Wikipedia:Recent additions 21

Did you know...

 * ...that the painter Jan Matejko always depicted Stańczyk, Poland's most famous court jester, with a concerned and reflective look on his face?
 * ...that the largest African crocodile, the Nile crocodile, was revered in ancient Egypt, where they were mummified,and worshiped 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?
 * ...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, which was appointed by the Parliament of England to restructure the Church of England, produced the Westminster Confession, the foundation of the Presbyterian Church?
 * ...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, although John Barry is usually credited for it?
 * ...that Thomas Usk's The Testament of Love (1387), 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?
 * ...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 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 1998 single "Believe"?
 * ...that Daskalogiannis was an 18th-century Cretan rebel skinned alive by the Ottoman rulers?
 * ...that cadigans are a class of placeholder names of unnamed or unknown objects such as gadgets, thingamajigs, or widgets?
 * ...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 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?
 * ...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?
 * ...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?
 * ...that Thomas Jefferson offered James Monroe many design suggestions for Monroe's plantation, Oak Hill?
 * ...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 2005 Palestinian presidential election candidate Mustafa Barghouti is a distant cousin of Marwan Barghouti, who was another presidential candidate?
 * ...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 stepson of Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo?
 * ...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 World War II?
 * ...that Lin Wang was a war elephant that served with distinction with the Chinese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War before retiring to the Taipei Zoo?
 * ...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?
 * ...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?
 * ...that Jemmy Button was a Yaghan 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 Company in 1904 for Interborough Rapid Transit in New York City?
 * ...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 Constitution of Alabama 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"?