Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 December 2

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From today's featured article

Marasmius rotula, the pinwheel mushroom, is a fungus in the family Marasmiaceae. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, it was first described scientifically in 1772 by mycologist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli. The mushrooms are characterized by thin whitish caps up to 2 cm (0.8 in) wide that are sunken in the center and pleated with scalloped margins. The wiry black hollow stalks measure up to 8.0 cm (3.1 in) long by 1.5 mm (0.06 in) thick. On the underside of the caps are widely spaced white gills, attached to a collar encircling the stalk. The mushrooms grow in groups or clusters on decaying wood such as fallen twigs and sticks, moss-covered logs, and stumps. Spore release is dependent upon sufficient moisture. Dried mushrooms may revive after rehydrating and release spores for up to three weeks, much longer than most gilled mushrooms. Although the mushrooms are not generally considered edible, they produce a unique peroxidase enzyme that is attracting research interest for use in bioengineering applications. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

A 2009 Stock Victoria line train

... that the London Underground Victoria line (train pictured) was so named because it sounded "just right"?
... that Jack Vainisi scouted and recommended drafting or acquiring eight future Pro Football Hall of Famers during his ten-year career with the Green Bay Packers?
... that Mistigri is a German card game named after the French word for pussycat, a nickname given to its highest trump, the Jack of Clubs?
... that songwriter Paul Gilley gave a neighbor the lyrics to the 1950 Hank Williams song "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" before it was heard on the radio, as proof that he had written it?
... that Mexico was represented by a single athlete at the 1994 Winter Olympics?
... that in 1910, Indian obstetrician and gynaecologist Dossibai Patell became the first female member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England?
... that after Soviet air attacks damaged the fuel system of the Romanian destroyer Regele Ferdinand in May 1944, an unsuccessful attempt was made to refuel the ship using a bucket brigade?
... that George Fleming made topsoil for the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival out of dredgings from the River Clyde?

In the news

George H. W. Bush

Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush (pictured) dies at the age of 94.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Fabiano Caruana to retain the World Chess Championship.
NASA's InSight successfully lands on Mars.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declares martial law after Russian forces seize three ships in the disputed Kerch Strait near Crimea.
In Canadian football, the Calgary Stampeders defeat the Ottawa Redblacks to win the Grey Cup.

On this day

December 2: National Day in Laos (1975)

1928 Ford Model A

1805 – War of the Third Coalition: French forces led by Napoleon decisively defeated a Russo-Austrian army commanded by Tsar Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz.
1899 – Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rear guard was defeated in the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance long enough to ensure Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.
1927 – The Ford Motor Company introduced the second version of the Model A (pictured), its first new model in 18 years.
1943 – World War II: The Luftwaffe conducted a surprise air raid on Allied ships in Bari, Italy, sinking twenty-eight ships and releasing one ship's secret cargo of mustard gas.
1988 – Benazir Bhutto took office as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.

Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg (b. 1629) · Marquis de Sade (d. 1814) · Philip Larkin (d. 1985)

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Today's featured picture

The Nintendo Switch is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released on March 3, 2017. It is a hybrid console, which means it can be used as both a home console and as a portable console. In the home console mode, the main unit is inserted onto a docking station to connect to a television. Alternatively, for portable use, it can be removed from the dock and operated similarly to a tablet computer through its LCD touchscreen. The Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history, and the fastest-selling of all time in both Japan and the United States. By September 2018 it had sold 22.86 million units, with sales heavily tied to the critically acclaimed titles The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Mario Odyssey.

Photograph: Evan-Amos

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