Wikipedia:Main Page history/2024 April 12b
From today's featured article
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game is a 1997 role-playing video game developed and published by Interplay Productions. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in the mid–22nd century, it revolves around the player character seeking a replacement computer chip for their underground nuclear shelter's water supply system. The gameplay involves interacting with other survivors and engaging in turn-based combat. Fallout started development in 1994 as a game engine designed by Tim Cain (pictured). It was originally based on GURPS, a role-playing game system, though the character-customization scheme was changed after the GURPS license was terminated. Fallout drew artistic inspiration from Atomic Age media and is considered a spiritual successor to Wasteland (1988). The game was a critical and commercial success and spawned a successful series of sequels and spin-offs. It has since been credited for renewing consumer interest in computer role-playing games. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
_(cropped).jpg)
- ... that Broadway and vaudeville star George W. Munroe (pictured) was known for his comic female impersonations of elderly Irish women?
- ... that the Frank J. Wood Bridge is the seventh bridge built across the Androscoggin River to link the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine, since 1796?
- ... that singer and voice actor Yuki Sakakihara lived "[so] deep in the mountains of Okayama Prefecture" that it was difficult for him to go out for karaoke?
- ... that at the Battle of La Haye-du-Puits in July 1944, a Confederate flag dating to the American Civil War was raised over the town?
- ... that Drew Golz, who was Baseball Academic All-American of the Year and Soccer Academic All-American of the Year, became the first male student athlete to be named Academic All-American of the year for two sports at the same time?
- ... that four members of the interwar Czechoslovak Gendarmerie were killed in action against the Sudetendeutsches Freikorps during the Clash at Habersbirk?
- ... that scholars have called Liberty 5-3000, the heroine of Ayn Rand's Anthem, "an ideal Randian" and "a frivolous trophy wife"?
- ... that many employees of CSL Plasma are themselves plasma donors?
- ... that Issey Cross's 2023 song "Bittersweet Goodbye" uses a sped-up sample of a sped-up sample of a sped-up cover version, which itself interpolates a cover version of a traditional gospel song?
In the news
- Nobel Prize–winning theoretical physicist Peter Higgs (pictured) dies at the age of 94.
- A total solar eclipse appears across parts of North America.
- In NCAA Division I basketball, the South Carolina Gamecocks win the women's championship and the UConn Huskies win the men's championship.
- Mexico breaks diplomatic relations with Ecuador in response to Ecuadorian police forcibly entering the Mexican embassy in Quito.
- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes near Hualien City, Taiwan.
On this day
April 12: Cosmonautics Day in Russia (1961); Yuri's Night
- 1807 – The Froberg mutiny of Greek and Albanian troops in British service ended with the explosion of the gunpowder magazine at Fort Ricasoli, Malta.
- 1831 – The Broughton Suspension Bridge near Manchester, England, collapsed reportedly because of mechanical resonance induced by troops marching in step across it.
- 1993 – Bosnian War: NATO forces began Operation Deny Flight (aircraft pictured) to enforce a no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered by the United Nations Security Council.
- 2012 – The Guinea-Bissau military seized control in a coup amid a presidential election, later handing power to a transitional administration under Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo.
- 2013 – Four Chadian soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing by jihadist rebels in Kidal, Mali.
- Alexander Ostrovsky (b. 1823)
- Keiko Fukuda (b. 1913)
- Karim Fakhrawi (d. 2011)
From today's featured list
There are 46 Sydney Metro stations and 113 kilometres (70 mi) of track open or under construction. The Sydney Metro is a rapid transit rail system in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The system is owned by the Government of New South Wales and is operated under contract by Metro Trains Sydney, a joint venture between MTR Corporation, John Holland Group, and UGL Rail. The first section of the rail system, Sydney Metro Northwest, opened on 26 May 2019 between Tallawong and Chatswood (pictured). This consists of thirteen stations, five of which were existing stations along the Epping to Chatswood rail link converted to metro use, and nine of which were new stations. Sydney Metro City & Southwest is planned to open in two stages: the section between Chatswood and Sydenham via the central business district is planned to open in 2024, and the section between Sydenham and Bankstown is planned to open in 2025. (Full list...)
Today's featured picture
|
|
The orange chat (Epthianura aurifrons) is a species of bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, endemic to Australia. With a length of around 10 to 12 centimetres (3.9 to 4.7 inches) and average wingspan of 19 centimetres (7.5 inches), it is a small ground songbird with relatively long, broad and rounded wings and a short square-ended tail. The male's feathers are mostly a deep, warm, cadmium yellow with orange overtones, and this colour is strongest on the crown and breast. Females are mottled in grey-brown, with underparts a softer fawny yellow. Its diet consists mainly of small insects, spiders and other invertebrates that are on the ground or shrubs. Its call consists of a metallic twang tang and a softer tchek tchek sound. This orange chat perched on a twig was photographed near Lake Cargelligo in New South Wales, Australia. Photograph credit: John Harrison
Recently featured:
|
Other areas of Wikipedia
- Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
- Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
- Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
- Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
- Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
- Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
- Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.
Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
MediaWiki
Wiki software development -
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedia languages
This Wikipedia is written in English. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
-
1,000,000+ articles
-
250,000+ articles
-
50,000+ articles