Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-07-15/Featured content

Spectacular animals, Pine Trees screens, and more

Left hand screen of the Pine Trees screens, a pair of newly featured pictures

This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted since June 19. Text may be adapted from the respective articles and lists; see their page histories for attribution.

Featured articles

Fourteen featured articles were promoted this week.

The Inaccessible Island rail

The Illinois centennial half dollar

Shown are three Guadeloupe amazons (above), one Guadeloupe macaw (middle) as well as several seabirds and a sea turtle

A red-billed tropicbird with her chick

The octopus

Alexander Kotzebue's depiction of the Battle of Kunersdorf

The Inaccessible Island rail (nominated by Sabine's Sunbird) is a small bird of the rail family, Rallidae. It is the only species in the genus Atlantisia. Endemic to Inaccessible Island in the Tristan Archipelago in the isolated south Atlantic, it is notable for being the smallest extant flightless bird in the world.
"Mother's Day" (Rugrats) (nominated by Aoba47) is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Rugrats and the show's 67th episode overall. Released as a Mother's Day special, it revolves around the holiday from the perspective of a group of babies as they attempt to find the perfect mother for Chuckie, while sharing their favorite memories about their moms. "Mother's Day" was praised by critics and has been the subject of several retrospective reviews for its treatment of the death of a parent.
The Million Second Quiz (nominated by Bcschneider53) is an American game show that was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and broadcast by NBC. The series aired from September 9 to September 19, 2013. For a titular million seconds (11 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds), contestants attempted to maintain control of a "money chair" by winning trivia matches against other contestants, earning money for every second they occupied the chair. The quiz was dubbed "The Olympics of quiz." Critics argued that the confusing format of The Million Second Quiz, along with its lack of drama and technical issues with the show's app during the first days of the series, caused viewers to lose interest in watching it on air. Although peaking at 6.52 million viewers for its premiere, ratings steadily dropped during the show's run before rising again near the finale.
The Illinois Centennial half dollar (nominated by Wehwalt) is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1918. The coins were minted in August 1918, and were sold to the public for $1 each. All sold, though many were held by a bank until 1933. Later writers have generally admired the coin, considering it one of the more handsome American commemoratives. The coin is valued in the hundreds of dollars today, though exceptional specimens may trade for more.
Coalhouse Fort (nominated by Prioryman) is an artillery fort built in the 1860s to guard the lower Thames from seaborne attack. It stands at Coalhouse Point in Essex on the north bank of the river, at a location near East Tilbury that was vulnerable to raiders and invaders. Decommissioned in 1949, the fort was used for a time as a storehouse for a shoe factory before it was purchased by the local council. Since 1985 it has been leased to a voluntary preservation group, the Coalhouse Fort Project, which has been working to restore the fort and use it for heritage and educational purposes. Funding for its restoration has been provided in part by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Warner Bros. film studio, which used the fort as a location for the opening scenes of the 2005 film Batman Begins.
The Guadeloupe amazon (nominated by FunkMonk) is a hypothetical extinct species of parrot that is thought to have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island region of Guadeloupe. According to contemporary descriptions, the head, neck and underparts of the Guadeloupe amazon were mainly violet or slate in colour, mixed with green and black, the back was brownish green, and the wings were green, yellow and red. The bird fed on fruits and nuts, and the male and female took turns sitting on the nest. It was eaten by French settlers, who also destroyed its habitat. Rare by 1779, it appears to have become extinct by the end of the 18th century.
The red-billed tropicbird (nominated by RileyBugz and Cas Liber) is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wings and back, a black mask, and a red bill. This species ranges across the tropical Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Birds of all ages feed on fish and squid, catching them by diving from the air into the water. However, the red-billed tropicbird sometimes follows surface-feeding predators. The predators will drive the prey to the surface, which are then seized by the tropicbird.
Leelah Alcorn (nominated by Midnightblueowl) was an American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention. Alcorn had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog, writing about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing the hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. LGBT rights activists called attention to the incident as evidence of the problems faced by transgender youth, while vigils were held in her memory in the United States and United Kingdom.
The 250t-class torpedo boat (nominated by Peacemaker67) were high-seas torpedo boats built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy between 1913 and 1916. A total of 27 boats were built by three shipbuilding companies, with the letter after the boat number indicating the manufacturer. All 27 boats saw service in World War I, undertaking anti-submarine operations in the Adriatic Sea, shore bombardment missions along its Italian coastline, and convoy, and escort and minesweeping tasks. Although widely used during the war, the class suffered no losses, despite taking hits during surface engagements and damage from accidents. By 1940, thirteen boats of the class had been lost or scrapped
The octopus (nominated by Chiswick Chap, Cwmhiraeth and LittleJerry) is a soft-bodied, eight-armed mollusc of the order Octopoda. Around 300 species are recognised and the order is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish and nautiloids. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates. The octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beak, with its mouth at the centre point of the arms. Octopuses inhabit various regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the seabed; some live in the intertidal zone and others at abyssal depths. Most species grow fast, mature early and are short lived.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (nominated by Czar) is a 1986 side-scrolling, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as the first sequel to their 1985 bestseller Super Mario Bros.. The title is known for its intense difficulty, which contributes to its reputation as a black sheep in the franchise. Reviewers viewed The Lost Levels as an extension of the original release, especially its difficulty progression. The Lost Levels was the most popular game on the Disk System, for which it sold about 2.5 million copies. It is remembered among the most difficult games by Nintendo and in the video game medium, and among the least important games in the Mario series.
Boogeyman 2 (nominated by PanagiotisZois) is a 2007 American supernatural horror film edited and directed by Jeff Betancourt and the sequel to the 2005 film Boogeyman. It received mixed reviews from critics, although many of them considered it to be a general improvement over its predecessor. Attention was especially given to the human-like nature of the Boogeyman in the film, which reviewers felt was preferable to monsters in other contemporary creature features, including the previous film. Despite a mediocre commercial performance, recouping slightly less than its budget, the film received a sequel, Boogeyman 3, the following year.
The decisive Battle of Kunersdorf (nominated by auntieruth) occurred on 12 August 1759 near Kunersdorf (Kunowice), immediately east of Frankfurt an der Oder. Part of the Seven Years' War, the battle involved over 100,000 men. An allied army commanded by Pyotr Saltykov and Ernst Gideon von Laudon that included 41,000 Russians and 18,500 Austrians defeated Frederick the Great's army of 50,900 Prussians.
Cyclone Ada (nominated by Juliancolton) was a small but intense tropical cyclone that severely impacted the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia, in January 1970. It has been described as a defining event in the history of the Whitsunday Islands, and was the most damaging storm in the mainland town of Proserpine's history at the time. Ada devastated multiple resort islands in the Whitsundays, in some cases destroying virtually all facilities and guest cabins. Based on the severity of the damage, wind gusts were later estimated at 220 km/h (140 mph). As Ada moved ashore, most homes were damaged or destroyed in communities near the storm's landfall point, including Cannonvale, Airlie Beach, and Shute Harbour. Extreme rainfall totals as high as 1.25 m (49 in) caused massive river flooding in coastal waterways between Bowen and Mackay. Ada killed a total of 14 people, and caused A$12 million in damage. The cyclone revealed inadequacies in the warning broadcast system, and served as the impetus for enhanced cyclone awareness programs that have been credited with saving lives in subsequent cyclones.

Featured lists

Six featured lists were promoted this week.

Kinewell Lake

Track map of all Atlantic tropical cyclones in 2016

Chelsea celebrate with the tournament cup after winning the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy.

Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. It has an area of 236,700 hectares (914 sq mi) and a population estimated in mid-2015 at 723,000. As of May 2017, there are 18 Local Nature Reserves in Northamptonshire (nominated by Dudley Miles), and there is public access to all sites.
The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest, as well as the first above-average, Atlantic hurricane season in four years. It featured the highest number of deaths since the 2008 season and also yielded the highest number of named storm landfalls on the United States since that year. The season spanned from June 1 to November 30 (nominated by TropicalAnalystwx13). A total of 16 tropical depressions were recorded, of which 15 further intensified into tropical storms. Of those 15, a total of 7 strengthened into hurricanes, while 2 attained their peaks as major hurricanes.
Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office, It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 50 nominations (nominated by Ssven2); its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups.
Paradesi (English: Vagabond) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written, produced and directed by Bala. Paradesi was made on a budget of ₹400 million and was released on 15 March 2013 to critical acclaim, but failed at the box office. The film won 34 awards from 56 nominations (nominated by Ssven2); its direction, performances of the cast members, music, cinematography, and costumes have received the most attention from award groups.
The Premier League Asia Trophy (nominated by Bloom6132) is a pre-season association football friendly tournament held in Asia every two years since its inception in 2003. It is "the only Premier League-affiliated competition".
Valve Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. Valve Corporation's first video game was was Half-Life, a first-person shooter released in 1998. It received universal acclaim and sold over 9 million units in retail. Since then, Valve has released 33 other video games (nominated by The1337gamer), also to much critical success.

Featured pictures

Nine featured pictures were promoted this week, including the Pine Trees screens (Shōrin-zu byōbu, 松林図屏風) a pair of six-panel folding screens (byōbu) by the Japanese artist Hasegawa Tōhaku (nominated by Theramin).

The Bolshoi Theatre, a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia
(created by DmitriyGuryanov and nominated by Étienne Dolet)
La Punt - Chamues-ch is a railway station on the Engadin line (Pontresina–Scuol-Tarasp) in the Engadin valley of the eastern Swiss Alps in southeastern Switzerland.
(created by Kabelleger and nominated by Bruce1ee)
The longnose batfish, a species of batfish found in the Atlantic Ocean
(created and nominated by Atsme)
The olive baboon is a species of baboon
(created by DmitriyGuryanov nominated by Charlesjsharp)
Suzzanna (1942–2008), an Indonesian actress
(created by Tati Photo Studios, Jakarta; restored and nominated by Crisco 1492)
The spotted trunkfish is found in reefs throughout the Caribbean, as well as the south eastern Atlantic Ocean. The species gets its name from the black spots it has covered over its yellow-golden body.
(created by Betty Willis and nominated by Atsme)
The savanna hawk is a large raptor found in open savanna and swamp edges. It breeds from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia, Uruguay and central Argentina.
(created and nominated by Charlesjsharp)