Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 December 15b

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From today's featured article

The Emperor's New School is an American animated television series created by Mark Dindal that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons between January 2006 and November 2008. Based on the 2000 film The Emperor's New Groove, the series centers on Kuzco, who must graduate from Kuzco Academy to become emperor of the Inca Empire, with the help of the villager Pacha and fellow student Malina. The series combines physical comedy with a self-aware tone. J. P. Manoux replaced David Spade as the voice actor for Kuzco. New School used traditional 2D animation to preserve elements of the film's distinctive art style. The high-school setting provided storylines based on the everyday challenges of adolescence. New School received mixed reviews from critics; several praised the voice acting of Eartha Kitt (pictured) but others found the characters unlikable. The series was also criticized for its minimal educational value and frequent displays of socially aggressive behavior. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Anjum Singh

... that the final exhibition of Indian artist Anjum Singh (pictured), titled I am still here, was an autobiographical depiction of her struggles with cancer?
... that 200,000 children were evacuated via the Piccadilly line during World War II?
... that in positioning theory, positions are defined as a person's rights, duties, and obligations which are fluid in various social contexts, as opposed to fixed and long lasting roles?
... that Julian Edelman weighed less than 100 lb (45 kg) when he played American football as a freshman in high school?
... that the founder of the Cannabis Museum in Japan developed an interest in the subject after reading stories as a child in which ninjas trained by jumping over cannabis plants?
... that several memoirs by first ladies of the United States have outsold books written by their presidential husbands?
... that Otto Jochum, the organist and later the director of the Augsburg Conservatory, received a German national composition prize for a sacred oratorio in 1932, but also composed patriotic anthems under the Nazi regime?
... that in 1875, streetcars in Santa Barbara, California, were drawn by mules?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Vaccines; Portal

Nana Akufo-Addo

Nana Akufo-Addo (pictured) is re-elected for a second term as President of Ghana.
In motorsport, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia win the World Rally Championship, while Hyundai win the manufacturers' title.
Hayabusa2 successfully returns samples collected from asteroid 162173 Ryugu to Earth.
Zdravko Krivokapić takes office as Prime Minister of Montenegro, becoming the first independent to hold the post.

On this day

December 15

Replica of the Venera 7 descent vehicle

1467 – Troops under Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the forces of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary at the Battle of Baia in present-day Romania.
1890 – Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota leader, was killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota by U.S. Indian agency police.
1943 – World War II: American and Australian forces began the Battle of Arawe against Japanese forces on New Britain as a diversion before a larger landing at Cape Gloucester.
1970 – The Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 (replica pictured) touched down on the surface of Venus, making the first successful landing on another planet.
2005 – The F-22 Raptor, an early successful stealth fighter, entered into service despite a protracted and costly development period.

Sarah Trimmer (d. 1810)
Maurice Wilkins (b. 1916)
Bob Feller (d. 2010)

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Today's featured picture

The Haditha Dam is an earth-filled dam in Iraq, holding back the waters of the Euphrates to create Lake Qadisiyah. The area around Haditha is very arid, with a hot desert climate; the annual precipitation is about 127 millimetres (5 in), mainly occurring during the winter. This photograph, taken from the International Space Station in November 2015, shows the reservoir at a low water level, surrounded by an expanse of dry lakebed; the Haditha Dam is visible near the top of the image. Lake Qadisiyah has a maximum water-storage capacity of 8.3 cubic kilometres (2.0 cu mi) and a maximum surface area of 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi). The associated hydroelectric power station is capable of generating 660 megawatts of electricity, and outlets at the foot of the dam can discharge 3,000 cubic metres (110,000 cu ft) of water per second for irrigation.

Photograph credit: NASA, Kjell N. Lindgren

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