Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 March 12

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From today's featured article

Family Trade is an American reality television series broadcast by Game Show Network (GSN). The show premiered on March 12, 2013, and continued to air new episodes until April 16, 2013. Filmed in Middlebury, Vermont, the series chronicles the daily activities of G. Stone Motors (pictured), a GMC and Ford car dealership that employs the barter system in selling its automobiles. The business is operated by its founder, Gardner Stone, his son and daughter, Todd and Darcy, and General Manager Travis Romano. The series features the shop's daily interaction with its customers, who bring in pigs, maple syrup, collectable dolls and other items for resale to make a down payment on a vehicle they are leasing or purchasing. Family Trade was part of GSN's attempt to broaden their programming beyond traditional game shows. The series was given unfavorable reviews by critics, and its television ratings fell over time, losing almost half of its audience between the series premiere and finale. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Droxford station

... that Droxford railway station (pictured) served as Winston Churchill's base of operations during preparations for the Normandy landings?
... that Minol Araki, whose art drew on both Eastern and Western traditions, made a series of five paintings over 70 feet (21 m) long that were partly inspired by his mentor Zhang Daqian's work?
... that the Stephen Court fire, which killed 43 people, was caused by a short-circuit?
... that the English surgeon Marriott Fawckner Nicholls served in the British Army in both World Wars before ending his career as professor of surgery at the University of Khartoum in Sudan?
... that the Episcopal Seminary of Fiesole, formed after the Council of Trent, was unusually influenced by the Society of Jesus?
... that American congers cross the Gulf Stream twice during their lives?
... that in 2006, footballer Steve Flack scored the fastest hat-trick in Exeter City's history?
... that the offices of the Portuguese Embassy in Bangkok are located in an old warehouse?

In the news

Winter Paralympics opening ceremony

The Winter Paralympics open (ceremony pictured) in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The wreck of USS Lexington is discovered in the Coral Sea.
A coalition of centre-right parties wins a plurality in the Italian general election.
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned by a nerve agent in Salisbury, England.
The Shape of Water wins four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro, at the Academy Awards.

On this day...

March 12: National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2018); Commonwealth Day in the Commonwealth of Nations (2018)

Franklin Roosevelt after one of his fireside chats

1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Jesuits, were canonized by Pope Gregory XV.
1881 – Andrew Watson made his debut with the Scotland national football team and became the world's first black international footballer.
1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured) broadcast the first of his "fireside chats" to address the nation directly.
1952 – British diplomat Hastings Ismay was appointed as the first Secretary General of NATO.
1971 – The Turkish Armed Forces executed a "coup by memorandum", forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel.

Tirso de Molina (d. 1648) · William Henry Perkin (b. 1838) · Lise Tréhot (d. 1922)

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From today's featured list

Series logo

During its run, Transformers: Robots in Disguise aired 71 episodes throughout three seasons and a miniseries. The American animated television series—developed by Adam Beechen, Duane Capizzi and Jeff Kline—acts as a stand-alone sequel to Transformers: Prime, following the adventures of Bumblebee after the end of the Autobot–Decepticon War. The first 13 episodes of the series were made available on December 31, 2014 on 1905.com in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong) and dubbed in Mandarin Chinese; the series first aired on television on February 9, 2015 on Canal J in France. In the United States, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on March 14, 2015 and concluded its run on November 11, 2017. While Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are initially the only characters to return from Prime, numerous other characters eventually reappear in the series, including: Soundwave and Ratchet in the second season, Starscream; who acts as the main antagonist of the miniseries, and Bulkhead in the third season. Presently, only the first season has received a complete DVD release. (Full list...)

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John Lorimer Worden (1818–1897) was a navy officer in the American Civil War. He is remembered for commanding the Union ship USS Monitor at the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first engagement between ironclad steamships, during the American Civil War. On March 9, 1862, Worden took the Monitor to challenge the Confederate vessel Virginia, a converted steam-frigate that had sunk a Union blockader and damaged two others. After a four-hour battle, both ships withdrew, unable to pierce the other's armor. In recognition of the battle, the state of New York granted Worden a custom-made gold and silver inlaid sword.

Photograph: Mathew Brady; restoration: Adam Cuerden

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