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Yesterday — 8 October 2025wikipedia英文首页

20251008

8 October 2025 at 08:17

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Terraria is an action-adventure video game developed by Re-Logic and published by 505 Games. A sandbox game, it has no set goals. After creating the player character and choosing the game's difficulty, the player is placed in a two-dimensional, procedurally generated world where they explore, fight enemies, gather resources, and craft equipment. Players beat bosses, a tougher variety of enemies, to gain access to more items, resources, and equipment. By completing select goals, players receive access to non-player characters who sell items and offer services, such as healing and fishing quests. Terraria can be played alone or with others. Initially released in May 2011 on the Steam digital store, Terraria has received continuous content updates that have considerably changed it from its first version. Terraria has since seen the addition of new items, NPCs, enemies, and world difficulties, as well as quality-of-life improvements and crossovers with different games. Terraria has received generally favorable reviews from critics. (Full article...)
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Ivatan woman wearing a vakul
Ivatan woman wearing a vakul

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On this day

October 8

Wreckage from the Harrow and Wealdstone train crash
Wreckage from the Harrow and Wealdstone train crash
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Veronica filiformis

Veronica filiformis, commonly known as the slender speedwell among other names, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to northern Turkey and the Caucasus, and is known in many other regions as an introduced species, for example in the United Kingdom, where it began as a rock garden plant and later became wild. Veronica filiformis is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing mats of hairy stems. It is self-sterile and rarely seeds, being spread by stolons. The petals are four-lobed and bluish with a white tip, around 8–10 mm in diameter, the top lobe being largest since it is actually a fusion of two lobes. At the center are two long, protruding stamens. Solitary flowers occur in leaf axils. They are on relatively long, slender stalks that arise from the leaf axils, and appear between April and July. This photograph of a V. filiformis flower was focus-stacked from 42 separate images.

Photograph credit: Reinhold Möller

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20251007

7 October 2025 at 08:17

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Licancabur

Licancabur is a prominent, 5,916-metre-high (19,409 ft) stratovolcano on the Bolivia–Chile border in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. It is capped by a 400–500-metre (1,300–1,600 ft) wide summit crater which contains Licancabur Lake, a crater lake that is among the highest lakes in the world. There are no glaciers owing to the arid climate. Numerous plant and animal species live on the mountain. The volcanoes Sairecabur and Juriques are north and east of Licancabur, respectively. Licancabur formed on top of ignimbrites produced by other volcanoes and was active during the Holocene. Although no historical eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 before present and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite. Several archaeological sites have been found on the mountain, possibly constructed by the Inca or Atacama people. (Full article...)

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Launch of Apollo 11 on a Saturn V
Launch of Apollo 11 on a Saturn V

In the news

On this day

October 7: First day of Sukkot (Judaism, 2025)

Landslide in Mameyes, Puerto Rico
Landslide in Mameyes, Puerto Rico
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Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to those who have made the most outstanding contributions to humanity through physics. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive in that field. One of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded since 1901, when the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen was recognised for the discovery of X-rays. As of 2024, there have been 226 Nobel laureates in Physics. The prize consists of a medal (whose obverse bears a profile of Nobel), a diploma, and a monetary award. This 1931 group photograph includes three Nobel laureates in Physics in the front row – from left to right, Albert A. Michelson (1907), Albert Einstein (1921), and Robert Millikan (1923) – each of whom autographed the image. The photograph is in the collection of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology at the Smithsonian Institution.

Photograph credit: unknown; scanned by the Smithsonian Institution; restored by Bammesk

20251006

6 October 2025 at 08:17

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Exterior of 70 Pine Street

70 Pine Street is a 67-story, 952-foot (290 m) residential skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. Designed by the architectural firm of Clinton & Russell, Holton & George in the Art Deco style, 70 Pine Street was constructed between 1930 and 1932 as an office building. The structure was originally named for the energy conglomerate Cities Service Company, its first tenant. Upon its completion, it was Lower Manhattan's tallest building and the world's third-tallest building. It features a brick, limestone, and gneiss façade with numerous setbacks and an extensive program of ornamentation. Despite having been built during the Great Depression, the building was profitable enough to break even by 1936, and ninety percent of its space was occupied five years later. The building and its first-floor interior were designated as official New York City landmarks in June 2011, and the structure was converted to residential use in 2016. (Full article...)

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Inland Steel Building
Inland Steel Building

In the news

On this day

October 6: German-American Day in the United States, Mid-Autumn Festival (2025) in China, Taiwan, and Korea

An artist's impression of 51 Pegasi b (center) and its star (right)
An artist's impression of 51 Pegasi b (center) and its star (right)
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Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock

The BAFTA Fellowship is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in recognition of "outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image". The award is the highest honour the Academy can bestow, and has been awarded annually since 1971. Recipients of the fellowship have mainly been film directors, but some have been awarded to actors, film and television producers, cinematographers, film editors, screenwriters, and contributors to the video game industry. People from the United Kingdom dominate the list, but it includes more than a dozen U.S. citizens and several recipients from other countries in Europe. In 2010, Shigeru Miyamoto became the first citizen of an Asian country to receive the award. The inaugural recipient of the award was the filmmaker and producer Alfred Hitchcock (pictured). The award has been made posthumously to the comedy pair Morecambe and Wise in 1999, and to Stanley Kubrick, who died in 1999 and was made a fellow in 2000. (Full list...)

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Hooded mountain tanager

The hooded mountain tanager (Buthraupis montana) is a bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. The species is found in forest and woodland in the Andean highlands of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, at altitudes between 1,800 and 3,000 metres (5,900 and 9,800 ft). It is one of the largest tanagers, at 23 centimetres (9.1 in) and 96 grams (3.4 oz), and has a black head and thighs, a blue black and bright yellow belly, with red eyes. This hooded mountain tanager of the subspecies B. m. cucullata was photographed in Hacienda El Bosque, a wildlife reserve near Manizales, Colombia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp



20251005

5 October 2025 at 08:17

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Otto Hahn

Otto Hahn (1879–1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry. Working with Lise Meitner at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in the building that now bears their names, they discovered isotopes of the radioactive elements radium, thorium, protactinium and uranium. He also discovered the phenomena of atomic recoil and nuclear isomerism, and pioneered rubidium–strontium dating. In 1938, Hahn, Meitner, Otto Robert Frisch and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission, for which Hahn alone was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He worked on the German nuclear program during World War II and at the end of the war he was arrested by the Allied forces and detained in Farm Hall. After the war, he became the founding president of the Max Planck Society and one of the most influential and respected citizens of post-war West Germany. (Full article...)

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Mitchell Sabattis
Mitchell Sabattis

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On this day

October 5: World Teachers' Day

Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith
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Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield. Assuming the presidency after Garfield's assassination, Arthur's presidency saw the largest expansion of the U.S. Navy, the end of the so-called "spoils system", and the implementation of harsher restrictions for migrants entering from abroad. Suffering from poor health, Arthur made only a limited effort to secure the Republican Party's nomination in 1884, and he retired at the end of his term. He has been described as one of the least memorable presidents in the history of the United States. This photograph by Abraham Bogardus shows Arthur around 1880.

Photograph credit: Abraham Bogardus; restored by Adam Cuerden

20251004

4 October 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Clownfishes are saltwater fishes found in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. They mainly inhabit coral reefs and have a distinctive colouration typically consisting of white vertical bars on a red, orange, yellow, brown or black background. Clownfishes developed a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with sea anemones, which they rely on for shelter and protection, while they in turn, clean, fan and protect them. Clownfishes live in groups consisting of a breeding female and male, along with some non-breeding individuals. The female ranks at the top of the hierarchy, followed by the breeding male. The recognisable colour patterns and social nature of clownfishes have contributed to their popularity, having appeared in the film Finding Nemo. They are highly sought after in the aquarium trade and are often taken from the wild, which has led to their decline. (Full article...)

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Shaktikanta Das
Shaktikanta Das

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On this day

October 4: Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden and Finland

Engraving of the Siege of Smolensk
Engraving of the Siege of Smolensk
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Agnes Booth

Agnes Booth (October 4, 1843 – January 2, 1910) was an Australian-born American actress and in-law of actors Junius Brutus Booth, Edwin Booth, and John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. She made her US debut in early 1858 as Agnes Land, performing with her sister Belle at Maguire's Opera House, San Francisco. In 1865 she moved to New York where she appeared at the Winter Garden Theatre. In 1867, she married Junius Brutus Booth Jr. and she performed as Agnes Booth thereafter. She played Belinda in the first American production of W. S. Gilbert's Engaged in 1879, as shown in this photograph by Abraham Bogardus.

Photograph credit: Abraham Bogardus; restored by Adam Cuerden

20251003

3 October 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

In the Spaghetti House siege, an attempted robbery of the Spaghetti House restaurant in September 1975 in Knightsbridge, London, three men barricaded themselves and the staff in a storeroom. The ringleader was Franklin Davies, a 28-year-old Nigerian student who had previously served time in prison for armed robbery. The hostages were released unharmed after six days. Two of the gunmen gave themselves up, and Davies shot himself in the stomach. All three were later imprisoned, as was one of their accomplices. The police used fibre optic camera technology for live surveillance, and monitored the actions and conversations of the gunmen. The feed was watched by a forensic psychologist who advised police on the state of the men's minds, and how to best manage the ongoing negotiations. The siege was concluded on 3 October 1975. The 1976 play A Hole in Babylon and the 1982 Italian comedy film Spaghetti House were loosely based on the events of the siege. (Full article...)

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Anne
Anne

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On this day

October 3

Siegfried & Roy with a white lion
Siegfried & Roy with a white lion
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Marshal Foch
Marshal Foch

The position of Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford was founded in 1918 shortly after the end of the First World War. Ferdinand Foch, or "Marshal Foch" (pictured), was supreme commander of Allied forces from April 1918 onwards. The chair was endowed by an arms trader, Basil Zaharoff, in Foch's honour; he also endowed a post in English Literature at the University of Paris in honour of the British Field Marshal Earl Haig. Zaharoff wanted the University of Paris to have a right of veto over the appointment, but Oxford would not accept this. The compromise reached was that Paris should have a representative on the appointing committee (although this provision was later removed). In advance of the first election, Stéphen Pichon (the French Foreign Minister) unsuccessfully attempted to influence the decision. The first professor, Gustave Rudler, was appointed in 1920. (Full list...)

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Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 is a United States federal law that was passed by the 89th Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 3, 1965. The act formally removed de facto discrimination against people of various ethnicities from the country's immigration policy and created a system giving priority to various categories of people such as relatives of US citizens, skilled professionals, and refugees. Previous policy consisted of the National Origins Formula of the 1920s, whose aim was to preserve American homogeneity by promoting immigration from Western and Northern Europe, an approach which came under attack during the civil rights movement for being racially discriminatory. This photograph shows President Johnson officially signing the Immigration and Nationality Act in a ceremony on Liberty Island in New York City.

Photograph credit: Yoichi Okamoto

20251002

2 October 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Ko Ping-chung, the tournament winner
Ko Ping-chung, the tournament winner

The 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship was a professional pool tournament for the discipline of ten-ball organised by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and CueSports International. It was the fifth WPA World Ten-ball Championship; the previous championship was held in 2015. After plans for an event in both 2016 and 2018 to be held in Manila fell through, a 2019 event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as part of a three-year deal for the event to be played in the United States was agreed. The event was held concurrently with the Billiard Congress of America's National Ten-ball event from July 22 to 26. The event was sponsored by cue manufacturer Predator Group. The competition featured 64 participants, selected according to world and continental pool rankings as well as qualifying events. Ko Ping-chung (pictured), representing Taiwan, won the event, defeating German player Joshua Filler 10–7 in the final. (Full article...)

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Ferber House
Ferber House

In the news

On this day

October 2: International Day of Non-Violence; Gandhi Jayanti in India; Yom Kippur (Judaism, 2025)

HMS Curacoa
HMS Curacoa
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Epinephelus marginatus

Epinephelus marginatus is a species of fish in the grouper family, Epinephelidae. It is found in coastal waters, primarily at the edges of the Atlantic Ocean – off western Africa and eastern South America – and also in the Indian Ocean around South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion, and throughout the Mediterranean. Epinephelus marginatus is a very large, oval-bodied and large-headed fish with a wide mouth which has a protruding lower jaw. It is typically 90 cm in length but some individuals grow up to 150 cm. The head and upper body are coloured dark reddish brown or greyish, usually with yellowish gold countershading on the ventral surfaces, while the base colour is marked by a vertical series of irregular pale greenish yellow or silvery grey or whitish blotching. This E. marginatus individual was photographed off Cape Palos, Spain.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso



20251001

1 October 2025 at 08:17

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One of T4's sister ships, T3
One of T4's sister ships, T3

T4 was a seagoing torpedo boat operated by the Royal Yugoslav Navy between 1921 and 1932. Originally built in 1914 for the Austro-Hungarian Navy as a 250t-class torpedo boat, she saw active service during World War I, performing convoy, patrol, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations and shore bombardment missions. Following Austria-Hungary's defeat in 1918, she was allocated to the Navy of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and was renamed T4. During the interwar period, T4 and the rest of the navy were involved in training exercises and cruises to friendly ports. In 1932, she ran aground on the island of Drvenik Mali off the central Dalmatian coast and the hull broke in half. The bow remained on the island, and the stern was towed to the Tivat Arsenal in the Bay of Kotor. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.)

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Josephine Hall
Josephine Hall

In the news

18th hole at the Bethpage Black Course
18th hole at the Bethpage Black Course

On this day

October 1: National Day in China (1949); Unification Day in Cameroon (1961); Independence Day in Tuvalu (1978); Defenders Day in Ukraine (2015)

St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
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Sarah Forbes Bonetta

Sarah Forbes Bonetta (c. 1843 – 1880), born Aina or Ina, was an African slave who later became a ward and goddaughter of Queen Victoria. Believed to be a titled member of the Yewa, a clan of the West African Yoruba people, she was orphaned as a child during a war with the nearby kingdom of Dahomey as a child and was later enslaved by Ghezo, the king of Dahomey. She was then given as a "gift" to Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy and was taken to England, where she became a goddaughter of Queen Victoria. On Victoria's orders, Bonetta married Captain James Pinson Labulo Davies, a wealthy Lagos philanthropist, in 1862. The couple moved back to Africa and had three children, including Lagos socialite Victoria Davies Randle. Bonetta died aged 37 on the Portuguese island of Madeira. This formal photograph, taken by the French photographer Camille Silvy in 1862, shows Bonetta and Davies at around the time of their marriage.

Photograph credit: Camille Silvy; restored by Adam Cuerden

20250930

30 September 2025 at 08:17

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Charles of Blois, the French commander
Charles of Blois, the French commander

The battle of Morlaix was fought in Brittany on 30 September 1342 between an Anglo-Breton army under William, Earl of Northampton, and a far larger Franco-Breton force led by Charles of Blois (pictured). England and France, fighting the Hundred Years' War since 1337, had each sided with a faction in the Breton Civil War. The English had prepared a defensive position and when the first of three French divisions advanced it was shot to pieces by English archers using longbows. The second division, of men-at-arms, attacked but their charge was halted when they fell into a camouflaged ditch. Presented with a large, close-range target the English archers inflicted many casualties. The English then withdrew into a wood to their rear, which the French besieged, possibly for several days, before Northampton broke out with a night attack. This was the first major land battle of the Hundred Years' War and the tactics used foreshadowed those of both the French and the English for the rest of the 1340s. (Full article...)

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Great Armoury
Great Armoury

In the news

On this day

September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada; Martyrs' Day in China

AH-64 Apache prototype
AH-64 Apache prototype
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Child labor in the United States

Child labor in the United States was a common phenomenon across the economy in the 19th century, gradually declining in the early 20th century, with exceptions in the Southern textile and related industries and agriculture. Compulsory school laws and Northern state laws prohibiting work in mines and factories further reduced the phenomenon. A national law was passed in 1916, but it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1918; a 1919 law was also overturned. In the 1920s, an effort to pass a constitutional amendment failed, because of opposition from the South and from Catholics. Outside of farming, child labor was steadily declining in the 20th century, and the New Deal in 1938 finally ended child labor in factories and mines. Child labor has always been a factor in agriculture, and that continues into the 21st century. There has been a large rise in child labor in the 2020s amid a labor shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some states have proposed or enacted measures to loosen restrictions. This 1910 photograph by Lewis Hine shows ten-year-old Rose Biodo of Philadelphia carrying berries in a field in Browns Mills, New Jersey, four weeks into the school year.

Photograph credit: Lewis Hine

20250929

29 September 2025 at 08:17

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Casey Stengel

Casey Stengel (July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was the manager of the championship New York Yankees teams of the 1950s and of the New York Mets of the early 1960s. An outfielder for the 1912 Brooklyn Dodgers, he played on their 1916 National League championship team, then for the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. In 1925, he began a career as a manager, with mostly poor finishes for the next 20 years. In 1948, after he won the PCL title with the Oakland Oaks, the Yankees hired him. In his twelve seasons, they won ten pennants and seven World Series, including a record-setting five in a row (1949–1953), but Stengel was fired after losing the 1960 World Series. The Mets were an expansion team when they hired him in late 1961. They finished last all four seasons with Stengel, and he retired in 1965. Remembered as one of the great characters in baseball history, and known for his humorous sayings, Stengel was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. (Full article...)

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Nereus Mendenhall
Nereus Mendenhall

In the news

Nicolas Sarkozy in 2022
Nicolas Sarkozy

On this day

September 29: Michaelmas (Western Christianity)

Burhanuddin Harahap
Burhanuddin Harahap

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Legislative Assembly House, Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Legislative Assembly House, Aizawl, Mizoram, India

There are 40 constituencies of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, the unicameral legislature of Mizoram state in Northeast India. The seat of the legislative assembly (pictured) is at Aizawl, the capital of the state. The assembly's 40 members are directly elected from single-seat constituencies and sit for a term of five years, unless it is dissolved early. Mizoram is the fourth-smallest state in India; and the second-least populous state with a population of 1.10 million. Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have been given reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for STs and SCs. The 2011 census of India stated that the indigenous population constitutes 95% of the state's total population. The STs have been granted a reservation of 39 seats in the Mizoram assembly, leaving only one (Aizawl East-I) unreserved. (Full list...)

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Tawny-bellied hermit

The tawny-bellied hermit (Phaethornis syrmatophorus) is a species in the hummingbird family, Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, where it inhabits the understory of humid montane forest and is also sometimes at forest edges and in dense secondary forest. In elevation it mostly ranges between 1,000 and 2,300 m. The tawny-bellied hermit is about 14 cm long and weighs 5 to 7 g. It has olive green upperparts, males also having reddish-orange uppertail coverts, while the central tail feathers of both sexes are long and white and the rest are dark with bright orange ends. It has either an orange or dark brown chest, depending on subspecies. Similar to other hermit hummingbirds, it is a "trap-line" feeder, visiting a circuit of a wide variety of flowering plants for nectar, and it has a song which consists of high-pitched "tsi" calls. This tawny-bellied hermit was photographed at San Isidro Lodge near Cosanga, Napo Province, Ecuador.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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20250928

28 September 2025 at 08:17

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Carpenter performing "Feather"
Carpenter performing "Feather"

"Feather" is a song by American singer Sabrina Carpenter (pictured) from Emails I Can't Send Fwd:, the 2023 deluxe edition of her fifth studio album. A dance-pop, disco, and disco-pop song, "Feather" is a post-breakup track celebrating the freedom and relief one feels upon ending a relationship. Carpenter co-wrote it with Amy Allen and its producer, John Ryan. Its production was described as light and airy by music critics, who thought the song had impact on Carpenter's success the following year. "Feather" reached number 21 in the US, where it became her first song to reach the top 40, and was also Carpenter's first number 1 on the Pop Airplay chart. The music video, which depicts the deaths of several men who mistreat Carpenter and her dancing at their joint funeral in a church, caused controversy when the Catholic bishop of Brooklyn criticized the church scenes and suspended the priest who allowed them to be filmed. Carpenter performed the song on Saturday Night Live and on her tours. (Full article...)

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Zheng Lücheng
Zheng Lücheng

In the news

Peter Mutharika in 2014
Peter Mutharika

On this day

Wikimedia template

September 28

Pope Pontian
Pope Pontian

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Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located on a mountain ridge in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, about 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it was built around 1450, likely as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, and was abandoned roughly a century later. Notable structures include the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows, and Intihuatana, a ritual stone. Machu Picchu was designated a historic sanctuary by Peru in 1981, and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983. It received more than 1.5 million visitors annually as of 2024, making it Peru's most visited tourist attraction. This photograph of Machu Picchu was taken in 1912 by Hiram Bingham III, the American explorer who rediscovered the citadel, and was published in the April 1913 edition of National Geographic. The image was taken after early clearing work, and shows the agricultural terraces, the central urban complex, and the steep peak of Huayna Picchu rising in the background.

Photograph credit: Hiram Bingham III

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20250927

27 September 2025 at 08:17

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John Dobbin, Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825
John Dobbin, Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825

The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, first operated on 27 September 1825. It initially connected collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton in County Durham, north-east England. The transport of coal proved profitable, and the line was soon extended to a new port at Middlesbrough. The opening of the S&DR was seen as proof of steam railway effectiveness. While coal was hauled by steam locomotives, horses drew passenger coaches along the rails until carriages hauled by locomotives were introduced in 1833. The S&DR suffered severe financial difficulties at the end of the 1840s but the discovery of iron ore in Cleveland led to an increase in revenue. At the beginning of the 1860s it took over railways that had crossed the Pennines, but was itself taken over by the North Eastern Railway, continuing to operate independently until 1876. Much of the original route is now served by the Tees Valley line. (Full article...)

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Ships in the Night performing in 2025
Ships in the Night performing in 2025

In the news

Peter Mutharika in 2014
Peter Mutharika

On this day

September 27: Meskel (Orthodox Tewahedo)

Flag of China
Flag of China

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Gypsum

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk chalk. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison. Other forms of gypsum include the fine-grained, lightly-tinted alabaster, used for sculpture by many cultures in history, and the translucent crystals of selenite. This specimen of gypsum originates in Carresse-Cassaber, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

Photograph credit: Didier Descouens

20250926

26 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

SMS Rheinland

SMS Rheinland was one of four Nassau-class battleships, the first dreadnoughts built for the Imperial German Navy and launched on September 26, 1908. Her service with the High Seas Fleet during World War I included fleet advances into the North Sea, some in support of raids by I Scouting Group as well as the Battle of Jutland, in which Rheinland was engaged by British destroyers. The ship also saw duty in the Baltic Sea during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. She returned to the Baltic as the core of an expeditionary force to aid the White Finns in the Finnish Civil War in 1918, but ran aground. The damage done by the grounding was too severe and Rheinland was decommissioned to be used as a barracks ship for the remainder of the war. In 1919, following the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Rheinland was ceded to the Allies who, in turn, sold the vessel to ship breakers in the Netherlands to eventually be broken up to scrap metal. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany.)

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Incan ceremonial vessel
Incan ceremonial vessel
  • ... that 99% of the collection of the National Museum of Ecuador is not on public display (example of the 1% pictured)?
  • ... that Samsul Ashar pawned personal valuables to support his city's football club?
  • ... that the size of the entrance hall at the British legation in Uruguay was increased after a diplomat complained that there was not enough room to hold dances?
  • ... that a former North Korean spy has been unable to return to North Korea since 1953?
  • ... that Christapor Mikaelian was killed by his own explosives, which were intended for the attempted assassination of Sultan Abdul Hamid II?
  • ... that burial vaults at Spring Street Presbyterian Church were forgotten under a parking lot until 2006?
  • ... that one anthropologist has described scenes in the 1893 Wild Australia Show as examples of "settler denialism" and "colonial fantasy"?
  • ... that Marcello Magni voiced more than a dozen characters in the claymation series Pingu?
  • ... that Seven McGee was given his name because he was the youngest of seven children in his family?

In the news

Typhoon Ragasa
Typhoon Ragasa

On this day

September 26

Yves Rossy
Yves Rossy

From today's featured list

Tyla
Tyla

The South African singer Tyla (pictured) has won 31 industry awards from 105 nominations. She is the recipient of four South African Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two BET Awards and two Billboard Music Awards. In 2024, her self-titled debut studio album was released and it debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200. That same year, Tyla made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and she was named the youngest African to win a Grammy Award after receiving the inaugural Best African Music Performance for "Water" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. She received backlash after winning Best Afrobeats Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she identified as an amapiano artist in her acceptance speech. In 2025, Billboard Women in Music honoured her with the Impact award. Tyla hosted the 2025 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, where she won an accolade for Favorite Global Music Star. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Voss (collection)

Voss is the seventeenth collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen. It had its runway show on 26 September 2000 at the Gatliff Road Warehouse in London, and was created for the Spring/Summer 2001 season of McQueen's eponymous fashion house. The collection draws on imagery of madness and the natural world to explore ideas of bodily perfection, interrogating who and what was beautiful. Voss features a large number of showpiece designs, including dresses made with razor clam shells, an antique Japanese screen, taxidermy hawks, and microscope slides. The collection's palette mainly comprises muted tones; common design flourishes included Orientalist and surrealist elements. This photograph shows the razor clam shell dress at the 2024 Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

20250925

25 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Sequined jacket with printed image of Victorian era children
Sequined jacket with printed image of Victorian era children

Joan (Autumn/Winter 1998) was the twelfth collection by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his eponymous fashion house. Continuing his dual fascination with religion and violence, it was inspired by imagery of persecution, most significantly the 1431 martyrdom of Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake. The collection's palette was mainly red, black and silver; colours which evoked notions of warfare, death, blood and flames. Many looks referenced ecclesiastical garments and medieval armour, including items that mimicked chainmail and one ensemble that had silver-plated armour pieces. The runway show was staged in London. The set design was sparse and industrial: a dark room lit by metal lamps suspended over the runway. The 100-foot (30 m) runway was covered in black ashes, and models entered through a black backdrop backlit in red. Ninety-one looks were presented; primarily womenswear with some menswear. Critical response to the clothing and the runway show was positive.(Full article...)

Did you know ...

Matei Millo in travesti as Marguerite Gautier
Matei Millo in travesti as Marguerite Gautier
  • ... that Romanian actor Matei Millo (pictured) continued an 1877 performance of a politically charged comedy even after the offended authorities had extinguished his theater's candelabra?
  • ... that Kembangan station is decorated with a mural of a church and a mosque?
  • ... that several 19th-century presidential elections in El Salvador had candidates that ran virtually unopposed?
  • ... that the village office on the islet of Koja Doi was destroyed by a tsunami in 1992, after which it was rebuilt across a causeway on the larger Besar Island?
  • ... that a 1526 pirate raid might have inspired a Maltese ballad about a bride being abducted from her wedding?
  • ... that in the 1984 Summer Olympics, boxer Zaw Latt nearly knocked out his opponent in the first round, but did not win a single judge's vote?
  • ... that the Yonezawa Shokai Building is the only building left in the former city center of Rikuzentakata after it was destroyed by a tsunami?
  • ... that an alleged deal between labour boss Ramsingh Verma and mill owner R. C. Jall provoked a bitter dispute between Verma and union leader G. R. Tiwari, leading to Verma's ousting?
  • ... that reviewers described Prudence and Emily as "unsophisticated ducklings", whereas Bella showed "badass bitchery"?

In the news

Robert Redford in 2012
Robert Redford

On this day

September 25

Tacitus
Tacitus

Today's featured picture

Verreaux's sifaka

Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. Critically endangered, it lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar and the spiny thickets of the south. This photograph was taken near Réserve Peyrieras, Madagascar.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

20250924

24 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Nadine Gordimer, author
Nadine Gordimer, author

Burger's Daughter is a novel by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer (pictured). Set in the mid-1970s, it details a group of white anti-apartheid activists seeking to overthrow the South African government. It follows the life of Rosa Burger as she comes to terms with her father's legacy as an activist in the South African Communist Party. Gordimer was involved in South African politics and knew Bram Fischer, Nelson Mandela's treason trial defence lawyer. She modelled the novel's Burger family on Fischer's family and described Burger's Daughter as an homage to Fischer. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom in 1979. It was banned in South Africa a month after its publication, and its import and sale were prohibited by the South African Publications Control Board. Three months later, the Publications Appeal Board overturned the ban and restrictions were lifted. The novel was generally well received by critics and won the Central News Agency Literary Award in 1980. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Tomb of Yue Fei
Tomb of Yue Fei

In the news

Robert Redford in 2012
Robert Redford

On this day

September 24: Heritage Day in South Africa; Independence Day in Guinea-Bissau (1973)

Battle of San Juan de Ulúa
Battle of San Juan de Ulúa

Today's featured picture

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon is an 1816 biblical landscape painting by the British artist John Martin. It depicts an episode from the Book of Joshua, in which the Israelite leader Joshua comes to the assistance of the besieged city of Gibeon, appealing to God to halt the Sun in order to give his army more time to fight by daylight. Romantic in style, it was Martin's breakthrough picture, receiving praise both when it was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1816 at London's Somerset House, and when it appeared at the British Institution the following year. Since 2004, it has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Photograph credit: John Martin

20250923

23 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

20 Exchange Place

20 Exchange Place is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1931, it was designed by Cross & Cross as the headquarters of the City Bank–Farmers Trust Company, predecessor of Citigroup. The building, standing at approximately 741 feet (226 m) with 57 usable stories, was one of New York City's tallest buildings and the world's tallest stone-clad building upon its completion. The building has a granite and limestone facade, while its internal superstructure is made of steel. The lower section of the facade fills the entirety of an irregular quadrilateral city block and contains piers with figures depicting the "giants of finance". The upper stories, consisting of a square tower with chamfered corners, are offset from the base. The building is an official New York City landmark and a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Jorge Meléndez
Jorge Meléndez

In the news

Robert Redford in 2012
Robert Redford

On this day

September 23: Celebrate Bisexuality Day

Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold

Today's featured picture

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Terrell (September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was an American civil rights activist, journalist, teacher and one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She taught in the Latin Department at the M Street High School—the first African-American public high school in the nation—in Washington, DC. In 1895, she was the first African-American woman in the United States to be appointed to the school board of a major city, serving in the District of Columbia until 1906. Terrell was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Colored Women's League of Washington. She helped found the National Association of Colored Women and served as its first national president, and she was a founding member of the National Association of College Women.

Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden



20250922

22 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Thomas J. Hudner Jr.

Thomas J. Hudner Jr. (1924–2017) was a United States Navy officer and naval aviator. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Hudner attended Phillips Academy in Andover and the United States Naval Academy. Initially uninterested in aviation, he eventually took up flying and joined Fighter Squadron 32, flying the F4U Corsair at the outbreak of the Korean War. Arriving near Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte. He later served in the Vietnam War. After retiring as a captain in 1973, he worked for various veterans' organizations in the United States. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is named for him. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Statue of Michael Arthur Bass
Statue of Michael Arthur Bass
  • ... that the statue of Michael Arthur Bass (pictured) in England stands in front of the town hall he paid for?
  • ... that the subjects of Robert M. Edsel's book The Monuments Men returned more than five million works of art stolen by the Nazis during World War II?
  • ... that Rinalds Grants, Archbishop of Riga, began his career as a criminal investigator?
  • ... that one airbreathing catfish species cooperates in pack hunting with another species of catfish?
  • ... that Samuel Toloza fought off Iraqi militants with only a knife after his convoy was attacked and ran out of ammunition?
  • ... that The Battle of Calverhine, Henry Darger's largest collage, is ten feet (3 m) wide and almost impossible to make out with the naked eye?
  • ... that Małgorzata Rosiak, after receiving a snowboard as a Christmas present, went on to win 14 national championships and medals at the European and World Championships?
  • ... that the Book of Accusations excoriates halakhic interpretation, Kabbalah, magic, superstition, the commentary of Rashi, and the Ashkenazi rabbinical tradition of pilpul?
  • ... that when the architect of Chicago's IBM Building was driven to the construction site, he reportedly asked, "Where's the site"?

In the news

Robert Redford in 2012
Robert Redford

On this day

September 22

Damage from the great fire of Smyrna
Damage from the great fire of Smyrna

From today's featured list

Side-by-side of insect species from 15 different orders
Side-by-side of insect species from 15 different orders

Insecta is a class of invertebrates that consists of around 30 individual orders. Orders are the fifth taxonomic rank used to classify living organisms, below the rank of class, but above the rank of family. With around 1 million insect species having been formally described and assigned a binomial name, insects are the most diverse group of animals, comprising approximately half of extant species on Earth. The total insect biodiversity has been estimated at around 6 million species. The most diverse orders are Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants and sawflies), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (flies) and Hemiptera (true bugs).Taxonomists disagree on the exact number of orders, with opinions ranging from 26 to 32 distinct extant orders. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Australian brushturkey

The Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami) is a species of bird in the Megapode family, Megapodiidae. It is found in eastern Australia, from Far North Queensland to the South Coast region of New South Wales, as well as on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, where it is an introduced species. The Australian brushturkey inhabits wet forests, as well as drier scrubs and open areas, and lives in both mountainous and lowland areas. It is also common in urban environments including on domestic properties in the cities of Brisbane and Sydney. A black-feathered bird with a red head, the Australian brushturkey is typically a large bird, with a total length of around 60–75 cm and a wingspan of around 85 cm, although the subspecies A. l. purpureicollis from the northern Cape York Peninsula is somewhat smaller. The species is known for its mound-ubilding, which is carried out by a a dominant male and visited by a succession of local females, for mating and egg-laying. It uses a large nest on the ground made of leaves, other compostable material, and earth. This female Australian brushturkey was photographed in Crater Lakes National Park, Queensland.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

20250921

21 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

The canister in the National Roman Legion Museum
The canister in the National Roman Legion Museum

The Caerleon pipe burial is a second-century Roman grave associated with the legionary fortress and settlement Isca Augusta in Caerleon. In 1927 building works across the River Usk from the fortress uncovered a grave containing a stone-lined tomb. Within the tomb was a lead canister containing cremated bone fragments, a piece of linen bearing traces of frankincense and a 3.8 cm (1.5 in) broken lead pipe which would originally have reached the surface. This type of burial is rare in Britain and was investigated by the archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler. The anatomist Arthur Keith determined that the bone fragments were of a single adult, confirmed in 2001 by Alice Roberts. Tombs with vertical lead or earthenware pipes are found throughout the Roman Empire, and these features are believed to have facilitated sacrifices and offerings to the departed. In particular, pipe burials are thought to have allowed relatives to pour blood or wine into the container to nourish the soul of the deceased. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Mary Jo Copeland
Mary Jo Copeland
  • ... that Mary Jo Copeland (pictured) received the Presidential Citizens Medal from Barack Obama for founding Sharing and Caring Hands?
  • ... that Reedsburg Municipal Airport had a water runway during the 1960s for use by the builder of Lake Redstone?
  • ... that Xu Jie avoided the purges of the Great Rites Controversy because he was at home mourning his father?
  • ... that the app Tea has been praised as an aid for women's safety but was sued for jeopardising its users' safety?
  • ... that the Gym Rat in Gaza posts videos of bodybuilding among the rubble of the Israel–Hamas war?
  • ... that the flatbread luchi was historically made with bananas instead of water?
  • ... that German social media personality Maya Leinenbach became vegan after completing a school project on the influence of nutrition and consumption on the environment?
  • ... that Gabriel Green ran for U.S. president on the platform of universal health care, free college education, and releasing secret government information on extraterrestrials?
  • ... that Savannah blockaded Savannah?

In the news

On this day

September 21: International Day of Peace

Chandrashekhar Agashe
Chandrashekhar Agashe

Today's featured picture

Tadej Pogačar

Tadej Pogačar (born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenian professional road cyclist who currently rides for UAE Team Emirates XRG, a UCI WorldTeam based in the United Arab Emirates. His victories include four Tours de France (2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025), the 2024 Giro d'Italia, and nine monuments (the Tour of Flanders twice, Liège–Bastogne–Liège three times, and the Giro di Lombardia four times), as well as the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Comfortable in time-trialing, one-day classic riding and grand-tour climbing, he has been compared to all-round cyclists such as Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault as one of the sport's greatest. This photograph shows Pogačar celebrating his victory after stage 3 of the 2022 Tour of Slovenia at Celje Castle.

Photograph credit: Petar Milošević

20250920

20 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Miller in 2014
Miller in 2014

Myst V: End of Ages is a 2005 adventure video game, developed by Cyan Worlds, published by Ubisoft, and released for Macintosh and Windows PC platforms. Directed by Rand Miller (pictured) it is the fifth installment in the Myst series. Like in past entries, gameplay consists of navigating worlds known as "Ages" via the use of special books and items which act as portals. End of Ages replaces pre-rendered environments used in past games with worlds rendered in real-time 3D graphics, allowing easy navigation. It also includes an in-game camera. Additionally, the faces of actors were digitally mapped onto three-dimensional character models. End of Ages was positively received, despite complaints such as lessened interactivity compared to previous games and poorer graphics. After the game's release Cyan announced the end of software development and the layoff of most of its staff, but was able to rehire much of the development team a few weeks later. (This article is part of a featured topic: Myst series.)

Did you know ...

Finnie the Unicorn
Finnie the Unicorn
  • ... that the next Commonwealth Games mascot is a unicorn (pictured) designed by 76 children?
  • ... that Mary Karadja founded an organisation to deport European Jews to Madagascar, despite previously advocating against antisemitism?
  • ... that the writer Laurence Sterne became famous for a bawdy comic novel, and immediately sold a book of sermons?
  • ... that the geographer Suzanne Daveau, who turned 100 on 13 July 2025, has received honours from three countries?
  • ... that Zhang Juzheng was criticised for not adequately mourning the death of his father, after which he eliminated around fifty opponents through self-evaluation tests?
  • ... that Felix Mendelssohn revised his Rondo capriccioso after a 17-year-old pianist "commanded" him to do so "under pain of one disgrace or another"?
  • ... that Indian activist V. V. Dravid moved to Indore to build a textile workers' union, spent one and a half years in jail there, and later represented the city at the state's legislative assembly?
  • ... that the Tochigi–Gunma–Saitama border is a rare example of a prefectural tripoint in Japan located on flat land?
  • ... that the Red Nun of the Mayab worked as a courier and spy for an insurrectionist faction in Valladolid, Yucatán?

In the news

On this day

September 20

Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher

Today's featured picture

The Freshman is a 1925 American silent comedy film that tells the story of a college freshman trying to become popular by joining the school football team. It was released on September 20, 1925, and stars Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, and James Anderson. It remains one of Lloyd's most successful and enduring films. The film was written by John Grey, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan, and Ted Wilde. It was directed by Taylor and Fred C. Newmeyer. In 1990, The Freshman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," added in the second year of voting and one of the first 50 films to receive the honor.

Film credit: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor



20250919

19 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Dan Castellaneta, Homer's voice actor
Dan Castellaneta, Homer's voice actor

Homer Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is the boorish father of the Simpson family; with his wife, Marge, he has three children: Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Homer embodies several American working-class stereotypes: he is overweight, balding, immature, unintelligent, outspoken, aggressive, lazy, ignorant, unprofessional, and fond of beer, junk food, and television. Despite his flaws, he is fundamentally a good-hearted man and fiercely protective of his family, especially during crises. He was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening and is voiced by Dan Castellaneta (pictured). Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television and is widely recognized as an American cultural icon. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in several dictionaries. Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, along with a special-achievement Annie Award for voicing Homer. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Neocicindela tuberculata
Neocicindela tuberculata

In the news

On this day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Kate Sheppard
Kate Sheppard

From today's featured list

The RailRiders celebrate their 2016 Governors' Cup championship.
The RailRiders celebrate their 2016 Governors' Cup championship.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are a Triple-A baseball team that has competed in the International League since 1989. The franchise has played under several names—including the Red Barons and Yankees—before adopting the RailRiders name in 2013. The RailRiders have completed thirty-five seasons. As of the 2024 season, the club has qualified for the postseason sixteen times, winning thirteen division titles and two Governors' Cup championships, in 2008 and 2016. They would win in the latter year, winning their first Triple-A National Championship, defeating the El Paso Chihuahuas. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Hamm (Westfalen) Hauptbahnhof

Hamm (Westfalen) Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the city of Hamm in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The station is one of the important InterCityExpress rail hubs in the eastern Ruhr area and is among the high-profile buildings of Hamm. The station opened in 1847 and was rebuilt in 1920. This photograph shows the interior of the station.

Photograph credit: A.Savin

20250918

18 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys

Alicia is the seventh studio album by Alicia Keys (pictured) and released on September 18, 2020. Alicia's mostly low-tempo and melodically subtle music reconciles her experimental direction with bass drum–driven R&B and piano-based balladry. The songs explore identity as a multifaceted concept, sociopolitical concerns, and forms of love within multiple frameworks. Keys described the album as therapeutic and reflective of greater introspection in herself. After a surprise announcement of its impending release in September, Alicia debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 in its first week and became Keys's eighth top-10 record in the US, while charting in the top 10 in several other countries. It received critical praise for Keys's nuanced vocal performances and the music's broad appeal, while her thematic messages were considered balanced, healing, and timely against the backdrop of unfolding world events. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album in 2022. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Jay Rayner
Jay Rayner

In the news

On this day

September 18

Old Faithful erupting

Today's featured picture

Little pied cormorant

The little pied cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos) is a species of waterbird in the cormorant family, Phalacrocoracidae. It is a common bird found around the coasts, islands, estuaries and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. Measuring 56 to 58 centimetres (22 to 23 inches) in length with a short bill, it is usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black, white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. This little pied cormorant was photographed in Freycinet National Park in Tasmania, Australia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

20250917

17 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics lecturer at the University of Oxford. It was the sequel to his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), in which many of the characters were playing-cards; in this novel the theme is chess. As in the earlier book, the central figure, Alice, finds herself in a fantastical universe. She passes through a large mirror into another world and finds that, just as in a reflection, things there are reversed, including logic. Eventually, after a succession of strange adventures, she wakes and realises she has been dreaming. The original illustrations are by John Tenniel. The book contains several verse passages and, like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, introduces phrases that have become common currency. Through the Looking Glass has been adapted for the stage and screen and translated into many languages. Critical opinion of the book has generally been favourable. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Jay Rayner
Jay Rayner

In the news

On this day

September 17: Constitution Day and Citizenship Day in the United States

Ronald Reagan publicly acknowledges AIDS for the first time, beginning at the 7:12 mark.

Today's featured picture

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. Part of the Maryland campaign, it was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It remains the bloodiest day in American history, with a tally of 22,727 dead, wounded, or missing on both sides. Although the Union Army suffered heavier casualties than the Confederates, the battle was a major turning point in the Union's favor. This 1887 lithograph by Thure de Thulstrup depicts the charge of the Iron Brigade near the Dunker Church.

Illustration credit: Thure de Thulstrup; restored by Adam Cuerden

20250916

16 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Socompa

Socompa is a large stratovolcano (composite volcano) on the border of Argentina and Chile. It has an elevation of 6,051 metres (19,852 ft) and is part of the Chilean and Argentine Andean Volcanic Belt. Socompa lies close to the pass of the same name where the Salta–Antofagasta railway crosses the border. Most of the northwestern slope of Socompa collapsed catastrophically 7,200 years ago to form an extensive debris avalanche deposit. The Socompa collapse is among the largest known on land with a volume of 19.2 cubic kilometres (4.6 cu mi) and a surface area of 490 square kilometres (190 sq mi). After the volcanic landslide, Socompa was rebuilt by the effusion of lava flows and much of the scar is now filled in. Socompa is also noteworthy for the high-altitude biotic communities that are bound to fumaroles on the mountain. They are well above the sparse regular vegetation in the region, which does not extend up the mountains. The climate on the mountain is cold and dry. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Garamut from Papua New Guinea
Garamut from Papua New Guinea

In the news

On this day

September 16: Malaysia Day in Malaysia (1963); Independence Day in Papua New Guinea (1975)

1839 British five-pound gold coin
1839 British five-pound gold coin

Today's featured picture

Asaro Mudmen

The Asaro Mudmen are a group of people in the Asaro River valley in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea who wear characteristic large decorative clay masks over their heads, accompanied by white body paint and long bamboo fingers. Likely inspired by traditional methods of obscuring faces during inter-tribal violence, researchers believe that the modern tradition of the Asaro Mudmen developed in the the village of Komunive during the second half of the 20th century, first as a marker of village identity, and then as part of a significant tourism industry. Today, Mudmen imagery has become a cultural symbol not just for Asaro, but for the province, and to some extent the country as a whole. This Asaro Mudman carrying his clay mask on his shoulder was photographed in 2008 in the village of Kabiufa, part of the Asaro valley.

Photograph credit: Jialiang Gao

20250915

15 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Red wattlebird

The red wattlebird is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. With a length of 33–37 cm (13–14½ in), it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-red wattles on either side of the neck, white streaks on the chest and a large bright yellow patch on the lower belly. Loud and conspicuous, the red wattlebird is generally found in trees, where it gets most of its food; occasionally it forages on the ground. It is one of the largest nectarivorous birds in the world, feeding from a wide variety of flowering plants. Insects also comprise part of its diet. It is territorial and at times aggressive towards birds of other species, often defending rich sources of nectar. Breeding throughout its range, the red wattlebird builds a cup-shaped nest in a tree and raises one or two broods a year. Although it has declined in places from land clearing, it is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Women's 400 metres hurdles medalists at the 2022 World Championships
Women's 400 metres hurdles medalists at the 2022 World Championships

In the news

Sushila Karki in 2021
Sushila Karki

On this day

September 15: Battle of Britain Day in the United Kingdom (1940)

Title page of the German government gazette issue proclaiming the laws
Title page of the German government gazette issue proclaiming the laws

From today's featured list

Papua New Guinea has designated a number of areas as potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites cover areas of both cultural and natural significance. Only one, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site, has become inscribed as an official site. Archaeology at this site has found evidence of the independent development of agriculture on the island of New Guinea. The other listings remain tentative. Many of these sites were selected following foreign proposals, and while they have national government support, there has been little or no progress towards the protections needed to lodge official nominations since the sites were tentatively listed in 2006. Due to the political power of local communities in the country, any successful nomination would require local support and cooperation. The nomination of this site was made with support from the Kawelka people, who continue to carry out traditional land-use practices at the site. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

2024 Central European floods

The 2024 Central European floods were a series of floods caused by a record heavy rainfall generated by Storm Boris, an extremely humid Genoa low. The flooding began in Austria and the Czech Republic, then spread to Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and then onwards to Germany and Hungary. The floods caused 28 fatalities and over 4 billion euros in damage. This photograph shows floodwater surrounding the Franciscan monastery in Kłodzko, Poland, on 15 September 2024.

Photograph credit: Jacek Halicki

20250914

14 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Mother Solomon

Mother Solomon (1816–1890) was a Wyandot nanny and cultural activist. Solomon was born along Owl Creek in Marion County, Ohio, to a Wyandot chief father. In 1822, her family moved to the Big Spring Reservation in Wyandot County, where elders taught her oral tradition. She learned English at a mission school and began attending the Wyandot Mission Church. Solomon married in 1833 and had several children. Some of them died before 1843, when the Indian Removal Act forced the tribe to move to Kansas, where they lived in poor conditions. Solomon had more children there. By 1860, her husband and remaining children had died. She remarried the Wyandot sheriff John Solomon; they relocated to near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1865. When John died in 1876, she began babysitting children, and her village nicknamed her "Mother Solomon". Solomon promoted Wyandot culture and advocated for the restoration of the mission church. A popular local figure, her death in 1890 was widely reported in newspapers. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Hilda Clark in a Coca-Cola poster
Hilda Clark in a Coca-Cola poster
  • ... that operetta soprano Hilda Clark appeared in a print ad (example pictured) as the "first [Coca-Cola] ambassador"?
  • ... that a schoolteacher predicted the existence of Iru hillfort after reading about the hill in an ancient poem?
  • ... that Anju Jason nearly quit taekwondo before he became one of the first Olympians for the Marshall Islands?
  • ... that Africa deindustrialised in the 1980s?
  • ... that Nevada City Firehouse No. 2 was built after the city burned five times within ten years?
  • ... that the medieval Gdańsk Crane was primarily being used by the late 19th century to lift ships for propeller repairs?
  • ... that two competing hypotheses seek to explain the unusual orbit of the exoplanet Nu Octantis Ab?
  • ... that Istana Park was designed to make the front area of the residence of the president of Singapore more prominent?
  • ... that Jenni's Quesadillas actually belongs to Elena?

In the news

Jair Bolsonaro in 2019
Jair Bolsonaro

On this day

September 14

Kumba Ialá
Kumba Ialá

Today's featured picture

Sclerophrys gutturalis

Sclerophrys gutturalis, also known as the African common toad or the guttural toad, is a species of amphibian in the family Bufonidae, the true toad. It is found in Africa in a region stretching from Kenya west to Angola and south to South Africa, and inhabits areas of forest, savanna and wetland. Males grow up to 90 millimetres (3.5 in) and females 120 millimetres (4.7 in) in length. The upper surface is buffish brown with variable irregular dark brown markings, while the underparts are pale and granular and the male has a dark throat. This photograph shows a S. gutturalis toad swimming in Lake Sibaya, South Africa.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

20250913

13 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Ackles and Padalecki, who portray Supernatural's two leads
Ackles and Padalecki, who portray Supernatural's two leads

The first season of Supernatural premiered on September 13, 2005, and concluded on May 4, 2006, after 22 episodes. It focuses on brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they track their father, John, who is hunting the demon who killed their mother and Sam's girlfriend. The brothers use their father's journal to continue the family business of saving people and hunting supernatural creatures. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (both pictured) star as Sam and Dean, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan recurring as John and Nicki Aycox as the demonic Meg Masters. This is the only season to air on The WB; subsequent seasons aired on The CW. The season averaged about 3.81 million American viewers and earned many award nominations, including two Primetime Emmy Awards for work done on the pilot episode. Some critics criticized the mostly anthology-like format, while others praised the show's emotional moments and brotherly chemistry between the lead actors. (This article is part of a featured topic: Supernatural season 1.)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

20th-century lithograph of Madri
20th-century lithograph of Madri
  • ... that some scholars dispute the Mahabharata's account of Madri (pictured) self-immolating on her husband's pyre?
  • ... that the creator of the series Anthology of the Killer improvised its game design by squeezing in more jokes and "arbitrarily" combining in-game locations?
  • ... that Ada Schnee, a former actress born in New Zealand, experienced World War I in East Africa as the wife of the German governor?
  • ... that one contemporary reviewer was suspicious of an unacknowledged translation of Les Malheurs de l'inconstance because "French principles and French depravity mark the whole work"?
  • ... that Canadian football player Arek Bigos left Poland to escape the communist regime?
  • ... that Cara Mehmed gained his freedom in a successful slave rebellion, but was later executed after he participated in an unsuccessful plot orchestrated by his former master?
  • ... that Rodger Bumpass, before becoming the voice of Squidward, was an announcer, film processor, and cameraman at an Arkansas TV station in the 1970s?
  • ... that an English mayor once brought a gold medallist home to his village in a Rolls-Royce?
  • ... that The Darkness Which Reveals at Siglap MRT station conveys that darkness can reveal instead of conceal?

In the news

Jair Bolsonaro in 2019
Jair Bolsonaro

On this day

September 13

John Calvin
John Calvin

Today's featured picture

Ustyurt Nature Reserve

Ustyurt Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Mangystau Region, southwest Kazakhstan, near the borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Established in 1984, it has an area of 2,230 km2 (860 sq mi) and lies within the Ustyurt Plateau. The reserve is intended to safeguard the desert as well as the rare flora and fauna in the area. It is home to 250 species of flora such as cactus, grey sage, feather grass, Anabasis salsa, and saltwort, as well as around 44 species of mammals such as the Ustyurt mouflon, saiga antelope, jeyran, fox and polecat. The reserve has a variety of landscapes, from steppes and depressions to pillars reaching several hundred metres in height, and features several Neolithic sites. This photograph shows an aerial view of the Karynzharyk Depression in Ustyurt Nature Reserve.

Photograph credit: Maksat Bisengaziev



20250912

12 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Felice Beato

Felice Beato (c. 1832 – 1909) was an Italian-British photographer. He was one of the first to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, portraits, and views and panoramas of the architecture and landscapes of Asia and the Mediterranean region. His travels let him create images of countries, people and events that were unfamiliar and remote to most people in Europe and North America. His work provides images of such events as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Second Opium War, and represents the first substantial body of photojournalism. Beato was the official photographer of the Nile Expedition led by G. J. Wolseley to Khartoum, Sudan, in relief of General Charles Gordon. Beato influenced other photographers; and his impact in Japan, where he taught and worked with other photographers and artists, was particularly deep and lasting. He pioneered and refined the techniques of hand-colouring photographs and making panoramas. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Liatu King
Liatu King

In the news

Charlie Kirk in 2024
Charlie Kirk

On this day

September 12

President Kennedy's speech

From today's featured list

Ninety-six episodes of My Name Is Earl, an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), aired. The first season premiered on September 20, 2005. Three additional seasons followed before the series concluded on May 14, 2009. The series was unexpectedly cancelled, ending on a cliffhanger. The series follows the titular character, Earl Hickey (portrayed by Jason Lee), an unemployed petty thief who lives in the fictional Camden County. After he wins the jackpot on a lottery scratcher, Earl celebrates and is struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run collision. While in the hospital, he discovers the concept of karma and decides to make a list of his bad deeds. He uses his lottery winnings to make up for them by helping the people he wronged. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Common ringed plover

The common ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. Its breeding range consists of much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland. It is a migratory bird and many individuals spend their winters in locations across Africa. Its breeding habitat is generally open ground on beaches or flats although some birds breed inland. They are commonly found both in low coastal plains and in cold uplands with sparse vegetation, in open habitats with little or no plant cover, where they nest on the ground. Breeding occurs from one year of age, with egg laying generally beginning around May. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid at intervals of one to three days, with the downy grey-buff chicks hatching after twenty-one to twenty-seven days. The common ringed plover forages for food on beaches, tidal flats and fields, usually by sight. It eats insects, crustaceans and worms, forages both by day and by night, and sometimes uses foot-trembling to reveal location of prey. This common ringed plover was photographed near Orkelsjøen, a lake in Oppdal, Norway.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

20250911

11 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Tumbler Ridge town hall
Tumbler Ridge town hall

Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 in 2021, the municipality encompasses an area of 1,558 km2 (602 sq mi). Located near the confluence of the Murray River and Flatbed Creek and the intersection of Highways 52 and 29, it is part of the Peace River South provincial electoral district and the Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies federal riding. It is a planned community, with the housing and infrastructure built simultaneously in 1981 by the provincial government to service the coal industry. After dinosaur footprints and fossils were discovered in the municipality, along with fossils of Triassic fishes and Cretaceous plants, the Peace Region Paleontology Research Center opened in 2003. The study of the area led to a recognition of its geological importance and listing in the UNESCO Global Geopark Network. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Coronation of Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Coronation of Baldwin III of Jerusalem

In the news

Charlie Kirk in 2024
Charlie Kirk

On this day

September 11: National Day of Catalonia

The Burlington Daily Hawk Eye Gazette reporting on the speech

Today's featured picture

Austin J. Tobin Plaza

The Austin J. Tobin Plaza was a large public square that was located on the World Trade Center site from 1966 until its destruction in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. It covered five acres (220,000 sq ft; 2.0 ha), making it the largest plaza in New York City by acreage at the time. The plaza opened as part of the original World Trade Center complex on April 4, 1973, and was renamed in 1982 after Austin J. Tobin, a former executive director of the Port of New York Authority. The plaza was damaged by a car bomb in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and was destroyed by Islamist terrorists from al-Qaeda eight years later on September 11, 2001. This photograph, taken in 1976 by the Hungarian-American photographer Balthazar Korab, shows an elevated view of the Austin J. Tobin Plaza as seen from 5 World Trade Center. The Sphere and Ideogram, two of several public sculptures in the plaza, are visible in the image.

Photograph credit: Balthazar Korab

20250910

10 September 2025 at 08:17

From today's featured article

Hydrogen's three main isotopes
Hydrogen's three main isotopes

Hydrogen is a chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant element, constituting about 75% of all normal matter. The Sun is mainly hydrogen in a plasma state. Under standard conditions, hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules with the formula H2; it is colorless, odorless, non-toxic and highly combustible. On Earth, hydrogen can exist in its gaseous state and in molecular forms, such as with oxygen in water (H2O). The most common isotope of hydrogen (1H) consists of one proton, one electron and no neutrons. Hydrogen gas was first produced artificially by the reaction of acids with metals. Henry Cavendish, in 1766–1781, identified hydrogen gas as a distinct substance and discovered its property of producing water when burned; its name means water-former in Greek. Its main industrial uses include fossil-fuel processing and ammonia production for fertilizer. Emerging uses for hydrogen include the use of fuel cells to generate electricity. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Chermin Island
Chermin Island

In the news

Giorgio Armani in 2009
Giorgio Armani

On this day

September 10

Light curve-based 3D-model of Pandora
Light curve-based 3D-model of Pandora

Today's featured picture

Plantago lanceolata

Plantago lanceolata, also known as the ribwort plantain, among other names, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia and has also been introduced elsewhere in the world, including North America, Oceania, Japan, South Africa and Chile. The plant is a rosette-forming perennial herb, with leafless, silky, hairy flower stems, typically growing to 45 centimetres (18 in) in height. The flower stalk is deeply furrowed, ending in an ovoid inflorescence of many small flowers each with a pointed bract. Plantago lanceolata is used in herbal teas and other herbal remedies and is also employed as a prop in various children's games. This P. lanceolata inflorescence was photographed in Kulna, Estonia.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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