Clathrus ruber, the red cage fungus, is a species in the stinkhorn family. The pink, orange or red fruit bodies form interlaced branches in the shape of a round or oval hollow sphere. The fungus is saprobic, feeding off decaying woody plant material, and is usually found in leaf litter on garden soil, grassy places, or woodchip garden mulches. Primarily a European species, C. ruber has been introduced to northern Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. The fruit body is initially white and egg-shaped, attached to the ground by mycelial cords. It has a delicate, leathery outer membrane enclosing the compressed lattice that surrounds a layer of olive-green spore-bearing slime called the gleba. As the egg ruptures and the fruit body expands, the gleba is carried upward on the inner surfaces of the spongy lattice, and the egg membrane remains as a volva at the base. The gleba smells like rotting meat, which attracts flies and other insects that carry off its spores. The fungus's edibility is unknown, but its odor would deter most from consuming it. (Full article...)
... that Indonesian political prisoner Pramoedya Ananta Toer researched his historical novel Footsteps from memory and composed it through oral narration to his fellow inmates?
Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna had 41 Formula One Grand Prix wins in his career. Senna achieved his first victory in Formula One at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix on 21 April. John Blunsden of The Times described the win as "one of the most telling examples of supreme driving ability". He won two races in each of his three years with Lotus before moving to McLaren for the 1988 season. He secured his first Formula One world championship that year and enjoyed his most successful season in terms of race wins. His eight victories that year set a new record for the most wins in a season, breaking the previous record of seven by Jim Clark. In the subsequent three seasons with McLaren, he won six or more races each season, securing two more Formula One world championship titles in 1990 and 1991. Senna managed only three victories in 1992. His final win in Formula One came at the final race of the 1993 season at the Australian Grand Prix. Senna's largest margin of victory was 1:23.199 at the 1993 European Grand Prix, while the narrowest margin was at the 1986 Spanish Grand Prix, when he beat Nigel Mansell by 0.014 seconds, one of the closest finishes in Formula One. (Full list...)
This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 5,396,597 articles.
Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
.jpg)
