Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 2008
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April 1
Ima Hogg was an enterprising circus emcee who brought culture and class to Houston, Texas. A storied ostrich jockey, she once rode to Hawaii to visit the Queen. Raised in government housing, young Ima frolicked among a backyard menagerie of raccoons, possums and a bear. Her father, "Big Jim" Hogg, in an onslaught against fun itself, booby-trapped the banisters she loved to slide down, shut down her money-making schemes, and forced her to pry chewing gum from furniture. He was later thrown from his seat on a moving train and perished; the Hogg clan then struck black gold on land Big Jim had forbidden them from selling. Ima had apocryphal sisters named "Ura" and "Hoosa" and real-life brothers sporting conventional names and vast art collections; upon their deaths, she gave away their artwork for nothing and the family home to boot. Tragically, Ms. Hogg (a future doctor) nursed three dying family members. She once sweet-talked a burglar into returning purloined jewelry and told him to get a job. Well into her nineties, she remained feisty and even exchanged geriatric insults with an octogenarian pianist. Hogg claimed to have received thirty proposals of marriage in her lifetime, and to have rejected them all. Hogg was revered as the "First Lady of Texas", and her name and legacy still thrive today. (more...)
Recently featured: Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – December to Dismember (2006) – Free Association of German Trade Unions
April 2
Neilston is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire set in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Levern Valley at the southwestern edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Neilston is a dormitory village comprising a resident population of just over 5,000 people. Neilston is mentioned in documents as early as the 12th century, and its early history is marked by its status as an important ecclesiastical parish linked with Paisley Abbey to the north. Neilston Parish Church—a Category B listed building—has lain at the centre of the community since 1163. The urbanisation and development of Neilston largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution. Industrial-scale textile processing was introduced to Neilston around the middle of the 18th century with the construction of several cotton mills. Although known as a former milling village, agriculture has, and continues to play, an economic role for Neilston. The annual Neilston Agricultural Show is an important trading and cultural event for farmers from southwest Scotland each spring. Although heavy industry demised during the latter half of the 20th century, as part of Scotland's densely populated Central Belt, Neilston has continued to grow as a commuter village, supported by its position between Paisley and Glasgow, from roughly 1,000 people in 1800 to 5,168 in 2001. (more...)
Recently featured: Ima Hogg – Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – December to Dismember (2006)
April 3
Celine Dion is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world. Dion first gained international recognition after she won the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums, she signed on to Sony Records in 1986. She achieved worldwide success with several English and French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music. After a three-year hiatus from the music scene, Dion signed a four-year contract in 2002 to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from pop, soul, and rock, to gospel and classical, and while her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. In 2004, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards show for becoming the "Best-selling Female Artist in the World". (more...)
Recently featured: Neilston – Ima Hogg – Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
April 4
The Oliver Typewriter Company was a typewriter manufacturer headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The Oliver Typewriter was the first effective "visible print" typewriter, meaning text was visible to the typist as it was entered. Oliver typewriters were marketed heavily for home use, utilizing local distributors and sales on credit. Oliver produced more than one million machines between 1895 and 1928 and licensed its designs to several international firms. Competitive pressure and financial troubles resulted in the company's liquidation in 1928. The company’s assets were purchased by investors who formed The British Oliver Typewriter Company, which manufactured and licensed the machines until its own closure in the late 1950s. The last Oliver typewriter was produced in 1959. (more...)
Recently featured: Celine Dion – Neilston – Ima Hogg
April 5
Bette Davis was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were romantic dramas. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading actresses, known for her forceful and intense style. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her career went through several periods of decline, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, however she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than a hundred film, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time. (more...)
Recently featured: Oliver Typewriter Company – Celine Dion – Neilston
April 6
The Tomb of Antipope John XXIII is the marble tomb monument for Antipope John XXIII, Baldassare Coscia, created by Donatello and Michelozzo, and located in the Florence Baptistry adjacent to the Duomo. It was commissioned by the executors of Coscia's will after his death on December 22, 1419 and completed during the 1420s, establishing it as one of the early landmarks of Renaissance Florence. According to Ferdinand Gregorovius, the tomb is "at once the sepulchre of the Great Schism in the church and the last Papal tomb which is outside Rome itself". The tomb monument's design included three Virtues, Coscia's family arms, a gilded bronze effigy supported above an inscription-bearing sarcophagus, a Madonna and Child in a half-lunette, and a canopy. At the time of its completion, the monument was the tallest sculpture in Florence, and one of very few tombs within the Baptistry or the neighboring Duomo. The tomb monument was the first of several collaborations between Donatello and Michelozzo, and the attribution of its various elements to each of them has been debated by art historians, as have the interpretations of its design and iconography. (more...)
Recently featured: Bette Davis – Oliver Typewriter Company – Celine Dion
April 7
Rotavirus is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. It is the leading cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children. By the age of five, nearly every child in the world has been infected with rotavirus at least once. However, with each infection, immunity develops and subsequent infections are less severe. There are seven species of this virus, referred to as A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Rotavirus A, the most common, causes more than 90% of infections in humans. Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal–oral route. It infects cells that line the small intestine and produces an enterotoxin, which induces gastroenteritis, leading to severe diarrhoea and sometimes death through dehydration. Although rotavirus was discovered in 1973 and accounts for up to 50% of hospitalisations for severe diarrhoea in infants and children, its importance is still not widely known within the public health community, particularly in developing countries. Public health campaigns to combat rotavirus focus on providing oral rehydration therapy for infected children and vaccination to prevent the disease. In addition to its impact on human health, rotavirus also infects animals, and is a pathogen of livestock. (more...)
Recently featured: Tomb of Antipope John XXIII – Bette Davis – Oliver Typewriter Company
April 8
Suleiman the Magnificent was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ruling from 1520 to 1566. Suleiman became the pre-eminent monarch of 16th century Europe, presiding over the apogee of the Ottoman Empire's military, political and economic power. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer the Christian strongholds of Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529. He annexed most of the Middle East in his conflict with the Persians and large swathes of North Africa as far west as Algeria. Under his rule, the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. At the helm of an expanding empire, Suleiman personally instituted legislative changes relating to society, education, taxation and criminal law. His canonical law fixed the form of the empire for centuries after his death. Not only was Suleiman a distinguished poet and goldsmith in his own right; he also became a great patron of culture, overseeing the golden age of the Ottoman Empire's artistic, literary and architectural development. In a break with Ottoman tradition, Suleiman married a harem girl who became Hurrem Sultan, whose intrigues in the court and power over the Sultan have become as famous as Suleiman himself. Their son, Selim II, succeeded Suleiman following his death in 1566 after 46 years of rule. (more...)
Recently featured: Rotavirus – Tomb of Antipope John XXIII – Bette Davis
April 9
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations, medals and postnominals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture held at Buckingham Palace. It is the joint highest award for bravery in the United Kingdom with the George Cross, which is the equivalent honour for valour not "in the face of the enemy". The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then the medal has been awarded 1,356 times to 1,353 individual recipients. Only 14 medals have been awarded since the end of the Second World War. Due to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal can reach over £200,000 at auction. There are a number of public and private collections devoted to it, most notably that of Lord Ashcroft, which contains over one-tenth of the total VCs awarded. (more...)
Recently featured: Suleiman the Magnificent – Rotavirus – Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
April 10
Chrono Trigger is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was released on March 11, 1995 in Japan, and August 22, 1995 in North America. The game's story follows a group of young adventurers who travel through time to prevent a worldwide catastrophe. Chrono Trigger was developed by a group that Square called the "Dream Team", consisting of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuhiko Aoki, and composer Nobuo Uematsu—known for their works on the Final Fantasy series—and Yuuji Horii and artist Akira Toriyama, developers for the Dragon Quest series. Masato Kato wrote most of the plot, while composer Yasunori Mitsuda scored most of the game before falling ill and deferring his duties to Uematsu. Nintendo Power magazine called certain aspects of Chrono Trigger revolutionary, including its multiple endings, plot-related sidequests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics. Square re-released a ported version by TOSE in Japan for the Sony PlayStation in 1999, later repackaged with a Final Fantasy IV port as Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001. It has never been released in PAL territories. (more...)
Recently featured: Victoria Cross – Suleiman the Magnificent – Rotavirus
April 11
J. K. Rowling is a British writer and author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold nearly 400 million copies. The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £545 million, ranking her as the 136th richest person and the 13th richest woman in Britain. Forbes has named Rowling the second-richest female entertainer in the world, and ranked her as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007. Time named Rowling as a runner-up for their 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and One Parent Families. Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion (£7 billion), and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The series, totalling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages. (more...)
Recently featured: Chrono Trigger – Victoria Cross – Suleiman the Magnificent
April 12
The Kansas Turnpike is a tolled freeway that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. The road runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border south of Wichita via Wichita, Topeka, and Lawrence to Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas Turnpike Act defined the turnpike to be built from Oklahoma to Kansas City, Kansas. The turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), headquartered in Wichita. The Kansas Turnpike was built from 1954 to 1956, predating the Interstate Highway System. The turnpike presently has 27 interchanges and two barrier toll plazas. Exit numbers are assigned by mileage from south to east. After passing the Bonner Springs interchange, exit numbers change to match the mileage of Interstate 70 east from the Colorado border. In the median at mile 97 is the Matfield Green Service Area, which contains a memorial to football coach Knute Rockne, who died in a plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas. (more...)
Recently featured: J. K. Rowling – Chrono Trigger – Victoria Cross
April 13
Lisa del Giocondo was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany in Italy. Her name was given to Mona Lisa, her portrait commissioned by her husband and painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. Little is known about Lisa's life. Married as a teenager to a cloth and silk merchant who later became a local official, she was mother to five children and led what is thought to have been a comfortable and ordinary middle-class life. Lisa outlived her husband, who was about 20 years her senior. Centuries after Lisa's death, Mona Lisa became the world's most famous painting and took on a life separate from Lisa, the woman. Speculation by scholars and hobbyists made the work of art a globally recognized icon and an object of commercialization. During the early 21st century, a discovery made at a university library was powerful enough evidence to end speculation about the sitter's identity and definitively identified Lisa del Giocondo as the subject of the Mona Lisa. (more...)
Recently featured: Kansas Turnpike – J. K. Rowling – Chrono Trigger
April 14
The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales. The storm developed south of Sydney on the afternoon of 14 April, 1999 and struck the city's eastern suburbs, including the central business district, later that evening. The storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in its path. Insured damages caused by the storm were over A$1.7 billion, with the total damage bill (including uninsured damages) estimated to be around A$2.3 billion. It was the costliest in Australian history in terms of insured damages, overtaking the 1989 Newcastle earthquake that had resulted in A$1.1 billion in insured damages. Lightning also claimed one life during the storm, and the event caused approximately 50 injuries. The storm was classified as a supercell following further analysis of its erratic nature and extreme attributes. During the event, the Bureau of Meteorology was consistently surprised at the frequent changes in direction, as well as the severity of the hail and the duration of the storm. The event was also unique as the time of year and general conditions in the region were not seen as conducive for an extreme storm cell to form. (more...)
Recently featured: Lisa del Giocondo – Kansas Turnpike – J. K. Rowling
April 15
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Ailanthus altissima is a deciduous tree in the Ailanthus genus of the Simaroubaceae family. It is native to northeast and central China as well as Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus Ailanthus, it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics. The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres (50 ft) in 25 years. However, the species is also short-lived and rarely lives more than 50 years. A. altissima was first brought from China to Europe in the 1740s and to the United States in 1784. The plant has been spread to many other areas beyond its native range. In a number of these, it has become an invasive species due to its ability to quickly colonise disturbed areas and suppress competition with allelopathic chemicals. It is considered a noxious weed in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and several countries in southern and eastern Europe. The tree also re-sprouts vigorously when cut, making its eradication extremely difficult and time-consuming. In China, the tree of heaven has a long and rich history. It was mentioned in the oldest extant Chinese dictionary and listed in countless Chinese medical texts for its purported ability to cure ailments ranging from mental illness to balding. (more...)
Recently featured: 1999 Sydney hailstorm – Lisa del Giocondo – Kansas Turnpike
April 16
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting consisting of two separate attacks approximately two hours apart on April 16, 2007, which took place on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many more before committing suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Cho, a senior English major at Virginia Tech, had been diagnosed with and was treated for a severe anxiety disorder. In 2005, Cho had been accused of stalking two female students and was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice. The incident received international media coverage and drew criticism of U.S. laws and culture from commentators around the world. It sparked intense debate about gun violence, gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator's state of mind, the responsibility of college administrations, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. The incident prompted immediate changes in Virginia law that had allowed Cho, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns without detection by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It also led to passage of the first major federal gun control measure in more than 13 years, a law that strengthens the NICS. (more...)
Recently featured: Ailanthus altissima – 1999 Sydney hailstorm – Lisa del Giocondo
April 17
Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. It covers an area of 20.66 square kilometres (7.98 sq mi)* with a 2006 population of 11,615 people. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peace", it is a service centre for the rural areas south of the Peace River and the seat of the Peace River Regional District. Dawson Creek turned from a small farming community to a regional centre when the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932, and the US Army used that terminus as a transshipment point in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway. Most of the city's development occurred between 1942 and 1966 when highways and railways were built connecting the farming area of the Peace River Country to the rest of BC through Dawson Creek. Dawson Creek derived its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the city. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land survey team when they passed through the area in August 1879. The city, at the southern end of the Alaska Highway, is known as the "Mile 0 City" and is also home to a regional fall fair and heritage interpretation village. (more...)
Recently featured: Virginia Tech massacre – Ailanthus altissima – 1999 Sydney hailstorm
April 18
Cannibal Holocaust is a controversial exploitation film directed by Ruggero Deodato and based on a screenplay written by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest, it focuses on a team of four fictional documentarians who head deep into the jungle to make a documentary on the primitive native tribes that live there. After two months and no word from the team, a famous anthropologist is sent on a rescue mission in hopes of finding the team alive. Cannibal Holocaust is one of the most widely known exploitation films due to the controversy it caused upon its release. After premiering in Italy, the film was seized by the local Magistrate and Deodato was arrested for obscenity. He was later accused of making a snuff film based on circulating rumors that the film's actors were slain for the camera. Though Deodato would be cleared of these charges, the film was banned in Italy in 1980, the UK, Australia, and several other countries for graphic gore, sexual violence, and for the genuine slayings of six animals featured in the film. Despite this notoriety, Cannibal Holocaust is seen by some critics as a social commentary on civilized society. (more...)
Recently featured: Dawson Creek, British Columbia – Virginia Tech massacre – Ailanthus altissima
April 19
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. She was lionized as a free-thinking "rebel woman" by admirers, and derided as an advocate of politically-motivated murder and violent revolution by her critics. Born in the province of Kaunas, Lithuania she moved with her sister Helena to Rochester, New York in the United States at the age of sixteen. Attracted to anarchism after the Haymarket Riot, Goldman was trained by Johann Most in public speaking and became a renowned lecturer, attracting crowds of thousands. The writer and anarchist Alexander Berkman became her lover, lifelong intimate friend and comrade. Together they planned to assassinate Henry Clay Frick as an act of propaganda of the deed. Though Frick survived, Berkman was sentenced to twenty-two years in prison. In 1917 Goldman and Berkman were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to "induce persons not to register" for the newly instated draft. After their release from prison, they were arrested – with hundreds of others – and deported to Russia. Initially supportive of that country's Bolshevik revolution, Goldman quickly voiced her opposition to the Soviet use of violence and the repression of independent voices. Eventually she traveled to Spain to participate in that nation's civil war. She died in Toronto on 14 May 1940. (more...)
Recently featured: Cannibal Holocaust – Dawson Creek, British Columbia – Virginia Tech massacre
April 20
Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is the diagnostic term for severe and relatively uncommon disorders of attachment that can affect children. RAD is characterized by markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate ways of relating socially in most contexts. It can take the form of a persistent failure to initiate or respond to most social interactions in a developmentally appropriate way—known as the "inhibited" form—or can present itself as indiscriminate sociability, such as excessive familiarity with relative strangers—known as the "disinhibited form". RAD arises from a failure to form normal attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood. Such a failure could result from severe early experiences of neglect, abuse, abrupt separation from caregivers between the ages of six months and three years, frequent change of caregivers, or a lack of caregiver responsiveness to a child's communicative efforts. The criteria for a diagnosis of a reactive attachment disorder are very different from the criteria used in assessment or categorization of attachment styles such as insecure or disorganized attachment. Children with RAD are presumed to have grossly disturbed internal working models of relationships which may lead to interpersonal and behavioral difficulties in later life. There are few studies of long-term effects, and there is a lack of clarity about the presentation of the disorder beyond the age of five years. (more...)
Recently featured: Emma Goldman – Cannibal Holocaust – Dawson Creek, British Columbia
April 21
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The terms British monarch and British monarchy may mean different things in different contexts beyond the United Kingdom. The present monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February, 1952. The heir apparent is her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay. They and the Queen's husband and consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, undertake various public duties in accordance with their positions. Elizabeth II is Head of the Commonwealth and also reigns as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries. This developed from the former colonial relationship of these countries to Britain, but they are now independent and the monarchy of each is legally distinct. (more...)
Recently featured: Reactive attachment disorder – Emma Goldman – Cannibal Holocaust
April 22
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has consisted of Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike McCready (lead guitar). The band's current drummer is Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden, who has been with the band since 1998. Formed after the demise of Ament and Gossard's previous band Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album Ten. One of the key bands of the grunge movement in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was nevertheless criticized early on as being a corporate cash-in on the alternative rock explosion. However, its members became noted for their refusal to adhere to traditional music industry practices as their career progressed, including refusing to make music videos and engaging in a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster. Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame." Since its inception, the band has sold 30 million records in the U.S., and an estimated 60 million albums worldwide. Pearl Jam has outlasted many of its contemporaries from the alternative rock breakthrough of the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, and "the most popular American rock band of the 1990s". (more...)
Recently featured: Monarchy of the United Kingdom – Reactive attachment disorder – Emma Goldman
April 23
Thierry Henry is a French football player. Renowned for his pace, goal scoring record and ability to create assists, he plays as a striker for the France national team and FC Barcelona. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Italian defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999. It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million. Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record becoming the country's top goal-scorer of all time. Given his accomplishments, he is regarded today by many as one of the best footballers in the world. (more...)
Recently featured: Pearl Jam – Monarchy of the United Kingdom – Reactive attachment disorder
April 24
Vasa is a warship that was built for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank on her maiden voyage on August 10 1628 after sailing only about twenty minutes. Vasa fell into obscurity after some initial attempts at recovering her in the 17th century but was relocated in the late 1950s and salvaged with a largely intact hull on April 24 1961. Thousands of artifacts and the remains of 16 people were found inside or near Vasa by marine archaeologists. Among the many items found were clothing, weapons, cannons, tools, coins, cutlery, food, drink and six of the ten sails. The artifacts and the ship itself have provided historians with invaluable insight into details of naval warfare, shipbuilding techniques and everyday life in early 17th-century Sweden. Vasa was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has as of 2008 attracted more than 25 million visitors. (more...)
Recently featured: Thierry Henry – Pearl Jam – Monarchy of the United Kingdom
April 25
The ocean sunfish is the heaviest bony fish in the world, with an average weight of 1,000 kilograms or about 2,200 pounds. The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long, when their dorsal and anal fins are extended. Sunfish live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish. As this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate. Sunfish fry resemble miniature pufferfish, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish. Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, orcas and sharks will consume them. Among humans, sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan and Taiwan, but sale of their flesh is banned in the European Union. It was originally classified as Tetraodon mola under the pufferfish genus, but it has since been given its own genus, Mola, with two species under it. (more...)
Recently featured: Vasa – Thierry Henry – Pearl Jam
April 26
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is approximately 230 miles (370.1 km) northeast of Los Angeles. Manzanar was identified by the United States National Park Service as the best-preserved of the former camp sites, and was designated the Manzanar National Historic Site. Long before the first prisoners arrived in March 1942, Manzanar was home to Native Americans, who mostly lived in villages near several creeks in the area. Ranchers and miners formally established the town of Manzanar in 1910, but abandoned the town by 1929. Since the last prisoners left in 1945, former prisoners and others have worked to protect Manzanar and to establish it as a National Historic Site that preserves and interprets the site for current and future generations. The primary focus is the Japanese American Internment era, as specified in the legislation that created the Manzanar National Historic Site. (more...)
Recently featured: Ocean sunfish – Vasa – Thierry Henry
April 27
Peter Jennings was a Canadian-American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer. A high-school dropout, he transformed himself into one of television's most prominent journalists. Jennings started his career early, hosting a Canadian radio show at the age of nine. In 1965, ABC News tapped him to anchor its flagship evening news program. His inexperience marred his first short stint in the anchor chair, and Jennings became a foreign correspondent in 1968, honing his reporting skills in the Middle East. He returned as one of World News Tonight's three anchors in 1978, and was promoted to the role of sole anchor in 1983. Jennings formed part of the "Big Three" news anchors who dominated American evening news in the 1980s and 1990s. Having always been fascinated with the United States, Jennings became a dual citizen of Canada and the United States in 2003. His death, which closely followed the retirements of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, marked the end of the "Big Three" era. (more...)
Recently featured: Manzanar – Ocean sunfish – Vasa
April 28
The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Prince of Monaco. Originally founded in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldis' power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours. Thus while the sovereigns of Europe were building luxurious, modern Renaissance and Baroque palaces, politics and common sense demanded that the palace of the Monaco rulers be fortified. The Grimaldis' occupation of their palace is also unusual because, unlike other European ruling families, the absence of alternative palaces and land shortages have resulted in their use of the same residence for more than seven centuries. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace and its owners became symbols of the slightly risqué glamour and decadence that was associated with Monte Carlo and the French Riviera. Glamour and theatricality became reality when the American film star Grace Kelly became chatelaine to the palace in 1956. In the 21st century, the palace remains the residence of the current Prince of Monaco. (more...)
Recently featured: Peter Jennings – Manzanar – Ocean sunfish
April 29
BAE Systems is a British defence and aerospace company headquartered at Farnborough, UK, which has worldwide interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is the world's third-largest defence contractor and the largest in Europe. BAE was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion merger of two British companies: Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of The General Electric Company plc (GEC) and aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe). It has increasingly disengaged from its businesses in continental Europe in favour of investing in the United States. Since its formation it has sold its shares of Airbus, EADS Astrium, AMS and Atlas Elektronik. BAE Systems is involved in several major defence projects, including the F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The company has been the subject of criticism, both general opposition to the arms trade and also specific allegations of unethical and corrupt practices, including the Al Yamamah contracts with Saudi Arabia that have earned BAE and its predecessor £43 billion in twenty years. (more...)
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April 30
Anabolic steroids are a class of steroid hormones related to the hormone testosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles. Anabolic steroids also have androgenic and virilizing properties, including the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics such as growth of the vocal cords and body hair. Anabolic steroids were first isolated, identified and synthesized in the 1930s, and are now used therapeutically in medicine to stimulate bone growth and appetite, induce male puberty, and treat chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS. Anabolic steroids also produce increases in muscle mass and physical strength, and are consequently used in sport and bodybuilding to enhance strength or physique. Serious health risks can be produced by long-term use or excessive doses of anabolic steroids. These effects include harmful changes in cholesterol levels (increased low-density lipoprotein and decreased high-density lipoprotein), acne, high blood pressure, liver damage, and dangerous changes in the structure of the left ventricle of the heart. The use of anabolic steroids is banned by all major sporting bodies. Anabolic steroids are controlled substances in many countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina and Brazil, while in other countries, such as Mexico and Thailand, they are freely available. (more...)
Recently featured: BAE Systems – Prince's Palace of Monaco – Peter Jennings