Wikipedia:Recent additions 237

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This is a record of material that was recently featured on the Main Page as part of Did you know (DYK). Recently created new articles, greatly expanded former stub articles and recently promoted good articles are eligible; you can submit them for consideration.

Archives are generally grouped by month of Main Page appearance. (Currently, DYK hooks are archived according to the date and time that they were taken off the Main Page.) To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did you know, go to article's talk page and follow the archive link in the DYK talk page message box.

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Did you know...

31 December 2008

23:30, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Transfiguration of Jesus, described in the Synoptic Gospels, is believed to have taken place where the Church of the Transfiguration (pictured) now is located?
... that Chronotron, the only flash-based video game out of ten games nominated for the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo's prestigious "PAX 10," was developed by only one person?
... that the 1811 comet vintage of Veuve Clicquot has been described as one of the first modern Champagnes made according to the méthode champenoise?
... that in February 1962, Motor Cycling magazine achieved a best one-way speed for the Norton 650SS of 119.5 mph—more than 10 mph faster than the rival Triumph Bonneville?
... that Japan's entomological warfare program in China during World War II used plague-infected fleas and cholera-coated flies to kill nearly 500,000 people?
... that American Idol host Simon Cowell felt it was a mistake that Josiah Leming did not advance to the semifinals of the program's seventh season?
... that the inspiration for the character Judy Ann Santos played in the film Ploning was based on a Cuyonon folk song from the Palawan town of Cuyo?
... that East German politician Erich Mückenberger led four district organizations of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany during his political career?
... that A&M Records released three versions of Phil Ochs' "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" because of the song's reference to marijuana?

17:25, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Cors Caron ([[:|pictured]]) represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the United Kingdom?
... that Canadian martial artist Tomasz Kucharzewski, who fought in an estimated 300 fights, was described as "happy-go-lucky" by his trainer due to his friendly demeanor?
... that in the early 20th century, growers in the Champagne region rioted and burned down the city of Aÿ over producers using grapes from the Loire Valley, Germany and Spain to make champagne?
... that South African ANC activist Kate Molale organised a pioneer movement in the struggle against the 1953 Bantu Education Act?
... that William Cowper Alexander lost the 1856 election for the Governor of New Jersey by less than 3,000 votes?
... that the Gray-handed Night Monkey is nocturnal and monogamous?
... that Sports Illustrated described high school player Kevin Laue as "the most exciting player in basketball" because of his playing skill with only one hand?
... that Robert Brandon, goldsmith to Queen Elizabeth I and later Chamberlain of London, was the father-in-law of the artist Nicholas Hilliard and of Captain John Martin of the Jamestown Colony?
... that James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway built the Great Northern Depot in Wayzata, Minnesota, in 1906 after moving the former stop a mile east of town 12 years earlier in a dispute with town residents?

11:22, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Poet's Daffodil (pictured) is a source for Narcissus oil, one of the most popular fragrances used in high quality perfumes?
... that Augustus Louis Chetlain was said to have been the first man in Illinois to volunteer for the American Civil War?
... that unlike Bordeaux and Burgundy, vineyards in Champagne are classified according to what village they are in?
... that out of 300 entries for the Honor Award from the United States Department of Transportation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Wallace Roberts & Todd was one of eleven who won the award?
... that the 1989 Valvettiturai massacre was called "India's My Lai" by the Indian politician George Fernandes?
... that Patriarch Gregory II Youssef of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church spoke against the proposed doctrine of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council?
... that unlike its modern-day relative the gharial, the extinct crocodilian Aktiogavialis lived in saltwater?
... that the 21st Chancellor of the University of Toronto, Samuel Beatty, was the first person to receive a PhD in mathematics from a Canadian university?
... that the freshwater turbellarian Microstomum caudatum can swallow prey about as large as itself?

05:40, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
... that when Vladimir Putin introduced George W. Bush to his dog Koni (pictured), Putin is reported to have said she is "Bigger, tougher, stronger, faster, meaner—than Barney"?
... that African American singer Cora Green performed the Yiddish tune Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen in the 1938 race film Swing!?
... that devotees across faiths swarmed St. Michael's Church, Mumbai, as news of a reported "bleeding" Jesus picture spread in June 2008?
... that World War I flying ace Frank Linke-Crawford completed a reconnaissance mission in 1917, despite having his Hansa-Brandenburg C.I biplane riddled with 68 bullet holes?
... that U.S. singer-songwriter Phil Ochs recorded "Bwatue" with African musicians more than ten years before Paul Simon famously did the same thing for his Graceland album?
... that the scientific-technical journal Oil Shale is the only journal in the world that focuses on oil shale as a main subject?
... that Oregon banned alcohol twice before the rest of America: once prior to statehood (from 1844 to 1845) and then again in 1915, four years before passage of the 18th Amendment?
... that J-pop band Round Table provided the song "Nagareboshi" as the closing theme of the episodes of the Yozakura Quartet anime?
... that the extinct arachnid Attercopus was once considered as the world's oldest spider?

30 December 2008

21:44, 30 December 2008 (UTC)
... that following the death of Brian Rossiter, his father took High Court action ([[:|Four Courts pictured]]) against An Garda Síochána?
... that Mayor of New York City Ed Koch was sworn into office on New Year's Eve 1977 in the Manhattan home of David Margolis, president of Colt Industries, a firm founded in 1836 by Samuel Colt?
... that as little as five milligrams of the chemical agent phenyldichloroarsine can induce severe vomiting?
... that Sir Douglas Fox was, with James Greathead, joint engineer of the Liverpool Overhead Railway – the first electric elevated city railway in the world?
... that although the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party belong to opposing alliances in national Indian politics, they are both partners in the governing coalition in Meghalaya?
... that payments made by Lockheed president Carl Kotchian to encourage purchases of his company's L-1011 aircraft led to the arrest and conviction of Prime Minister of Japan Kakuei Tanaka?
... that two of the 48 episodes of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse served as pilots for the 1960s television shows The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables?
... that the Israeli Air Force's first heavy bombers were three B-17 Flying Fortresses smuggled to Israel in the late 1940s by Charles Winters and his associates?
... that Adolf Hitler lived in a public dormitory in Vienna from 1910 to 1913?

15:30, 30 December 2008 (UTC)
... that changes in Formula One car racing rules introduced in 1978 banned the use of the Brabham BT46B "fan car" ([[:|pictured]]) after it won its first—and only—race at the Swedish Grand Prix?
... that blind blues musician Cortelia Clark won a Grammy for his 1966 album recorded live on a sidewalk in Nashville, Tennessee?
... that Bartlett's bisection theorem can be used in the design of quartz crystal filter circuits to overcome drawbacks of traditional ladder topology?
... that eunuch admiral Yishiha is credited with constructing the only two Ming Buddhist temples ever built in modern-day Russia?
... that the laboratory of Dr. Wade Regehr conducts research on axon terminals in the brain to further understanding of disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, and clinical depression?
... that a controversy over hidden loans led to the resignation of three executives from Anglo Irish Bank within twenty-four hours in December 2008?
... that Bless You Boys is Sparky Anderson's diary as manager of the first American League baseball team since the 1927 Yankees to "lead the race from wire-to-wire" and win the World Series?
... that bananas grown in Brazil account for approximately ten percent of the entire world's banana production?

09:25, 30 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Old Albany Post Road ([[:|pictured]]) in Philipstown, New York, is one of the oldest dirt roads still in use in the United States?
... that Archbishop Robert Knox, father of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Edmond Knox, founded the Belfast Church Extension Society?
... that the U.S. Army continued production of staphylococcus enterotoxin type B for several months after a 1969 policy statement ended the biological warfare program?
... that Russian cellist Valentin Berlinsky played for the Borodin Quartet for 60 years, the longest-serving member of what was described as "the longest continuously playing" string quartet in the world?
... that Temple House of Israel in Staunton, Virginia, was founded in 1876 by Alexander Hart, a former major in the Confederate States Army?
... that a bootstrapping node is a node in an overlay network that provides initial configuration information to newly joining computer nodes so that they may successfully join the overlay network?
... that Wu Cheng'en is thought to have written the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West anonymously, because writing in the vernacular language was considered vulgar?
... that Burnt Hair Records was part of Michigan's space rock music scene in the 1990s?

03:20, 30 December 2008 (UTC)
... that when threatened, the redeye gaper ([[:|pictured]]) rapidly takes in water to swell its body?
... that a design competition for a New Routemaster bus received 225 entries in the "Design" category and 475 entries in the "Imagine" category?
... that in 2005, the fishing industry in China reported 32.4 million tons of fish from aquacultures, more than 10 times that of the second-ranked country, India?
... that when Frank Fitzsimmons was named acting president of the Teamsters in 1967, a union insider said, "He's just a peanut butter sandwich; he'll melt in no time"?
... that the Japanese Army used 320 mm mortars to frighten American Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima?
... that Mech Platoon was the first real-time strategy video game released for the Game Boy Advance?
... that the 1921 Oscar Micheaux-directed race film The Gunsaulus Mystery was inspired by the 1913 murder of Mary Phagan?
... that it took 59 years and a legal battle through the High Court of Australia for the Warumungu, a group of Indigenous Australians, to regain their land claim?
... that Alliance for Labor Action launched a $4 million organizing drive targeting African American workers in Atlanta, Georgia, in the fall of 1969?

29 December 2008

21:15, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps in the First World War ([[:|pictured]]) took 14,000 casualties out of a strength of 60,000 men?
... that the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1920 prevented the Polish–Georgian alliance from being fully implemented?
... that when the Wildwood was commissioned she was named USS PC-1181, and was only renamed the Wildwood after she was decommissioned?
... that the Marine Corps Test Unit along with the 3rd Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade carried out mock maneuvers 3,500 yards away from the detonation site of a nuclear bomb?
... that Nolan Reimold led the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in home runs (20), runs batted in (60), total bases (137), on-base % (.496), and slugging % (.770) throughout the baseball regular season?
... that the Irish TV show Hanging with Hector was criticised for being "about as original as washing your teeth each morning"?
... that after serving as a Union Army general during the American Civil War, George Henry Chapman served as a judge in the Indiana Criminal Court, and later a state legislator in the Indiana Senate?
... that William Kaufmann developed the counterforce approach in the 1950s, in which a Soviet invasion of Western Europe would be met by a sequence of escalating responses, not by massive retaliation?
... that Polish writer Franciszek Karpiński is best remembered through his hymns and carols?

15:10, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the funeral of C. N. Annadurai ([[:|pictured]]), who held the post of Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for just two years, was the most attended until that time making it a Guinness record?
... that Joseph Kahn and Howard Pack had both been in the fur trade before entering the shipping business, culminating with their 1965 purchase of Seatrain Lines?
... that out of three partitions of Poland, the Austrian partition had the most local autonomy, but was also the poorest?
... that Barack Obama biographer Christoph von Marschall compares his life story with the American Dream?
... that a 1930 proposal in the Czechoslovak parliament for greater autonomy for Transcarpathia, presented by the Autonomous Agrarian Union, gained support from the German National Socialists?
... that Royce Howes won the Pulitzer Prize for an editorial on the shared responsibility of labor and management for an unauthorized strike that put 45,000 Chrysler workers out of work?
... that Norwegian resistance fighter Gregers Gram conducted several sabotage missions together with Max Manus, before being killed in an ambuscade in 1944?
... that vascular myelopathy refers to an abnormality of the spinal cord in regards to its blood supply?
... that, according to the modern historian Bo Yang, the large body of petitions written by Tang Dynasty chancellor Lu Zhi was important to understanding mid-Tang life?

09:05, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Geoffroy's Tamarin ([[:|pictured]]) engages in both polyandrous and polygynous mating?
... that Indian revolutionary poet Jwalamukhi was arrested for his writings in 1971?
... that Republican Joan Huffman, a former Houston judge who won a special election to the Texas State Senate on December 16, 2008, became the sixth woman in the 31-member chamber, a legislative record?
... that the Tang Dynasty general Li Shigu, in his illness, refused to endorse his brother Li Shidao as his successor because Li Shidao spent too much time painting and playing the bili?
... that Order of Australia Medal recipient Bill Scott began writing poetry while serving in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II?
... that the army career of the Tang Dynasty general Wu Shaocheng was launched when the general Li Xilie adopted his suggestions in the campaign against Liang Chongyi?
... that Jones Hewson played leading roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1896 to 1901 but died in 1902 at the age of 27?
... that although Frede Castberg retired as a professor of jurisprudence at the age of seventy, he continued to preside over the Hague Academy of International Law for thirteen years?

03:00, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
... that though it is generally agreed that paintings by Jean Malouel survive ([[:|possible work pictured]]), no one work is universally accepted as his?
... that broadcasting brothers James R. Doss, Jr. and James L. Doss named Alabama radio stations WJRD and WJLD after themselves?
... that out of three partitions of Poland, the Russian partition was the largest and most populous?
... that as Texas Attorney General from 1957 to 1963, Will Wilson cracked down on prostitution rings operating in such Texan cities as Galveston, Beaumont, Texarkana and Victoria?
... that the Chinese beverage suanmeitang is made with ingredients such as sour plums, sweet osmanthus, licorice root, rock sugar, and rose petals?
... that the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion of the U.S. Army received a Presidential Unit Citation for its role in the Siege of Bastogne?
... that Dorje Pakmo ('The Diamond Sow') is the highest female incarnation in Tibet, and the third-highest ranking person in the lamaist hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama?
... that the fifth season premiere of the television show Lost, titled "Because You Left", was the first episode of the series to be both shot and edited in high-definition?

28 December 2008

20:55, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
... that when Tuscany issued its first postage stamps ([[:|example pictured]]) in 1851, Donatello's heraldic Marzocco of Florence was featured?
... that Lisa Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University, is the first female geologist to become a university president?
... that an exit bag, consisting of a large, clear plastic bag with a drawstring, is a commercially available device for committing suicide?
... that Katrina Mumaw became the youngest person to break the sound barrier when she piloted a MIG-29 fighter jet at Mach 1.3 on July 12, 1994 at the age of eleven?
... that the Konovalyuk Commission has claimed that Ukraine's arms sales to Georgia before and during the 2008 South Ossetia War adversely affected the country's defense capabilities?
... that five former members of the Portland Trail Blazers have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame?
... that Olav Ulleren, who in 1999 left his position as mayor of Tinn, Norway to become a State Secretary, lost his new position after less than one year?
... that the 1930 silent film A Daughter of the Congo was billed as a “talking, singing, dancing picture” although it only contained a single short sound sequence?

14:50, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
... that William Lobb earned the sobriquet "messenger of the big tree" for introducing the Chilean "monkey puzzle" tree ([[:|pictured]]) and the massive North American "Wellingtonia" to English commerce?
... that Merrill Connally, a county judge, played a part in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
... that New South Greenland was a phantom island near Antarctica, described in 1832 by Benjamin Morrell, who was called "the biggest liar in the Southern Ocean"?
... that Bill Johnston was the last Australian to take 100 wickets on an Ashes tour of England, being the leading wicket-taker during the 1948 Invincibles tour?
... that the U.S. state of New York offers a school tax rebate program that saves homeowners money by reducing the assessed value of a home when calculating the property tax?
... that a principal work of mathematician Wilhelm Cauer was twice destroyed during World War II and was only published after his death by his family, who reconstructed it from the table of contents?
... that Freedom House, founded in 1949, raised money to support Operation Exodus, a voluntary desegregation and busing project in Boston before court-ordered desegregation?
... that the history of the ancient Mayan city of Dos Pilas has been reconstructed in more detail than almost any other Mayan site?
... that Ramon Vila Capdevila continued to fight against the government of Francisco Franco for 24 years after the end of the Spanish Civil War?

08:45, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Ray Lindwall (pictured) was Australia's equal-leading Test wicket-taker on the 1948 Invincibles tour of England?
... that the SS Empire Advocate was seized twice by Britain—from Germany after the First World War, and then from Italy during the Second World War?
... that Iraqi lawyer Dheyaa al-Saadi was elected president of the Iraqi Bar Association in 2006, but his election was annulled because he was once a member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party?
... that in the Prussian partition of Poland, Germanization policies had the opposite effect of strengthening Polish national consciousness?
... that Wayne Connally, a brother of former Texas governor John Connally, was honored as "Governor for a Day" on October 7, 1971?
... that Ole Georg Gjøsteen—supported by his brother Johan—is considered the "father" of Norway's comprehensive school system?
... that the Abbott-Holloway Farm has two of the only four pre-1840 buildings in Bethlehem, Indiana, that were not destroyed by fire or tornado?
... that Oregon politician Ralph Carey Geer's grandson, Homer Davenport, was a political cartoonist?
... that a study at Berijam Lake by the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History indicates that the near threatened Grey-breasted Laughingthrush has suffered from habitat degradation?
... that Oleg Bogayev was honored for his absurdist play about an impoverished Russian pensioner who engages in fanciful correspondence with Queen Elizabeth II, Vladimir Lenin, and Robinson Crusoe?

02:40, 28 December 2008 (UTC)
... that a study at Berijam Lake ([[:|pictured]]) by the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History indicates that the near threatened Grey-breasted Laughingthrush has suffered from habitat degradation?
... that before being used by American soldiers in the Vietnam War, the racial slur "gook" was originally directed towards Filipinos?
... that North Audley Street in Mayfair, London, is named after the English moneylender Hugh Audley?
... that the Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 1935 as violating the Fifth Amendment?
... that the German Social Democratic Party in Poland was formed in 1922 by the merger of Silesian branches of the German SPD, USPD and the Austrian SDAP?
... that the Chicago Transit Authority closed its Kostner station only eleven years after it opened, making it one of the city's shortest-lived train stations?
... that Canadian authorities used the academic enrollment list of a diploma mill to arrest 24 students they wrongly accused of being an "al-Qaeda sleeper cell" in Project Thread?
... that Oregon politician Ralph Carey Geer's grandson, Homer Davenport, was a political cartoonist?
... that an impacted shoulder presentation during childbirth can lead to both the death of the baby and of the mother?
... that while serving in the elite Russian Preobrazhensky regiment, Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy served with the future literary critic Faddei Bulgarin?
... that U.S. testing during Operation Big Itch successfully dispersed rat fleas from an aircraft?

27 December 2008

20:35, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that an impacted shoulder presentation during childbirth (pictured) can lead to both the death of the baby and of the mother?
... that while serving in the elite Russian Preobrazhensky regiment, Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy served with the future literary critic Faddei Bulgarin?
... that U.S. testing during Operation Big Itch successfully dispersed rat fleas from an aircraft?
... that due to a bureaucratic error Sir Curtis Keeble was placed in charge of 2000 Russian refugees despite not speaking fluent Russian?
... that Israel's deadliest traffic accident took place in December 2008 when a tourists' coach en route to the resort town of Eilat plunged into a ravine?
... that quarterback Scott McBrien transferred from West Virginia to the Maryland and led Maryland to a 41–7 win over his former alma mater in the 2004 Gator Bowl?
... that Senegal pumps 1.4 billion cubic meters of water per year, 92% of which is for agriculture?
... that U.S. Judge John Sprizzo refused to extradite Provisional IRA member Joe Doherty in the 1981 killing of a British soldier, citing the ambush as a "political act"?

14:30, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that grammatically incorrect phrases such as *"the pizza was in the eaten" can elicit an early left anterior negativity (ELAN) (pictured, first peak) in the brain?
... that English dramatist Edward Rose published The Rose Reader, "a new way of teaching to read," that only used words that were spelled as they sounded?
... that the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue is the only functioning synagogue building in the city of Detroit, Michigan?
... that Kisbarnaki Ferenc Farkas became the Chief Scout of the Hungarian Scouts-in-Exile when scouting was banned by the Communist government after World War II?
... that the May 1938 interception of the Rex was the largest training exercise conducted up to that time by the United States Army Air Corps?
... that the former Arab village of Majdal Yaba with its large fortress was the center of power of a clan that controlled up to 25 villages in Sanjak Nablus?
... that Wang Shizhen, then a guard commander for his brother-in-law, the Tang Dynasty warlord Li Weiyue, turned against Li Weiyue to allow his father Wang Wujun to kill Li?
... that the childhood home of Rear Admiral Richmond P. Hobson was dedicated as an Alabama state shrine in 1947?

08:25, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Belgian musician Adolphe Sax, who invented the saxophone, also devised the brass instrument saxtuba (pictured)?
... that a Saudi businessman offered US$10 million to buy the shoes thrown by al-Baghdadia TV correspondent Muntadhar al-Zaidi at U.S. President George W. Bush during a recent press conference?
... that the Danish Monarchy's status was changed from absolute to constitutional on 5 June 1849?
... that the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan was developed by a U.S. ambassador in 1955 to reduce conflict between Israel, Jordan, and their neighbors?
... that after United States Navy SEAL Erik Kristensen died in Afghanistan in 2005 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called for flags at the state Capitol to be flown at half-staff?
... that the fisheries of Chilka Lake in India sustain more than 150,000 fisherfolk living in 132 villages?
... that there is suspicion that the death in prison of Kenneth Michael Trentadue was related to the Oklahoma City bombing?
... that Daniel Hoevels's work has been described as "helping critics rediscover Hamburg's theater"?

02:20, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Flora Drummond was known as "The General" for her habit of leading Women's Suffrage processions (lapel pin pictured) wearing an officer's cap and epaulettes whilst riding a large horse?
... that the Lola T93/30 Formula 1 car was described as "virtually undriveable" by the team's drivers after its first race, 1993 South African Grand Prix, because of its aerodynamic deficiencies?
... that author Jacqueline Wilson described Dustbin Baby, the BBC dramatisation of her novel of the same name, as the best ever film adaptation of her work?
... that Finnish Swede Gustav Orreus was the first Doctor of Medicine ever commissioned in Russia?
... that there have been nine head coaches who have spent their entire National Hockey League head coaching careers with the Montreal Canadiens, a Canadian professional ice hockey franchise?
... that The Golden Age is the ninth studio album by sadcore band American Music Club?
... that prior to the 1930 election the Polish government declared the candidacy of Heinrich Scheibler, the leader of the German Socialist Labour Party in Poland - Left, to be invalid?
... that 19th-century California bandit Procopio, also known as Red-Handed Dick, was said to "love the feel and the color of warm blood," and his name was used by mothers to frighten their children?

26 December 2008

20:15, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the production of Swaledale cheese (pictured) includes soaking the cheese wheel in 85 percent brine for 24 hours?
... that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sears v. Stiffel that companies can make and sell exact copies of other companies' inventions if they are not patented?
... that the Early Cretaceous turtle Caririemys was the fifth such turtle genus to have been discovered in Brazil's Santana Formation?
... that The New York Times called CBS News executive Robert Chandler the "creator of the 60 Minutes format" of television newsmagazines?
... that a march fracture is a fracture of metatarsals mostly occurring in soldiers who need to do a lot of marching?
... that the Tigris River's tributary, the Botan in southeastern Turkey, looks during times of peak discharge much bigger than the Tigris?
... that Evald Rygh, a former Norwegian Minister of Finance and Customs, helped establish the Holmenkollen ski jump?
... that, during the team's first official season, a Maryland Terrapins football player was accused of "unaccreditable ignorance of football" after running the wrong way for 30 yards (27 metres)?

14:10, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
... that William Blake sought in his illustrations of Milton's Nativity Ode (example pictured) to depict the rebirth of John Milton's poetry into the creative imagination of Christ?
... that the Little Blitzen River is a tributary of Oregon's Donner und Blitzen River and part of the first redband trout reserve in the United States?
... that the Westminster Retable, a 13th-century panel painting at Westminster Abbey, is the oldest known altarpiece in England?
... that in Doris Lessing's 1983 novel, The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire, language becomes so distorted that some of the characters succumb to a condition called "undulant rhetoric"?
... that the Naked Camera character Jake Stevens released the Christmas single "Merry Christmas Jakey Boy" in 2006?
... that the species name Symphurus thermophilus means "heat lover", referring to the organism's association with hydrothermal vents?
... that to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Christmas lights and decorations on Summer Street in Duboistown, Pennsylvania, the mayor proclaimed "December as Candy Cane Lane month forever more"?

06:05, 26 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Tirggel, traditional Christmas cookies from Switzerland, are said to have originated as pagan offertory cakes, cut in the shape of sacrificial animals?
... that The Irish Times referred to a single by the band The Kinetiks as "‘Kin brilliant"?
... that a plant pathologist conducted research on Christmas tree stands that showed just 6 of 22 had adequate water capacity for large Christmas trees?
... that the novel Uncle Daddy by Ralph Fletcher was awarded a 2002 Christopher Medal in the books for ages 10–12 category?
... that presenter Pat Kenny tore up two tickets for The Late Late Toy Show live on air in 2008?
... that the interior vaulting of the wooden synagogue of Wolpa is considered to have been "the most magnificent of all known wooden ceilings" in Europe?
... that in the town of Santa Claus, Arizona, visitors could once purchase Dasher and Dancer omelettes and Santa burgers?
... that in 1599, English bookseller William Barley helped publish Anthony Holborne's Pavans, Galliards, Almains, the first instrumental (rather than vocal) music to be printed in England?

25 December 2008

22:00, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Berner Haselnusslebkuchen (pictured), a traditional Christmas cookie from Switzerland, is a lebkuchen made from ground hazelnuts?
... that California's Sierra Nevada Conservancy is the largest state conservation effort of its kind in the United States?
... that "the boy Jones" repeatedly broke into Buckingham Palace in the early years of Queen Victoria's reign?
... that the 2002 album Happy Clucking Holidays consists of Christmas songs performed by Dirk Keysser clucking like a chicken?
... that WKKR and WZMG (now known as WTLM) were the first radio stations in Alabama to win NAB Crystal Radio Awards for outstanding commitment to community service?
... that Paul Lynde, who played the lead role in the 1977 U.S. television special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, was responsible for casting fellow actor Martha Raye as his character's mother-in-law?
... that Kellogg v. Nabisco, a court case about Shredded Wheat breakfast cereal, "may be the [U.S.] Supreme Court's most ... influential trademark decision"?
... that the computer game "Attack of the Mutant Artificial Christmas Trees" invites players to stop mutant fake trees from sucking the spirit out of Christmas?

13:55, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the 1965 broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is credited with ending the era of the aluminum Christmas tree (pictured)?
... that Bill May, an international champion in synchronized swimming, was barred from competing in the Olympics because of his gender?
... that Robert Wells and Mel Tormé wrote "The Christmas Song" in the sweltering July heat as a means of keeping themselves cool?
... that the Hooded Butcherbird of New Guinea mimics other birds such as the Rusty Pitohui, Spangled Drongo, and Helmeted Friarbird?
... that the forger who wrote an extra verse to the Norwegian Christmas song Musevisa claimed to have been inspired by the Hitler Diaries?
... that Samira Hill Gold Mine is the first commercial gold mine in Niger?
... that Bóg się rodzi, a Polish Christmas carol, has been called "one of the most beloved Polish Christmas carols"?
... that Million Fax on Washington is a petition to the transition administration of Barack Obama organized by the UFO community to put the extraterrestrial issue on the new U.S. administration's agenda?

05:50, 25 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Star of Bethlehem (detail pictured) by Edward Burne-Jones, the largest watercolour painting of the 19th century, is based on his 1887 tapestry design depicting the Adoration of the Magi?
... that Henrik Anker Bjerregaard wrote Norway's first national anthem?
... that American Civil War soldiers celebrated Christmas by using salt pork and hardtack as ornaments on Christmas trees?
... that houses in the Indian village Shani Shingnapur do not have doors?
... that in 1937, Harry Osman was the last footballer to score a goal on Christmas Day at Southampton's The Dell stadium?
... that the village of Christmas Common was the home of philologist and lexicographer William Craigie?
... that Bill Guckeyson, the first Maryland football player selected in the National Football League's Draft, attended West Point and was later shot down as a fighter pilot in World War II?
... that Christmas Island National Park hosts the world's largest population of the world's largest land invertebrate, the Coconut crab?

24 December 2008

21:45, 24 December 2008 (UTC)
... that John Prideaux Lightfoot commissioned the Adoration of the Magi tapestry (detail pictured) from Morris & Co. for the Gothic revival chapel at Exeter College, but died before it was completed?
... that celebrity solicitor Gerald Kean was featured in a number of Sunday newspapers when he bought a jet for his wife?
... that some of the earliest artificial Christmas trees were made of feathers?
... that Guri Hjeltnes, though a professor of journalism, has mainly concentrated on Norwegian World War II history during her academic career?
... that the annual Christmas on the River festival in Demopolis, Alabama, features a parade with floats on boats?
... that Jack Armstrong pitched a no-hitter for the Nashville Sounds against the Indianapolis Indians a day after Randy Johnson and Pat Pacillo of the Indians combined for a no-hitter against the Sounds?
... that Shakin' Stevens recently launched Christmas FM, Ireland's first radio station dedicated to the festival?
... that Trina Belamide, who has written songs for most of the Philippines' top recording artists, also writes custom theme songs for weddings?

13:40, 24 December 2008 (UTC)
... that dopamine dysregulation syndrome (dopamine molecular model pictured) is characterized by self-control problems such as addiction to medication, gambling, or hypersexuality?
... that lexicographer Henry Cockeram wrote the first known English language dictionary to contain "dictionary" in the title?
... that despite being described as "one of the strongest fortifications in the Atlantic Wall", the fortress of Le Havre fell after only three days of attacks by British and Canadian forces in Operation Astonia?
... that as President of the Professional Golfers' Association of America, Max Elbin oversaw the departure of tournament professionals led by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to form the PGA Tour?
... that Peloroplites was one of the largest nodosaurid dinosaurs, and came from a time when armored dinosaurs in general were attaining large sizes?
... that composer William Furst died of a blood clot in his brain after injuring his foot while gardening?
... that after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Polish II Corps in Russia refused to surrender to the Germans?
... that it took the publisher's lawyers 14 months to approve the publication of You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, Julia Phillips' scandalous autobiography?

07:35, 24 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the population of Grasshopper Junction in Arizona, USA, received the same estimated radiation dose pre-Plumbbob (pictured) as they did afterward?
... that tree moss, lichen species Pseudevernia furfuracea, was used in ancient Egyptian embalming?
... that the land that became Quail Hollow State Park was owned by only two families between 1820 and its sale to Ohio as a park in 1975?
... that under current Mongolian nationality law, dual citizenship is not accepted?
... that although the Ironton Railroad was built to haul iron ore, it was used to deliver deer and buffalo to the Trexler Game Preserve in 1911?
... that Walter Sisulu considered Moses Kotane to be a "giant of the struggle" because of his logical and non-dogmatic approach against apartheid?
... that the first draft of the script for Remember Last Night? was rejected by the Production Code Administration for its depiction of excessive drinking?
... that in the Latin poem De vetula, its supposed author Ovid renounces adultery?

01:30, 24 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Korean women's dance Ganggangsullae (pictured) was used by Admiral Yi Sun-sin to intimidate the Japanese army during their invasion of Korea?
... that the Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration is scheduled for four days of celebration, with Washington, D.C. bars authorized to stay open until 5:00 a.m.?
... that Norwegian historian Tore Pryser has criticised the perceived importance of Norwegian resistance members during World War II?
... that Pennsylvania Route 343 underwent numerous realignments until 1970?
... that a murder conviction without a body was considered impossible in English law for nearly 300 years?
... that Julius Fast's first novel, Watchful at Night, won the first award presented at the inaugural Edgar Allan Poe Award ceremonies in 1946 as Best First Novel by an American author?
... that tenor Albert Reiss sang in 1,070 performances at the Metropolitan Opera?
... that the captain of the Italian submarine who misidentified patrol boat USS PC-496 for a destroyer and torpedoed her was court-martialed for "wasting" a torpedo on such a small ship?

23 December 2008

19:25, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
... that for the filming of Max Manus (filming location pictured), the flag of Nazi Germany was flown atop the Norwegian parliament building for the first time in over 60 years?
... that John Tortorella is the only American to be the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a professional ice hockey team based in the USA?
... that although Melchior Broederlam is regarded as being key in the emergence of Early Netherlandish painting, only two of his paintings survive today?
... that the Reformed Church of Beacon has the only manual-tracker pipe organ in the Hudson Valley?
... that in 1908, Maypole Colliery in Abram, Greater Manchester, England, was the site of an underground explosion that killed 75 miners?
... that the USS PGM-18 was blown five feet (1.5 m) out of the water after striking a Japanese mine off the coast during the Battle of Okinawa?
... that Irish writer Edna O'Brien made her screen debut as an extra in an adaptation of her novel, Wild Decembers?
... that Charles S. Moore served as county judge for Klamath, Oregon, USA, after his father had served as the first judge there?

16:12, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Oregon State Beavers men's basketball team (Gill Coliseum pictured) is coached by Craig Robinson, brother-in-law of US President-elect Barack Obama?
... that the privately-held phone call switch company TouchWave was purchased for US$46 million two years after its 1997 founding?
... that the Irish quiz show series Brendan O'Carroll's Hot Milk and Pepper was named after a constipation cure?
... that linguist Carol Chomsky developed the technique of repeated reading, in which children gain fluency by reading along with a recording of a text until they can do so on their own?
... that the Scotch Professors, a group of 19th-century Scottish footballers, are credited with inventing the passing style of the modern game and spreading the sport globally?
... that English once had a four-form yes and no system, employed by Shakespeare and others, instead of the two-form system that it has today?
... that Major-General Richard Hutton Davies, the first New Zealand officer to command a division in World War I, committed suicide in 1918?
... that the 1981 Rose Bowl was the first bowl victory for Michigan Wolverines football Coach Bo Schembechler – after seven prior bowl game losses?

06:45, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Pennsylvania class ocean liners—Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois (later USS Supply, pictured)—were the largest iron ships built in the United States upon their completion in 1874?
... that "Albino Ballerina", the final single by indie rock band Sweet Jesus, gained extensive critical acclaim before the band's commercial success dwindled and they soon disbanded?
... that the history of netball is linked to that of basketball, and that netball was primarily developed as a women's sport?
... that Charles Darwin frequently visited Osmaston Hall in Derby, England?
... that Silesian socialist politician Józef Biniszkiewicz died at Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II?
... that the Everett Railroad is named after its former location near Everett, Pennsylvania, USA?
... that Handling Ships, the first animated British Technicolor feature film, was never meant to be released to theatres but was an "Official Selection" at Cannes in 1946?
... that the first road in Alaska was built on Woody Island for horses, brought in by the Russian-American Company to cut ice blocks, to exercise?

00:55, 23 December 2008 (UTC)
... that the Grey-crowned Central American Squirrel Monkey (pictured) and Black-crowned Central American Squirrel Monkey are both endangered due to small, fragmented ranges and habitat loss?
... that at a fantasy basketball camp, John W. Rogers, Jr. defeated Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one, witnessed by John Thompson, Jr., Mike Krzyzewski and Damon Wayans?
... that the gardens of St George's Square, Pimlico, London, contain a statue of William Huskisson MP, the first person ever to be run over and killed by a railway engine?
... that country music songwriter Tim Nichols once worked in a factory, manufacturing buckets for KFC?
... that one of the specimens used to describe the extinct turtle Cearachelys was actually procured eight years prior to it being formally described in 2001?
... that Irish ballerina Monica Loughman, aged 14, was the first Westerner to dance for the State Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Perm, Russia?
... that the 1987 hospital massacre in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, took place on Diwali, a major Hindu holiday?
... that Mildred Constantine organized the 1968 exhibition Word and Image of 300 posters at the Museum of Modern Art called "so handsome that for a minute you wonder why billboards are disfigurements"?

22 December 2008

18:50, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that John W. Lambert (pictured) in 1891 made the first U.S. car for sale as well as Union cars and Lambert cars using his gasoline engines and gearless transmissions for the Union car company and Lambert car company as subsidiaries of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company?
... that Rangzieb Ahmed was the first Al-Qaeda operative to be convicted of directing terrorism in the United Kingdom?
... that Detroit's Rosedale Park, containing 1,533 properties, is the largest district in Michigan to be listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places?
... that two carved wood altarpieces of 1399 by Jacques de Baerze have no comparable Netherlandish survivals for another 80 years?
... that in 1973, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in the United States?
... that American Basketball Association player Al Smith was a standout in three different sports during his high school days?
... that the "lung lichen", species Lobaria pulmonaria, has been used for dyeing, tanning, perfume manufacturing, and brewing?
... that Gale Benson was not a spy according to her brother, even though the 2008 film The Bank Job depicted her as one?

12:40, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Danebury (pictured), an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire, England, was occupied from about 550 BC until 100 BC when the gates were burnt down, probably in an attack?
... that 14th-century Turkish polymath Al-Taftazani completed one of his best-known works at the age of 16?
... that the recent ice storm in the Northeastern United States was the worst in over a decade, resulting in at least four deaths and more than a million utility customers left without power?
... that 18th–19th century British fur trader John Johnston was a leader in the Ojibwa tribe near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA?
... that tropical ulcers are lesions occurring on the ankles of those who often go barefoot?
... that Francis A. Chenoweth served as speaker of both the Oregon House of Representatives and the Washington House of Representatives?
... that a species of the 80-million year-old sea turtle Terlinguachelys fischbecki was actually named after a school teacher?
... that Tang Dynasty general Tian Ji'an, in anger, buried his staff member Qiu Jiang alive?

06:35, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Australian cricketer Arthur Morris (pictured) was the batsman at the other end when Don Bradman was bowled for a duck in his last Test innings?
... that the first themed Lego Modular Houses set, released in April 2007, was designed for people aged 16 and older and meant to be "toys for adults"?
... that Hanan Porat, who was evacuated as an infant from the Jewish village of Kfar Etzion in the Judean Mountains, later founded the first Israeli settlement in the West Bank?
... that Holy Deadlock, a 1934 novel by A. P. Herbert, was credited with helping create a more favourable attitude toward reform of English divorce law?
... that teenage aviatrix Elinor Smith, the "Flying Flapper of Freeport", had her pilot's license suspended for 15 days for flying under New York City's four East River bridges in 1928?
... that the Bayeux War Cemetery, the largest for World War II Commonwealth soldiers, includes the Bayeux Memorial, honoring more than 1,800 soldiers killed in the Normandy Landings with no known grave?
... that the Palestinian Arab village of Abil al-Qamh near Safad was established on a site that had been inhabited since 2900 BCE?
... that screenwriter Dana Fox works with Diablo Cody and Lorene Scafaria in a writing group they call "The Fempire"?

00:30, 22 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Moscow Gay Pride has been described as "satanic" and likely to increase the spread of HIV/AIDS by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov (pictured)?
... that 1949 Michigan football MVP Dick Kempthorn later flew more than 100 missions as a jet fighter pilot in the Korean War and received the Distinguished Flying Cross?
... that the Griffdu was the 37th and final ship built by J. F. Duthie & Company?
... that Johanna Wokalek portrayed Red Army Faction terrorist Gudrun Ensslin in the Golden Globe-nominated film The Baader Meinhof Complex?
... that the Matchless G12 CSR motorcycle designation officially stood for Competition, Sport, Road, but was dubbed the Coffee Shop Racer by its rivals?
... that Ron Carey was the first Teamsters General President elected by a direct vote of the membership?
... that during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 105 Israelis were taken prisoner by Egypt in the Battle of Nitzanim, which was viewed as humiliating in Israel?
... that the New York Giants' hype of Andy Cohen was called "the most efficient job of ballyhoo that has been performed in the sport industry", with "ice cream Cohens" sold to fans at the Polo Grounds?

21 December 2008

18:25, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that masters of Singapore-registered ships are subject to a fine of S$1,000 if they do not hoist the Red Ensign (pictured) before entering or leaving port?
... that the designation of Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff will necessitate at least one 2009 United States House of Representatives special election in Illinois?
... that in 1976, Japanese pink film actor Mitsuyasu Maeno carried out a kamikaze attack on multi-millionaire and ultra-nationalist leader Yoshio Kodama?
... that during the 1975 earthquake in Morris, Minnesota, USA, one man thought the loud bangs he heard came from a nearby gas plant that he thought exploded?
... that Dutch baroque painter Jan Wyck spent most of his career in England, where he influenced the development of British military art?
... that the 1980 Michigan Wolverines football team did not give up a touchdown in the final 22 quarters of the season?
... that Denzil Onslow was Member of Parliament for Guildford after his nephew Foot Onslow, and was then succeeded by another nephew, Richard Onslow, 1st Baron Onslow?
... that Norman Mailer claimed his 1968 experimental film Wild 90 "has the most repetitive, pervasive obscenity of any film ever made"?

12:20, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that 14th-century shogun Ashikaga Takauji (pictured) sent his son Motouji to Kamakura to consolidate his rule there, but ended up creating a rival shogunate because Motouji started calling himself Kubō?
... that Bruce Hilkene was captain of the 1947 Wolverines who were selected as the greatest Michigan football team of all time?
... that a screening of the documentary film Rebellion: the Litvinenko Case may have led to the St Petersburg branch of the human rights charity Memorial being raided by the Russian authorities?
... that the Audubon Society of Portland, Oregon, USA, rehabilitates 3,500 animals and has over 20,000 hours volunteered each year?
... that the only surviving Brough Superior Golden Dream, on display at the British National Motorcycle Museum has never run, as there are no internals in the engine or gearbox?
... that the USS PGM-17 received no enemy damage while stranded on a coral reef for over a month during intense kamikaze attacks in the region during the Battle of Okinawa?
... that Matthias Dolderer finished second at the 2008 World Aerobatics Cup's "Unlimited" Category in the Czech Republic and in doing so he qualified for the 2009 Red Bull Air Race?
... that BodyLove is an Alabama-based radio soap opera that uses drama to reach African American listeners with messages that promote diabetes awareness and healthy lifestyles?

06:15, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that between 1778 and 1801, Manor House, 21 Soho Square, London, (pictured) was a high-class magic brothel called The White House, described by Henry Mayhew as a "notorious place of ill-fame"?
... that Russian ski jumper Valery Kobelev's 1999 crash in Planica, Slovenia, has been called one of the worst ski jumping crashes ever?
... that Washington, D.C.'s location as the U.S. capital on the Potomac River was decided by Congress, with passage of the Residence Act of 1790?
... that Beninese physician Basile Adjou Moumouni won his country's 1968 presidential election with 80 percent of the vote only to have the results annulled by incumbent Alphonse Amadou Alley?
... that the recently-discovered dinosaur Austroraptor is the largest dromaeosaur to have been found in the Southern Hemisphere?
... that the Chicago Tribune's John McCormick received the 2002 Distinguished Writing Award for Editorial Writing for his work on 9/11, Afghanistan, and the sale of naming rights for Soldier Field?
... that 410 Squadron RCAF was the top-scoring night-fighter unit in 2nd Tactical Air Force in the period between D-Day and VE Day?
... that the phrase "It's your Wally" refers to Queensland's test cricketer Wally Grout and typically means that it is the listener's turn to buy a round of drinks?

00:10, 21 December 2008 (UTC)
... that silversmith Caleb Bentley made the brass cornerstone for the White House (pictured) in 1792 and provided refuge to U.S. President James Madison when the British burned the building in 1814?
... that not a single woman in the village of Kunan Poshpora in Kashmir received a marriage proposal within three years after the Indian Army launched a search and interrogation operation there in 1991?
... that member of the Order of Canada Carlo Cattarello received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, after he turned 80?
... that the origins of the Church of Caucasian Albania date to Saint Eliseus' efforts in the first century AD to spread Christianity to the area?
... that the unincorporated community of Oatmeal, Texas, was inhabited by a colony of former slaves after the American Civil War?
... that the style of Irish investigative journalist Philip Boucher-Hayes has been compared to that of fictional detective Hercule Poirot?
... that Julia's House is the first and only hospice in Dorset, England, for children with life-limiting conditions?
... that William Stevens wrote a law review article, The Common Law Origins of the Infield Fly Rule, which treated the development of one of baseball's most-misunderstood rules as if it were a legal matter?

20 December 2008

18:05, 20 December 2008 (UTC)
... that Łucja Frey (pictured) is considered to be one of the first female academic neurologists in Europe?
... that millipedes in the genus Desmoxytes give off an almond-like smell as they produce hydrogen cyanide to ward off predators?
... that in an incident he described as the highlight of his career, Phil Ochs sang "I Ain't Marching Anymore" and inspired hundreds of young men to burn their draft cards?
... that the Nazi German Reich Office for Economic Expansion got the nickname Office for the Expansion of IG Farben, because its head Carl Krauch was also the chairman of that company?
... that in 1996, over a dozen university professors documented the oral history of the Quindaro Townsite by interviewing Kansas City residents?
... that Pakistan's newly created Ministry of Human Rights has announced a law which will assist in uncovering the fate of thousands who have disappeared since the War on Terror began?
... that in the first day of sales, the tickets sold by the Cincinnati Bearcats for the 2009 Orange Bowl netted an estimated US$500,000 for the University of Cincinnati?
... that Filipino actor of Igorot descent, Marky Cielo, is one of four recent Philippine young celebrities who died unexpectedly, after Julie Vega, Rico Yan, and Miko Sotto?
... that Van Buren State Park in Ohio has family, large group, and equestrian camping areas, the latter with manure bins and picket lines?