Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 December 3

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From today's featured article

1980 Grant Wood
gold medallion

The American Arts Commemorative Series medallions are gold bullion pieces that were produced by the United States Mint from 1980 to 1984. They were sold to compete with the South African Krugerrand and other bullion coins. The series was proposed by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms after the US Department of the Treasury began selling portions of the national stockpile of gold. At the suggestion of Iowa Representative Jim Leach, the medallions depict Americans notable for their achievements in the arts. President Jimmy Carter signed the authorization into law in November 1978, despite objections from Treasury officials. The medallions were initially sold through mail order; purchasers were required to obtain the day's price by telephone before ordering. Later, the Mint sold them through telemarketing. Mintage ceased after the ten designs approved by Congress were produced. All were struck at the West Point Bullion Depository. The series sold poorly; critics blamed the complicated process by which they were first marketed, and the fact that they were medallions rather than coins. (Full article...)

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Purple sidewalk jewels

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... that show creator Tony Jordan wanted HolbyBlue to emulate the American police dramas Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue?
... that Suzanne Jambo helped draft the Constitution of South Sudan?
... that during the annual TV-aksjonen ("TV campaign"), more than 100,000 volunteers go door-to-door to all 1.8 million Norwegian households to collect donations for a charity?
... that before becoming a deputy for the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan, Almasbek Akmatov obtained three different degrees from three different universities?
... that the Advent song "Macht hoch die Tür" is number 1 in the German Protestant hymnal?
... that Jenny Morton discovered that sheep can recognise human faces?

In the news

Slobodan Praljak

Former Bosnian Croat army general Slobodan Praljak (pictured) dies from drinking poison after his conviction for war crimes is upheld by the ICTY.
In sumo, yokozuna Harumafuji Kōhei retires amidst investigations into an assault on fellow wrestler Takanoiwa Yoshimori.
Indonesian officials order the evacuation of 100,000 people in Bali due to the eruption of Mount Agung.
In Canadian football, the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup.
At least 305 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abed, Egypt.

On this day...

December 3

Christiaan Barnard

1800 – War of the Second Coalition: French forces defeated the Austrians and Bavarians in Hohenlinden, near Munich, forcing the Austrians to sign an armistice.
1904 – Himalia, the largest irregular satellite of Jupiter, was discovered by astronomer Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in San Jose, California.
1927 – Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
1967 – Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (pictured) performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
1992 – During extreme weather conditions, the oil tanker Aegean Sea ran aground off the coast of Galicia, Spain, spilling 67,000 tonnes of light crude oil.

Daniel Seghers (b. 1590) · Octavia Hill (b. 1838) · Mary Baker Eddy (d. 1910)

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Today's featured picture

Visitors bowing in front of statues of North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at the Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea. These statues, each 22 metres (72 ft) tall, are central to the complex, which also includes monuments titled Anti-Japanese Revolutionary Struggle and Socialist Revolution. The statue of Kim Il-sung was completed in 1972, in celebration of his 60th birthday. The statue of Kim Jong-il was added in 2011, following his death.

Photograph: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

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