Wikipedia:Recent additions 210

Did you know...

 * ...that Cornelio Villareal and Jose Laurel, Jr. were the last two Speakers of the House of Representatives before the Philippine Congress was abolished by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972?
 * ...that the discovery of gold by Custer's 1874 Expedition triggered the gold rush that precipitated the Black Hills War?
 * ...that Giovanni Faber (pictured), doctor to the Pope, botanist and art collector, coined the name "microscope"?
 * ...that the Town Hall in Słupsk, Poland, was built on land reclaimed from a lake?
 * ...that The Queen producer Andy Harries was fired as a newsreader for speaking too fast in a broadcast?
 * ...that Larrys Creek in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania has 42 named tributaries in its watershed, including one named "Little Dog Run"?
 * ...that the Hertford East Branch Line, a railway line in the United Kingdom, used to link to the Hertford Loop Line but was severed due to the Beeching Axe?
 * ...that medieval cycles of the Life of the Virgin could have as many as 53 scenes before reaching the Annunciation of her pregnancy?
 * ...that Tibetan Buddhist monks attending a shedra university (example pictured) may be asked to completely memorize their school texts before they begin to study them?
 * ...that The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. is a controversial 1981 novella by George Steiner in which Hitler is found alive in the Amazon jungle and claims to be the Jews' benefactor?
 * ...that the Elk Hills Oil Field in San Joaquin Valley is the largest natural gas-producing oil field in California, and has produced over 2 trillion cubic feet (60 billion m³) of gas since its discovery in 1911?
 * ...that the 1989 Spanish film If They Tell You I Fell was nominated for seven Goya Awards?
 * ...that the main opposition party Fidesz supported the 2003 Hungarian European Union membership referendum but warned that up to 100,000 jobs could be lost?
 * ...that as New York's General Counsel, Michael C. Finnegan ended a century-old debate over New York City's water supply when he brokered the New York City Watershed Agreement?
 * ...that Museum Wharf in Boston has a 40' tall milk bottle (pictured) that was built during the Great Depression and transported to the wharf by barge in the 1970s?
 * ...that Bhanbhagta Gurung returned to his farm in Nepal in 1946, after receiving a Victoria Cross for his actions while serving with the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles in Burma?
 * ...that the troop transport USS Wakefield (AP-21), a former luxury liner, operated in World War II as a "lone wolf" by relying on her speed to avoid Nazi U-Boats?
 * ...that Scottish footballer Kevin Bremner scored for five different teams in the Football League during the 1982–83 season?
 * ...that the Julian Price Memorial Park, developed in Julian Price’s honor, and the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park are the largest developed recreational areas on the Blue Ridge Parkway?
 * ...that legend at Banagher says its church (pictured) was founded by a saint, led there by a stag acting as a lectern and carrying a book on its antlers?
 * ...that state representative Dianne Primavera, a breast and cervical cancer survivor, sponsored legislation for the Colorado Breast and Women's Reproductive Cancers Fund?
 * ...that because of its dorsal fin, Carolus Linneaus first described the Permit as Labrus falcatus, with the latter part of the scientific name meaning "armed with scythes?"
 * ...that former football player and manager Alan Brown quit Huddersfield Town and became a policeman for two and a half years before rejoining the club?
 * ...that in 1955, black promoter Thurman Ruth booked the Selah Jubilee Singers, to perform in a music venue, New York's Apollo Theater,  the first gospel group to play commercially?
 * ...that the writer and spinster Lady Louisa Stuart (pictured) wrote a ballad about cannibal brothers and the fate of a woman who married for money?
 * ...that Robert DeBlieux, a former mayor of Natchitoches, Louisiana, was the local advisor when the film Steel Magnolias was shot in the city?
 * ...that Lieutenant Commander Willis Lent and his submarine the USS Triton fired the first United States Navy torpedo to be used against the Japanese during World War II?
 * ...that the first Dutch satellite, the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite, had the Main Belt asteroid 9996 ANS named after it?
 * ...that Pope Innocent XIII was not elected till the seventy-fifth ballot at the papal conclave in 1721?
 * ...that the Willhire 24 Hour race became the first 24 hour endurance race to take place in the United Kingdom in 1980?
 * ...that the painting Nødhavn Ved Norskekysten by Hans Gude was sold by the Kunsthalle Bremen art museum in part because its large size — 4.76 m² (52 square feet) — made it difficult to store?
 * ...that singer Irvan Perez was considered to be one of the last performers of the traditional Isleño décimas of Louisiana, since there are few members of that community who still know how to sing the songs?
 * ...that Canada's first urban Indian reserve was established in 1981 at Kylemore, Saskatchewan?
 * ...that nearly a decade before the official Bordeaux wine classification was released, the directory Cocks & Féret published their own ranking of Bordeaux wine estates?
 * ...that the Best Bakery case is a legal case involving the killing of 14 people in Vadodara, India, during the 2002 Gujarat violence?
 * ...that 75 people in the Soviet Union were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, with their names published in Pravda, for the successful mass deportations out of the Baltic States in 1949?
 * ...that "Brave" Admiral Benbow (pictured), celebrated in song, was compensated by the British Treasury after a three month visit by Tsar Peter the Great left his house ‘entirely ruined’?
 * ...that the establishment of the quaestura exercitus by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I helped to economically secure the lower Danube region?
 * ...that the Kapodistrias Museum in Corfu, Greece, dedicated to the memory of the first Greek governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias, was donated by the first female Greek mayor, Maria Desylla-Kapodistria?
 * ...that Gamma, a gamma-ray telescope, was launched on 11 July 1990, 25 years after it was originally conceived?.
 * ...that botanist Henry Lyte's Niewe Herball of 1578 (pictured) was an English translation of the 1564 Cruydeboeck of Rembert Dodoens printed in Antwerp with the woodcuts of the original edition?
 * ...that Malheur Reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon was set aside for Native Americans in 1872 and opened to white settlement by Ulysses S. Grant in 1876?
 * ...that Mosida, Utah was a failed planned community whose developers tried to irrigate the desert with water pumped from Utah Lake?
 * ...that after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, the Loop Retail Historic District (pictured) was Chicago's premier retailing district until it was replaced by commuter suburbs and the Magnificent Mile?
 * ...that Eastern Christians believe that the tomb on the Mount of Olives is the Tomb of Mary?
 * ...that the ten cannons of Fort Guijarros, built in 1797 as the first defensive fortifications for San Diego Bay, California, have been fired in action only twice since?
 * ...that Florence J. Harriman, an American socialite, suffragist, diplomat and author, was credited with arranging for the safe evacuation of members of the Norwegian royal family when Germany invaded Norway in 1940?
 * ...that if all the video games traded at Goozex in 2007 were stacked on top of each other, the resulting pile would reach 2,132 feet (650 m), more than 450 feet (137 m) taller than Taipei 101?
 * ...that Socialist Paulina Veloso, exiled during Pinochet's rule in Chile, has served in the governments of all four post-Pinochet presidents, including holding the cabinet-level presidential Chief of Staff position from 2006–2007?
 * ...that heddles (pictured) have an integral role in weaving, and one loom will use several hundred at once?
 * ...that Sultanahmet Jail in Istanbul, Turkey, which served mostly as a prison reserved for intellectual dissidents sentenced, is a five-star hotel today?
 * ...that William E. Baxter Jr. vs. the United States determined that since poker was a game of skill, poker winnings should be treated as earned income instead of unearned income?
 * ...that the original name of Euphemia, empress consort of Justin I of the Byzantine Empire, was 'Lupicina', which led historian Alexander Vasiliev to associate her with she-wolves and prostitution?
 * ...that while one naval historian praised Richard Lestock for his "zeal and attention", another declared he "ought to have been shot"?
 * ...that the Bordeaux wine estate Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot was demoted in the Saint-Émilion classification amidst controversy, only to be later re-instated?
 * ...that the Söflingen Abbey in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg is the oldest nunnery of the Order of Poor Ladies in Germany?
 * ...that Zouave Guards of Indianapolis volunteered to fight before the American Civil War broke out, but its leader Francis A. Shoup (pictured) switched sides and joined the Confederates before the war began?
 * ...that both William Wentworth, Earl of Strafford and his wife were painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds?
 * ...that the earliest surviving ensenhamen (an Occitan didactic poem) was written by the troubadour Garin lo Brun around 1155?
 * ...that hawkers in Kolkata, numbering 275,000, occupy pavements and generate annual business worth around 2 billion dollars?
 * ...that Professor Lalit Goel of Nanyang Technological University became an internet celebrity after footage of his lectures were uploaded to YouTube?
 * ...that the Marshall Field and Company Building has three separate atria?
 * ...that antiepileptic drugs have been shown to prevent early post-traumatic seizures but not post-traumatic epilepsy?
 * ...that the briefly popular I'm Backing Britain campaign in 1968 suffered embarrassment when a number of t-shirts bearing the slogan were found to be made in Portugal?
 * ...that although Peckforton Castle in Cheshire was built as a family home in 1850, it mimicked a Norman castle in design and position?
 * ...that the Persian political-philosophical treatise, the Siyasatnama, provides evidence for the survival of pre-Islamic traditions within the Saljuq empire?
 * ...that in Toolson v. New York Yankees, the U.S. Supreme Court first considered a player's challenge to Major League Baseball's reserve clause?
 * ...that the first psychosurgery in the United Kingdom was performed in Bristol in December 1940?
 * ...that Hugh Ruttledge led the 1933 Mount Everest expedition on which Andrew Irvine's ice axe was discovered?
 * ...that on 28 November 1968 the Finnish ferries MS Ilmatar and MS Botnia collided in the Åland archipelago, resulting in the death of six people?
 * ...that the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Chełm, Poland, now a Catholic church, was formerly an Orthodox one?
 * ...that Chardin's painting Le Bénédicité ("The Grace") (pictured) was given as a gift to King Louis XV?
 * ...that during World War II, the Roosevelt Community Library in Minneapolis held storytimes for children, partly to help reduce juvenile delinquency in the Standish neighborhood?
 * ...that as he lay dying, the American Presbyterian theologian J. Gresham Machen declared that there is no hope without the active obedience of Christ?
 * ...that Israeli agricultural output is now 16 times what it was at independence in 1948, which means that it has risen three times more than the population growth rate?
 * ...that while in charge of the MESAN political party, President for Life Jean-Bédel Bokassa appointed Elisabeth Domitien to serve as the prime minister of the Central African Republic, making her Africa's first female head of government?
 * ...that Japanese American journalist Bill Hosokawa and his family were released from the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center in 1943 in order to take a job as a copy editor with The Des Moines Register?
 * ...that Tanaz Eshaghian's film Be Like Others explores the experiences of transsexuals in Iran, a country that outlaws homosexuality but sanctions sex-reassignment surgery?
 * ...that many of the viaducts (pictured) on the Chemin de Fer de Côtes du Nord were two-tiered structures, and that the Viaduc de Souzain had a railway junction on the viaduct itself?
 * ...that Robert Oxnam, who wrote a memoir describing his dissociative identity disorder, was president of the Asia Society for over a decade?
 * ...that the original Roanoke Street Railway Company streetcar tracks were removed from the Memorial Bridge during its 2002–03 restoration?
 * ...that British industrialist Sir Maurice Laing was the first president of the Confederation of British Industry?
 * ...that despite much preparation by Prussia, Toruń Fortress, one of the largest defence complexes in Central and Eastern Europe, did not play a significant role in World War I?
 * ...that the January 1940 Czortkow Uprising was a failed attempt by anti-Soviet teenagers to free Polish soldiers?
 * ...that Flat Top Manor, built by textile industrialist Moses H. Cone in 1900, gets nearly 250,000 visitors annually as the main feature of the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in North Carolina?
 * ...that Air Marshal John McCauley ' s (pictured) university degree was an unusual qualification for a pilot in the pre-war RAAF, whose officers generally "valued little beyond flying ability"?
 * ...that the author of the best-selling book Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, who claimed to be a Holocaust survivor, admitted her memoir was a hoax?
 * ...that lawyer James A. MacAlister was the first president of Drexel University?
 * ...that with over 370 officers and ratings, HMS President is one of the largest "stone frigates" of the Royal Naval Reserve?
 * ...that according to historian Rev. H B Kendall, five Camp Meetings which led to the establishment of Primitive Methodism as a denomination in 1811 were held in Ramsor in Staffordshire?
 * ...that the conservative Thai Social Action Party was founded in 1974 by politician and former Prime Minister of Thailand Kukrit Pramoj?
 * ...that the Chelembra Bank Robbery, one of the biggest bank robberies in Kerala, was quickly solved by the Kerala Police and the stolen goods recovered?
 * ...that Heinz Guderian (pictured) and Adolf Hitler had heated arguments while planning for Operation Solstice, one of the major German offensive operations on the Eastern Front during WWII?
 * ...that writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were careful to not create a paradox in the plot of "The Constant", a fourth season episode of Lost that features time travel?
 * ...that free MMS were sent out to all 5.5 million mobile phone subscribers in Singapore to alert them of the prison break of ISA detainee Mas Selamat bin Kastari?
 * ...that Evagrius Scholasticus, John of Ephesus, Gregory of Tours and Paul the Deacon all accused Byzantine Emperor Justin II and his empress consort Aelia Sophia of greed?
 * ...that treated wastewater from Kern River Oil Field, the fifth-largest U.S. oil field, is used to irrigate crops in the San Joaquin Valley in California?
 * ...that the hazaj meter was the most popular meter for Iranian romantic epics in the 11th century?
 * ...that artist Chryssa constructed The Gates to Times Square, a 10 ft cube of neon, acrylic glass and stainless steel through which museum visitors may walk?
 * ...that the Folk Art Center (pictured) located in Asheville, North Carolina is the most popular attraction on the Blue Ridge Parkway with 250,000 visitors per year?
 * ...that Sir Ralph Howell, farmer and Conservative MP for North Norfolk for 27 years, argued for the adoption of a "workfare" system of unemployment benefits in the UK?
 * ...that the 2004 Montana gubernatorial election saw the first bipartisan ticket since the constitution required Governors and their Lieutenants to run as a team?
 * ...that Christopher Tin is the first Fulbright scholar for film scoring?
 * ...that former Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday footballer Brian Hornsby trekked to Machu Picchu with musician Tony Hadley in aid of Action Medical Research?
 * ...that Frank Winder, one of the leading Irish rock-climbers of the 1950s and 60s, started climbing to search for rare plants and insects?
 * ...that in two decades Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer Tim Whitten has worked with artists including Powderfinger, The Go-Betweens, and Hoodoo Gurus?
 * ...that Admiral John Forbes (pictured) refused to sign the death warrant imposed on fellow Admiral John Byng, convinced of his innocence?
 * ...that Adam Franz Lennig organized the first Katholikentag in Mainz in 1848?
 * ...that Stockport County physio Rodger Wylde formed a rock group with player Tom Bennett whilst treating his broken leg?
 * ...that the Tang Dynasty chancellor Cui Shi was believed to rose to power through affairs with Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Taiping?
 * ...that the final streetcar to service Roanoke, Virginia went from Grandin Road Commercial Historic District to downtown on July 31, 1948?
 * ...that Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer made their sitcom debut with their 1992 Channel 4 pilot The Weekenders?
 * ...that Nihon Go Gakko, a Japanese language school in Tacoma, Washington, later became a gathering point for Japanese residents during World War II, being sent to internment camps?