Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 October 17

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From today's featured article

The Roland TR-808 is a drum machine introduced by the Roland Corporation in 1980. Discontinued in 1983, it remains in use around the world. Launched at a time when electronic music had yet to become mainstream, the 808 was a commercial failure, but attracted a cult following for its affordability, ease of use, and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, booming bass drum. It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance, and hip hop genres, popularized by early hits such as Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" (1982) and Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force's "Planet Rock" (1982). The 808 is completely analog, meaning its sounds are generated by hardware rather than prerecorded. Only around 12,000 units were built, but the 808 was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine. Its popularity with hip hop artists in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster and its influence on rock. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

St Paul's Cathedral Choir

... that in his Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral (interior pictured), Herbert Howells uses slow and spacious changes in harmony and tonality to suit the building's long echo?
... that following her diagnosis of terminal lung cancer, the British Vogue health editor Deborah Hutton campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking for teenage girls?
... that chalice coral and porous lettuce coral can be confused underwater?
... that upon his retirement in January 1979, A. M. Aikin Jr. was the longest-tenured legislator in the history of Texas?
... that the Ex is a target practice mannequin that spouts blood when shot?
... that the name of the desert area Xiangshawan (literally, "resonant sand gorge") in Inner Mongolia derives from the loud boom and whistling sound created when sliding down its sand dune?
... that in the Credo section of his Missa Ave Marie, composer Ludwig Daser clearly stated his Protestant beliefs to the Catholic court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria?
... that Chains of Love was described as "televised prostitution"?

In the news

Sooronbay Jeenbekov

The first observation of a neutron star merger in gravitational waves as well as gamma-rays and visible light is announced.
Sooronbay Jeenbekov (pictured) is elected President of Kyrgyzstan in the first peaceful transfer of power after a full term in the country's history.
Twin bombings kill at least 320 people in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Flash floods and landslides from a tropical depression kill more than 50 people in Vietnam.
Wildfires in Northern California kill at least 40 people and destroy thousands of buildings and other structures.
Richard Thaler is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

On this day...

October 17: Dessalines Day in Haiti (1806)

Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Australia

1346 – King David II of Scotland, under the terms of the Auld Alliance with France, led an invasion of England during the Hundred Years' War, but was captured in the Battle of Neville's Cross.
1660 – A series of executions concluded, where of the fifty-nine commissioners who signed the death warrant for Charles I of England, nine were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason.
1931 – American gangster Al Capone was convicted on five counts of income tax evasion.
1964 – Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opened the artificial Lake Burley Griffin (pictured) in the middle of the capital Canberra.
2000 – A rail accident at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK, caused the collapse of Railtrack and the introduction of widespread speed limit reductions throughout the rail network.

Beatrice of Falkenburg (d. 1277) · Herbert Howells (b. 1892) · Malak Hifni Nasif (d. 1918)

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Today's featured picture

The premiere of the Audi e-tron at the 2009 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany. This two-seat electric car, similar in appearance to the Audi R8 but slightly smaller, was powered by four UQM Technologies motors and could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds. The lithium-ion battery provided a range of approximately 248 km (154 mi). Although the vehicle was slated for production in 2012, production was canceled owing to its limited all-electric range. In 2014, Audi began producing the car upon request.

Photograph: Thomas Wolf; edit: LiveChocolate

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