Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-04-30/Featured content

Featured articles




Six featured articles were promoted this week:
 * United States Assay Commission (nom) by Wehwalt. The United States Assay Commission was an agency of the United States government from 1792 to 1980. Its function was to annually supervise testing of the gold, silver, and (in its final years) base metal coins produced by the United States Mint to ensure that they met specifications. Although some members were designated by statute, most of the commission consisted of prominent Americans, including numismatists. Appointment to the Commission was eagerly sought—for one, commissioners received a commemorative medal, different each year and, with the exception of the 1977 issue which was sold to the general public, rare and collectible.
 * Hedley Verity (nom) by Sarastro1. Hedley Verity (1905–43) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37. Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932, he is regarded as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. Never one who spun the ball sharply, he achieved success through the accuracy of his bowling. On difficult pitches, particularly ones affected by rain, he could be almost impossible to bat against.
 * Steamtown, USA (nom) by Ishtar456. Steamtown, USA was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum, founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount, was operated primarily by the non-profit Steamtown Foundation after his death in 1967. Due to Vermont air quality regulations that restricted steam excursions, declining visitor attendance, and disputes over the use of track, some pieces of the collection were relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the mid 1980s; the rest were auctioned off. The National Park Service conducted historical research on the remaining equipment which was used for a Scope of Collections Statement for Steamtown National Historic Site and published in 1991.
 * American Cream Draft (nom) by Dana boomer. The American Cream Draft is a rare draft horse breed, the only such breed developed in the United States that is still in existence. It is recognized by its cream color, known as "gold champagne", produced by the action of the champagne gene upon a chestnut base color, and by its amber eyes, also characteristic of the gene; the only other color found in the breed is chestnut. Like several other breeds of draft horses, the American Cream is at risk for the autosomal recessive genetic disease junctional epidermolysis bullosa.
 * Giraffe (nom) by LittleJerry. The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. Its specific name refers to its camel-like face and and the patches of color on its fur, which bear a vague resemblance to a leopard's spots. The giraffe is noted for its extremely long neck and legs, as well as its horn-like ossicones. It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) for males and 830 kg (1,800 lb) for females. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. There are nine subspecies, distinguished by their coat patterns.
 * Battle of Radzymin (1920) (nom) by Halibutt. The Battle of Radzymin took place during the Polish–Soviet War (1919–21). The battle occurred near the town of Radzymin, some 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of Warsaw, between August 13 and 16, 1920. Along with the Battle of Ossów and the Polish counteroffensive from the Wieprz River area, this engagement was a key part of what later became known as the Battle of Warsaw. It also proved to be the bloodiest and the most intense.

Featured lists
One featured list was promoted this week:
 * Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (nom) by Albacore. The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."

Featured pictures
Six featured pictures were promoted this week:
 * Fyodor Dostoyevsky, oil on canvass painting (nom, related article), created by Vasily Perov, a Russian realist painter, and nominated by GreatOrangePumpkin who described it as a "large, informative, impressive, high-quality, great reproduction". In response to questions about the painting's darkness, a reviewer pointed out that darkness is a feature of the light shined on the painting when photographed.
 * Australian White Ibis (nom, related article), created and nominated by JJ Harrison. Although an editor complained that the bird was too "white" and asked if it had been washed, the image passed because, in the words of reviewer Saffron Blaze, "no one wants to see a dirty bird anyway." The Australian White Ibis, a wading bird native to Australia, has been moving to urban areas over the past 40 years.
 * Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (nom, related article), created and nominated by JJ Harrison. Passed unanimously although there were complaints about the brightness of the white in the photograph. The albatross, the smallest of the mollymawks, is found in the Indian Ocean.
 * Second Battle of Guam (nom; related article), created and nominated by Grandiose, with the rationale: "Using a verifiable map of the US military, [the map] was converted to SVG form, aiding in clarity, using conventional colours and scalable format." The Second Battle of Guam lasted for several weeks, starting in mid-1944.
 * Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) (nom, related article), created and nominated by Quartl. Editors agreed that the quality was great. A lightened version was proposed, but the original was overwhelmingly preferred. The Atlas moth, native to Southeast Asia and the Malay Archipelago, has the largest wing surface area of any known moth.
 * USS Arizona (BB-39) (nom, related article); created by US Navy (Enrique Muller, Jr.), restored by Centpacrr and Crisco 1492; second version restored by Mmxx; nominated by Crisco 1492. Some editors complained of distortion in the photograph. A second version was proposed, but ultimately the editors preferred the original nomination. The image shows the Arizona passing through the East River in New York shortly after being commissioned in November 1916.