Wikipedia:Recent additions/2019/December

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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.

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Did you know...

31 December 2019

12:00, 31 December 2019 (UTC)

Mekong Bobtail

... that Mekong Bobtails (example pictured) were among 200 royal cats given to Nicholas II of Russia by King Chulalongkorn of Siam in the 19th century?
... that John Moutoussamy is the only African-American to have designed a high-rise building—which featured "colorful walls and psychedelic carpets"—in the Chicago Loop?
... that the first owners of radio station KSTO fled Guam after running up a debt of $60,000 in less than seven months of operation?
... that the Indian Air Force has launched two mobile air combat games, Guardians of the Skies and A Cut Above, to reach out to youth?
... that the 1988 opening of New York City's Archer Avenue lines, expected to lessen congestion, ended up slashing ridership at Parsons Boulevard station by half?
... that Miley Cyrus gained over 2.3 million likes on the video-sharing platform TikTok when she danced and lip-synced with Cody Simpson to "Stupid" by Ashnikko?
... that the Fatimid Caliphate prepared their conquest of Egypt in 969 through a long and patient propaganda effort, resulting in it being swift and almost unopposed?
... that computer scientist Odest Chadwicke Jenkins taught a robot to do the Cabbage Patch by demonstrating the dance?

00:00, 31 December 2019 (UTC)

Hellvi helmet eyebrow

... that the Hellvi helmet eyebrow (pictured), made of iron, bronze, and silver, is one of several Vendel Period helmets for which only eyebrows remain?
... that due to Spanish singer Melody's three-year disappearance from the public eye, she was rumoured to be dead?
... that the director of a 2018 documentary uncovered evidence of FBI surveillance of Arab-American families in her hometown outside Chicago?
... that TMNT Shellraiser, the world's steepest roller coaster, beat the previous record holder by half a degree?
... that German SS commander and convicted war criminal Kurt Meyer falsely claimed that the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre was the only war crime that SS troops ever committed?
... that the Field Music album Plumb was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize, even though the band thought that their odds were "minimal to nil"?
... that Lu Youquan's book on Piaget's theory of cognitive development won a national education award in China?
... that pygmy Ota Benga was moved to the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum after people objected to him being shown in the Bronx Zoo?

30 December 2019

12:00, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

Idham Azis

... that Idham Azis (pictured), the chief of the Indonesian National Police, succeeded in enrolling at the national police academy on his third attempt?
... that Lynn Family Stadium shares its namesake with another stadium in the same city?
... that Marco Streng's Genesis Group has a bitcoin mine in Iceland?
... that HMS Melpomene missed the Battle of Trafalgar, but arrived in time to tow away damaged enemy vessels?
... that medical scholar Ronald Grossarth-Maticek directed a long-term study involving 30,000 people from 18,000 households, spanning more than 20 years?
... that the songs on the Kabir Singh soundtrack album, including "Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage" ('I have begun to really love you'), have been described as "saccharine rock"?
... that Mexican drug lord María Antonieta Rodríguez Mata controlled a drug trafficking ring that extended across Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.?
... that in baseball, it is not against the rules to steal signs?

00:00, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

Diners at Yume Wo Katare share their dreams.

... that Yume Wo Katare (pictured), a ramen bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts, encourages diners to share their dreams and aspirations with each other after finishing their meals?
... that actor Ryan Reynolds has lent his voice to a garden snail, a caveman, and Pikachu?
... that the sale of WWIZ radio in Lorain, Ohio, undertaken in order to raise capital to build WXTV in Youngstown, prompted both stations to lose their licenses?
... that Polish courtier and writer Krzysztof Warszewicki was a respected orator who spoke at the funerals of Catherine, queen consort of Poland, and Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor?
... that the Concert Hall inside the BBC's Broadcasting House was pressed into service as a dormitory at the outbreak of World War II?
... that Sally Milgrim designed the dress that Eleanor Roosevelt wore to her husband's first inaugural ball?
... that after laying its eggs on a leaf, the female mango leaf-cutting weevil severs the leaf near its base and lets it fall to the ground?
... that the Jewish a cappella group Six13 sings traditional Hanukkah songs and prayers to music from Star Wars?

29 December 2019

12:00, 29 December 2019 (UTC)

Meteorite in a blue-ice area
in the Miller Range

... that blue-ice areas are places in Antarctica where snow evaporation and wind have exposed blue-colored ice, which often accumulates meteorites (example pictured)?
... that before entering journalism, G. Gould Lincoln was part of Thomas Edison's team that looked for nickel in Canada?
... that Michler's Palace, a townhouse destroyed in the Warsaw Uprising, is remembered for a wartime song named after it?
... that Culley C. Carson III's research has included treatments for Peyronie's disease, in which the penis curves when erect?
... that China's largest landfill closed in November 2019, having reached capacity 25 years early?
... that baritone Heiko Trinsinger of the Aalto Theatre appeared as Alberich in Der Ring in Minden, in which reviewers noted expressivity in every moment and a thunderous curse of the ring?
... that the Battle of Marshall's Elm has been described as the "first real confrontation" of the First English Civil War?
... that to maintain personal privacy, manga artist Paru Itagaki wears a large chicken mask that obscures her face for all public appearances?

00:00, 29 December 2019 (UTC)

A parachute training tower

... that the British Empire's first parachute training tower (example pictured) was built by the Polish military?
... that Kiuchi Kyō, believed to be the first Japanese woman to be a school principal, worked to improve the status of women teachers?
... that on May 9, 1970, Richard Nixon spent the two hours before dawn at the Lincoln Memorial talking to students protesting the Vietnam War?
... that Jay Shah oversaw the Gujarat Cricket Association's project of constructing the world's largest cricket stadium?
... that British actress Naomi Watts' roles include CIA officer Valerie Plame, journalist Gretchen Carlson, and Princess Diana?
... that during the 2004 US presidential election, Hans Riemer ran an online campaign against the military draft, leading then-President Bush to coin the phrase "on the Internets"?
... that according to academic Yo Tomita, the Bach Digital portal website has largely replaced printed reference works as first point of entry for Bach scholarship?
... that as a child, American Civil War historian Charles P. Roland heard first-hand accounts of the war from veterans who served in it?

28 December 2019

12:00, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

A Still Life with Two Objects

... that Vytautas Tomaševičius is the first Lithuanian to win an Excellence Award at the Tokyo Art Olympia Biennale, for his painting A Still Life with Two Objects (shown)?
... that the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre has the world's longest spanning timber catenary arched roof?
... that Shetlander Johnnie Notions, a physician with no formal medical background, developed a smallpox inoculation that successfully immunised thousands of people before Jenner's vaccine was available?
... that the Christmas darter is considered a priority species by the state of South Carolina, but of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature?
... that Stan Lee supported the viral fan campaign to allow Donald Glover to audition for the role of Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man‬?
... that the Enlightenment concept of doux commerce suggests that commerce civilizes people and can even eliminate violence?
... that the novel Tzilla is based on author Judith Katzir's great-grandmother, who invited her lover to live with her and her husband in Palestine?
... that Crossroads Village in Genesee County, Michigan, has a narrow huckleberry?

00:00, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Mackintosh with his gun and a trophy

... that Donald Mackintosh (pictured) was posthumously awarded an Olympic gold medal for shooting 22 live pigeons in a row?
... that "Baby Yoda", a character in the Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian, was named "2019's biggest new character" by The Guardian?
... that Stribodh, first published in 1857, was one of the earliest magazines in India to be aimed at a female audience?
... that actress Kathryn Crosby earned a nursing degree at the Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles?
... that a year after Five Ash Down Independent Chapel opened, doctrinal differences caused some members to leave and form Uckfield Baptist Church?
... that in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the refusal of the International Longshoremen's Association to unload cargo from the Soviet Union was illegal under the National Labor Relations Act?
... that Liang Baibo and Yu Feng were among China's first female cartoonists?
... that Burleigh House in Enfield, near London, was said to be haunted by a ghost wearing a doublet, hose, and a ruffle?

27 December 2019

12:00, 27 December 2019 (UTC)

Drawing of a Bersey electric cab

... that after the withdrawal of Walter Bersey's 1897 design (drawing shown), it took 120 years for fully electric-powered taxis to return to the streets of London?
... that although Half Alive wrote their song "Still Feel" with the intention of making it unattractive for radio stations, it became their breakout hit?
... that when the Thai government ordered her return from the U.S. during World War II, PhD student Poonsapaya Kraiyong joined the Free Thai resistance movement instead?
... that the demise of Sportsvue, which lost $2 million in its 10 months of operation, prompted Jim Fitzgerald to sell the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team?
... that tenor Mirko Ludwig took part in the opening of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie as a member of a vocal quintet?
... that the sermons of Greek Catholic priest Michal Mašlej inspired the villagers of Oľšavica to hide Jews during the Holocaust even though German soldiers were quartered in the village?
... that it can take Yvonne Walker Keshick up to a year to gather the porcupine quills and other materials she needs for a particular work of art?
... that the British Super League XXV will feature a Canadian rugby league team for the first time?

00:00, 27 December 2019 (UTC)

Desert Island in Brooklyn, New York

... that the New York City comic shop Desert Island (pictured) maintains a modified version of the signage used by the previous tenant, an Italian bakery?
... that Chinese economist Wei Xinghua refused to be known as an "authority" and proclaimed that China had no world-class authority in economics?
... that the Famine Inquiry Commission has been criticized by scholars and Indian nationalists for exonerating the British government of responsibility for the 1943 Bengal famine?
... that Rabbi Reuven Elbaz used to frequent pool halls and coffee shops around Jerusalem to talk with secular Jewish youth about religion?
... that after writing a programming language used to publish books on the humanities, Michael Barnett wrote the SNAP language to teach programming to humanities students?
... that two-spirit artist Storme Webber has used various media to retell her family's experience at The Casino, one of the oldest gay bars on the West Coast?
... that in Requiem for the Living, a setting by Dan Forrest of selected texts from the Requiem Mass and an additional movement about Vanitas, the choir sings seemingly endless melodies?
... that former naval diver Esther Tan has been dubbed "Singapore's G.I. Jane"?

26 December 2019

12:00, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

Tetsu Yasui

... that Tetsu Yasui (pictured), who was raised by devout Buddhists, later converted to Christianity and served as president of Tokyo Woman's Christian University for 17 years?
... that Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, the second part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and written for the second day of Christmas, focuses on the annunciation to the shepherds?
... that Pomo basket weaver Susan Billy comes from a family of basket weavers that includes Susan Santiago Billy and Elsie Allen?
... that the Mexican Netflix series The House of Flowers has been compared to such disparate films as Sharknado and the Oscar-winning All About My Mother?
... that Turkish folk singer and bağlama player Arif Sağ helped introduce Anatolian music to the West in a 1996 concert with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne?
... that in the absence of males in North America, the female woolly alder sawfly reproduces through parthenogenesis?
... that Leena Al-Hadid is Jordan's permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations in Vienna?
... that after John Lennon called the Beatles more popular than Jesus, KLUE radio responded by staging a bonfire of Beatles memorabilia – and its transmitter was struck by lightning the next day?

00:00, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

2014 Anthem Christmas tree

... that the tallest Christmas tree in Arizona (pictured) is decorated with at least 5,000 ornaments and bows?
... that Yoshi Kasuya was appointed to the Order of the Precious Crown for her contributions to women's education?
... that the German carol "Kommet, ihr Hirten", derived by Carl Riedel from a Bohemian song in Czech, addresses shepherds, men, and women?
... that James A. Ward was one of the last surviving graduates of the Jesuit novitiate in White Marsh, Maryland?
... that the Christmas Island flying fox matures more slowly than nearly all other bats?
... that religious ministers revealed the winning numbers to illegal lotteries on WOOK radio, by hiding them in Bible references?
... that confectioner Tom Smith is traditionally described as the inventor of the Christmas cracker, in 1847?
... that A Rubber Band Christmas is a novelty album featuring popular Christmas songs played on rubber bands, staplers, and other office equipment?

25 December 2019

12:00, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Mystical Nativity,
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

... that Filippo Lippi's Mystical Nativity (shown) of c. 1459 includes "no cave, no shed, no Joseph, no angels, no ox, no ass"?
... that in later life, Paul Mickelson bought the organ upon which he had made his first recording as a solo artist at NBC?
... that after the ancient Shire Oak fell in 1941, part of it was carved into a sculpture of the Madonna and Child for a local church?
... that Kavya Manyapu led the development of a dust-repelling fabric for space suits using carbon nanotubes?
... that Taylor Swift wrote, recorded, and released "Christmas Tree Farm" in six days?
... that as pastor of a Catholic church in Baltimore, William Francis Clarke worked to integrate black and Italian Catholics into parish life?
... that Austrian general Konrad Valentin von Kaim was mortally wounded at the Battle of Pozzolo on Christmas Day, 1800?
... that "The Sinner's Redemption" was called a "rude old carol" favoured by peasants?

00:00, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Rosika Schwimmer

... that in 1929 Rosika Schwimmer (pictured), a woman over 50 and thus ineligible to take up arms in the U.S., was denied citizenship by the Supreme Court for pacifism and became stateless?
... that John Rutter wrote the text and music for Angels' Carol, a choral piece for Christmas, using the Latin "Gloria in excelsis Deo" from the Christmas story as a refrain?
... that Tlingit artist Tanis S'eiltin's mixed-media installation Hit includes video, a replica M16 rifle, and a glass tank of oil and water?
... that the establishment of a secondary population of Christmas white-eye has reduced its risk of extinction?
... that French Resistance member Odette Abadi was a co-founder of Réseau Marcel, which saved more than 500 Jewish children during the Holocaust?
... that 1 William Street was described by the New York Architect magazine as New York City's "most complete banking institution" upon its completion?
... that Erza Muqoli was a founding member of the French child music group Kids United, which had three number-one albums during her tenure?
... that a juniper tree in the median of Interstate 17 in Arizona is mysteriously decorated every year at Christmas?

24 December 2019

00:00, 24 December 2019 (UTC)

University of Waterloo Porcellino

... that mathematics professor Henry Crapo donated a bronze sculpture of a boar (pictured) to the University of Waterloo?
... that Alku and Alku Toinen, built by Finnish immigrants, were the first nonprofit housing cooperatives in New York City?
... that Hong Kong protests in November 2019 included an escape by protesters at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, by rope and via underground sewers?
... that Mohammad Tabrani first proposed the term "bahasa Indonesia" for the national language of Indonesia?
... that one of the versions of Vivaldi's Magnificat included five arias to be performed by girl soloists from the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage, who were named in the score?
... that Kunihiko Ikuhara, who was one of the directors of Sailor Moon, cosplayed as Sailor Mars to promote his series Schell Bullet?
... that the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, Jacqueline Coleman, is a basketball coach and the granddaughter of a National Basketball Association player?
... that Darren Appleton forfeited two matches at the 2019 Antalya Open event after deciding to take a nap between matches?

23 December 2019

00:00, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Miniature altarpiece

... that the 1511 miniature altarpiece (pictured) in the British Museum, sometimes attributed to Adam Dircksz, is the only surviving Gothic boxwood miniature to have been inscribed with a date by its artist?
... that soprano Irma Beilke appeared as Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio on 4 September 1945 in the first opera performance in Berlin after World War II?
... that New York City's $4 million Squibb Park Bridge was demolished less than seven years after it was built?
... that Shen Jilan, who successfully proposed the clause of equal pay for equal work in China's first constitution in 1954, is still serving as a congresswoman 65 years later?
... that in 1817, the Ontario became the first steamboat to see active service on the Great Lakes at Lake Ontario?
... that the surgeon Thomas Morstede served the three successive English kings Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI?
... that The History of Doing describes a fundamentalist Hindu protest, with many women part of it, in favour of sati, the burning of widows?
... that Jef Raskin would prove his FLOW language was easy to use by closing his eyes, typing randomly on the keyboard, and producing executable programs?

22 December 2019

00:00, 22 December 2019 (UTC)

Sun Yang

... that Sun Yang (pictured) is the first swimmer in history to win Olympic gold medals in the 200-, 400-, and 1500-metre freestyle events?
... that when lead miners discovered Dream Cave in Derbyshire in 1822, they found it to contain the near-complete skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros?
... that U.S. Department of Defense civil servant Laura Cooper has noted that she has frequently been the "only woman in the room" for much of her career?
... that the 1766 Istanbul earthquake claimed 4,000 victims, 880 of them in the city?
... that Wilhelm Keitel was promoted to Chief of the Armed Forces High Command because of his craven willingness to function as Adolf Hitler's mouthpiece?
... that Clairo drew inspiration for her songs "Sofia" and "Bags" from her crushes on women?
... that Shiza Shahid and Malala Yousafzai co-founded the Malala Fund in 2013 to promote education for every girl?
... that Intelligence Community Campus-Bethesda buildings in Maryland were originally built without windows to conceal the classified work going on inside?

21 December 2019

00:00, 21 December 2019 (UTC)

1937 Stutz Pak-Age-Car

... that the Pak-Age-Car (example pictured) is similar in appearance to a horse-drawn delivery carriage, which it was designed to replace?
... that after Chinese poet Liu Shahe was denounced as a "filial descendant of the landlord class" in 1957, he performed forced labour for eight years and was unable to publish for two decades?
... that since modernisation work in 2016, trains can only call at Pilning railway station when travelling eastbound?
... that Andrey Kelin, the new Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, holds the diplomatic rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary?
... that the banana weevil is considered the most serious insect pest of bananas?
... that HIV researcher Diane Havlir was the U.S. national short track champion in 1974?
... that in his 1915 En blanc et noir for two pianos, Claude Debussy quoted Luther's hymn "Ein feste Burg" and dedicated the work in part to Jacques Charlot, who fell in World War I?
... that Tom Chase has described himself as "the Wally Cleaver of porn"?

20 December 2019

00:00, 20 December 2019 (UTC)

Appasus japonicus male with eggs

... that Appasus japonicus (pictured), a species of giant water bug, provides an example of insect paternal care?
... that the pianist Clara Schumann, who toured Europe for decades, taught 68 students at Dr. Hoch's in Frankfurt, including those from Britain and the U.S.?
... that to assist the Australians with INTERFET logistics, the U.S. Army brought in helicopters from Russia and Bulgaria?
... that Sharon Priest, the Secretary of State of Arkansas, launched the state's first internet-based information network in 1995?
... that KSLN-TV, the ABC television affiliate in Salina, Kansas, folded twice in three years under two different owners?
... that Louie Cullen, known as "the last of the suffragettes", started a prison hunger strike after her arrest for a 1908 attempt to rush into the House of Commons to promote women's right to vote in the UK?
... that a Sony α7S II captured the first commercial 4K footage in space from the International Space Station?
... that chess player Carissa Yip defeated a grandmaster at the age of ten?

19 December 2019

00:00, 19 December 2019 (UTC)

Asahishō Kōta

... that sumo wrestler Asahishō Kōta (pictured) is a regular guest on chat shows due to his sense of humour?
... that the Carolina Watchman newspaper supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, but backed the Union cause both before and after?
... that Frank Palmer started in the advertising business on April 1, 1969, and retired 50 years later to the day?
... that the 2001 manga series World of the S&M was released in English as The World Exists for Me?
... that Mongol general Uriyangkhadai invaded the territory of the Song dynasty in southern China by going through Tibet and Vietnam?
... that Hirtodrosophila mycetophaga mate on bracket fungi, selectively choosing those with a lighter surface to enhance the visibility of their courtship displays?
... that in 2014, Moroccan-born long-distance runner Adil Bouafif won his fourth gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the Swedish national championships?
... that the Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse is one of the few Egyptian Revival buildings in New York City?

18 December 2019

00:00, 18 December 2019 (UTC)

Ashvamedha horse, depicted on a gold coin

... that ancient Gupta art of India includes gold coins commemorating the Ashvamedha Vedic horse sacrifice (example pictured)?
... that English scientist Nicola Curtin donated to charity the £865,000 she received for helping develop the cancer drug Rubraca?
... that Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie was personally present at the Rue Sainte-Catherine Roundup?
... that Berna Gözbaşı is the first woman president of a football club playing in the Turkish top-level men's league?
... that 17 extensions and modifications of the construction permit were necessary before Hawaii radio station KFSH went on the air in 1985, more than eight years after the permit was awarded?
... that Jacques Durand studied at the Conservatoire de Paris together with Claude Debussy, and later published both Debussy's compositions and his edition of Chopin's piano works?
... that Coelopa pilipes fly populations can live at temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) within piles of kelp, even in areas covered with snow and ice?
... that Ms. Monopoly replaces properties with inventions women contributed to, such as Wi-Fi, chocolate chip cookies, and modern shapewear?

17 December 2019

00:00, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

Christ Mocked

... that Christ Mocked (shown), which recently sold for €24 million, is a long-lost painting by Cimabue discovered in the kitchen of an elderly Frenchwoman?
... that Concert Grove in New York City's Prospect Park is used as a sculpture garden because its acoustics turned out to be bad for musical performances?
... that Juli Briskman, who received international coverage for flipping off President Donald Trump, went on to enter politics and win an election?
... that an article published in the Satyaprakash weekly, which criticised Hindu religious leaders, resulted in a libel case?
... that after her own childhood experiences, Carla Herrero founded Rompe el Silencio ("Breaking the Silence") to support youth who have suffered bullying, abuse, and psychological disorders?
... that St. Louis County police arrested engineers and announcers of KXLW because their tower violated local zoning laws?
... that water damage postponed the premiere production of the science fiction folk musical Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future?
... that John Blackwell was dismissed for being "bigoted and obstinate" by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for suggesting a new road might cause a landslide, which indeed happened once the road was built?

16 December 2019

01:07, 16 December 2019 (UTC)

Brownie Lake

... that Brownie Lake (pictured) is one of two lakes in Minneapolis in which the surface and bottom layers do not intermix?
... that before Minoru Yoneyama founded the sports-equipment company Yonex, he was a member of a Japanese suicide unit during World War II?
... that the Hong Kong biopic Lost in the Fumes was rated M18 in Singapore due to "political sensitivities" and screened only to members of the country's film society?
... that Nellie Two Bear Gates made beaded artwork that depicted Yanktonai Dakota history and culture?
... that the 2001 Major League Baseball contraction plan would have resulted in the elimination of two teams from MLB?
... that Bernd Loebe, who began his career as a music journalist, received the 2018 International Opera Award in the category of Leadership in Opera?
... that Qaleh Kharabeh, a fort on the Gorgan Plain in Iran, may have housed troops manning the defence of the Great Wall of Gorgan?
... that Chris Morocco has reverse-engineered dishes by Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, and Guy Fieri from taste, touch, and smell alone?

15 December 2019

03:07, 15 December 2019 (UTC)

Sara Braun

... that along with her business partners, philanthropist Sara Braun (pictured), one of the first businesswomen in Punta Arenas, Chile, was involved in the genocide of the Selk'nam people?
... that the side of the Victoria Warehouse in Old Trafford featured murals by Walter Kershaw for nearly 30 years?
... that Nevada radio station KONE was sued in 1966 by the proprietors of 16 musical works, who claimed that the station did not pay royalties for playing songs such as "San Antonio Rose" and "Sweet Georgia Brown"?
... that Catriona Ida Macleod has received a Social Change Award from Rhodes University for her work in promoting African-based psychology?
... that the Royal Navy's Type 277 radar was so successful that it served as the basis for Navy radars for years, and was used on land by the Royal Air Force and the British Army?
... that American tenor Jeff Martin has appeared as the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre?
... that by the 12th century, the relics of St Adelphus attracted so many pilgrims to the Neuwiller-lès-Saverne Abbey that the Benedictines built a secondary church nearby?
... that the video game developer Rockstar San Diego once worked on XGirl, an "interactive girlfriend" experience for the Xbox console?

14 December 2019

05:07, 14 December 2019 (UTC)

Southern block of the Warwick Road Estate

... that there have been calls for the Warwick Road Estate (pictured) in London's Earl's Court to be listed to prevent it from demolition?
... that after Steven Koecher's disappearance ten years ago today, his family ate at International House of Pancakes for four straight nights in response to a tip?
... that infestations of the cotton jassid can be reduced by growing a cotton cultivar with hairy leaves?
... that prior to debuting as a voice actress in 2018, Iori Saeki had been self-publishing songs as a dōjin musician for several years?
... that after ineffective counsel led to a man's prison sentence being increased a hundredfold, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that attorneys are obligated to inform their clients about plea bargain offers?
... that Siegfried Matthus composed the opera Judith for the reopening of the restored Semperoper, but it premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin, staged by Harry Kupfer?
... that concentration of land ownership has been linked to deforestation in 48 developing countries?
... that Esther Killick repeatedly "gassed herself for science" in order to study carbon monoxide poisoning and acclimatisation?

13 December 2019

07:07, 13 December 2019 (UTC)

Hoffman's packing puzzle

... that it is possible to pack 27 equal cuboids (pictured) into a cube?
... that Fred Thomas has been described as "the greatest Canadian athlete you've never heard of"?
... that the television series The Bold Type is inspired by the life and career of former Cosmopolitan magazine editor-in-chief Joanna Coles?
... that Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, was a failure in its original form, but was revised partly at the behest of Carl Weinmüller, who then appeared in the premiere in the bass role of Rocco?
... that because photomicrographs of Longan witches broom-associated virus were not published, the virus was not initially accepted as the cause of the eponymous disease?
... that according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Thomas Evans Blackwell was the first hydraulic engineer in England?
... that in the Newar festival of Depukhu, young men compete for the carcass of a young female goat that is first sacrificed by drowning in the Deopokhari pond in Khokana, Nepal?
... that there is a lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge in Fort Washington Park?

12 December 2019

01:00, 12 December 2019 (UTC)

Gucci Mane

... that American rapper Gucci Mane (pictured) recorded Trap Back as his "comeback mixtape"?
... that Merryll Saylan helped pioneer the application of color and the use of secondary materials in woodturning art?
... that a moth is being used in biological pest control of the sugarcane planthopper?
... that Chinese economist Zhang Peigang's dissertation was translated into Spanish and used as a university textbook in Latin America in the 1950s, but was not published in Chinese until 1984?
... that A Stanislaw Lem Reader showcases the work of one of the most widely read science fiction writers, including interviews on the relation of literature to philosophy and science?
... that Educational Media Foundation's 2006 acquisition of WSMU-FM marked the "first major foray" by Christian FM broadcasting into New England?
... that Colleen Barrett, the first female president of a major airline, appeared in patriotic advertisements for Southwest Airlines after the September 11 attacks?
... that Tell Qudadi, a buried Iron Age era fortress, was unknowingly used as the site of a military stronghold during World War I?

11 December 2019

00:00, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

Elizabeth Richards Tilton

... that although Elizabeth Richards Tilton (pictured) was a central figure in a six-month-long trial, she was never allowed to speak in court?
... that the Sandyhills area of Glasgow once contained two coal mines, a factory making foamslag blocks, and a chemical works producing tar?
... that British jurist Bin Cheng invented a legal theory which states that a customary international law may be created "overnight"?
... that the Broe helmet, an artefact of the Vendel Period, was discovered while digging up a garden?
... that although Ernest Fahmy played for Abertillery RFC in Wales, he opted to play international rugby for Scotland?
... that after taking the unprofitable station off the air, Harold Orr hired a crew of young announcers to broadcast on KSVY 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, to keep the license?
... that Lu Shijia, founder of China's first university aerodynamics program, twice declined nominations to the Chinese Academy of Sciences?
... that the Balloon went up in 1784 and added air in 1802, but now Highways England wants to blow it up?

10 December 2019

00:00, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

Bodega cat in Brooklyn, New York

... that bodega cats (example pictured) are used as a form of pest control in New York City?
... that German painter Gebhard Fugel led the team creating the monumental Crucifixion Panorama in Altötting, which became a UNESCO-listed monument?
... that Sarazanmai was conceived as an anime series about supernatural monsters for an adult audience?
... that Russian vice admiral Mikhail Motsak, who oversaw the salvage of the wreck of the submarine Kursk, is buried in the same cemetery as a number of the crew who died aboard the vessel?
... that the 2001 BDO World Darts Championship featured an independent women's tournament for the first time in the competition's history?
... that in 2018, Maëlle became the first female and youngest contestant ever to win the French version of The Voice?
... that the Seven Wonders of the Waterways include the UK's longest and highest aqueduct, its longest, deepest, and highest canal tunnel, and the world's only swinging aqueduct?
... that later in life, Jo Walker-Meador would be inducted into the hall of fame that she helped create?

9 December 2019

00:00, 9 December 2019 (UTC)

Member of genus Chrysomya

... that Chrysomya putoria (genus member pictured) and other flies that feed on decomposing flesh are used as important tools in forensic entomology to establish the post-mortem interval?
... that Virginia Kirkus reviewed 16,000 books for her bookshop service between the 1930s and 1960s?
... that Dixit Maria, a motet in Latin by Hans Leo Hassler, sets to music the narrative of Mary's consent to the Annunciation?
... that Chinese doctor Kang Laiyi spent more than 30 years researching the epidemiology of HIV?
... that Brooklyn's 13th, 14th, and 23rd Regiment Armories, all built significantly over budget, were later converted to homeless shelters?
... that Ben Kimura was among the first gay artists in Japan to achieve crossover success with a female audience in yaoi publications?
... that future U.S. senator Howard Baker campaigned for president of the University of Tennessee student body on a platform to establish a campus radio station?
... that Myname's record label was forced to destroy 20,000 CDs of the group's second single album after accidentally including Psy's "Gangnam Style" as its sixth track?

8 December 2019

00:00, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

Etrich Taube monoplane

... that Zee Yee Lee, who flew an Etrich Taube (example pictured) over Shanghai in 1912, was one of China's first aviators?
... that the Consolidated Edison Building has been called one of New York City's most "beautiful and magnificent structures", with a "Tower of Light"?
... that Barrie Marmion spearheaded the development of the first vaccine against Q fever?
... that in Der Ring in Minden, the orchestra played at the back of the stage, and the singers all turned towards it to listen to the music at the end?
... that Hewahewa, a high priest of the Hawaiian religion, supported the abolition of the kapu system and the introduction of Christianity?
... that low water levels at Loch Vaa threatened the remains of a historic crannog?
... that Gayl King became the first female darts player to compete in the PDC World Darts Championship after the Professional Darts Corporation invited her to play in the 2001 tournament?
... that there was a campaign to give Captain America a boyfriend?

7 December 2019

00:00, 7 December 2019 (UTC)

M.O.N.T busking in Hongdae

... that M.O.N.T (pictured) was the first Korean idol group to film a music video on the disputed Liancourt Rocks?
... that the use of retentions in the British construction industry, which is now commonplace, had its origins in the Railway Mania of the 1840s?
... that Indian-American chef Raji Jallepalli, who is credited with "originating the fusion of classic French and Indian cuisines", originally trained as a microbiologist?
... that the Peleng tarsier, a small carnivorous primate, can rotate its head nearly 180 degrees in either direction?
... that German World War II general Heinz Guderian issued post-war apologetics for Hitler, writing that "his struggle was about Europe, even if he made dreadful mistakes and errors"?
... that a young Bob Smith, later famous as Wolfman Jack, got his first radio job as "Daddy Jules" at WYOU in Newport News, Virginia?
... that William Chapple discovered Euler's theorem and Poncelet's porism?
... that sculptures of rats outside the Graybar Building, near Grand Central Terminal, were included to signify New York City's role as a "great transportation centre"?

6 December 2019

00:00, 6 December 2019 (UTC)

Site of the Battle of Muster Green

... that the site (pictured) of the Battle of Muster Green in Haywards Heath was the farthest a Royalist army advanced through Sussex during the First English Civil War?
... that Alois Ickstadt founded a children's choir and an adult choir for the public broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk, conducting the latter for 45 years?
... that Red Dead Redemption 2 was the highest-rated game on Metacritic in 2018?
... that despite fighting for more than two years to stop the other station from signing on, WGVL's last day on the air was also WSPA-TV's first?
... that before becoming a professional mathematician, Chikako Mese was a record-breaking high school softball player?
... that the otherwise inconclusive Polish–Bohemian War of 1345–1348 cemented Bohemian control of Silesia?
... that Kodama Naoko, creator of I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up, called the yuri manga series her first "light" work "in a long time"?
... that feminist Carole De Saram caused the closure of a Citibank branch?

5 December 2019

00:00, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Rick Cluff

... that radio host Rick Cluff (pictured) accepted a position at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation despite his father's belief it was "full of left-wing communists" and that radio was "a dead-end career"?
... that the granulate ambrosia beetle is native to Asia but has spread as an invasive species to Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania?
... that the brother of Ugandan president Idi Amin was once delivered in a car boot to military commander Hussein Mohammed?
... that Memory: The Origins of Alien defines the Alien franchise as "a collective art form" inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Francis Bacon, and the Greek Furies?
... that Charles Blackwell was the third Blackwell (after his father and his grandfather) to be elected to the Institution of Civil Engineers?
... that jazz musicians Ben Tucker and Billy Taylor bought Savannah, Georgia, radio station WSOK and expanded its album collection from 20 to 4,000?
... that letters which Charlotte Pistorius, the self-taught wife of a country pastor, wrote to intellectuals Friedrich Schleiermacher and Ernst Moritz Arndt were published with their works?
... that there is a man in tweeds on a gallows outside the Green Man, Ashbourne?

4 December 2019

00:00, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

The Straight Mile

... that the Straight Mile (pictured) is not a mile, and includes the Culvert, which is not a culvert?
... that public health historian Elizabeth Fee wrote on topics as varied as the history of HIV/AIDS, the racialized treatment of syphilis, bioterrorism, and the history of the toothbrush?
... that the government of Thailand has branded the Buddhist celebration Magha Puja as a day of spiritual love and gratitude, to compete with Valentine's Day?
... that Sara Wesslin, featured on the BBC's 100 Women for 2019, is one of only two journalists in the world broadcasting in Skolt Sami?
... that the Polish–Bohemian War of 990 resulted in Poland taking control of Silesia?
... that Ignaz Saal, for decades a bass with the Imperial Court Theatre in Vienna, performed the bass parts in the world premieres of Haydn's oratorios Die Schöpfung and Die Jahreszeiten?
... that radio station KEYZ in Williston, North Dakota, owned a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft and used it for news coverage, promotional events, sales calls, and search and rescue efforts?
... that Unhappy the Land argues that the Irish are not the "most oppressed people ever"?

3 December 2019

00:00, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

Steven Matz

... that before they were New York Mets teammates, baseball pitchers Steven Matz (pictured) and Marcus Stroman faced each other in a high school game that a Mets scout called "one of the best duels I've ever seen"?
... that Rhagoletis juglandis is a species of fly that infests walnuts?
... that former Playboy model Susie Owens hand-produced up to 50,000 vials of perfume and lotion each year in her garage?
... that The Cedars School is the first senior school in Great Britain to be based on the ethos of Opus Dei?
... that plant physiologist Hu Dujing cultivated Eucommia ulmoides to produce a substitute for rubber?
... that the Lord & Taylor Building in New York City incorporated innovative window displays that could be lowered into the basement and swapped out?
... that British journalist Anna Kessel co-founded the charity Women in Football, and initiated the Blue Plaque Rebellion, to promote gender equality for women in sport?
... that HKmap.live, an app tracking protests and police presence in Hong Kong, was removed by Apple from its App Store less than a week after being approved?

2 December 2019

00:00, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

The Farthing Pie House in 1780

... that for a halfpenny fare, children could ride on a small chariot drawn by four muzzled mastiffs to the Farthing Pie House (pictured)?
... that Yang Enze, who built China's first fiber-optic communication system approved for practical use, taught until the age of 99?
... that after development builds of the cancelled video game Lego Bionicle: The Legend of Mata Nui leaked online, Bionicle fans created a video game development studio to complete the game?
... that Kathrin Göring portrayed both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden, and a critic called her scene in Götterdämmerung a highlight, noting her dramatic mezzo-soprano and intense acting?
... that WXXX's broadcast license was challenged in the 1970s because the station employed no African Americans in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a city that was 30 percent black?
... that research on pain in fish by Victoria Braithwaite resulted in new rules in the UK, Europe, and Canada to make fisheries more humane?
... that string quartet Well-Strung has performed "Chelsea's Mom", a reimagining of "Stacy's Mom", for Hillary Clinton?
... that the chirps of the snowy tree cricket can be used to estimate the temperature?

1 December 2019

00:00, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

Yūki Yamato

... that screenwriter and director Yūki Yamato (pictured) created her first film, That Girl is Dancing by the Seaside, while studying philosophy at Sophia University?
... that following the defense of Katowice on 4 September 1939, dozens of defenders, including a number of Polish Boy and Girl Scouts, were summarily executed?
... that Jedediah Sanger founded New Hartford, but gave his name to Sangerfield?
... that Rainbow Valley, one of the books in the Anne of Green Gables series, draws heavily on Lucy Maud Montgomery's life in the Leaskdale Manse?
... that Chinese virologist George F. Gao led a test laboratory in Sierra Leone during the peak of the 2014 Ebola outbreak?
... that the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory in Brooklyn, originally built for one of the world's largest pencil makers, now contains the Kickstarter headquarters?
... that baritone Hans Braun, who performed 75 roles at the Vienna State Opera, appeared as Mozart's Count Almaviva at the Royal Opera House and as Wagner's Wolfram at La Scala?
... that the tapping sound of the deathwatch beetle has long been considered an omen of an impending death?