Wikipedia:Recent additions 206

Did you know...

 * ...that the England national football team has only had fifteen managers since the position was made a full-time post in 1946?
 * ...that Tony Spear, a leader of the Mars Pathfinder project, is now working to pursue the Google Lunar X Prize?
 * ...that the white kunzea was among the first Australian plants introduced to cultivation in England?
 * ...that Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels created illustrations of the life of the nuns of the abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs (pictured), shortly before it was closed on the orders of Pope Clement XI?
 * ...that the U.S. Supreme Court case Holloway v. United States sought to establish whether the Federal carjacking law applies to crimes committed with the "conditional intent" of harming drivers who refuse a carjacker's demands?
 * ...that De brief voor de koning (The Letter for the King) by Tonke Dragt was chosen in 2004 by the judges of the Gouden Griffel as the best Dutch children's novel of the past fifty years?
 * ...that Brest Fortress in Belarus was belatedly honoured by the USSR as a Hero Fortress in 1965 for its resistance to the Nazi invasion in 1941?
 * ...that Romany Marie ' s café was a bohemian hangout in Greenwich Village for artists, authors, explorers, scientists, visionaries, and other intellectuals from the 1910s through the 1950s?
 * ...that three Queens of England and several British nobles were beheaded in Tower Green, a space within the Tower of London?
 * ...that 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model Quiana Grant served for four years as her mother's eyes while the latter underwent a series of corrective surgeries for chorioretinitis?
 * ...that during the construction of Centennial Tower (pictured) in Singapore, the tower rose 20 storeys in just three months?
 * ...that the second movement of Symphony No. 21 in A major by Joseph Haydn has a mirror recapitulation, which is unusual for both a work of Haydn's and a symphony?
 * ...that the sQuba, developed by Swiss company Rinspeed, is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water?
 * ...that the battle of the Dukla Pass resulted in one of the bloodiest battles in Slovakia's history and contributed to the failure of the Slovak National Uprising?
 * ...that Tibbia College, with 84 patents in herbal medicine, is the only medical institution in India to offer education and training in two ancient systems of medicine, Ayurveda and Unaani?
 * ...that William Waldo served as a county judge in Oregon after his younger brother served on the Oregon Supreme Court?
 * ...that the plot of the Lost episode "The Economist" was compared to the Book of Daniel, the TV series Alias, and the film Assassins?
 * ...that Martin Corry, a Fianna Fáil TD for over 40 years, once suggested in the Dáil the use of poison gas to end the Partition of Ireland?
 * ...that due to its numerous attractions such as Lal Bagh (pictured), Bangalore, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, is known as the "Garden City of India"?
 * ...that white nose syndrome has caused a mortality rate of over 90% of bats in some caves?
 * ...that Singaporean artist Chua Ek Kay’s ink paintings blended traditional Chinese painting forms and Western art theories and techniques?
 * ...that four of the five ships operated by the Hamburg Atlantic Line and their successors were named Hanseatic at some point of their tenure in the company?
 * ...that Archduke Felix of Austria was once barred from entering Austria, and he held a news conference to announce his illegal arrival the day after sneaking in from Germany in 1996?
 * ...that the Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico is the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States, making its owner Ted Turner the biggest private land owner in the country?
 * ...that the Simris Runestones include one of the earliest Scandinavian sources that mention Sweden?
 * ...that cleaning up Quassaick Creek convinced Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to make environmental law his lifelong work?
 * ...that as a protest against what they call "Imperial Manila", the local government of Cebu Province forced all of its schools to sing the Philippine National Anthem in Cebuano instead of Tagalog?
 * ...that two 79th Academy Award Best Visual Effects nominees employed mathematician Ronald Fedkiw ' s model for their special effects?
 * ...that, at a debate on evolution in 1860, Bishop Wilberforce allegedly asked Thomas Huxley if it was through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey?
 * ...that the U.S. Navy's Harris-class attack transports Leonard Wood, Joseph T. Dickman and J. Franklin Bell were all named after U.S. Army generals?
 * ...that Most Rev. S. Arulappa, Archbishop of Hyderabad, was the youngest to be consecrated as a Roman Catholic Archbishop in India?
 * ...that South Korean screenwriter and director Byeon Seung-wook spent five years working on the scenario for his 2006 directorial debut film, Solace?
 * ...that before becoming mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania in 1862, Prescott Metcalf started two railroads, numerous manufacturing firms, and was the director of a canal?
 * ...that Lingyan Temple in Shandong, China features a nine-storey Song Dynasty pagoda, named the Pizhi Pagoda (pictured) from the Sanskrit word pratyeka?
 * ...that according to Lapsiporno.info, a blacklist of websites compiled by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation included those containing legal pornography?
 * ...that Penny Neer, 1982 AIAW discus champion and one of the top U.S. discus throwers, also blocked 64 shots for the University of Michigan women's basketball team?
 * ...that the Eneabba Stone Arrangement is an Aboriginal stone arrangement once thought to have been associated with survivors of the Vergulde Draeck, a Dutch galleon wrecked on the coast of Australia in 1656?
 * ...that forthcoming Tamil film Aegan, starring Ajith Kumar, marks the directorial debut of choreographer Raju Sundaram?
 * ...that the bobsleigh and luge track used for the 1992 Winter Olympics has 80 km of ammonia refrigeration piping and 40 km of electrical conduit running though its 6500 m³ of concrete?
 * ...that Dương Quỳnh Hoa, who socialized with Saigon elites during the Vietnam War, was a communist spy?
 * ...that Shirazi wine from the Persian city of Shiraz was white and has nothing to do with the Shiraz grape used to make wine today?
 * ...that a heather fire in 1996 revealed many more quern-stones than had been previously known on the ancient quarry site of Wharncliffe Crags (pictured)?
 * ...that Sergeant James Graham was declared the "bravest man at Waterloo" for closing the North Gate at Hougoumont, an act which Wellington claimed saved the battle?
 * ...that Momoko Ueda became the youngest golfer in Japan LPGA Tour history to finish first on the money list?
 * ...that Red Plague, a poem of Józef Szczepański, commander of Batalion Parasol during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, was banned in the People's Republic of Poland due to its anti-Soviet sentiments?
 * ...that the artillery of the Nguyen Lords was so strong that cannons were placed at 4 m intervals along a 12 km defensive wall to repel the rival Trinh Lords of Vietnam?
 * ...that Francis Bok, who was held as a slave in northern Sudan for ten years, now works as an abolitionist for the American Anti-Slavery Group?
 * ...that Jeff Groscost oversaw the passing of an alternative fuels bill in Arizona whose cost ballooned from $10 million to $140 million?
 * ...that Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Gail Neall was initially so bad that her coach filmed her as an example to other swimmers of what not to do?
 * ...that the origins of Pak Khlong Talat, the primary flower market in Bangkok, Thailand, date to the 1700s?
 * ...that Fir Island (pictured) is the main northwest Washington wintering area of 30,000 to 70,000 snow geese that migrate from Wrangel Island in Russia?
 * ...that Otte Wallish calligraphed Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948 and helped design its first coins, but since it as yet had no name, he sketched the first postage stamps for a country called Yehudah?
 * ...that of the original 28.9 mi operated by the Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad, less than 2 mi remain in use?
 * ...that Vietnamese politician and dissident Hoang Minh Chinh was jailed twice after criticizing the Communist Party?
 * ...that the rooflines of the newest school in the Cornwall Central School District mimic the surrounding hills in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York?
 * ...that the film crew of the forthcoming Tamil film, Kanthaswamy adopted two villages near Madurai to give film profits to?
 * ...that Australian General George Vasey regretted to have sent a small unit too far without adequate support for the Battle of Kaiapit during World War II and considered himself lucky to have won?
 * ...that in March 2007, about five thousand workers were evacuated from Hong Leong Building in Singapore after tremors originating from Sumatra were felt?
 * ...that twelve floors in Springleaf Tower (pictured), a skyscraper in Singapore, were sold at S$225 million in October 2007, while nine months earlier, they were sold at S$134 million?
 * ...that the Port of Mainz was an important war harbour for the Roman fleet from which Roman ships patrolled the Rhine?
 * ...that official mail stamps were first introduced into the U.S. by the USPOD, due to an 1872 Republican election plan, to abolish free franking that 31,933 people were entitled to at a cost of US$5 million?
 * ...that the "sweaty saddle" aroma associated with Shiraz from the New South Wales wine region of the Hunter Valley is actually a wine fault?
 * ...that University of Michigan Hall of Honor inductee Al Renfrew was the first person to play on a NCAA championship college hockey team and later coach a national champion?
 * ...that "Palestinian archaeology" can refer to a field of archaeological inquiry known as Syro-Palestinian archaeology, and more recently, to archaeological research conducted by Palestinians themselves?
 * ...that in 1940, the USS American Legion transported a Norwegian Princess to the safety of America, along with a vital Bofors 40mm gun to be used as a mass production prototype?
 * ...that Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary in Kerala, India, receives migratory birds from far away Siberia?
 * ...that in the Japanese theatrical art known as Taishū engeki (pictured), it is not uncommon for fans to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of yen on gifts for the performers?
 * ...that many cellular phone ringtones use Music Macro Language, developed in the 1980s as a means of programming music on personal computers and video game consoles?
 * ...that U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has expanded the Human Terrain Team program to match anthropologists with every brigade in Iraq and Afghanistan?
 * ...that "quickfire", a form of arson employed in Scandinavian blood feuds, was punishable by death only if the perpetrator was caught in the act and killed at the scene of the crime?
 * ...that the fifth growth Bordeaux wine estate of Château Cantemerle was not included in the original maps from the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855?
 * ...that the USS Hunter Liggett (APA-14) ran hazardous support missions to the American garrison on the bitterly contested island of Guadalcanal for over 14 months?
 * ...that Holocaust survivor Miles Lerman immigrated to the United States in 1947 and became a major figure behind the establishment of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.?
 * ...that Masaccio's fresco The Tribute Money (pictured) is linked to Pope Martin V's 1423 agreement that the Florentine church be subjected to state tax?
 * ...that Hans Thomsen, the German Chargé d'Affaires in Washington, D.C. immediately prior to World War II, directed an effort to influence the foreign policy platform of the 1940 Republican National Convention?
 * ...that Bill Orwig hired Bob Knight as basketball coach at Indiana and has been inducted into the athletic halls of fame at three universities -- Indiana, Michigan and Toledo?
 * ...that Burrabazar, in Kolkata, expanded from a yarn and textile market into a large wholesale market?
 * ...that, in December 2007, the Canadian bobsleigh duo of Pierre Lueders and Justin Kripps were the first people to slide down the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track that will be used for the 2010 Winter Olympics?
 * ...that trains to London ran eastwards from Devonport Kings Road railway station when it opened in 1876, but from 1890 they ran westwards?
 * ...that about three-quarters of the Oroville-Chico Highway (now Route 149) in California's Sacramento Valley has been absorbed by realignments of Routes 70 and 99?
 * ...that the Fuji Xerox Towers (pictured), a skyscraper in Singapore, was given the 2005 Energy Smart Label Award by the Energy Sustainability Unit and the National Environment Agency?
 * ...that when Shiv Chowrasia, a former caddie, won the 2008 Indian Masters golf tournament, he became the third Indian to win a European Tour event?
 * ...that Marie Hartwig, faculty member at the University of Michigan from 1930-1976, was a lifelong advocate for women's sports and one of the first women inducted into the school's Hall of Honor?
 * ...that the Valens Aqueduct was the major water-providing system of medieval Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul?
 * ...that eighteen fallen Confederate soldiers were moved when the Confederate Monument in Georgetown was dedicated?
 * ...that the first Douglas DC-9 jet airliner to crash was West Coast Airlines Flight 956 in 1966?
 * ...that HMS Incomparable was a design for a mammoth battlecruiser, proposed by British Admiral Jackie Fisher in 1915, but never built?
 * ...that water from Tin Brook (pictured) was diverted to create the first canal in New York history?
 * ...that Odd Nansen, son of the famed scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen, founded Nansenhjelpen to help Jewish refugees escape the German invasion of Czechoslovakia to Norway, then survived Sachsenhausen himself?
 * ...that Crookham Village, a village in England dates as far back as the Domesday Book, although the village did not become separate entities until the founding of the Christ Church in 1840?
 * ...that after Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall resigned, F. Whitten Peters served as acting Secretary of the Air Force for 19 months?
 * ...that according to John of Ephesus, in 583, Empress Constantina, consort of Maurice, gave birth to the first heir born to a reigning Byzantine Emperor in over 100 years?
 * ...that the art critic Charles-Nicolas Cochin was a designer and engraver to King Louis XV's Menus-Plaisirs du Roi?
 * ...that Academy Award-winning film Thirty Seconds over Tokyo was adapted from a book by the pilot of "The Ruptured Duck," one of 16 USAAF bombers in the Doolittle Raid on Japan during World War II?
 * ...that the scientific name of the vase-shaped forest fungus Gomphus floccosus (pictured) means 'woolly plug'?
 * ...that the World War II-era Crescent City class attack transports USS Crescent City and USS Calvert each received ten battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation?
 * ...that Qabala treasures, monetary treasure troves discovered in Azerbaijan, contain drachmas of Alexander the Great and denarii of four Roman Emperors?
 * ...that historian J. Bowyer Bell was tear gassed in Belfast, held hostage in Jordan, shot at in Lebanon, kidnapped in Yemen and deported from Kenya?
 * ...that the oldest black church in Kentucky is the Second Christian Church in Midway, Kentucky's historic district?
 * ...that early plans for Washington, D.C. had the White House facing a convergence of radial avenues centered on the present-day North Lawn, with gardens descending to Tiber Creek in the present-day South Lawn?
 * ...that Satoru Kobayashi, one of Japan's most prolific directors, wrote and directed the first pink film in 1962?
 * ...that Lambda Sigma, a college sophomore honor society originally founded for women only, was required to disband due to Title IX and was reestablished under its current name in 1975?
 * ...that the facade of Hitachi Tower (pictured) in Singapore has three sections which break the verticality of the tower?
 * ...that the murder of Solomon P. Sharp was the inspiration for a number of literary works, including Edgar Allan Poe's Scenes From 'Politian'?
 * ...that most of Petroleum Road, a privately owned asphalt road in the Golan Heights, is marked on maps as inaccessible to traffic because of poor road quality?
 * ...that film editor Sam O'Steen collaborated on twelve films by Mike Nichols, earning Academy Award editing nominations for Silkwood and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf??
 * ...that "are you other?" or "are you other being?" are Inuktitut translations of the name of Ahimaa Cave, hollowed out of a massive cliff by Qamanirjuaq Lake?
 * ...that the U.S. Supreme Court held in NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. that although employees cannot be fired for exercising their right to strike, they can be "permanently replaced" by strikebreakers?
 * ...that the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a 65 mile (105 km) rail trail along Pine Creek in Pennsylvania, was named one of "10 great places to take a bike tour" in the world by USA Today?
 * ...that Princess Louisa Maria Teresa (pictured) was called by a Royal Stuart Society paper the "Princess over the Water", an allusion to the title King over the Water?
 * ...that the official cause of the Great Fire of 1811, which lasted for three days and burned down the whole Podil neighborhood of Kiev, was children playing with fire?
 * ...that traditional Chinese phoenixes in carved reliefs of the Qianling Mausoleum are modeled on ostriches?
 * ...that halfback Chuck Ortmann punted 24 times in the famed 1950 Snow Bowl, deciding the best strategy was to keep the slick ball on the other side of the field in the opponents' hands?
 * ...that the Ormsby-class attack transports USS Ormsby and USS Sheridan earned six battle stars for WWII service apiece, and were both scrapped after accidents in 1969?
 * ...that architect Otto Königsberger illustrated his uncle Max Born's popular physics book?
 * ...that textile arts are those arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct and decorate objects such as clothing, carpets, and curtains?
 * ...that the fictional character "Thirteen" in the FOX medical drama House is referred to as such on the show's daily call sheets to further propagate an inside joke within the show's narrative?