Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 2008

Today's featured article archive

August 1

Roy Welensky (1907–1991) was a White African politician and the second and final prime minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia to parents of Jewish and Afrikaner ancestry, he moved to Northern Rhodesia, became involved with the trade unions, and entered the colonial legislative council in 1938. There, he campaigned for the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Although unsuccessful, he succeeded in the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, a state within the British Empire that sought to retain disproportionate power for the white minority while moving in a progressive political direction, in contrast to apartheid South Africa. Becoming Prime Minister of the Federation in 1957, Welensky opposed British moves towards African majority rule, and used force to suppress politically motivated violence in the territories. After the advent of African rule in two of the Federation's three territories, it collapsed in 1963. Welensky retired to Salisbury, where he re-entered politics and attempted to stop Rhodesia from unilaterally declaring itself independent. With the end of white rule in 1979, and the independence of Rhodesia as Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe in 1980, Welensky moved to England, where he died in 1991. A fervent admirer of Britain and the Empire, Welensky described himself as "half Jewish, half Afrikaner [and] 100% British". (more...)

Recently featured: The Wiggles – Nuthatch – Joseph Francis Shea

August 2

BioShock is a first-person shooter video game by 2K Boston/2K Australia—previously known as Irrational Games—designed by Ken Levine. The game is available for the Windows operating system and the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released on August 21, 2007, in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. On May 28, 2008, 2K Games confirmed that BioShock is in development for the PlayStation 3 and will be released in October 2008 and is being developed by the newest 2K Games studio, 2K Marin. A version of the game for mobile platforms is currently being developed by IG Fun. Set in an alternative history 1960, the game places the player in the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the underwater dystopian city of Rapture, and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it. The game incorporates elements found in role-playing and survival horror games, and is described by the developers and Levine as a "spiritual successor" to their previous titles in the System Shock series. The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and ranks as the thirteenth best video game on Game Rankings based on reviews from critics. It was particularly well-reviewed in the mainstream press where its "morality-based" storyline, immersive environment and Ayn Rand-inspired dystopia were all singled out for praise. (more...)

Recently featured: Roy Welensky – The Wiggles – Nuthatch

August 3

Anna May Wong (1905–1961) was an American actress, the first Chinese-American movie star, and the first Asian-American to become an international star. Her long and varied career spanned film, television, stage, and radio. During the silent film era, her more notable roles were in The Toll of the Sea (1922), one of the first movies made in color; Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924), and Piccadilly (1929). Frustrated by the stereotypical supporting roles she reluctantly played in Hollywood, she left for Europe in the late 1920s, and starred in several notable films and plays. She paid less attention to her film career during the war years, when she devoted her time and money to helping the Chinese cause against Japan. Wong returned to the public eye in the 1950s in several television appearances as well as her own series in 1951, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, the first U.S. television show starring an Asian-American. She had been planning to return to film in Flower Drum Song when she died in 1961, at the age of 56. Her life and career were re-evaluated in the years around the centennial of her birth, in three major literary works and film retrospectives. (more...)

Recently featured: BioShock – Roy Welensky – The Wiggles

August 4

Holden is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was originally independent, but since 1931 has been a subsidiary of General Motors (GM). Holden has taken charge of vehicle operations for GM in Australasia and, on behalf of GM, holds partial ownership of GM Daewoo in South Korea. Over the years, Holden has offered a broad range of locally produced vehicles, supplemented by imported GM models. In the past, Holden has offered rebadged Nissan and Toyota models in sharing arrangements. Holden car bodies are manufactured at Elizabeth, South Australia, and engines are produced at Port Melbourne, Victoria. Historically, production or assembly plants were operated in all mainland states of Australia: Acacia Ridge, Queensland; Dandenong, Victoria; Mosman Park, Western Australia; Pagewood, New South Wales; and Woodville, South Australia. Although Holden's involvement in exports has fluctuated since the 1950s, the declining sales of large cars in Australia has led the company to look to international markets to increase profitability; in 2006, exports alone accounted for almost AU$1.3 billion in earnings. (more...)

Recently featured: Anna May Wong – BioShock – Roy Welensky

August 5

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh-largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 census, of which 36,892 (32%) are college or graduate students. Believed to be named for the spouses of the city's founders and for the stands of trees in the area, Ann Arbor is the site of the main campus of the University of Michigan, which moved from Detroit in 1837. The city's economy is currently dominated by education, high tech, and biotechnology. Average home prices and property taxes are well above the state and national medians. The city is also known for its large number of restaurants and performance venues. Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both of whom were land speculators. On May 25, 1824, the town plot was registered with Wayne County as "Annarbour". The city became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad, and was chartered as a city in 1851. During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as a center for liberal politics. (more...)

Recently featured: Holden – Anna May Wong – BioShock

August 6

William Wilberforce (1759–1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 and became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire. In 1785 he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, resulting in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for Suppression of Vice, the introduction of evangelical Christianity to India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Wilberforce headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade until the eventual passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807. In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. (more...)

Recently featured: Ann Arbor – Holden – Anna May Wong

August 7

The history of timekeeping devices begins thousands of years ago with the invention of the sexagesimal system of time measurement in approximately 2000 BC, in Sumer. The Ancient Egyptians divided the day into two 12-hour periods and used large obelisks to track the movement of the Sun. They also developed water clocks, which were probably first used in the Precinct of Amun-Re, and later outside Egypt as well. Other ancient timekeeping devices include the candle clock, used in China, Japan, England, and Iraq; the timestick, used in India and Tibet, as well as some parts of Europe; and the hourglass, which functioned similarly to a water clock. The first clock with an escapement, which transferred rotational energy into discrete motions, appeared in China in the 8th century, and Muslim engineers invented weight-driven clocks in the 11th century. Mechanical clocks were introduced to Europe at the turn of the 14th century, and became the standard timekeeping device until the 20th century. During the 20th century, quartz oscillators were invented, followed by atomic clocks. Atomic clocks are far more accurate than any previous timekeeping device, and are used to calibrate other clocks and to calculate the proper time on Earth; a standardized civil system, Coordinated Universal Time, is based on atomic time. (more...)

Recently featured: William Wilberforce – Ann Arbor – Holden

August 8

Yao Ming (born 1980) is a Chinese professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the tallest player in the NBA, at 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m). Yao, who was born in Shanghai, China, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association, winning a championship in his final year. He entered the 2002 NBA Draft, and after negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, he was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick of the draft. He has since been selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in all six of his seasons, and has been named to the All-NBA Team team four times. However, the Rockets have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since he joined the team, and he has missed significant time due to injury in each of the past three seasons. Yao is married to Ye Li, a former player for the China women's national basketball team. He is one of China's most well-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies, and he has been the richest celebrity in China for five straight years. He has also co-written an autobiography of his life with Ric Bucher, and his rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film. (more...)

Recently featured: History of timekeeping devices – William Wilberforce – Ann Arbor

August 9

The PowerBook 100 is a portable subnotebook personal computer that was manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced on October 21, 1991 at the COMDEX computer expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Priced at US$2,300, the PowerBook 100 was the low-end model of the first three simultaneously released PowerBooks. Its features closely resembled those of its failed predecessor, the Macintosh Portable: a Motorola 68000 16-megahertz (MHz) processor, 2–8 megabytes (MB) of memory, a 9-inch (23 cm) monochrome backlit liquid crystal display (LCD) with 640 × 400 pixel resolution, and the System 7.0.1 operating system. It did not have a built-in floppy disk drive and was noted for its unique compact design that placed a trackball pointing device in front of the keyboard for ease of use. Former Apple chief executive officer John Sculley started the PowerBook project in 1990, allocating $1 million for marketing. Despite the small marketing budget, the new PowerBook line was a success, generating over $1 billion in revenue for Apple in its first year. Since then, it has been praised several times for its design; PC World named the PowerBook 100 the tenth-greatest PC of all time in 2006, and US magazine Mobile PC chose the PowerBook 100 as the greatest gadget of all time in 2005. (more...)

Recently featured: Yao Ming – History of timekeeping devices – William Wilberforce

August 10

Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769) was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and eventually became one of the country's better-known architects of his generation. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand townhouse. As a result he is often overlooked today, remembered only for his Palladian remodeling of numerous country houses, many of them situated in the East Anglian area of Britain. As Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and neoclassicism was introduced, championed by a young Robert Adam. Brettingham was the second son of Launcelot Brettingham, a bricklayer or stonemason from Norwich, the county town of Norfolk, England. (more...)

Recently featured: PowerBook 100 – Yao Ming – History of timekeeping devices

August 11

Parapsychology is the study of paranormal events including extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, and survival of consciousness after death. Parapsychological research involves a variety of methods including laboratory research and fieldwork, which is conducted at privately funded laboratories and some universities around the world though there are fewer universities actively sponsoring parapsychological research today than in years past. Experiments conducted by parapsychologists have included the use of pseudorandom number generators to test for evidence of psychokinesis, sensory-deprivation Ganzfeld experiments to test for extrasensory perception, and research trials conducted under contract to the United States government to investigate the possibility of remote viewing. Though recognized as a legitimate scientific field by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, active parapsychologists have admitted difficulty in getting scientists to accept their research, and science educators and scientists have called the subject pseudoscience. Scientists such as Ray Hyman, Stanley Krippner, and James Alcock have criticized both the methods used and the results obtained in parapsychology. Skeptical researchers suggest that methodological flaws, rather than the anomalistic explanations offered by many parapsychologists, provide the best explanation for apparent experimental successes. To date, the scientific community has not accepted evidence of the existence of the paranormal. (more...)

Recently featured: Matthew Brettingham – PowerBook 100 – Yao Ming

August 12

The core of the campaign history of the Roman military is the account of the Roman military's land battles, from its initial defence against and subsequent conquest of the city's hilltop neighbours in the Italian peninsula, to the ultimate struggle of the Western Roman Empire for its existence against invading Huns, Vandals and Germanic tribes after the empire's split into East and West. Despite the later Empire's encompassing of lands around the periphery of the Mediterranean Sea, naval battles were typically less significant than land battles to the military history of Rome, due to its largely unchallenged dominance of the sea following fierce naval fighting during the First Punic War. The Roman army battled first against its tribal neighbours and Etruscan towns within Italy, and later came to dominate much of the Mediterranean and further afield, including the provinces of Britannia and Asia Minor at the Empire's height. As with most ancient civilisations, Rome's military served the triple purposes of securing its borders, exploiting peripheral areas through measures such as imposing tribute on conquered peoples, and maintaining internal order. Roman armies were not invincible, despite their formidable reputation and host of victories. (more...)

Recently featured: Parapsychology – Matthew Brettingham – PowerBook 100

August 13

Hurricane Gloria was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that formed during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season and prowled the Atlantic Ocean from September 16 to September 28. Gloria reached Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale near the Bahamas, but weakened significantly by the time it made landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks. From there, Gloria closely followed the Mid-Atlantic coastline and made a second landfall on Long Island, New York, and, after crossing the Long Island Sound, it made a third landfall in Connecticut. Overall, the storm caused extensive damage along the East Coast of the United States, amounting to $900 million ($1.6 billion in 2005 USD), and was responsible for eight fatalities. The storm was the first significant system to impact the northeastern United States since Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and the first major storm to affect New York and Long Island directly since Hurricane Donna in 1960. It was the last storm to hit the northeast until Hurricane Bob in 1991. (more...)

Recently featured: Campaign history of the Roman military – Parapsychology – Matthew Brettingham

August 14

Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885–1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (consort of Queen Elizabeth II). Congenitally deaf, she grew up in Germany, England and the Mediterranean. After marrying Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903, she lived in Greece until the exile of most of the Greek Royal Family in 1917. On returning to Greece a few years later, her husband was blamed in part for the defeat of Greece in the Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, and the family were once again forced into exile until the restoration of the Greek monarchy in 1935. In 1930, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a sanatorium; thereafter, she lived separately from her husband. After her recovery, she devoted most of her remaining years to charity work in Greece. She stayed in Athens during the Second World War, sheltering Jewish refugees, for which she is recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" at Yad Vashem. After the war, she stayed in Greece and founded an Orthodox nursing order of nuns known as the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary. After the fall of King Constantine II of Greece and the imposition of military rule in Greece in 1967, she was invited by her son and daughter-in-law to live at Buckingham Palace in London, where she died two years later. (more...)

Recently featured: Hurricane Gloria – Campaign history of the Roman military – Parapsychology

August 15

The Pygmy Hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa. The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the hippopotamidae family, the other being its much larger cousin the common hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like its larger cousin, it is semi-aquatic and relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is herbivorous, feeding on whatever ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits it finds in the forests. A rare nocturnal forest creature, the pygmy hippopotamus is a difficult animal to study in the wild; it also lives primarily in countries with a great degree of civil strife. Pygmy hippos lead mostly solitary lives; they are sometimes seen in pairs or threesomes, but never large pods like the common hippopotamus. Unlike the common hippopotamus, they are not known to be territorial. Pygmy hippos were unknown outside of West Africa until the 19th century. Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens. The survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild: the World Conservation Union estimates that there are less than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. (more...)

Recently featured: Princess Alice of Battenberg – Hurricane Gloria – Campaign history of the Roman military

August 16

The Peterloo Massacre occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60–80,000 gathered at a meeting to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. The Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform, organised a demonstration to be addressed by the well-known radical orator Henry Hunt. Shortly after the meeting began, local magistrates called on the military to arrest Hunt and several others on the hustings with him, and to disperse the crowd. Cavalry charged into the crowd with sabres drawn, and in the ensuing confusion, 15 people were killed and 400–700 were injured, among them many women and children. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place four years earlier. Historian Robert Poole has called the Peterloo Massacre one of the defining moments of its age. In its own time, the London and national papers shared the horror felt in the Manchester region, but Peterloo's immediate effect was to cause the government to crack down on reform, with the passing of what became known as the Six Acts. It also led directly to the foundation of The Manchester Guardian (now The Guardian), but had little other effect on the pace of reform. (more...)

Recently featured: Pygmy Hippopotamus – Princess Alice of Battenberg – Hurricane Gloria

August 17

Ryan White (1971–1990) was a young man from Kokomo, Indiana who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS, after being expelled from school because of his infection. A hemophiliac, he became infected with HIV from a contaminated blood treatment and, when diagnosed in 1984, was given six months to live. Though doctors said he posed no risk to other students, AIDS was poorly understood at the time and when White tried to return to school, many parents and teachers in Kokomo rallied against him. A lengthy legal battle with the school system ensued, and media coverage of the struggle made White into a national celebrity and spokesman for AIDS research and public education. He appeared frequently in the media with celebrities such as singer Elton John, pop star Michael Jackson and talk show host Phil Donahue. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted and died in April 1990, shortly before he would have completed high school. Before White, AIDS was largely viewed as a disease associated with homosexual communities. Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s that perception shifted as White and other prominent people with HIV, such as the Ray brothers, Magic Johnson and Kimberly Bergalis, appeared widely in the media advocating more AIDS research and public education. The U.S. Congress passed a major piece of AIDS legislation, the Ryan White Care Act shortly after White's death. The Act was reauthorized in 2006; its Ryan White Programs are the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. (more...)

Recently featured: Peterloo Massacre – Pygmy Hippopotamus – Princess Alice of Battenberg

August 18

The noble gases are a group of chemical elements that share a high degree of similarity in their properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with a very low chemical reactivity. They are placed in group 18 of the periodic table. The six noble gases that occur naturally are helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and the radioactive radon (Rn). So far, three atoms of the next member of the group, ununoctium (Uuo) have been synthesized in a supercollider, but very little is known of its properties due to the tiny amount produced and its short half-life. The properties of the noble gases can be well explained by modern theories of atomic structure: their outer shell of valence electrons is considered to be "full", giving them little tendency to participate in chemical reactions, and only a few hundred noble gas compounds have been prepared as of 2008. Noble gases have several important applications in industries such as lighting, welding, and space exploration. Helium is often used in scuba diving to replace part of the breathing mixture. After the risks caused by the flammability of hydrogen became apparent, it was replaced with helium in blimps and balloons. (more...)

Recently featured: Ryan White – Peterloo Massacre – Pygmy Hippopotamus

August 19

Flea (born 1962) is an Australian American bassist, trumpet player, and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist and founding member of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. His work with the band incorporates several musical styles, ranging from aggressive slap bass to more subdued and melodic techniques. Aside from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he has collaborated with many artists, including Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, The Mars Volta and Alanis Morissette. Drawing influences from funk and punk rock, Flea centers his bass playing on simplicity and minimalism, viewing complexity as a device that should be used in moderation. Originally a trumpet prodigy, Flea initially learned to play bass in high school after being taught by close friend and future Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak, who required a bassist for his band Anthym. Flea joined the group, but quit several months subsequent in order to play for the punk rock outfit Fear. He soon rejoined Slovak to form an intended one-off band along with fellow high school alumni Anthony Kiedis and Jack Irons; the impromptu collaboration would ultimately give birth to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. (more...)

Recently featured: Noble gas – Ryan White – Peterloo Massacre

August 20

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades. Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction. (more...)

Recently featured: Flea – Noble gas – Ryan White

August 21

Madman Muntz (1914–1987) sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987. He was a pioneer in television commercials with his oddball "Madman" persona—an alter ego who generated publicity with his unusual costumes, his stunts, and his outrageous claims. Muntz also pioneered car stereos by creating the Muntz Stereo-Pak, better known as the 4-track cartridge, a predecessor to the 8-track cartridge developed by Lear Industries. He invented the practice that came to be known as Muntzing (which involved simplifying otherwise complicated electronic devices), produced and marketed the first black-and-white television receivers to sell for less than $100, and created one of the earliest functional widescreen projection TVs. He also coined the abbreviation "TV" for television. A high school dropout, Muntz made fortunes by selling automobiles, TV receivers, and car stereos and tapes. A 1968 Los Angeles Times article noted that in one year he sold $72 million worth of cars, that five years later he sold $55 million worth of TV receivers, and that in 1967 he sold $30 million worth of car stereos and tapes. After his success as a used car salesman and with Kaiser-Frazer dealerships in Los Angeles and New York City, Muntz founded the Muntz Car Company, which made the "Muntz Jet", a sports car with jet-like contours. The car was manufactured between 1951 and 1953, although fewer than 400 were produced. Muntz married seven times. His wives included actress Joan Barton (who appeared in Angel and the Badman with John Wayne) and Patricia Stevens of the Patricia Stevens Finishing Schools. Phyllis Diller was among his many girlfriends. (more...)

Recently featured: Borobudur – Flea – Noble gas

August 22

Poliomyelitis is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route. Although around 90% of polio infections have no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In fewer than 1% of cases the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis. Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by asymmetric paralysis that most often involves the legs. Poliomyelitis was first recognized as a distinct condition by Jakob Heine in 1840. Its causative agent, poliovirus, was identified in 1908 by Karl Landsteiner. Polio had existed for thousands of years quietly as an endemic pathogen until the 1880s, when major epidemics began to occur in Europe; soon after, widespread epidemics appeared in the United States. These epidemics—which left thousands of children and adults paralyzed—provided the impetus for a "Great Race" towards the development of a vaccine. The polio vaccines developed by Jonas Salk in 1952 and Albert Sabin in 1962 are credited with reducing the annual number of polio cases from many hundreds of thousands to around a thousand. Enhanced vaccination efforts led by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Rotary International could result in global eradication of the disease. (more...)

Recently featured: Madman Muntz – Borobudur – Flea

August 23

Rongorongo is a system of glyphs discovered in the 19th century on Easter Island that appears to be writing or proto-writing. It has not been deciphered despite numerous attempts. Although some calendrical and what might prove to be genealogical information has been identified, not even these glyphs can be read. If rongorongo does prove to be writing, it would be one of only three or four known independent inventions of writing in human history. Two dozen wooden objects bearing rongorongo inscriptions, some heavily weathered, burned, or otherwise damaged, were collected in the late 19th century and are now scattered in museums and private collections. The objects are mostly tablets made from irregular pieces of wood, sometimes driftwood, but include a chieftain's staff, a bird-man statuette, and two reimiro ornaments. Oral history suggests that only a small elite was ever literate and that the tablets were sacred. Authentic rongorongo texts are written in alternating directions, a system called reverse boustrophedon. In the case of the tablets these lines are often inscribed in shallow fluting carved into the wood. The glyphs have a characteristic outline appearance and include human, animal, plant, artifact and geometric forms. (more...)

Recently featured: Poliomyelitis – Madman Muntz – Borobudur

August 24

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals. The planets were originally seen as a divine presence; as emissaries of the gods. As scientific knowledge advanced, the human perception of the planets changed over time, incorporating a number of disparate objects. On 24 August 2006, the IAU officially adopted a resolution defining planets within the Solar System. Copernicus suggested that the planets orbited the Sun, and this view was supported by Galileo after the development of the telescope. By careful analysis of the observation data, Johannes Kepler found their orbits to be not circular, but elliptical. Since 1992, through the discovery of hundreds of extrasolar planets, scientists are beginning to observe similar features throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. Planets are generally divided into two main types: large, low-density gas giants and smaller, rocky terrestrials. As of July 2008 there are 307 known extrasolar planets, ranging from the size of gas giants to that of terrestrial planets. This brings the total number of identified planets to 315. The Solar System also contains at least four dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Makemake and Eris. No extrasolar dwarf planets have been detected. (more...)

Recently featured: Rongorongo – Poliomyelitis – Madman Muntz

August 25

Diary of a Camper is a short 1996 American film created by United Ranger Films, then a subdivision of a popular group of players, or clan, known as the Rangers. Made using id Software's 1996 first-person shooter computer game Quake and released over the Internet as a non-interactive game demo file, the video is considered the first example of machinima—the art of using real-time, virtual 3-D environments, often game engines, to create animated films. The story centers on a lone camper, a pejorative for a player who waits in a strategic location instead of seeking active battle, who faces five members of the Rangers clan in a deathmatch, a type of multiplayer game whose goal is to kill as many opponents as possible. Although players had previously recorded segments of gameplay, these were usually deathmatches or speedruns, attempts to complete a map as quickly as possible. Diary of a Camper was the first demo to contain a narrative with (text-based) dialogue, instead of merely showing gameplay. Commentators agree that the work itself is primitive, but acknowledge its importance in establishing video games as a medium for filmmaking. (more...)

Recently featured: Planet – Rongorongo – Poliomyelitis

August 26

The Penelopiad is a novella by Margaret Atwood. It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the Canongate Myth Series where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. In The Penelopiad, Penelope reminisces on the events during the Odyssey, life in Hades, and her relationships with her parents, Odysseus, and Helen. A chorus of the twelve maids, who Odysseus believed were disloyal and whom Telemachus hanged, interrupt Penelope's narrative to express their view on events. The maids' interludes use a new genre each time, including a jump-rope rhyme, a lament, an idyll, a ballad, a lecture, a court trial and several types of songs. The novella's central themes include the effects of story-telling perspectives, double standards between the genders and the classes, and the fairness of justice. The book was translated into 28 languages and released simultaneously around the world by 33 publishers. In the Canadian market, it peaked on the best seller lists at number one in MacLean's and number two in The Globe and Mail, but did not place on the New York Times Best Seller list in the American market. Some critics found the writing to be typical of Atwood, even amongst her finest work, while others found some aspects, like the chorus of maids, disagreeable. A theatrical version was co-produced by the Canadian National Arts Centre and the British Royal Shakespeare Company. (more...)

Recently featured: Diary of a Camper – Planet – Rongorongo

August 27

Donald Bradman (1908–2001) was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been claimed to be statistically the greatest achievement in any major sport. The story that the young Bradman practised alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball is part of Australian folklore. Bradman’s meteoric rise from bush cricket to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he had set many records for high scoring, some of which still stand, and became Australia's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression. During a 20-year playing career, Bradman consistently scored at a level that made him, in the words of former Australia captain Bill Woodfull, "worth three batsmen to Australia". A controversial set of tactics, known as Bodyline, was specifically devised by the England team to curb his scoring. A complex, highly-driven man, not given to close personal relationships, Bradman retained a pre-eminent position in the game by acting as an administrator, selector and writer for three decades following his retirement. Even after he became reclusive in his declining years his opinion was highly sought, and his status as a national icon was still recognised in 2001, more than 50 years after his retirement as a Test player when the Australian Prime Minister John Howard called him the "greatest living Australian". (more...)

Recently featured: The Penelopiad – Diary of a Camper – Planet

August 28

Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, India. It is a World Heritage Site, and two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses live in the park. Kaziranga has the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park has large breeding populations of elephants, water buffalo and swamp deer. Kaziranga is recognised as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species. The park has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation compared to other protected areas in India. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high-species diversity and visibility. Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests crisscrossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and has numerous small bodies of water. Kaziranga has been the theme of several books, documentaries and songs. The park celebrated its centenary in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest. (more...)

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August 29

Walter de Coventre was a 14th-century Scottish ecclesiastic. There is no direct evidence of his birthdate, his family, or his family's origin, although he may have come from the region around Abernethy, Scotland, where a family with the name de Coventre is known to have lived. Walter appeared in the records for the first time in the 1330s, as a student at the University of Paris. From there he went on to the University of Orléans, initially as a student before becoming a lecturer there. He studied the arts, civil law and canon law, and was awarded many university degrees, including two doctorates. His studies were paid for, at least partially, by his benefices in Scotland. Despite holding perhaps more than five at one stage, he did not return to Scotland until the late 1350s. Following his return to Scotland, Walter soon became involved, as Dean of Aberdeen Cathedral, in high-level ecclesiastical affairs with the Scottish church and political affairs with the Earl of Mar. Sometime before June 1361, the cathedral chapter of Dunblane elected him Bishop of Dunblane. He went to France to secure confirmation from the Pope at Avignon, who authorised his consecration. Walter was bishop for 10 years after returning home to Scotland. Records of his episcopate are thin, but there are enough to allow a modest reconstruction of his activities: he presided over legal disputes, issued a dispensation for an important irregular marriage, attended parliaments, and acted as an envoy of the Scottish crown in England. He died in either 1371 or 1372. (more...)

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August 30

The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992 replacing the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The Commission could be ordered by the Secretary of State to undertake 'structural reviews' in specified areas and recommend the creation of unitary authorities in the two-tier shire counties of England. The Commission, chaired by John Banham, conducted a review of all the non-metropolitan counties of England from 1993 to 1994, making various recommendations on their future. After much political debate and several legal challenges, the Commission's proposals resulted in the abolition of Berkshire county council and the counties of Avon, Cleveland, Hereford and Worcester and Humberside. Combined with a second wave of reviews in 1995, under the chairmanship of David Cooksey, the Commission's proposals led to the creation of unitary authorities covering many urban areas of England. It was replaced by the Boundary Committee for England in 2002, which finished this review cycle in 2004. (more...)

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August 31

Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. It is a member of the Ivy League and one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. In addition to its undergraduate liberal arts program, Dartmouth has medical, engineering, and business schools, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences. With a total enrollment of 5,849, Dartmouth is the smallest school in the Ivy League. Established in 1769 by Congregational minister Eleazar Wheelock with funds largely raised by the efforts of Native American preacher Samson Occom, the College's initial mission was to acculturate and Christianize the Native Americans in the area. After a long period of financial and political struggles, Dartmouth emerged from relative obscurity in the early twentieth century. In 2004, Booz Allen Hamilton selected Dartmouth College as one of the "World's Ten Most Enduring Institutions", recognizing its ability to overcome crises that threatened its survival (most notably in Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward). Dartmouth alumni, from Daniel Webster to the many donors in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, are famously involved in their college. (more...)

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