Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 September 16b
From today's featured article
Astatine is a very rare radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol At and the atomic number 85. It occurs on Earth as the decay product of heavier elements. All its isotopes are short-lived, with half-lives of 8.1 hours or less. The element has never been viewed because a mass large enough to be seen would be immediately vaporized by the heat of its radioactivity. The bulk properties of astatine are not known with any certainty, but they have been predicted based on its similarity to the lighter halogens directly above it in the periodic table: fluorine, chlorine, bromine and especially iodine. It is likely to appear dark or lustrous and may be a semiconductor or a metal. Chemically, several anionic species of astatine are known and most of its compounds resemble those of iodine. It also shows some metallic behavior, and may be able to form a stable monatomic cation in aqueous solution, unlike the lighter halogens. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
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- ... that Angeline Quinto (pictured) has recorded songs for at least 35 films and television soundtracks in the Philippines?
- ... that known books bound in human skin include a highwayman's memoirs bound in his own skin, a novel about a man being left by his lesbian wife, and a BDSM erotic poem?
- ... that College Football Hall of Fame inductee Scott Reppert was a three-time Little All-American at running back and an Academic All-American in the classroom?
- ... that the Hotel Brexton in Baltimore was once home to Wallis Simpson, the American divorcée who married Edward VIII?
- ... that archaeological excavations in the historic town of Kharayeb revealed a rural settlement with a complex system of cisterns and a Phoenician temple?
- ... that according to sportswriter Jon Henderson, the 1943 Football League War Cup final was "widely regarded as the greatest club football match of the war"?
- ... that Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers formed Wet Leg on a Ferris wheel?
- ... that within 90 minutes of Donald Trump's release from jail, his 2024 presidential campaign began using his mug shot on merchandise?
In the news
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- In Hanoi, Vietnam, a fire at an apartment building kills at least 56 people.
- The FIBA Basketball World Cup concludes with Germany defeating Serbia in the final (MVP Dennis Schröder pictured).
- Storm Daniel causes flooding around the central Mediterranean and the collapse of two dams in Libya, leaving more than 11,300 people dead.
- An earthquake strikes Morocco, killing more than 2,900 people.
On this day
- 681 – At the Third Council of Constantinople, Pope Honorius I was posthumously excommunicated, with his support for monothelitism deemed to be heretical.
- 1844 – Felix Mendelssohn completed the score of the Violin Concerto, his final concerto.
- 1963 – Malaysia was formed as an independent nation from the Federation of Malaya, the Colony of Singapore, the Crown Colony of North Borneo, and the Crown Colony of Sarawak.
- 1979 – Eight people escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a home-made hot air balloon.
- 1990 – Construction of the Northern Xinjiang railway (terminus pictured) was completed between Ürümqi South and Alashankou, linking the railway lines of China and Kazakhstan and adding a sizeable portion to the Eurasian Land Bridge.
- Vitalis of Savigny (d. 1122)
- Elisabeth Bagréeff-Speransky (b. 1799)
- Vesta Tilley (d. 1952)
- Louis Ngwat-Mahop (b. 1987)
Today's featured picture
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The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheatre situated in the French city of Nîmes. Built around 100 CE, shortly after the Colosseum in Rome, it is one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world. It is also among the twenty largest Roman amphitheatres of the 400 in existence. It is 133 metres long (145 yd) and 101 metres wide (110 yd), with an arena measuring 68 metres by 38 metres (74 yd by 42 yd). The outer facade is 21 metres high (69 ft) with two stories of 60 arcades. This photograph of the exterior of the amphitheatre was taken in 2019. Photograph credit: Krzysztof Golik; edited by Janke
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