Wikipedia:Recent additions/2019/February

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Did you know...

28 February 2019

12:00, 28 February 2019 (UTC)

The Balcony

... that Mair von Landshut's prints (example shown) "resemble whimsical stage sets, and are endowed with an unreal character, like something from a fairy tale"?
... that when the ground is not flooded, Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin monkey has been known to raid aquatic turtle nests to eat the eggs?
... that Solrad 1 was the first satellite to successfully observe solar X-rays?
... that in the 2015 film Frankenstein vs. The Mummy, the director designed Frankenstein's monster to look like a muscular zombie with long black hair?
... that Alberto Jorge is the only association football manager to have won the Liga MX title as caretaker, doing so with Toluca in 2003?
... that Bach set the phrase "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks" from Psalm 75 in German to begin a cantata, and in Latin in his Mass in B minor?
... that Chuang Shu-chi was the first licensed female practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine in Taiwan?
... that Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, author of Bad News for Outlaws, asked that US black deputy marshal Bass Reeves appear unclothed in an illustration to ensure its historical accuracy?

00:00, 28 February 2019 (UTC)

Tom Barrass

... that Australian rules footballer Tom Barrass (pictured) injured his back while using a dustpan and missed six matches?
... that XTC's Oranges & Lemons, released 30 years ago today, reinterpreted 1960s psychedelic music styles using 1980s instrumentation and technology?
... that Chen Chao-long performed the first liver transplant in Asia, as well as Taiwan's first living donor liver transplantation?
... that the 1945 Bierut Decree nationalized all land in the Polish capital of Warsaw after the city's destruction by the Nazis?
... that William McSherry arranged for the sale in 1838 of the slaves who worked the Jesuit province in Maryland?
... that Hintersche, a historical card game played by farmers, foresters and journeymen in the Principality of Fürstenberg, is still played in the Black Forest today?
... that the soprano Julia Kleiter has appeared internationally in Mozart operas, as both Susanna and the Countess in Figaro, and both Papagena and Pamina in The Magic Flute?
... that the innkeeper worm catches its food with a net and then swallows the net?

27 February 2019

12:00, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

Mouth and tentacles of the spotted wobbegong

... that prey of the spotted wobbegong (pictured) have been known to approach its mouth and nibble on its tentacles?
... that Reina Ueda voiced 18 sisters in the anime series Tesagure! Bukatsu-mono?
... that the first attempt of the British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph Company to lay a submarine telegraph cable to Ireland failed because the cable would not reach that far?
... that Ambrosia Tønnesen is regarded as the first professional female sculptor in Norway?
... that Cleitarchus's History of Alexander, written in the fourth century BC, was criticized by contemporaries as being overly sensational?
... that Karl Plagge's efforts to rescue Jews during the Holocaust succeeded because he entered a "grey zone" of moral compromise?
... that role-playing video game Dungeon Siege III has so many items with unexplained statistics that it left reviewers confused?
... that quarterback Sammy Baugh was investigated by the National Football League after missing the 1942 NFL All-Star Game because he had the flu?

00:00, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

"Wolf's teeth" badge from a 1645 map of Transylvania

... that "wolf's teeth" were once a feature of Transylvanian state symbols (example shown)?
... that Edris Allan, the first telephone operator for the Jamaica All Island Telephone Service, married Sir Harold Allan, the first Afro-Jamaican to be knighted?
... that the main venue of the Landestheater Detmold was built from 1914–18, after the 1825 court theatre of the Principality of Lippe burnt down?
... that Yu-chien Kuan fled China using a stolen Japanese passport, was jailed in Egypt, and then became a sinologist and advisor to the German chancellor?
... that actor Michael Rennie and temperance activist Catherine Gurney are buried in Harlow Hill Cemetery?
... that Chinese soybean geneticist Wang Lianzheng was elected a foreign fellow of the Indian and Russian national academies of agricultural sciences?
... that a Cleveland film critic said the acting in the 1923 film The Net "doesn't warrant complimentary adjectives"?
... that in 1844 Thomas Barry sailed along the River Thames in a tub pulled by four geese?

26 February 2019

12:00, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Sophie Karthäuser

... that among the Mozart roles sung by soprano Sophie Karthäuser (pictured) are Ilia, Tamiri, and Serpetta?
... that cardiac allograft vasculopathy is a complication of heart transplantation that affects up to half of recipients within ten years?
... that Liang Weiyan and his team designed the water turbines of the world's largest power plant?
... that otters and seabirds seem to be able to detect when butter clams are toxic, but humans cannot?
... that Nina Morrison was nominated for the 2019 AFL Women's Rising Star award on debut – but suffered a season-ending knee injury in training the next week?
... that in 1407, Admiral Zheng He's treasure fleet defeated the pirate force of Chen Zuyi, who had occupied Palembang in today's Indonesia, and sent him back to China for execution?
... that the Payún Matrú volcano, last active about 500 years ago, is the source of the longest Quaternary lava flow on Earth?
... that in 1832, sugar planter Hamilton Brown argued that slaves in Jamaica were better off than the poor in Britain?

00:00, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Thatched barnacles (left) and channeled dog winkles (right)

... that the channeled dog winkle drills into shells of the thatched barnacle (both species pictured) and injects a toxin to gain access to the soft parts?
... that Joyce Sumbi, one of thirteen black librarians in the 242-librarian LA County Library system in 1971, charged her employer with discrimination against minorities?
... that the "sleepy town" of Tarraville, Australia, with a population of around 80, was once the largest town in Gippsland?
... that Freeman Dyson used a result by Marian Pour-El on the mathematical undecidability of the wave equation as evidence for the superiority of analog to digital forms of life?
... that St. John the Evangelist Church was the first Catholic church in Frederick County, Maryland, and the first church consecrated in the Archdiocese of Baltimore?
... that Isabel Chan is part of the singing trio MKB48, whose full name is Mega Karaoke Bitches 48?
... that, in the United States, mobile field forces are used by police to deal with civil disorder by targeting "agitators"?
... that British-Pakistani director Sarmad Masud describes his 2017 film My Pure Land as "a modern-day feminist Western set in Pakistan"?

25 February 2019

12:00, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

Abby Franquemont

... that hand-spinning writer Abby Franquemont (pictured) spent her early childhood in Peru, where women "spun to eat and pay for the home they lived in"?
... that larvae of the red tube worm do not settle on bull kelp, probably because that seaweed inflates its float chambers with carbon monoxide?
... that professional world barrel-racing champion Hailey Kinsel won $433,333.33 in one day at the American Rodeo in February 2017?
... that the economy of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos saw its first crisis in 1969 because of heavy borrowing in preparation for the Marcos re-election campaign?
... that Soni Sumarsono served as acting governor of three provinces of Indonesia without being elected?
... that Portland's MAX Red Line light rail, initially planned decades into the future, was built ahead of other projects because of an unsolicited proposal by Bechtel?
... that Olympians Jacques and Philippe Lacarrière were the second father–son pair to be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame?
... that a short story about a child raised without a gender served as an inspiration for a 1975 scientific experiment?

00:00, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

Trout Lake, Colorado (1879)

... that Hamilton Hamilton, best known for his landscapes of the American West (example shown), was born in England and lived most of his life in the American East?
... that Manchester City conceded only one goal in regular time en route to the 2019 EFL Cup Final against Chelsea today?
... that on a 1932 visit to the Soviet Union, S. Ramanathan was not allowed to meet Joseph Stalin because the Indian politician had also met with Trotskyists?
... that Suoyang City, a major commercial and cultural center on the Silk Road for more than a millennium, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2014?
... that a bunker built by prisoners of Kaufering concentration camp is still in use by the German Air Force?
... that Vincent Boussard staged Manon for Vilnius, San Francisco, and Seoul, and I puritani for Liège and Frankfurt?
... that in 2014, the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee became the first place that orange pavement markings were tested in the United States?
... that after informing on a drug cartel, José Manuel Garza Rendón may live the rest of his life like a "hunted rabbit"?

24 February 2019

12:00, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

HMS Sickle

... that after sailors from HMS Sickle (pictured) boarded a small enemy ship, they brought 1,000 oranges and lemons from the ship's cargo back to their submarine?
... that Madame A. C. Bilbrew directed the choir that appeared as cotton pickers singing spirituals in Hearts in Dixie, one of the first all-black talkies?
... that ... sofferte onde serene ... ("serene waves suffered") is a composition for piano and tape written by Luigi Nono in collaboration with pianist Maurizio Pollini?
... that actor Carl Au shaved the back and sides of his head for the final arc of his Waterloo Road character Barry Barry, in a style he dubbed "The Ferret"?
... that John Buddle Blyth and August Wilhelm von Hofmann were the first to report photopolymerisation?
... that the voice of the Erckel's francolin has been described as "an insane cackled laughter"?
... that Gaspar Jiménez, who was indicted in 1981 for a bombing attack on radio newscaster Emilio Milián, was later convicted for plotting to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro?
... that the rare, much sought after record in Deadwax has killer sound?

00:00, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

Eugène de Mirecourt

... that Eugène de Mirecourt (pictured) wrote 100 biographical articles on his contemporaries, including Alexandre Dumas, Hector Berlioz, and George Sand?
... that the British Army's Deolali transit camp is the origin for the slang term "doolally", meaning mentally ill?
... that Liang Jingkui designed an instrument to measure the temperature in nuclear tests?
... that the Neo-Bechstein was a pioneering electric grand piano in which the mechanics of the piano were no longer involved in the direct production of sound?
... that before being appointed to the Supreme Court of Texas, William F. Ramsey served as president of three banks, in different cities, at the same time?
... that the larger feeding tentacles of the sea gherkin carry food to its mouth, where two smaller ones help push food in?
... that during the Second World War, Rachel Dübendorfer received sensitive German military information, including plans for the German invasion of the USSR?
... that Thomas Forsyth stocked his cellar with wine until his wife cut the pipes and drained it all?

23 February 2019

12:00, 23 February 2019 (UTC)

Lancewood

... that the bark of the lancewood (pictured) smells like violets when cut or exposed?
... that Armenia's anthem is based on Mikayel Nalbandian's poem, inspired by Italian unification?
... that Chinese director Ying Liang was exiled from Shanghai for filming When Night Falls?
... that a 12-hour hearing for Mexican businesswoman Rosalinda González Valencia was held behind closed doors because the government was presenting sensitive evidence about a drug cartel?
... that the Cavalry Staff Corps is regarded as Britain's first standing military police force?
... that African-American rapper Leikeli47 always masks her face while performing, saying it makes her feel "free"?
... that former prime minister of India Manmohan Singh called the events of the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 a testimony to Hindu–Muslim unity?
... that an engraving in 1500 by Master MZ shows a woman lifting her skirts to protect or hide an owl?

00:00, 23 February 2019 (UTC)

Engraving of Canova's
statue of Washington

... that the North Carolina State House and Canova's George Washington (engraving shown) were both destroyed by an "awful conflagration" that began while the building was being fireproofed?
... that the opening of the Submarine Telegraph Company's first oceanic telegraph cable was marked by remotely firing a cannon in Calais from a telegraph station in Dover?
... that, influenced by the Harlem Renaissance, Los Angeles teacher Dorothy Vena Johnson wrote poems such as "Epitaph for a Bigot" and "Post War Ballad"?
... that although Mulatschak has been called the card game of the state of Salzburg, its rules were almost certainly unpublished before 2004?
... that Australian actor Nick Russell quit his law career to concentrate solely on acting?
... that New York City's Grand Central Terminal was built after a deadly crash between two trains in the Park Avenue Tunnel in 1902?
... that Genia Kühmeier appeared as Mozart's Pamina at the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and recorded the soprano solo in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with Nikolaus Harnoncourt?
... that changes in Earth's orbit around the Sun over 10,000 years ago led to the disappearance of the Sahara desert?

22 February 2019

12:00, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene and Her Maid by Nicolas Régnier

... that paintings of Saint Sebastian tended by Saint Irene (example shown) reflected the position of both Catholic and Protestant churches that people should not flee to avoid the plague?
... that Marika Kouno was inspired to pursue a career in voice acting by Ikue Ōtani, who plays Pikachu in Pokémon?
... that during construction of New York City's Sixth Avenue subway line in the 1930s, workers had to build around various utilities and tunnels, including an existing railroad tunnel and an elevated line?
... that, playing in 1887, Emily Valentine is the first documented female rugby player?
... that the springtail Orchesella cincta moults repeatedly throughout its life, with feeding and reproductive phases alternating?
... that British Army officer Michael Magill was killed alongside his brigade commander after treading on a land mine during a training exercise in Yorkshire?
... that MT MOL FSRU Challenger is the world's largest floating storage and regasification vessel?
... that despite a ban on Indonesian nationalist hymns during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, a Japanese army propagandist wrote one and it debuted in an official event?

00:00, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

A duck's webbed foot

... that some water birds use their webbed feet (illustration shown) as an aid in elaborate courtship displays?
... that Herbert Seddon's textbook on nerve injuries took 30 years to write?
... that Kyle Busch won the 2011 Food City 250 stock car race by 0.019 seconds over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano, the closest finish in a Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway?
... that after being captured and imprisoned by British Major Lionel Bostock, the Nuer prophet Garluark was restored to his former position as ruler of a region of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan?
... that fares on Tacoma Link are covered by a subsidy from local businesses?
... that at 8 minutes and 45 seconds, the released version of Neil Young's song "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)" was much shorter than the original, which included a verse about genocide of Native Americans?
... that Helmut Kleinicke was dismissed from his job because he was caught helping Jews escape?
... that the Gutta Percha Company, whose main product was submarine telegraph cable, started out making bottle stoppers?

21 February 2019

12:00, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

Malathi Chendur

... that "Pramadaavanam", a weekly column by Malathi Chendur (pictured), was published uninterruptedly for 47 years?
... that squid can move by jet propulsion and some species can even glide through the air?
... that footballer Emiliano Sala is the most expensive signing in the history of Cardiff City F.C.?
... that for 25 years, pedestrians in Hudson Heights, New York City, paid a subway fare to use the elevators in the 190th Street station to avoid climbing an eight-story hill?
... that Major General Gao Changqing performed China's first fully robotic cardiac surgery?
... that the brown algae Laminaria sinclairii spends several months completely buried in sand?
... that the invention of the dry-air blast by James Gayley led to such increased yields of iron that he set a world record for "making the most iron with the least coke" and was named the "pig iron king"?
... that the repertoire of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus includes folk songs, spirituals, Western ballads, classical and pop music – and rope tricks?

00:00, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

Magellanic and gentoo penguins

... that mine fields in the Falkland Islands are havens for Magellanic and gentoo penguins (pictured)?
... that Gérard Bolduc and Paul Dumont co-founded the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, which began 59 years ago today?
... that the author of the 2018 picture book Let the Children March left out "truly upsetting details" about the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade to avoid frightening young readers?
... that Henrikh Mkhitaryan was the first player to score a hat-trick for the Armenia national football team?
... that musician Taina Asili studied opera and fronted a hardcore punk band before starting the Afro-Caribbean group La Banda Rebelde?
... that "Episode 5820" of the soap opera EastEnders is set entirely in The Queen Victoria pub and focuses on the characters' opinions on sexual consent?
... that Prussian general Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch led a brigade at the Battle of Leipzig and a corps at the Battle of Waterloo?
... that the 1975 Holton-Arms School senior prom was the only high school dance ever held in the White House?

20 February 2019

12:00, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

Beaver Hall

... that in 1871, Beaver Hall (pictured) was demolished so that the neighbours could have a "private green belt"?
... that Jennie Jackson, an original member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, performed with the ensemble before US President Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, and Queen Victoria?
... that the British submarine HMS P222 was ordered to escort an Allied convoy to Malta on the surface, with the intent that it would be spotted by enemy aircraft?
... that Joseph Jenckes Sr., a 17th-century blacksmith in Massachusetts, was granted the first machine patent in America?
... that the historical card game of Briscan has been described as a "Gothic extravaganza", squeezing "a truly phenomenal range of scores and melds" from a 32-card pack?
... that Louis Dreller was decorated by both the United States and Brazil for designing and building World War II warships?
... that in 543 a Byzantine army was unexpectedly defeated by a force less than one-seventh its size, during their invasion of Sasanian Armenia?
... that Twitter satirist Coldwar Steve creates most of his works on a phone while travelling to work by bus?

00:00, 20 February 2019 (UTC)

John L. Whitehead Jr.

... that John L. Whitehead Jr. (pictured) was the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School?
... that most of the scenes in Yucatán were filmed onboard the MS Sovereign during a transatlantic crossing, with the ship's actual passengers and crew acting as extras?
... that David Timm, the director of music at Leipzig University, recorded his Jazz-Messe together with Reger's Der 100. Psalm?
... that SAP SE, Aetna, Mrs. Fields Original Cookies, and Brooklyn Union Gas have all been managed by wire?
... that from 1977 to 1982, Pierre Cangioni presented Téléfoot, France's first dedicated football television programme?
... that artificial alternatives to DNA called XNA have been proposed to reduce some hazards of synthetic biology by preventing gene flow to natural organisms?
... that German entomologist Ferdinand Rudow was described as "undoubtedly the most incompetent" taxonomist working with Ichneumonidae?
... that members of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce stole the Pioneer Square totem pole from a Tlingit village in 1899 and gifted it to the City of Seattle?

19 February 2019

12:00, 19 February 2019 (UTC)

Emperor goose with stained head

... that the head of the emperor goose (pictured) frequently turns from white to reddish-brown in summer, due to its feeding in tidal pools with iron oxide?
... that Chang Ya-chung was elected to the National Assembly in 2005, but resigned on the first day to protest the parliament's formation?
... that Connect Airways, a consortium that includes Virgin Atlantic, was created to take over Flybe—which had previously absorbed Virgin's domestic operations at Heathrow Airport?
... that Shubulade Smith has spoken up against perceived racism at Maudsley Hospital?
... that the Leipziger Universitätschor, part of centuries of music at Leipzig University, received an Echo Klassik for a recording of Hugo Distler's Liturgische Gesänge?
... that Swedish handball player Johan Jepson was the first on his team to be honoured with a testimonial match?
... that due to an illegal electoral pact, the Scottish burgh of Stirling lost the right to elect a Member of Parliament in 1773?
... that in a story known in the Middle Ages, the sons of a dead king shoot arrows at his corpse?

00:00, 19 February 2019 (UTC)

Hilda Ranscombe

... that Hilda Ranscombe (pictured) captained a team that won ten consecutive Ladies Ontario Hockey Association championships?
... that the seaweed Padina boergesenii has been investigated for use as a bioindicator of heavy metal contamination?
... that Manny Parra's perfect game in 2007 was just the third nine-inning perfect game in the Pacific Coast League's hundred-year history?
... that Saleh Mohammad is the first politician from Jaisalmer district to become a minister of Rajasthan, India?
... that Francis Ford Coppola said he added "five three-minute nudie sketches in color to a stupid German movie that had been shot in black-and-white"?
... that Oscar de Beaux, in his 1930 publication "Biological ethics", was one of the first people to argue that conserving nature is ethical?
... that Louise Creighton and Kathleen Lyttelton founded the Cambridge University Ladies Dining Society in 1890 "not without an idea of retaliating on the husbands who dined in College"?
... that lava can form gas-filled balloons that float on water?

18 February 2019

12:00, 18 February 2019 (UTC)

Banner of Kunság in 1618

... that the population of Kunság (banner pictured) was "almost entirely wiped out" during the Ottoman occupation, before recovering through re-colonization?
... that Maria Guajardo's doctoral dissertation on educational attainment among Latina teens led to her hiring as Dropout Prevention Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Education?
... that after winning a professional wrestling match at NWA New Years Clash, David Arquette shaved off the hair of his opponent?
... that Andrew Cudworth popularised the classification of diabetes into type 1 and type 2?
... that the SurfSafe browser extension is meant to combat fake news by spotting altered or misleadingly used images as they appear to a user?
... that Joseph A. Sellinger oversaw the merger of Mount Saint Agnes College into Loyola College in Maryland in 1971?
... that director Jon M. Chu pushed back production on Crazy Rich Asians by four months so actress Constance Wu could star in it?
... that in 1990, hornist, conductor, and composer Siegfried Geißler opened the inaugural session of the first Parliament of Thuringia?

17 February 2019

19:26, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

OK gesture

... that the OK gesture (pictured) can stand for the evil eye, the letter F, the number 9, the rising and setting of the sun, or to signal that a scuba diver is safe?
... that "Three Incarnations" by Pu Songling may have been inspired by certain stories in Feng Menglong's Stories to Caution the World?
... that Arthur Blackburn was the first South Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross in World War I?
... that the Indian organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal filed a case to prevent the commissioning of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant?
... that a small group of Holocaust survivors tried to kill six million Germans?
... that Stephen Twinoburyo, a Ugandan expatriate in South Africa, said that Ugandans were unhappy about the ticket prices for the 2010 FIFA World Cup that took place in his new country?
... that while the Irish horror film The Green Marker Scare was animated by children, it is not made for them and may even unsettle some adults?
... that merchant George Meade was once considered a patriot of the American Revolution, but his firm actually profited from both sides during the war?

00:00, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

Les Choristes (1877)

... that Edgar Degas's Les Choristes (shown), stolen in 2009 from the Musée Cantini in Marseille, France, was found in the luggage compartment of a bus outside Paris a year ago today?
... that Megan Marie Hart has performed on stage in Detmold, Germany, as Puccini's Tosca and was soprano soloist in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony?
... that Rudyard Kipling may have coined the term "infantillery" to refer to the Royal Artillery Mounted Rifles?
... that California and the entire eastern United States are under a quarantine restriction by the U.S. state of Washington designed to protect it from apple maggot infestation?
... that Firhad Hakim is the first Muslim to become the Mayor of Kolkata since Indian independence?
... that an extract of peacock's tail is effective against the red cotton stainer?
... that Asim Chaudhry, who plays Chabuddy G in People Just Do Nothing, starred as an Asian Donald Trump in the 2016 short film Donald Mohammed Trump?
... that the capital of the Arizona Territory moved from Prescott to Tucson, back to Prescott, and then to Phoenix in its first 25 years?
... that the name of the Japanese idol group Crown Pop was not made public until their live debut?

16 February 2019

00:00, 16 February 2019 (UTC)

Adele Spitzeder

... that some sources believe Adele Spitzeder (pictured) created the first documented Ponzi scheme in 1869?
... that the rhythm of the call of the fulvous owl has been likened to Morse code?
... that director Manoel de Oliveira completed the 2009 feature film Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl at the age of 100?
... that Hawaiian legislator Pius F. Koakanu was beaten by rioters because of his support for King Kalākaua in the monarchial election of 1874?
... that Boybuloq Cave, the deepest in Asia, is located near Uzbekistan's highest village?
... that in 2017, the Tucson Girls Chorus opened the city's first public choir for girls and boys with special needs?
... that after he was named heir apparent to owner George Steinbrenner in 2005, Steve Swindal was bought out of the New York Yankees in 2007?
... that Shin Hyun-hwak was Prime Minister of South Korea for less than six months?

15 February 2019

00:00, 15 February 2019 (UTC)

Au Bois de Boulogne

... that Guth's Au Bois de Boulogne (shown) depicts a fashionable crowd, including the courtesans Liane de Pougy and La Belle Otero?
... that the work of physician Elizabeth Ross is still commemorated annually in Serbia despite her having spent only three weeks in the country?
... that Eidyn, a Brittonic district of the Early Middle Ages in present-day Scotland, is the source for Edinburgh's name?
... that Liberian-American author Wayétu Moore, once a war refugee, founded a nonprofit organization which publishes culturally relevant books for children in countries with low literacy rates?
... that the Israeli video game Piposh, to be released in 2019, will be a reboot of the original 1999 game of the same name?
... that the law center at Willamette University is named in honor of Oregon businessman and philanthropist Truman W. Collins?
... that construction on the Thessaloniki Metro triggered the largest-ever archaeological dig in northern Greece, unearthing more than 300,000 individual artefacts?
... that the BAFTA-winning documentary 73 Cows tells the story of Jay and Katja Wilde, beef farmers who gave most of their cows to the Hillside Animal Sanctuary and took up vegan organic farming?

14 February 2019

00:00, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

Golden-headed cisticola

... that the golden-headed cisticola (pictured) has been described as the "finest tailor of all birds"?
... that Gord Renwick was part of the inaugural class of the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2012?
... that SPLA rebels captured a large amount of military equipment from the Sudanese Armed Forces during Operation Thunderbolt, but found much of it had degraded and was of no use?
... that when Willem Kloos said to Jacques Perk that they were the only two young talented poets in the Netherlands, Perk mentioned his childhood friend Augusta Peaux as a third?
... that in a review for Mr. Shivers, debut novelist Robert Jackson Bennett was favorably compared to Stephen King and John Steinbeck?
... that local residents had to wait ten years for step-free access at Newbury Park tube station?
... that in 2014, the Australian actor Jackson Gallagher escaped without injury from a rockfall during a climbing expedition at the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand?
... that after the release of the Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, charity shops in Washington D.C. reported a 66% increase in donations?

13 February 2019

00:00, 13 February 2019 (UTC)

Kamehameha III, c. 1849

... that Hawaiian king Kamehameha III (pictured) relied on American and British advisors to fill his cabinet?
... that after recapturing escaped Luftwaffe prisoners, the British officer Guy Dury is said to have remarked: "one really has to take off one's hat to them ... I really regret having to lock them up"?
... that a river will be diverted for the construction of Hohhot Shengle International Airport?
... that William Hoskins, the co-inventor of modern billiard chalk, also invented the electric heating coil, used to create the first electric toasters?
... that the cypress aphid is a vector for cypress canker?
... that soprano Ildikó Raimondi, who appeared at the Vienna State Opera in more than 40 roles including Pamina and Mimì, sang the role of Marzelline in the opening season of the Valencia Opera?
... that the first discovered fossil of the dinosaur Weewarrasaurus was noted for being preserved in green-blue opal?
... that Stephen Godin was a steward of a house of penitent prostitutes?

12 February 2019

00:00, 12 February 2019 (UTC)

British ambulance stores during the war

... that British ambulance units (stores pictured) served alongside armies of both combatants in the Franco-Prussian War?
... that for nearly 100 years, people thought Manuel Trujillo Durán introduced cinema to Venezuela, though he was just a film technician at the time?
... that Bierlachs, a variant of Germany's national card game, Skat, is predominantly played for beer in pubs and restaurants?
... that Arthur R. Gralla was the US Navy's fourth Jewish Vice Admiral?
... that the poem "The Aboriginal Mother" expresses grief about the massacre of at least 28 Aboriginal Australians at a time when a white settler said, "Why, we are poisoning the Blacks; which is much safer; and serve them right too!"?
... that Japanese voice actress Kaede Hondo decided to pursue a career in acting due to a misunderstanding?
... that Earth's circumference around the poles is almost exactly 40,000 kilometres or 21,600 (i.e. 360 × 60) nautical miles, because it was used to define those units of measurement?
... that after a mastectomy ended her professional modeling career, Sue Miller assembled a fashion show featuring only models who have had breast cancer?

11 February 2019

00:00, 11 February 2019 (UTC)

Marguerite de Witt-Schlumberger

... that the Inter-Allied Women's Conference, which opened in Paris 100 years ago today, marked the first time women were granted formal participation in an international treaty negotiation (conference organizer Marguerite de Witt-Schlumberger pictured)?
... that mountaineer Mary Jobe Akeley was hailed as "the first white person and probably the first human being" to explore a remote peak in the Canadian Rockies that she called "Big Ice Mountain"?
... that Typhoon Ofelia was the worst typhoon to hit eastern Taiwan in 30 years?
... that James Park Woods was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918 for leading a small squad in the capture of a "very formidable" enemy post and the subsequent repulsion of multiple counterattacks?
... that the 1954 social psychology book The Nature of Prejudice is considered a classic that defined the field of intergroup relations?
... that Wilhelm Kempf, Bishop of Limburg from 1949 to 1981, took part in the Second Vatican Council and introduced its innovations in his diocese, including spiritual discourse and open dialogue?
... that Alabama's 28-point loss against Clemson in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship was their worst-ever defeat under head coach Nick Saban?
... that Geoff Harvey, former musical director for the Nine Network Australia, composed the theme song for The Sullivans for his wife's cousin's wedding?

10 February 2019

00:00, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

Flag of Somerset County, Maryland

... that Somerset County, Maryland, adopted the style of the Union Jack as their flag (pictured) before Great Britain did?
... that Roy Inwood was awarded a Victoria Cross in 1917 for several actions including the capture of a German strongpoint and a machinegun nest, mostly singlehanded?
... that MLS Cup 2005 featured the same teams and ended with the same scoreline as MLS Cup 2002?
... that the arrest of Adán Medrano Rodríguez marked a shift in how the Mexican government tackled drug cartels?
... that Florida's Amendment 4 reenfranchised an estimated 1.4 million ex-felons?
... that Swedish pool player Marcus Chamat has represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup on 10 occasions?
... that George Tabori wrote Goldberg Variations as a play within a play, presenting biblical scenes satirically as a series of disasters?
... that the penumbral lunar eclipse originally predicted to occur on 18 August 2016 did not happen?

9 February 2019

00:00, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

The Hague map of Crusader Jerusalem

... that almost all pre-modern maps of Jerusalem (example pictured) were made by Christians for a Christian European audience?
... that in 1908, Silver Quilty was the first man to play the flying wing position in Canadian football?
... that a ditch in Scotland has been the subject of acts of parliament since 1696?
... that Australian actor George Pullar attended an army boot camp to prepare for his role in the drama series Fighting Season?
... that Larry Kramer frequently invoked the AIDS–Holocaust metaphor and compared Reagan Administration officials to Nazi war criminals?
... that the role-playing video game Kenshi was inspired by stories of wandering rōnin, and the idea of a survivor traveling a wasteland?
... that Juan Gabriel's own cover of "Así Fue", which he originally composed for Isabel Pantoja, was the best-performing Latin single of 1998 in the United States?
... that Alexina Maude Wildman's biting, sarcastic gossip column in The Bulletin was headed by the cartoon image of an old woman, disguising the fact that she was in her 20s?

8 February 2019

00:00, 8 February 2019 (UTC)

Walt Torrence

... that Walt Torrence (pictured) was an All-American college basketball player for UCLA before joining the US Army and winning a gold medal at the 1963 Pan American Games?
... that representatives from more than a dozen nations are reported to be attending today's International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela in Montevideo, Uruguay?
... that NASA exobiologist Darlene Lim studies underwater volcanoes and desert stations in the Canadian High Arctic to prepare humans for missions to Mars?
... that the Casualty production team wore medical scrubs on-set during the filming of the episode "One" so they could disguise themselves if they were caught on camera?
... that Marshmello was listed by Forbes as one of the ten highest-paid DJs, with $21 million in earnings in the twelve months before June 2017?
... that Slovak ultranationalists have exaggerated the number of presidential exemptions issued, in order to minimize the complicity of Jozef Tiso in the Holocaust in Slovakia?
... that when taxonomist Gloria Galeano first saw pictures of the newly discovered Sabinaria magnifica she described it as "the most beautiful of all Colombian palms"?
... that educator Joseph Forbes had twenty-four children and two wives?

7 February 2019

00:00, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

La Grande roue de Montréal

... that the 60-metre-high (200 ft) Grande roue de Montréal (pictured), built in Montreal for the 375th anniversary of the city, is the tallest Ferris wheel in Canada?
... that Harold W. Chase argued that conscription in the United States benefited the Air Force, Navy, and Marines at the expense of the Army?
... that an egg strand of the southern reef squid is most commonly fertilized by three different males?
... that the bass-baritone Albert Dohmen appeared as Berg's Wozzeck at the Salzburg Festival in 1997, and as Wagner's Pogner at La Scala in 2017?
... that the freighter Selah Chamberlain sank on Lake Michigan after a collision with another ship?
... that Victoria Loke, who had a role in Crazy Rich Asians, has advocated for the rights of sex workers and domestic workers?
... that the Homeric Minimum may have been responsible for permanent snow on Mount Olympus, as referred to by Homer and in Greek mythology?
... that the Padule di Fucecchio massacre, in which at least 174 Italian civilians were murdered, has been described as "one of the worst Nazi atrocities in Italy"?
... that Nazo Dharejo fought off 200 bandits in a gun battle that earned her a reputation as "Pakistan's toughest woman"?

6 February 2019

00:00, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Chun Afong

... that Chinese millionaire merchant Chun Afong (pictured) made his fortune in the "Sandalwood Mountains" and had sixteen children with a descendant of Hawaiian royalty?
... that the Northeast Syrtis region on Mars once had flowing water, and has sulfate and carbonate minerals?
... that top National Hockey League prospects Quinn and Jack Hughes learned how to skate from their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, a world championship silver medalist?
... that indigenous peoples in the Northern Territory of Australia would toss fruit of the river fig into rivers to attract turtles?
... that Charles J. Donlan was responsible for selecting the Mercury Seven astronauts and led the team selecting the Mercury spacecraft they flew?
... that in the presence of red rock crabs, the shell of the frilled dogwinkle tends to grow thicker, whereas when predatory starfish are around, it tends to grow longer?
... that two years before it closed due to lack of funds, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights published the "Sheroes Womyn Warriors Wall Calendar" to raise money?
... that the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu's public debut at the age of 12 featured his own compositions?

5 February 2019

00:00, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

David Johnson

... that photographer David Johnson (pictured) was the first African-American student of Ansel Adams?
... that the cable ship Alert almost completely isolated Germany from the worldwide telegraph network by cutting its submarine telegraph cables just hours after the outbreak of World War I?
... that Edward Stanley scored no runs, and took no catches or wickets, during his first-class cricket career?
... that cases against 9,700 Kashmiri youth in India were withdrawn by the government as part of its "healing touch" policy for peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir?
... that in reviewing Jude the Obscure for Life, Cyclops found that Alex Marshall as Arabella "steals the series"?
... that "Joy to the World" is one of the hymns based on Psalm 96, "Sing to the Lord a new song"?
... that in 1956, German civil servant Erica Pappritz co-wrote a book on etiquette which included sections on correct odour and on how Bonn diplomats liked to carry umbrellas?
... that after a nearby railroad station burned down, 12 horses pulled the old Caldwell station on rafters to the site to replace it?

4 February 2019

00:00, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

Kansas City Union Station

... that Kansas City Union Station (pictured) was constructed using cement manufactured by a mill in Yocemento?
... that James Mason landed a role in Neighbours after two-thirds of the other actors in the audition dropped out upon learning the character was gay?
... that after becoming king, Kamehameha V proclaimed a constitution which restricted the power of the Privy Council of the Kingdom of Hawaii?
... that an interview with Sammy Woodhouse sparked an inquiry revealing the sexual abuse of about 1,400 children in Rotherham, England, between 1997 and 2013?
... that more than half the organic content of the tunic of the shiny orange sea squirt consists of cellulose?
... that bass singer Carlos Feller made his debut at the Teatro Colón in 1946, and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1988 in his signature role of Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte?
... that the 1978–79 Penn Quakers men's basketball team was the only nine-seed to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament until 2013?
... that members of the British Parliament are entitled to free snuff from the Parliamentary snuff box, despite it being illegal to distribute it for free elsewhere?

3 February 2019

00:00, 3 February 2019 (UTC)

Friedrich Spitta

... that when Friedrich Spitta (pictured) revised "Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein", a 1530 German Lutheran communion hymn based on the biblical Nunc dimittis, he completely changed the meaning?
... that the Steinbrenner family hopes to own the New York Yankees for "eternity"?
... that the thornback cowfish has plate-like scales which are fused together to form a solid, box-like carapace?
... that Amnon Rubinstein coined the term "enclave law" to describe Israeli law in the West Bank settlements?
... that in 1909, Ivy Woodward became the first female member of the Royal College of Physicians?
... that the Chiquimula Department of Guatemala contains the Black Christ of Esquipulas, one of the most important centres for religious pilgrimage in Central America?
... that Ugandan military commander Isaac Maliyamungu reportedly wept after witnessing how much destruction his country's army had caused in Tanzania?
... that the restoration of the Chesapeake and Ohio 1309 locomotive was set back when an employee stole thousands of pounds of brass fittings to sell as scrap?

2 February 2019

00:00, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

Loschbour man

... that DNA testing suggests that Loschbour man (pictured), an 8,000-year-old human skeleton found in Luxembourg in 1935, had dark skin?
... that Cemile Timur founded, played for, and now coaches a football club recently promoted to the Turkish Women's First League?
... that the recently rediscovered and restored 1898 short film Something Good – Negro Kiss counters racist caricatures?
... that Philip Petty received the Medal of Honor for raising his regiment's colors during the Battle of Fredericksburg?
... that a storyline about domestic abuse from the eighteenth series of Holby City sparked 177 calls to the BBC's support line?
... that Mamie Shields Pyle was instrumental in winning the right to vote for women in South Dakota?
... that green-legged curly-tail lizards living in more open, exposed locations, tend to have longer limbs and faster sprint speeds?
... that Zura Karuhimbi saved the lives of more than 100 refugees during the Rwandan genocide by pretending to be a witch?

1 February 2019

00:00, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Skeletal diagram of Puertasaurus

... that Puertasaurus (illustration shown), one of the largest dinosaurs, is known from only four vertebrae?
... that French surgeon Christian Cabrol performed Europe's first heart transplant in 1968?
... that Grand Central Palace, a former exhibition center in New York City, was used at different times as a hospital and a U.S. Army induction center?
... that one wrestler was injured and another stripped of her championship after a professional wrestling bout involving Lady Shani went off script?
... that the lead singer of the English rock band The 1975 wrote the song "Sincerity Is Scary" in order to "denounce all of that postmodern fear of ... being real"?
... that Canada has enacted a cap and trade program to tax carbon emissions?
... that when Clive Garthwaite played on the same school cricket team as his identical twin brother Peter, they caused confusion due to their similar looks?
... that Crooked Billet was the site of the first house in London that had a telephone, as well as electricity for illumination, boiling a kettle, and ironing?