Wikipedia:Recent additions 217

Did you know...

 * ...that Which Moped with Chrome-plated Handlebars at the Back of the Yard?, a comedic novella by Georges Perec, has an index of rhetorical devices used, including anadiplosis and metalepsis?
 * ...that Spanish artifacts excavated at Citico, Tennessee suggest that the historic Native American site submerged by Tellico Lake may have been the village of "Satapo" visited by the Juan Pardo expedition in 1567?
 * ...that the automated tank cleaning machine used to clean oil tankers after discharging cargo was patented by Arthur Butterworth in 1920?
 * ...that lumpenbourgeoisie, a neologism of lumpenproletariat and bourgeoisie popularized by sociologist Andre Gunder Frank, is used to describe colonial and neocolonial elites in Latin America?
 * ...that Hawaii's Chain of Craters Road has been blocked repeatedly by lava flows from Kīlauea volcano (pictured) since it was built in 1928?
 * ...that Hemerdon Mine in Devon, England is one of the world's largest sources of tungsten and tin, but has not been mined since World War II?
 * ...that Camling is an ancient Kiranti language, with only 10,000 speakers in eastern Nepal, Bhutan and India?
 * ...that the polska&mdash;the Swedish word for Polish&mdash;is the signature music and dance form in Swedish folk music?
 * ...that Jewish screenwriter Barry Levy has taught Hebrew at Temple Israel California in between writing jobs?
 * ...that My Brother, My Executioner, a 1970s novel by F. Sionil José, is about two half-brothers with opposing Filipino ideologies?
 * ...that Frank Morse once outsourced the research for a speech on globalization to a company in India?
 * ...that the British colonials employed Indian agents called gomasthas to obtain goods from local weavers and fix their prices?
 * ...that American actor Vincent Piazza was coached for a Puerto Rican accent by a woman who usually did the opposite?
 * ...that in 1582 Ursula Kemp confessed to using familiar spirits to kill her neighbours and was later hanged for witchcraft?
 * ...that on a 1922 expedition to Everest, Howard Somervell entertained fellow climbers by reading Shakespeare?
 * ...that objects found in 1939 in the ship burial at Sutton Hoo (helmet pictured) were not a treasure trove as their owners intended to bury them permanently?
 * ...that Quirinus Kuhlmann, a German poet who called himself "son of the Son of God", was denounced as theologically and politically dangerous, and burnt at the stake for heresy in Moscow in 1689?
 * ...that the Militia of the Faith of Jesus Christ was founded to defend the lands of Amaury de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade?
 * ...that the Tang Dynasty chancellor Yuwen Rong was known in traditional history to have served for 100 days&mdash;even though he only served 99 days?
 * ...that before the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League adopted its current name, they had already won two Stanley Cups by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires in 1918 and in 1922?
 * ...that the Palace Hotel in Perth, Western Australia was described at its opening as "one of the most beautiful and elegant hotels in Australasia"?
 * ...that Palwankar Shivram, brother of the Dalit cricketers Baloo and Vithal, was a spin bowling all-rounder who represented the All-India cricket team that toured England in 1911?
 * ...that the pastor of Burbank's St. Bellarmine Church was a World War I chaplain who modeled the campus on Monticello and Independence Hall?
 * ...that mineralogist George Switzer persuaded Harry Winston to donate the Hope Diamond (pictured) to the Smithsonian Institution, establishing the National Museum of Natural History's gem and mineral collection?
 * ...that Douglas Hadow slipped on the descent after the first ascent of the Matterhorn, dragging Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson and Michel Croz to their deaths?
 * ...that some species of Vireo, a genus of passerines, bind their nests with spider silk and ornament them with spider eggs?
 * ...that Hugh Daily, a pitcher with only one arm, once struck out 19 batters in a Major League Baseball game?
 * ...that Bob Kames was given his stage name when an announcer on Armed Forces Radio could not pronounce his real name?
 * ...that Section 171 of the Criminal Code of Cyprus, which prohibits homosexual acts between men, was repealed just eight days before a May 29, 1998 deadline set by the Council of Europe?
 * ...that the Order of the Faith and Peace, founded by the Archbishop of Auch c. 1230 for the defence of the peace in Gascony, was patronised by Gaston VII of Béarn?
 * ...that the portrait by Pontormo of Maria Salviati with the young Giulia de' Medici (pictured) is one of the first portraits in Europe of a child with presumed African and European ancestry?
 * ...that the sound of fingernails scraping chalkboard may not be the world's worst sound?
 * ...that the palm tree Ptychococcus lepidotus is used in the New Guinea highlands to make bows and arrows?
 * ...that medieval Perpendicular Gothic Somerset Towers typically feature pinnacles, lacy tracery windows and bell openings, gargoyles, arches, buttresses, merlons, and external stair turrets?
 * ...that the American mathematician Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler married a former professor, who was actually a Russian double agent named Sergei Degaev?
 * ...that David Powel compiled and published the first printed history of Wales in 1584, which popularized the legend that Prince Madoc discovered America in about 1170?
 * ...that Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Sidorenko, a World War II Soviet sniper, destroyed a tank and three tractors, in addition to killing five hundred Wehrmacht soldiers?
 * ...that the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company was among the earliest and the last major electric streetcar systems in the United States?
 * ...that the entrance to Neptune's Grotto (pictured) in Sardinia lies only around a meter (3 feet) above the sea, and therefore the cave can only be visited when the waters are calm?
 * ...that Fred Walker helped to boost sales of his new spread Vegemite, now an Australian cultural icon, by giving free jars to customers?
 * ...that only about 10% of Brazil's water resources is located in the Southeast Region, the agricultural and industrial heartland of the country, where 73% of the population resides?
 * ...that revolution in the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Revolution, included a three-year-long school strike which resulted in lessening of russification of the Polish educational system?
 * ...that Nepali nationalists seek a Greater Nepal that extends the present boundaries of Nepal into the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim?
 * ...that British politician Jock Stallard was expelled from the Labour Party in the 1950s for flying the red flag from St Pancras town hall, but later served as a Labour MP and life peer?
 * ...that Ermita are all namesakes for a character, a place, and a novel by Filipino author F. Sionil José?
 * ...that the asymmetrical monoplane BV 141 is one of many military aircraft designed by Richard Vogt?
 * ...that Rondel Racing was the first racing team founded by current McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis?
 * ...that while Peover Hall in Cheshire, England, is a Grade II* listed building, its stable block is listed Grade I because of its elaborate internal architecture?
 * ...that Max Weber argued that the increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in an "iron cage" of rule-based, rational control?
 * ...that Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish, founder of the Mazdaznan religion, claimed to have been a child to a secret society of Zarathustrians?
 * ...that Royal Brunei Catering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Brunei Airlines, was named as Best Regional Caterer 1995/1996 by Singapore Airlines?
 * ...that Pei Guangting, a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, traced his ancestry to officials serving several dynasties, including the Han Dynasty?
 * ...that Abraham Esau was the head of the physics section of the Reich Research Council, Nazi Germany's centralized planning institution for almost all basic and applied research?
 * ...that although Tropical Storm Arthur (1996) made landfall in North Carolina, total damage amounted to only $1 million dollars (1996 USD)?
 * ...that former Anglican clergyman and Liberal Party life peer Tim Beaumont was the only Green Party representative in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1999 until his death in 2008?
 * ...that Agnolo Bronzino's 1542 painting of Bia de' Medici was painted from the girl's death mask?
 * ...that Alojzy Ehrlich ate rolls and a Polish sausage while playing a table tennis match in which neither he nor his opponent scored for over an hour?
 * ...that rumors of the beating of a teenage shoplifter set off a race riot in 1935 in Harlem, New York?
 * ...that despite the recorded influence of American Sign Language, Filipino Sign Language has a history that can be traced from the works of European missionaries in the Philippines as early as the 1600s?
 * ...that William Whitaker introduced orange groves to Florida?
 * ...that besides being the first president of the International Luge Federation, Bert Isatitsch was also a special education teacher?
 * ...that Palwankar Vithal became the first Dalit cricketer to captain the Hindus team in the Bombay Quadrangular cricket competition, a milestone in the Hindu society's struggle against caste discrimination?
 * ...that at age 23, Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen (pictured) was the youngest Danish politician ever to participate in a nationally televised debate for party leaders?
 * ...that Lualhati Bautista’s Tagalog novel, Bata, Bata… Pa’no Ka Ginawa? became a film starring Vilma Santos, an actress turned first female governor of Batangas of the Philippines?
 * ...that Gilbert Patten, the author of the Frank Merriwell dime novels, managed a semi-professional baseball team in Camden, Maine during the 1890-1891 season?
 * ...that although it is used in aquaculture, there are only two known cases of Palometa being traded as aquarium fish over a five-year period?
 * ...that George Rea was the first paid president of the "New York Curb Exchange," now known as the American Stock Exchange?
 * ...that Ingmar Bergman's film The Virgin Spring is based on the medieval Swedish ballad "Töres dotter i Wänge"?
 * ...that pioneer Omaha physician George L. Miller served as president of the Nebraska State Historical Society after being labeled a "raving maniac" by the press?
 * ...that the former Farmer's and Manufacturer's Bank (pictured) is the only commercial Greek Revival building in Poughkeepsie?
 * ...that Su Huan-chih is the second member of the Democratic Progressive Party to ever hold the position as Tainan County magistrate?
 * ...that although the damages by Hurricane Dennis in Mississippi in 2002 were mostly minor, 41 counties in the state were declared federal disaster areas?
 * ...that a subsidiary of Royal Brunei Airlines operates restaurants in Brunei including two halal Chinese restaurants?
 * ...that in order to cut costs, Olau Line re-flagged their cruiseferry MS Olau Hollandia (1989) to Luxembourg in January 1993, but were forced to revert the ship to German flag only a month later?
 * ...that Ronnie Thompson, the first Republican to have served as mayor of Macon, Georgia in the 20th century (1967-1975), also had a career as a singer of gospel and country music?
 * ...that Brad Avakian, Oregon's recently appointed Labor Commissioner, previously worked as a civil rights attorney, and was honored by two unions during his time in the Oregon Legislative Assembly?
 * ...that exhibits at the Bailey House Museum on Maui include a 33-foot fishing boat, a collection of snail shells, a unique wooden statue of a Hawaiian demi-god, and 19th century Maui landscapes (pictured)?
 * ...that although the Czech Republic village of Blevice has a Jewish cemetery it has no matching community?
 * ...that František Kriegel was the only political exponent of Czechoslovakia deported to Moscow in 1968 who refused to sign the Moscow Protocol dictated by Brezhnev?
 * ...that Fabian de la Rosa was not only mentor to the Filipino painters Fernando and Pablo Amorsolo, but a leading painter in his own right?
 * ...that the chief purpose of the military order the Militia of Jesus Christ was to combat heresy?
 * ...that the Norwegian black / death metal band Cor Scorpii cites inspiration from classical composers such as Prokofiev, Grieg, Rachmaninov, and Satie?
 * ...that the SS Blairspey was hit by at least three torpedoes from two different U-boats, but still managed to reach port because her cargo of timber kept her afloat?
 * ...that the Decker building (pictured), an 1892 Moorish-influenced design, is where Andy Warhol had his Factory from 1967 to 1973, and was shot in 1968?
 * ...that Opération 14 juillet, a French mission to rescue Ingrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, was launched without the knowledge of the French president?
 * ...that Gregory XV was acclaimed as the new pope in the papal conclave of 1621 even though Cardinal Robert Bellarmine had received the most votes in the ballot?
 * ...that Levi Todd, the grandfather of Mary Todd Lincoln, wrote the first and last contemporary accounts of the Battle of Blue Licks, one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War?
 * ...that only two days before Payment on Demand was scheduled to open at Radio City Music Hall, RKO executive Howard Hughes called the director and the two leads into the studio to film a new ending?
 * ...that the Draco Dwarf spheroidal galaxy is one of the faintest companions of the Milky Way and the most dark matter dominated object known?
 * ...that local legends say that a white witch lives in Mother Ludlam's Cave (pictured) near Waverley Abbey in Surrey, South East England?
 * ...that after Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms were published in the Saturday Evening Post, 25 million people bought posters of them?
 * ...that Haraprasad Shastri discovered the Charyapada, poems written in the earliest-known precursor to the Indo-Aryan languages?
 * ...that Polish war correspondent Melchior Wańkowicz was charged with "slandering the People's Republic of Poland", for criticizing the state in a private letter?
 * ...that Unabomber for President was a 1996 write-in campaign to elect Theodore Kaczynski as President of the United States?
 * ...that two people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed during the 2008 Egyptian general strike?
 * ...that the brother of Australian rugby player Dean Mumm was assistant coach to the Fijian rugby team, whilst their grandfather played for the All Blacks?
 * ...that Paul Salamunovich, choir director since 1949 at St. Charles Borromeo Church (pictured) in North Hollywood, has also conducted choirs for dozens of feature films, including The Devil's Advocate?
 * ...that a novel human polyomavirus is associated with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and highly aggressive form of skin cancer?
 * ...that Thaba Bosigo, a Basotho stronghold in Lesotho, was the only fortress to remain impregnable during the Free State-Basotho Wars?
 * ...that political opponents of Kentucky governor Thomas Metcalfe nicknamed him "Old Stone Hammer" because they felt his previous work as a stonemason was a background unbecoming a governor?
 * ...that the SS Assyrian started life as a German merchant ship in the First World War and ended it as British merchant in the Second World War?
 * ...that despite being called the "Aladdin's Castle of George Francis Train," the Cozzens House Hotel in Omaha operated for only four years before sitting empty for several more?
 * ...that 39% of Israeli schoolchildren watch the educational television program Bli Sodot in their classroom?
 * ...that the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Quail (pictured) was mined in November 1943, but did not sink until May 1944?
 * ...that the Adipose in the Doctor Who episode "Partners in Crime" were based on a stuffed toy that writer Russell T Davies owned?
 * ...that the Ligonier Valley Railroad ' s reliance on verbal orders resulted in a head-on collision between a freight train and a train carrying partygoers?
 * ...that Jessie Vasey was helping Australian war widows before she became one herself when her husband, George, died in an air crash?
 * ...that the Samnite gladiator type likely went out of fashion in Ancient Rome when the people of Samnium, whom it was intended to mock, became assimilated into the Roman Empire?
 * ...that Irish computer programmer Gavin Walsh owns the world's largest collection of Sex Pistols records and memorabilia?
 * ...that the use of multiple strains of rhizobacteria as composite microbial inoculants has been shown to benefit the cultivation of crops such as rice and barley?
 * ...that the Birhor people are a tribal forest people, traditionally nomadic, living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand?
 * ...that Monte Testaccio (pictured) in Rome is an artificial hill, 35 m (115 ft) high and 1 km in circumference, consisting entirely of the fragments of 53 million ancient Roman amphorae?
 * ...that the Blank family, the maternal ancestors of Vladimir Lenin, were relatives to Nazi field marshal Walter Model, archeologist Ernst Curtius, and President of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker?
 * ...that Charles Starr and Bruce Starr were the first father and son tandem to serve at the same time in the Oregon State Senate?
 * ...that William Thomas Havard, who was bishop of two Welsh dioceses (St Asaph, then St David's), once represented Wales in an international rugby union match?
 * ...that, with an estimated 308,000 members as of 2005, the Bahá'í community in Kenya constitutes 1% of the country's population?
 * ...that Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve takes its name from a Dene phrase meaning "stands like a porcupine"?
 * ...that despite peaking at 38 in the UK Albums Chart, seven-year-old child singer Connie Talbot's debut album Over the Rainbow was rated gold in Britain shortly after its release?
 * ...that yearly whale counts of the endangered Humpback Whale (pictured) in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary  show their numbers are increasing by 7% per year?
 * ...that the Spanish-introduced limestone house of the Ivatans was designed to withstand typhoons?
 * ...that English printer Thomas Adams published John Dowland's The Third and Last Booke of Songes or Aires out of his shop in St. Paul's Churchyard?
 * ...that the Mill Mountain Zoo is host to three endangered species: the Red Panda, Snow Leopard and White-naped Crane?
 * ...that Black Grace, an internationally-touring New Zealand contemporary-dance company, melds Maori and Pacific Islander indigenous dance with modern dance and hip hop?
 * ...that "the light arises in the East", an apparently pro-Soviet slogan coined by Romanian writer Mihail Sadoveanu in 1945, is seen by some as a coded warning to his fellow Freemasons about communization?
 * ...that the discovery of Lazarussuchus showed that choristoderes, a type of aquatic reptile, had not gone extinct in the Eocene, but persisted for millions of years after?
 * ...that Rear Admiral Ralph Christie of the U.S. Navy was so incensed by the decision not to award Samuel Dealey the Medal of Honor, he sent a blunt message to Thomas Kinkaid that some viewed as bordering on insubordination?
 * ...that in 1989, the Popular Front of Moldova was initially backed by a range of ethnic groups, but quickly lost support from Russian speakers and Gagauz?
 * ...that Australian veterinary student Barry Larkin carried a fake Olympic Flame in the 1956 Summer Olympics as a protest, because he thought the flame was given too much reverence?
 * ...that film producer Neil Kopp stood in as a location scout, location manager, assistant director and grip while filming Old Joy?
 * ...that the second largest mobile operator in Slovenia, Si.mobil, was one of the first worldwide to offer EDGE?
 * ...that Jeremy Dalton was suspended, and later expelled, from the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus in the provincial legislature?
 * ...that the funerary art of many cultures includes psychopomps, like the Zapotec bat god, who conduct souls to the afterlife?
 * ...that the Emperor of Russia, Alexander III bought the art of Ukrainian realist painter Volodymyr Orlovsky?
 * ...that twenty out of the thirty five merchant ships of convoy SC-7 were sunk by German U-boats?
 * ...that Canadian band Article One took their name from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after hearing about it on U2's Vertigo Tour?
 * ...that Josiah Failing became the fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon less than three years after moving there from New York City?
 * ...that actress Anna Kendrick was nominated for a Tony Award at the age of twelve, making her the youngest-ever Tony nominee as of 2008?
 * ...that, on D-Day, attorney and U.S. Army Ranger Leonard Lomell managed to destroy five concealed, long-range German guns pointed at the landing beaches even though he had been wounded by machine gun fire a few hours earlier?