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The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Giraffa. It is known for its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. Traditionally, giraffes have been thought of as one species, but researchers have recently proposed dividing them into multiple species due to new evidence. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, fruits, and flowers of woody plants, primarily acacia species, which they browse at heights most other herbivores cannot reach. Giraffes live in herds of related females and their offspring or bachelor herds of unrelated adult males, but are gregarious and may gather in large aggregations. Females bear sole responsibility for rearing the young. Giraffes have been featured in paintings, books, and cartoons. Giraffes are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are found in numerous national parks and game reserves. (Full article...)

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Ryu Sung-hyun

... that Olympian Ryu Sung-hyun (pictured) taught himself gymnastics for four years because his father did not want him to become an athlete?
... that a nihilist school of metaphysics contends that tables and chairs do not exist?
... that "Sea of Voices" was well-received by Porter Robinson's fans even though it was a fundamental change from his prior musical style?
... that Morris Villarroel wore a camera on his chest that took around 1,200 photographs per day for several years?
... that Seattle Reign FC have had three name changes during their 11-year history?
... that Eric Bloodaxe's death at the Battle of Stainmore ended the independence of Scandinavian York?
... that the legacy of American pianist Ella Scoble Opperman has been said to continue "to entertain and draw attention to Tallahassee" decades after her death?
... that the sheep-farming founder of Kekerengu in New Zealand became an international fugitive?

In the news

Iberian lynx

The Iberian lynx (pictured) is reclassified from endangered to vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
American baseball player Willie Mays dies at the age of 93.
In basketball, the Boston Celtics defeat the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Finals.
A fire in a residential building in Mangaf, south of Kuwait City, kills fifty people.

On this day

June 21: Fête de la Musique; International Day of Yoga; National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada; Xiazhi in China (2024)

Replica of the Manchester Baby

217 BC – Second Punic War: The Carthaginians under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men.
1848 – In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell proclaimed a new republican government in present-day Romania.
1898 – In a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam from Spain.
1919 – During a general strike in Winnipeg, Canada, members of the Royal North-West Mounted Police attacked a crowd of strikers, armed with clubs and revolvers.
1948 – The Manchester Baby (replica pictured), the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first program.

Claude Auchinleck (b. 1884)
Maureen Connolly (d. 1969)
William, Prince of Wales (b. 1982)
Wong Ho Leng (d. 2014)

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Ralph Macchio

The American TV series Cobra Kai has released fifty episodes over the course of five seasons, with an upcoming sixth and final season. The first season of the martial-arts comedy-drama series premiered on the streaming service YouTube Red on May 2, 2018. YouTube Premium then released an additional season in 2019. Following a content shift on YouTube, subsequent seasons moved to Netflix. The third season and the fourth season were released in 2021 followed by a fifth season in 2022. Originally expected to be released by December 2023, the sixth season was delayed due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike. Netflix later announced the final season would consist of 15 episodes and would release in three parts beginning in 2024 and ending in 2025. Cobra Kai is a spin-off and sequel to the first four films in the Karate Kid franchise. The first season takes place 30 years after the 1984 film The Karate Kid. Ralph Macchio (pictured) and William Zabka, among other actors, return from the film series in prominent roles. Cobra Kai has received critical acclaim, multiple award nominations, and large viewing figures. (Full list...)

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Venus Anadyomene is an oil-on-canvas painting by Titian, dating to around 1520. It depicts the Greek goddess Venus rising from the sea and wringing her hair, with a shell visible at the bottom left, taken from a description of Venus by the Greek poet Hesiod in which she was born fully-grown from a shell. The wringing of her hair is a direct imitation of Apelles's lost masterwork, also called Venus Anadyomene. The painting is in good condition and achieved public ownership in 2003 when it was purchased from Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland. It is now in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Painting credit: Titian

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