from Egyptian or Indian currency?