Misplaced Pages

June 5

• One of these:
  1. ...that the chrysargyron tax forced some Byzantine families to sell their children into slavery and prostitution?
  2. ...that when the chrysargyron tax was abolished, the Byzantine city of Edessa celebrated with a week of festivities?

  — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-05 01:38

• ... that former movie actress Vera Ralston won a silver medal in the 1936 Winter Olympic Games and personally insulted Adolf Hitler in those games. Self-Nom, it's a stub but hopefully someone can expand this. Someonebay 03:54, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

  It's borderline according to the guidelines, but expansion is always better. I'd change the nomination to: ...that former movie actress Vera Ralston personally insulted Adolf Hitler in the 1936 Winter Olympics, and won a silver medal? — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-05 05:19

  ok whatever is better Someonebay 05:24, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• ... that Australian Olympic medal-winning swimmer Gary Chapman died in a fishing accident, after retiring from swimming to pursue this very hobby? (self nomBlnguyen | Have your say!!! 05:22, 5 June 2006 (UTC))

• ... that the Chartered Society of Designers is the world's largest and oldest chartered body of professional designers, and it is unique in that it is multi-disciplinary - representing designers in all design disciplines? -- (self-nom) S Masters 08:05, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

June 4

• ... that Heraldo Muñoz, former National Supervisor of the People's Stores under Allende is now Chile's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations? article by Dmcdevit, nom by ++Lar: t/c 02:34, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Wilhelm Hasenclever did not live to see the party he co-founded get its present name Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands? (self nom) -- grm_wnr Esc 21:18, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Stephen Leicht suffered a broken spleen in a go-kart accident at the age of 11, and was unable to participate in sports? Eight years later, he races in the NASCAR circuit. --D-Day 18:14, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the deployment of Panjandrum, an experimental British weapon devised during World War II, invariably resulted in the random firing of up to several dozen cordite rockets into the air? (self nom) GeeJo ⁄_(c) • 21:03, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that Liberty Fanfare, composed by John Williams, was commissioned to celebrate the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986? (self-nom) Flcelloguy (A note?) 18:08, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that Autism Every Day is a short film commissioned by Autism Speaks that has received praise from many parents of children with autism, but has been heavily criticized by actual autistics? Hossmann 14:38, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

  Or: ...that the film Autism Every Day, though praised by many parents of autistics, has been heavily criticized by people with autism? — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-04 14:56

• ...that Pando, an aspen, is the oldest known living being at 80,000 years old, and the heaviest at six million kilograms? Globeism 08:04, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
  • The hook could link to List of long living organisms, except that the list doesn't recognize Pando yet. Is this article long enough? Melchoir 10:30, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
  • Don't coral reefs weigh more? I've heard scientists say they consider a reef as one giant organism. — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-04 14:24

• ...that John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle inspired one of the pioneering works of British satire, and half a century later, fell down the stairs at the coronation of Queen Victoria? David | Talk 12:12, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

  I'd pick one or the other fact, not both. — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-04 14:21

  ...that when John Rolle, 1st Baron Rolle attended the coronation of Queen Victoria at the age of 82, he fell and "rolled quite down .. the steps"? David | Talk 18:56, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Teodor Kazimierz Czartoryski, an 18th century bishop of Poznań in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, fell asleep during the Sejm of 1764 and fell on a fellow bishop during his speech? -- self-nomPiotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 22:21, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

June 3

• ...that Humphrey the whale may be the most publicized Humpback whale in history, having twice wandered off his migration course into San Francisco Bay? selfnom Anlace 18:10, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that the remains of Henri Huet and three other noted war photographers, shot down in their helicopter over the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1971, have never been found? --self nom Cactus.man ✍ 09:13, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that Ukraine is the worlds' seventh largest steel-producing country although none of its steel companies is large enough to qualify for the Top-30 list of steel producers? - self-nomination by Ukrained 08:34, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't think lists are allowed on DYK. Plus, that article is almost entirely made of one image. smurrayinchester 08:43, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Well, the rules say nothing about lists. It not entirely a list by the way, but a ranking with numbers. Ukrained 21:15, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Stub. --Ghirla 08:59, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that in World War II, 27 U.S. Marines saved the lives of others by throwing themselves on exploding grenades. Pvt Richard K. Sorenson was one of only three who survived?--Looper5920 05:50, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

  Needs to be much shorter. — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-04 05:54

  There's a maximum length for DYK articles? Bizzare. Shimgray | talk | 10:54, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• I think he's referring to the length of the hook line, how about:
• ...that of 27 World War II U.S. Marines who saved others by throwing themselves onto exploding grenades, Pvt. Richard K. Sorenson was one of only three to survive? --Cactus.man ✍ 11:13, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

As the nominator of the topic I just wanted to add that I am not overly concerned with the semantics of the DYK nomination. I thought it was an interesting topic and if you can edit it to make it fit onto the main page then I am much obliged. I did not want to set off any arguments.--Looper5920 11:16, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I like Cactus.man's suggestion —ERcheck (talk) @ 03:46, 5 June 2006 (UTC) (article creator)

• ... that William Lee, likely the most publicized African American of his time, was a slave who served next to George Washington throughout the American Revolutionary War? -- (self-nom), Kevin Myers | (complaint dept.) 23:58, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

File:Pyramid lake contrast enhanced.jpg

• ...that cui-ui are large rare and endangered sucker fish endemic to Pyramid Lake, Nevada that an entire Native American tribe, the Paiute, subsisted on for at least 1000 years? selfnom Covalent 20:57, 3 June 2006 (UTC), who developed the article from a stub originally created by User:Toiyabe.

• ...that the grand Chartophylax was considered the right arm of the Patriarch of Constantinople? (self-nom) — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-03 16:35

• ...that Nicholas II of Russia and his family preferred the cosy apartments of the Anichkov Palace to the vastness of their official residence, Winter Palace? --self-nom by Ghirla 16:11, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

• Ambiguous hook line: they moved to Anichkov, spent more time there, sold Zimny or what? Anyway, hardly interesting part of the subject. May be architectural/construction history details are more interesting? Ukrained 21:07, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

  Please find another project for your habitual trolling. Trolls are not allowed here. --Ghirla 09:01, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that if a member state of the European Union breaches EU law and an EU citizen suffers a loss as a result, then, under the doctrine of state liability, the state in breach may be required to compensate the loss? Rudjek
• ...that in the Polish legislative election, 1930, due to government vote rigging and censorship, some opposition papers printed pictures of Nietzche with the caption 'He Died Crazy', because of his resemblance to the Polish dictator, Józef Piłsudski? --self-nom by Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 17:59, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
• ... that a Zayat is a traditional Burmese building used as an inn and for practicing Theravada Buddhism, sometimes at the same time? --self-nom (destubbed 4-Jun by nom) GRBerry 21:38, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

June 2

• ...that over 600,000 secondary students mobilized in protests in Chile are demanding educational reforms from the government of Michelle Bachelet?--GringoInChile 01:58, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that homeless advocate Ted Hayes is a conservative Republican, opponent of illegal immigration, and father of Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes?--self nom by Rockero 06:32, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
  • Stubby. More references than information. --Ghirla 16:11, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that the Virtual Boy had a cancelled spin-off of GoldenEye 007? --SeizureDog 04:54, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

  Stub, and not very interesting too. --Ghirla 16:07, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

  It's not a stub, its as big as it can possibly get. As a cancelled game there is very little information.--SeizureDog 02:32, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that British architect Ron Herron proposed building massive robotic walking cities in 1964? --Primalchaos 02:20, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the first Under Secretary for Science was sworn in on June 1, 2006? Daniel Bush 00:44, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

  The article is worthy, but could you think of a more interesting nomination? --Ghirla 16:07, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the poem The Absent-Minded Beggar was written to raise money for servicemen's families in the South African War, and gave its name to a number of appeals? selfnom, Shimgray | talk | 22:07, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
• ...that Marika Takahashi used real live dogs to create the costumes for her short film Marika Takahashi's Fitness Video For Being Appraised as an "Ex-fat Girl" --The_stuart 18:44, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

  Stub. --Ghirla 16:07, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the All Saints Church, Henley Brook, the oldest church in Western Australia, held its first service on the 10th January 1841 but the church wasn't consecrated until November 1848? (self-nom) Gnangarra 14:32, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

  Or, simply: ...that the All Saints Church in Henley Brook is the oldest church in Western Australia? — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-02 17:40

  • Either Gnangarra 00:05, 3 June 2006 (UTC)
    • The first one is better if it can be punched up a bit... IMHO anyway. ++Lar: t/c 23:00, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Stanisław Warszycki, a 17th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth magnate, gave rise to many legends about his wealth and cruelty?--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 17:58, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

  It would have been nice to make from one of these legends a hook for this nom. --Ghirla 18:00, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

  I thought about that, but well, legends are...legends, hard to verify. And there are so many variants its hard to even identify the most popular component. Maybe something with him being a ghost?--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus 21:08, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Arthur Rimbaud evoked the image of Venus Anadyomene in a sardonic poem that introduced cellulite to high literature? --article by User:Wetman, nom by Ghirla 16:23, 3 June 2006 (UTC) (don't take it too seriously, though :)

June 1

• ...that, according to Saint Petersburg lore, sculptor Klodt took revenge on a foe by depicting him prostrate under the tail of one of his horse sculptures at the Anichkov Bridge? --article by User:Odengatan, nom by Ghirla 16:33, 3 June 2006 (UTC), please vet my nom if needed
  • The hook is buried deep in the article, and isn't cited very well, and the picture proposed is a gallery pic, not one used in the article body... is that horse the one with the enemy underneath it? Article has a lot of potential though! ++Lar: t/c 22:08, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

How about simply:

• ...that the Anichkov Bridge in Saint Petersburg is noted for The Horse Tamer, a group of four neoclassical bronze sculptures by Baron Peter Klodt? --Cactus.man ✍ 08:58, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the Magdeburg Centuries is a 1300-year history of the Catholic Church, written particularly as a criticism of the papacy? (self-nom) --BRIAN0918 23:57, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that the erotic and scandalous tales of Aristides of Miletus are still being discussed after more than two millennia, even though not one word of them has survived? (self-nom replacing a mistaken redirect Wetman 22:49, 1 June 2006 (UTC))

• ...that a cento is a poetic work composed entirely of verses taken from other authors? (self-nom) --BRIAN0918 20:33, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that Pallister-Killian syndrome is a rare congenital genetic disorder that cannot be detected through prenatal blood tests because it occurs only in the chromosomes of skin cells? (self-nom) — Scm83x 06:40, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that a catholicon was a purported universal remedy and prophylactic taken orally or rectally? (self-nom) — ₀₉₁₈ • 2006-06-01 01:43

• ...that the Dnieper River reservoirs, if one of their dams is destroyed, may cause a devastating flooding in the Ukraine and also a nuclear disaster lethal across Europe? (self-nom) AlexPU 06:00, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
  • ...that the Dnieper River reservoirs, if one of their dams is destroyed, may cause a devastating flooding in Ukraine and also a nuclear disaster of an international scale? --alternative suggestion by Irpen as "accross Europe" seems too a strong statement. 04:54, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

May 31

• Two nominations for Yucca Mountain Johnny
  • ...that Yucca Mountain Johnny, a cartoon character created to explain nuclear waste disposal and the Yucca Mountain Project to children, has drawn unfavorable comparisons to Joe Camel? (self nom) --JerryOrr 22:57, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
  • ...that the United States Department of Energy created a cartoon miner, Yucca Mountain Johnny, in order to explain nuclear waste disposal to children? --Fastfission 01:13, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that in the 1920s stride pianoplayers would engage in musical improvisation battles called cutting contests ? (self nom) -- TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 23:22, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
  • This article is very stubby. It may technically be 1000 words (although I doubt it) but if it could be made longer and given more references I think it would be a better DYK nom. ++Lar: t/c 14:25, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

• ...that British railway company Network SouthCentral adopted a revised version of the famous red, white and blue livery used by their predecessor Network SouthEast, with the word "SouthCentral" in place of "SouthEast", and that it only existed for two and a half years? -- Cig1705, 21:12, 31 May 2006.
  • Looks like shameless promotion to me. --Ghirla 16:53, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
    • Not to logo geeks like me. I wanted to read that article beacuse of the hook. But it needs an image of the logo (in the article but not here) before I'd actually pick it. ++Lar: t/c 23:00, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

May 30

• ...that the Quem Quaeritis?, though only four lines long, is the heart of 650 years of later medieval drama?--Cassmus 10:42, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
  • I'd like to use this, but no sources are given. Also, without the quote/translation, it's stubbish. — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-03 01:55
    • There is no requirement to provide sources. Do you dispute any statement in particular? --Ghirla 09:47, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
      • Read the 2nd sentence of WP:NOR. I'd rather not present on the main page an article that doesn't follow our own guidelines. — BRIAN0918 • 2006-06-04 14:28
      • Put alternatively, and perhaps a bit more softly to avoid controversy (which we had rather a lot of at WPT:DYK#Requirement_for_referencing? recently), while there is no absolute requirement, it is one of our guidelines, and one we strongly encourage everyone comply with whenever possible. Admins, when faced with a choice among articles, are urged to use sourcing as an important selection criterion. ++Lar: t/c 19:52, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

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• ...that Russian Hussar Alexander Bulatovich (pictured) was a military aide to Ethiopian ruler Menelek II, a hieromonk in Greece, and leader of a banned religious movement? (Alexander Bulatovich)
• ...that racecar driver Stan Fox barely survived a crash in the 1995 Indy 500, but later died in a head-on collision on New Zealand's North Island?
• ...that KATRIN is an experiment to determine the mass of the neutrino by measuring the energies of electrons given off from the beta decay of tritium?
• ...that the film BloodSpell, licensed under Creative Commons, is the first feature-length production made using the computer game Neverwinter Nights?
• ...that Gestrinone, a medication for endometriosis that is banned by the IOC for its anabolic effects, has also been studied as a postcoital contraceptive?
• ...that Eton College owns its own rowboat manufacturer, Eton Racing Boats? (Warming up in an Eton Racing Boat)
• ...that the catastrophe was the final resolution of Ancient Greek tragedies, in which one or more main characters usually died?
• ...that the popular German snack Strammer Max takes its name from a slang expression for an erection?
• ...that Ukrainian Patriarch Mstyslav was enthroned at the age of 92?
• ...that Johannes Rietstap was the founder of modern heraldic theory in The Netherlands?
• ...that although he was king of the Isubus of Cameroon, Young King William lacked the authority to stop the execution of a man accused of witchcraft?
• ...that Cividade de Terroso (map pictured) was one of the main fortified cities of the Castro culture, a stone civilization in Iberia, eventually destroyed by the Romans? (The first map of Cividade, 1906)
• ...that General Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski was one of the architects of the Miracle at Vistula, the decisive battle of the Polish-Soviet War in 1920?
• ...that casting is the regurgitation of fur, feathers, and other undigestible material by hawks, to clean and empty their crops?
• ...that Chechen military commander Said-Magomed Kakiev has been declared a Hero of the Russian Federation four times, making him one of the most decorated Russian citizens?
• ...that Jane Colden was the first female botanist to describe flora in the United States?
• ...that the fog which filled the stadium during the 2006 Super 14 Final forced some spectators to leave the match and watch it elsewhere, just to see the players?
• ...that the Black-necked Stilt (pictured) appears to be dressed in a tuxedo, and the chicks can swim competently two hours after hatching? (Black-necked Stilt)
• ...that the rostral columns in front of the St. Petersburg Bourse were intended to serve as beacons and are still lit on ceremonial occasions?
• ...that the GayFest of 2005 was the first LGBT pride parade in Romania?
• ...that in the Bezdany train robbery of 1908, led by the future Polish dictator, Józef Piłsudski, the revolutionaries stole over 200,000 rubles?
• ...that the Caroline Books were a harsh argument against the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, commissioned by Charlemagne and sent to Pope Adrian I?
• ... that coccolithovirus, a giant double-stranded DNA virus, has 472 protein-coding genes, and is the largest known marine virus by genome? (Coccolithovirus attached to a Coccolithophore)
• ... that Russian opera in the 18th century was dominated by Italian composers and singers?
• ... that HMS Prince Albert was the first Royal Navy warship to have her main armament mounted in turrets?
• ... that a carmen was a spell or incantation among the Ancient Romans, of which the oldest surviving examples are the Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare?
• ... that Gabriel Fauré declared that his Requiem was "composed for nothing...for fun, if I may be permitted to say so"?
• ...that the energy policy of the United Kingdom adheres to carbon dioxide emissions reduction of the Kyoto Protocol, but accepts transition in 2006 to a net energy importer? (Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg)
• ...that Super Robot Wars: Original Generation, a strategy game featuring characters from major mecha animes, was originally never planned to be released in the United States due to licensing complications?
• ...that children sometimes stopped the Parenzana train by greasing rails with figs?
• ...that principles governing the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) date back to the diet of Ancient Greece?
• ...that the second subtitle of title III of the USA PATRIOT Act largely modifies the Bank Secrecy Act in an effort to make it harder for money launderers to operate, and to make it easier for law enforcement and regulatory agencies to police money laundering operations?
• ...that in 1766, the collapse of the cupola of St. Andrew's Cathedral, St. Petersburg (pictured) led to the arrest of the cathedral's architect? (Image:Andrewcathedral1930.jpg)
• ...that a carcass was a kind of artillery shell fired from a mortar or cannon to burn down enemy defences?
• ...that Major General Dan Harel was the Israeli commander in charge of the Gaza pull-out during the summer of 2005?
• ...that starting in 1893, Krupp armour quickly replaced Harvey armor as the primary form of protection used on capital ships?
• ...that the true identity and current whereabouts of Philip Staufen, also known as "Mr. Nobody", who wandered into a Toronto hospital in 1999 and was diagnosed with amnesia, are still unknown despite an international search?
• ...that the Crusade cycle is an Old French cycle of chansons de geste concerning the First Crusade and its aftermath?
• ...that, in the 1940s, the female fans of the Soviet tenor Sergei Lemeshev (pictured), often quarrelled with the fans of his rival, Ivan Kozlovsky? (Sergei Lemeshev)
• ...that the highest distinction among the Caloyers, a Greek monastic order, involves spending one's entire life alone, confined in a cave on top of a mountain?
• ...that Jesuit Filippo Salvatore Gilij proposed one of the earliest classifications of South American language families?
• ...that camelot is a woven fabric that might have originally incorporated camel or goat hair?
• ...that in order to subdue the heresy of Imiaslavie, the Russian Empire sent two transport ships and a gunboat to Mount Athos in Greece, and stormed the St. Panteleymon Monastery?
• ...that the Capitoline Games of Ancient Rome became so popular that the Romans counted periods of time by them, rather than their previous unit of lustrum?
• ...that one of the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro was named in honor of the pioneering Scottish Victorian photographer John Thomson? (John Thomson, self portrait with Honan Soldiers, 1871))
• ...that the Callippic cycle was a 76-year cycle used to align the lunar calendar with the solar year more accurately than the famous Metonic cycle?
• ...that Ilsa Konrads, former editor of Belle, was an Australian Olympic swimmer who set 12 world records?
• ...that HMS Ocean never anchored in British waters during her entire period of active service in the Royal Navy?
• ...that manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions are sociological concepts for understanding the hidden reasons for actions and customs?
• ...that Stravinsky wrote his 1948 Mass partially in response to the masses of Mozart, which he called "rococo-operatic sweets-of-sin"?
• ...that Manege Square (pictured) replaced a maze of tippling houses and taverns, traditionally known as "the belly of Moscow"? (Manege Square)
• ...that Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first female dentist in the United States?
• ...that Aristotle believed that a vital heat was produced in the heart, causing blood to boil and expand outward into the arteries with each pulsation?
• ...that Martin-Paul Samba went from being a favoured German collaborator to a feared rebel leader in colonial Cameroon?
• ...that the infant Red-bellied Lemur rides on both mother and father, but after age 33 days, only the father offers transport?
• ...that William Hawkins Polk, brother of President James Polk, was a U.S. Representative and ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples?
• ...that the Land Run of 1889 resulted in the founding of both Oklahoma City and Guthrie, whose populations grew from zero to over 10,000 in less than a day? (pictured: Flag of Oklahoma) (Flag of Oklahoma)
• ...that the circulation of major Soviet sports newspaper Sovetsky Sport has declined from 5,000,000 in 1988 to 122,903 in 2006?
• ...that The Marine Mammal Center has rescued over 12,000 sea otters, sea lions, dolphins and other species, but also produces important scientific discoveries regarding marine chemistry?
• ...that a 17th century Polish politician Mikołaj Sienicki held the office of marshal of the Sejm nine times and was called a 'Polish Demosthenes' for his oratory skills?
• ...that Karl Zinsmeister, a U.S. journalist and the new top domestic policy advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush, wrote a book-length Marvel comic book on the Iraq War?
• ...that 1970's Super Typhoon Joan, the largest storm of the season in size, is the strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines?
• ...that Morris Fidanque de Castro, a life-long government servant, was the first Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands who was born in the territory?
• ...that 19th-century Myriorama and moving panorama shows entertained audiences with stories of travel, adventure, and historic events scrolling past on huge rolls of painted canvas? (pictured: myriorama poster) (Myriorama poster)
• ...that Francisco Portusach Martínez was appointed acting-Governor of Guam after the capture of the island by the U.S. Navy in 1898 because he was the only U.S. citizen living there?
• ...that Breakfast in the Ruins is the second novel by Michael Moorcock to feature Karl Glogauer as its protagonist, the other being Behold the Man?
• ...that Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) cemetery in Belgium was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and contains the grave of the playwright Alan Bennett's uncle?
• ...that jazz trombonist Kai Winding's song "Time Is on My Side" became a U.S. top ten hit for The Rolling Stones in 1964, and has been covered by Michael Bolton, Wilson Pickett, Paul Revere & the Raiders and Vanessa Carlton, among others as recently as 2005?
• ...that taking photos with a perspective correction or "tilt and shift" lens can mitigate the effect of vertical perspective?
• ...that the intensity of a tropical cyclone (pictured) is usually determined by the Dvorak technique using only visible and infrared satellite images? (Tropical Storm Wilma regional imagery, 2005)
• ...that Corinthian brass was a priceless metal alloy allegedly created as the city's hoard of precious metals melted together during the burning of Corinth in 146 BC?
• ...that Irish American mob informant Danny Greene drove a green car, wore green jackets, and had his union office repainted and recarpeted in green?
• ...that Dracorex hogwartsia was a dinosaur named for its resemblance to the Hungarian Horntail, a dragon in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series?
• ...that Howard T. Markey, the first chief judge of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and a major general in the Air Force Reserve, asked his nursing home staff to alternate calling him judge and general?
• ...that roars from lions and tigers in the menagerie at Exeter Exchange in central London scared horses in the street outside? (A tiger)
• ...that the manor of Ropsha, near Saint Petersburg, was the scene of tortures, a regicide, and the honeymoon of a Grand Duchess of Russia?
• ...that more than 200,000 railroad workers participated in the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886, and the strike's collapse directly led to the formation of the American Federation of Labor?
• ...that Dogs Trust, a British animal welfare charity, provided AA wardens with pistols to painlessly euthanise animals injured in road accidents?
• ...that the 1635 Treaty of Sztumska Wieś between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden was of much interest to contemporary European diplomacy?
• ...that the Neues Museum in Berlin, which was almost completely destroyed in World War II, will be reopened in 2009, and exhibit the bust of Nefertiti (pictured)? (Bust of Nefertiti)
• ...that the European Maritime Safety Agency was founded in 2002 to help prevent maritime accidents and marine pollution, in response to the Estonia, Erika and Prestige sea disasters?
• ...that William H. Hastie was the first African American to be appointed judge of a Federal District court (of the Virgin Islands); to be appointed to a U.S. Court of Appeals (Third Circuit); and to be Governor of the Virgin Islands?
• ...that the 1996 season of the Super 12 was the first season of professional rugby union in the southern hemisphere following a US$550,000,000 deal between SANZAR and News Corporation?
• ...that Sal Castro was the teacher that inspired Mexican American students to protest unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District schools, resulting in the 1968 East L.A. walkouts?
• ...that Madagascar dry deciduous forests (such as Anjajavy Forest, pictured right) contain many endangered and endemic species of lemurs, boas, and chameleons? (Aerial photo of a portion of the Anjajavy Forest)
• ...that Robinow syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disorder whose facial deformities were described by Meinhard Robinow with the term fetal facies, due to the resemblance of some patients' faces to that of a fetus?
• ...that Jakub Uchański, a 16th-century primate of Poland, was suspected of heresy and summoned to appear before the inquisition in Rome?
• ...that Benjamin Franklin Tilley, the first American governor of American Samoa, was put on trial and removed from office for allegedly receiving a massage from a native?
• ...that a regional park established to protect Nevėžis River ecosystem in Lithuania also breeds wisents?
• ...that the motif of "La Paloma," written by Sebastián Iradier in Cuba around 1863, can be traced back to an episode during the Greco-Persian Wars in 492 BCE?
• ...that, although Mozart never visited Kroměříž, much of the Academy Award-winning film Amadeus was filmed at the local episcopal residence (pictured)? (Kroměříž Bishop's Palace)
• ...that A Perfect Vacuum, a 1971 book by Polish author Stanisław Lem, is an anthology of imaginary reviews of nonexistent books?
• ... that the disputed Sir Creek, a tidal estuary, has prevented India and Pakistan from setting a permanent maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea?
• ...that Harry Pursey started his career as a boy seaman in the Royal Navy, retired with the rank of Commander, and served as a Member of Parliament for twenty-five years?
• ...that Harvard's prestigious annual Dudleian lectures, endowed in 1750 for denouncing the supposed errors of Catholicism, were held by the Catholic Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in 1998?
• ...that Dutch football manager Clemens Westerhof is credited with turning the Nigerian national team into a perennial powerhouse in African football, having guided them to victory in the 1992 African Cup of Nations as well as their first FIFA World Cup participation in 1994?
• ...that the historical painting called the Black Admiral (pictured), long thought to depict an African-American Revolutionary War officer, has now been discovered to be a 1970s fraud? (The Black Admiral)
• ...that partly because of issues highlighed by the London matchgirls strike of 1888, the Salvation Army opened up its own match factory in Bow, London in 1891, which used harmless red phosphorus and paid better wages?
• ...that Joseph Wallace Oman, a future Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, was awarded a Navy Cross during World War I for commanding the seized German SS Vaterland (renamed the USS Leviathan), and delivering almost 120,000 troops to the war effort in Europe?
• ...that during the French Revolution, the lawyer defending Marie Antoinette, Claude François Chauveau-Lagarde, came under such suspicion for the able defense he made, that he was forced to defend himself before the Comité de sûreté générale?
• ...that the 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry, a regiment of the British Indian Army, uniquely possessed an Honorary Colour granted for service under General Lake in 1803 and employed an additional jemadar to carry it?
• ...that the Mundum Neriyathum (pictured) is a remnant of the ancient saree worn by women in the South Indian state of Kerala including the Nair community noted for their matrifocality? (Mundum Neriyathum)
• ...that LT United's Eurovision Song Contest 2006 entry "We Are The Winners" was so well-received by the Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, that the group were invited to his Presidential Office to perform the song live for him?
• ...that the first pilgrimage made by Christopher Columbus upon discovering America was to the Royal monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, the principal house of the monastic order of the Hieronymites?
• ...that Yakov Kulnev, a Russian general killed in action during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, was reputed to live in poverty, in order to emulate the soldiers of Roman antiquity that were his ideal?
• ...that the seal of Baruch ben Neriah, a legendary 6th century BCE scribe and disciple of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah, was found imprinted on two clay bullae excavated in 1975 and 1996?
• ...that the Basilica of Begoña in Bilbao, Spain has 24 bells, each imported from Switzerland?
• ...that schools of traditional Japanese arts such as Go, calligraphy, tea ceremony, Noh theatre and martial arts are based on a hereditary system of grand masters called Iemoto? (pictured: Sen no Rikyū, founder of 3 schools of arts) (Sen no Rikyū)
• ...that Eastley End House, in Surrey, was used as a base for "burglar-hunting" parties?
• ...that with some 150,000 customers per day, the Seventh-Kilometer Market outside of Odessa, Ukraine, is among the largest markets of the world and consists almost entirely of shipping containers?
• ...that Garry Parker ran the full length of the pitch at Wembley Stadium to score a goal for Nottingham Forest in the final of the Simod Cup against Everton in 1989, which Forest won 4-3?
• ...that legislation concerning slavery in ancient Greece allowed guardians of unmarried women who lost their virginity to sell them as slaves?
• ...that the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel (map at right) is a proposed underwater tunnel for rail transport of freight between central New Jersey and southern New York City, United States?(Cross Harbor Rail Tunnel Map)
• ...that Tanaka Shosuke is the first recorded Japanese to have travelled to the Americas in 1610, on the Japanese-built ship San Buena Ventura?
• ... that in the case of Sue v Hill, the High Court of Australia decided that the United Kingdom was a "foreign power" to Australia, recognising Australia's complete independence?
• ...that during the Iberian War, Kavadh I tried to make peace with the new emperor Justinian I by attempting to have Justinian adopt his son Khosrau I?
• ...that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of the Republic of Kalmykia and head of the World Chess Federation, built the multi-million dollar Chess City complex for hosting international chess tournaments?
• ...that after winning Germany's only Eurovision victory in 1982 with a record margin, Nicole performed her reprise of the winning song "Ein Bisschen Frieden" in four different languages?
• ...that a group of angry American colonists inspired by the Boston Tea Party gave the owner of a tea ship, Peggy Stewart (pictured) the option to burn his ship or be hanged on October 19, 1774? (Peggy Stewart)
• ...that Michael Moorcock wrote the book The City in the Autumn Stars in tandem with The Laughter of Carthage, one during the day, and the other at night?
• ...that ergs are huge (> 125 km²) fields of sand dunes and that approximately 85% of all the Earth's mobile sand is found in ergs that are larger than 32,000 km²?
• ...that cracker butterflies acquired their name because of the unusual sound that males produce as part of their territorial displays?
• ...that advanced practitioners of Japanese tea ceremony are awarded ceremonial tea names that may incorporate the names of animals, trees or flowers, natural phenomena, or personal characteristics, or may be based on Buddhist teachings?
• ...that Richie Evans holds the record for the most NASCAR championships with nine NASCAR Modified championships, including his posthumous championship in 1985, the first year of the Whelen Modified Tour?
• ... that the first commission of printmaker Hashiguchi Goyo (pictured right, Goyo's Kamisuki) was to organize the layout and illustrations of Natsume Soseki's novel I Am a Cat? (Kamisuki (Combing the hair), colour woodblock print, 1920)
• ...that the oldest remaining structure showing the establishment of Buddhism in Australia are two bodhi trees planted by Sinhalese immigrants on Thursday Island in the 1890s?
• ...that Harold Hardwick, an Australian swimming gold medallist at the 1912 Olympics, was also a national boxing champion and later an army colonel?
• ...that throughout the Second World War, there were four formations that carried the name of Polish 8th Infantry Division and two of them existed simultaneously?
• ...that the MacHeths were a Gaelic kindred who raised several rebellions against the Scotto-Norman kings of Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries?
• ...that Broadway producer Jed Harris was the inspiration for both Laurence Olivier's interpretation of Richard III, and Walt Disney's Big Bad Wolf?
• ...that Heart Mountain (pictured) in Wyoming, USA, was transported to its current location by the largest landslide ever discovered, approximately 50 million years ago? (Heart Mountain, Wyoming, USA)
• ...that tent pegging is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation?
• ...that the University of Liberia, founded in 1862, is the oldest institute of higher learning in West Africa?
• ...that an unnamed hurricane in October, 1804 brought up to three feet of snow to parts of New England?
• ...that Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki, a peasant, became a Polish national hero after he captured a Russian cannon during the Battle of Racławice?
• ...that one of the Sunken Forests of New Hampshire off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire, hasn't been above the surface of the Atlantic Ocean since 1978?
• ...that the Transport typeface was created for use on British road signs (pictured) following the introduction of the motorway network? (A road sign with the Transport typeface)
• ...that people with a Schatzki ring can develop sudden crushing chest pain, often termed the "steakhouse syndrome", if they do not chew their food properly?
• ...that the Sansenke, or "three houses of Sen," the three main schools of Japanese tea ceremony, are all associated with 16th-century tea master Sen no Rikyu and his descendents?
• ...the movie Spy Game depicts a burn bag, albeit used in an unintended manner?
• ...that Jim Roper was credited with NASCAR's first Strictly Stock (now NEXTEL Cup) win after apparent winner Glenn Dunnaway was found to have illegally modified springs?
• ...that, although Catherine II of Russia wished Sophia Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo to remind her of the Hagia Sophia, the church was built in an austere Palladian style?
• ...that each kind of nut in mixed nuts must compose between 2% and 80% of the total weight to pass inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration? (Mixed nuts)
• ...that Duke Kahanamoku won the 100m freestyle at the 1912 Olympics after the eventual silver medallist Cecil Healy lobbied against Duke's semifinal disqualification for turning up late?
• ...that Patrick Carr's statement that British troops were not to blame in the Boston Massacre was the first use of the "dying declaration" exception to the general inadmissibility of hearsay evidence?
• ...that the unanimous decision Holmes v. South Carolina (reversing the conviction of a man who was barred from arguing that another man committed the crime) was the first decision written by Samuel Alito as a Supreme Court Justice?
• ...that James W. Patterson, a Senator from New Hampshire, was a professor of mathematics, astronomy, and meteorology?
• ...that Battlefield Baseball, a Japanese film, features elements of the sports, martial arts and horror genres, as well as including three musical numbers?
• ...that Super Typhoon Chanchu of 2006 (pictured) was only the second super typhoon recorded in the South China Sea? (Super Typhoon Chanchu at peak intensity)
• ...that Ukrainian politician Mykola Tomenko is also an Afghan war veteran and a noted historian?
• ...that Domenico Gabrielli, one of the first composers to write solo music for the violoncello, was himself a virtuoso cello player and earned himself the Italian dialect nickname Minghino dal viulunzeel among his contemporaries?
• ...that Rodney J. Baxter, known for the Yang-Baxter equation in statistical mechanics, was the first doctoral graduate in theoretical physics from the Australian National University?
• ...that Dominican baseball player Tetelo Vargas led the Dominican Republic's winter baseball league in 1952, hitting for an average of .350 at the age of 46?
• ...that, during the Mongol invasions of Georgia, Queen Rusudan of Georgia informed Pope Honorius III that the Mongols were pagans, not Christians, as thought on account of their fighting Muslims? (pictured: Kingdom of Georgia) (Georgia: 12th century)
• ...that The Nationwide Project was a media audience research project at the University of Birmingham that influenced media and cultural studies?
• ...that John Konrads, an Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer who set 26 individual world records, later became the Australasian director of L'Oréal?
• ...that in the Kasabach-Merritt syndrome, tumours of blood vessels can cause life-threatening bleeding complications in infants?
• ...that the Agony of Doha is a term used by fans of the Japanese national football team to refer to the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification match where Japan lost its World Cup place to South Korea?
• ...that Merritt-Chapman & Scott, a marine salvage and construction firm, investigated the USS Maine sinking in 1898, sank the USS Moody in 1933, and raised the Normandie in 1943? (pictured: MC&S Salvage Tug) (Salvage tug Relief)
• ...that, once completed, the Stateline Wind Project on the Oregon-Washington border in the United States will be the largest wind farm in the world?
• ...that in the Polish legislative election, 1947, the communist-controlled Polish government, advised by specialists from Soviet Ministry for State Security, ensured its victory by vote rigging?
• ...that in the 1848 Moray Firth fishing disaster on the east coast of Scotland, 124 boats sank and 100 fishermen perished, leading to a major redesign of fishing boats in the following years?
• ...that Laurynas Gucevičius was the first professional Lithuanian architect in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and is the most famous representative of Lithuanian classicism?
• ...that the critical behaviour of the spherical model in statistical mechanics has been solved for arbitrary real positive dimensions, and is the same for dimensions greater than four?
• ... that the Kisdon Force (pictured) is not an elite military unit, but rather a waterfall in North Yorkshire, England? (Kisdon Force waterfall)
• ...that Hell Below, a 1933 WW I film, set the pattern for many WW II submarine dramas, and featured the deliberate sinking of USS Moody, slated for destruction by the London Naval Treaty?
• ...that Mukh O Mukhosh (The face and the mask), directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan, is the first full-length Bengali language feature film to be produced in the erstwhile East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh?
• ...that over-illumination, the use of unnecessarily intense light, not only wastes 1.5 billion barrels of oil per year, but is also linked to increased incidence of headache, fatigue, stress, coronary artery disease and erectile dysfunction?
• ... that the Arabic poet Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz ruled as caliph of the Abbasid dynasty for only a single day before he was strangled to death?
• ...that the San Francisco garter snake is an endangered species capable of digesting toxic newts but is not found in San Francisco?
• ...that chaki (pictured), tea caddies for Japanese tea ceremonies, are traditionally made from wood, bamboo, or ceramic, and are classified by material, shape and the type of tea they are designed to hold? (A red lacquered chaki)
• ...that Ernst Reuter, after having not been approved by the Soviets as the elected mayor of post-war Berlin, became the first mayor of the non-Soviet controlled part of the city, West Berlin?
• ...that Makhir of Narbonne was a Babylonian-Jewish scholar who settled in Narbonne, France at the end of the 8th century, and his descendants were leaders of the local Jewish community who bore the title of "nasi" (prince)?
• ...that the nucleus of the 13,000 manuscripts that are just part of the Biblioteca Marciana of Venice, is made up from the personal library of Petrarch and the collection of Cardinal Bessarion?
• ...that John Davies, the U.S. District Court judge who presided over the trial of a group of LAPD officers in the Rodney King incident, won gold for Australia in the 200m breaststroke at the 1952 Olympics?
• ...that ship tracks (pictured) are clouds that form around the exhaust released by ships and appear as long strings over the ocean? (Ship tracks over the western Atlantic Ocean)
• ...that Patience Dabany, former First Lady of Gabon, is also a successful recording artist?
• ...that the first mizuya (水屋, literally "water room") was created by 16th-century Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyu for his tea room?
• ...that, as a result of the Treaty of Yazhelbitsy, the medieval state of Muscovy doubled in size?
• ...that Hulk Hogan's Pastamania was a restaurant located in the Mall of America and created by the WWE's Hulk Hogan, and that it failed spectacularly?
• ...that, during the two-month Second Battle of Smolensk, the Red Army broke through the German defense setup, recaptured Smolensk, and started to liberate occupied Belarus? (Smolensk streets after liberation)
• ...that the movie The Iron Ladies is based on a real-life team of transsexuals and homosexuals that won the Thai national volleyball tournament?
• ...that the United States has a numerical system of bicycle routes (similar to the system for roads and highways), which hasn't been expanded since its creation in 1982?
• ...that although the director of Bollywood comedy Malamaal Weekly has offered money to anyone who can show that it is not an original work, several reviewers have labelled it a remake of Waking Ned?
• ...that the Soviet censors initially discouraged the performance of "The Victory Day", one of the most popular Russian songs to come out of World War II?
• ...that the 44 hour and 54 minute transit time of the 1905 Scott Special between Los Angeles, California, and Chicago, Illinois, wasn't beaten in regular railway operations until the 1937 launch of the Super Chief? (Santa Fe promotional publication for the Scott Special)
• ...that there is a dispute over when the Chief Whip's powers governing the votes of the Barisan Nasional's Members of the Malaysian Parliament are in force?
• ...that the Carnac stones, with over 3000 neolithic menhirs, contain the largest stone rows of its kind in the world?
• ...that the 17th century Field Cathedral of the Polish Army was one of many buildings destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Warsaw Uprising, and was restored to its former glory between 1946 and 1960?
• ...that DJ Gruff, pioneer of Italian hip hop, was forced to retract a song violently attacking Articolo 31, another Italian hip hop band?
• ...that the Yuba Goldfields, said to resemble intestines from the air, are a bizarre collection of gravel mountains, ponds, and streams that remained a major source of gold long after the California Gold Rush?
• ...that Rex, Ronald Reagan's pet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, lived at the White House in a lavish doghouse decorated with framed portraits of the First Family? (Rex, presidential dog)
• ...that, although Louis IX of France won the Saintonge War against England, he chose not to annex Guyenne on account of dynastic sensibilities? Louis IX in battle)
• ...that the shortest binomial name of a species is Ia io, which belongs to the Great Evening Bat?
• ...that Creigh Deeds lost the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia by only 323 votes out of almost two million cast?
• ...that Kevin Berry, former Pictorial Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, won the 200m butterfly at the 1964 Summer Olympics?
• ...that the Reverend John Thomson, distinguished landscape painter and former minister of Duddingston Kirk, is often credited with originating the famous Scots adage "We’re a' Jock Tamson’s bairns"?
• ...that Michigan State University academic programs include the United States' first University-level packaging program? (MSU Wells Hall)
• ...that the Indigenous Australian languages had no written form until colonisation, when they were transcribed into the Latin alphabet?
• ...that according to Thomas Carlyle, Prussia's victory in the minor Battle of Hoyerswerda wrecked the 1759 campaign of the anti-Prussian coalition in the Seven Years' War?
• ...that Lord Simon of Glaisdale ended his career as a Law Lord and cross-bench life peer, but was earlier a Conservative MP who held three ministerial positions?
• ...that Kevin O'Halloran, a swimming gold medallist at the 1956 Summer Olympics, died after accidentally tripping and shooting himself?
• ...that the Swiss municipality Rüegsau is connected to its neighbor Hasle bei Burgdorf by what is probably the longest wooden arch bridge in Europe, at a length of 58.5 meters?
• ...that the Mafeking Cadet Corps, volunteer boy cadets in the Siege of Mafeking, are sometimes seen as the forerunners of the Scouts, and were depicted on one of the only British stamps not to depict the monarch? (Mafeking Cadet Corps)
• ...that dead cats were reportedly thrown into the grave of "Rape-master General" Colonel Francis Charteris?
• ...that NASA terraforming expert Christopher McKay has explored the Gobi Desert, Siberia and Antarctica to study extremophilic life forms?
• ...that tickets bought for the ceremonial opening of Kiev Republican Stadium scheduled for June 22, 1941 were still valid 7 years later, as the event was "postponed until after the Victory" due to the Nazi invasion to the USSR?
• ...that in the Shanghai ghetto, a part of the city occupied by Imperial Japan, about 20,000 German and Austrian Jews escaped the Holocaust?
• ...that graves in Singapore are exhumed 15 years after burial, and the remains are cremated or re-buried?
• ...that the Peruvian song "El Cóndor Pasa" was popularised by a 1970 cover version by Simon and Garfunkel, although the original Quechua lyrics were entirely re-written?
• ...that in the aftermath of the Defence of the Polish Post in Danzig, in the Polish September Campaign of 1939, all the Polish civilians who had held out for 15 hours against the SS-led assault were executed?
• ...that the vagaries of the Couesnon River place Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy rather than Brittany? (The mouth of the Couesnon at Mont Saint-Michel)
• ...that until the 1990s, the Heckler & Koch MP5 and the Uzi were the only weapons designed outside of the United States, that were as widespread in Hollywood productions as the U.S.-produced Colt M1911 pistols, M16 assault rifles, Tommy Guns and revolvers?
• ...that Marie Selipha Sesenne Descartes, better known simply as Sesenne, was a Saint Lucian singer and cultural icon who was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1972?
• ...that the snipers of the Kremlin Regiment killed a total of more than 1,200 German soldiers and officers during the Soviet-German War?
• ...that bowls player Willie Wood was the first athlete to compete in 7 Commonwealth Games, despite being barred from the 1986 games in his home country of Scotland for refusing to reclassify as an amateur?
• ...that the Russian Futurists 1912 manifesto, A Slap in the Face of Public Taste, argued that past artists such as Pushkin, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy should be "heaved overboard from the steamship of modernity"? (El Lissitzky's poster for the opera Victory over the Sun)
• ...that Michael Matz, who trained the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, saved the lives of four children on the ill-fated United Airlines Flight 232 in 1989, and also carried the U.S. flag at the 1996 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremonies?
• ...that the statues of St. Andrew and Samson from the Fountain of Samson in Kiev were stored in a museum before the beginning of WWI, saving them from destruction by the Bolsheviks?
• ...that Martyn J. Fogg, a doctoral student in planetary science at the University of London and a dental surgeon, wrote the first technical book on terraforming and planetary engineering?
• ...that the unconventionally named Boots Mallory was a teenage dancer and model who appeared in Hollywood films of the 1930s, largely as a result of her good looks?
• ...that Miss Cranston pioneered the social phenomenon of tea rooms, introducing "fairyland"-like interiors designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh? (Catherine Cranston)
• ...that the war between Russia and Sweden from 1741 to 1743 involved a change of ruling dynasties in both countries?
• ...that throughout the development of science, many ideas have been obliterated by incorporation?
• ...that the Strépy-Thieu boat lift in Belgium is the tallest boat lift in the world at 73 metres high and has a structural mass of 200,000 tonnes?
• ...that Ruparel College in Mumbai, India boasts nuclear physicist Anil Kakodkar and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai among its alumni?
• ...that the Gaylord Building, key to building the I&M Canal, was restored so successfully that Reagan presented Gaylord Donnelly, millionaire grandson of a former owner, with a President’s Award for Historic Preservation? (Gaylord building)
• ...that Pablo Picasso's Dora Maar au Chat, a 1941 portrait of the painter's mistress, recently sold for $95.2 million?
• ...that disqualification protests were lodged against Clare Dennis, the winner of the 200m breaststroke at the 1932 Summer Olympics, on the grounds of her "inappropriate" costume which exposed her shoulder blades?
• ...that India's Operation Meghdoot to capture the Siachen Glacier in 1984 was the first assault launched in the world's highest battlefield?
• ...that newly-launched First News, a British weekly newsmagazine for children with a unique focus on current events, is headed by "editorial overlord" and ex-Mirror editor Piers Morgan?
• ...that Huron University, the first institute of higher education to grant a degree in the then-Dakota Territory, closed in 2005 after 123 years of existence and its assets were auctioned off?
• ...that actinoform clouds form a distinct leaf-like or spokes-on-a-wheel pattern, and can spread out to over 300 kilometers across? (Actinoform cloud over the eastern Pacific Ocean)
• ...that Israfil Mamedov, the first Azeri Hero of the Soviet Union, killed about seventy Germans, including three officers during the Battle of Moscow on December 3, 1941?
• ...that Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island was used as a staging area by the Union Army during the American Civil War, and that more than 230 Union troops were buried there?
• ...that controlled water landings or ditchings by commericial airliners, whilst rare, can often be survived by passengers and crew?
• ...that the final episode of Kamen Rider Stronger, a Japanese tokusatsu television series, features appearances from the main characters of every previous series in the franchise?
• ...that in 1988 the Greek passenger ferry, City of Poros, was the victim of a terrosist attack by members of the Abu Nidal Organisation which left nine tourists dead and ninety eight injured?
• ...that the Moorish Revival spread around the globe as a preferred style of 19th-century synagogue architecture, because the Mudéjar style was associated with the golden age of Jewry in medieval Muslim Spain? (PilsenSynagogue)
• ...that following the Mississauga train derailment of 1979, nearly 250,000 people had to be evacuated for up to five days while toxic chemicals that had spilled onto the railway tracks were cleaned up?
• ....that Escape from Paradise, a book which documents a Singapore woman's divorce, was removed from bookstores and libraries in the country in 2002, even after it had been reviewed in the Singapore press?
• ...that in Persia, non-Muslims were considered to be najis (ritually unclean) by Shi'a Muslims, and were not allowed to go outside in rain or snow for fear that some impurity could be washed from them onto a Muslim?
• ...that the Funicular dos Guindais was originally built to carry cargo - including port wine - from the Ribeira quayside to the centre of Porto, and is now a tourist attraction and one of the world's steepest counter-balanced cable railways?
• ...that the Parachute Jump, an 80-m steel tower, was relocated to Coney Island two years after the 1939 New York World's Fair? (Coney island parachute jump
• ...that forensic electrical engineering is a branch of forensic engineering whose primary role is to investigate whether a fire was caused by the failure of an electrical appliance?
• ...that the Merton Thesis holds that Protestantism had significant influences on the course of the scientific revolution?
• ...that Sara Christian was the first woman to compete in a NASCAR race, the only woman to have a Top Five finish, and the recipient of the 1949 United States Drivers's Association Woman Driver of the Year award?
• ...that the character of Betts, played by Andrew Paul, was the only inmate seen to be released from the borstal–albeit temporarily–during the controversial British film Scum?
• ...that prisoners of the Iraqi Special Tribunal are transported in armored buses called Rhino Runners?
• ...that the audience of the Dorset Garden Theatre in Restoration London found it fashionable and convenient to arrive by boat, thereby avoiding the crime-ridden area of Alsatia? (Dorset Garden Theatre)
• ...that Dmitry Pavlov, who was appointed to the rank of General of the Army in 1941, was the highest-ranking Soviet commander to be executed for military incompetence during the World War II, only to be exonerated in 1956?
• ...that rail transportation in Okinawa dates back to 1902, when the island's first line started operations to haul sugarcane, but the Okinawa Monorail is the only line still in operation?
• ...that Höhlgangsanlage 8, built in Jersey during World War II under the occupation of the Channel Islands by German forces, was a partially completed underground hospital complex with over 1 km of tunnels?
• ...that according to the Marlovian theory of Shakespearean authorship, works attributed to William Shakespeare were actually written by playwright Christopher Marlowe, who faked his own death in 1593 to continue writing under a Shakespeare pseudonym?
• ...that Livadia Palace, a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, was the setting of the 1945 Yalta Conference between the Big Three?
• ...that the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, designed by David B. Steinman in 1931, came in so far under budget that another bridge was built with the money saved? (Waldo Hancock Bridge)
• ...that Olaus Johannis Gutho (d. 1516), who was a student at the newly founded University of Uppsala from 1477 until at least 1486, and later became a monk in the Abbey of Vadstena, left seven bound volumes of lecture notes that have been preserved until today?
• ...that Corippo, despite being a contender for Switzerland's smallest municipality with a population of only 17, has its own website, coat of arms, mayor and town council?
• ...that three years after Anders Uppström had published his edition of the 6th-century Codex Argenteus, a dying library janitor presented him with ten leaves that had been missing from the manuscript for over two decades?
• ...that the Free Economic Society, founded at the instigation of Catherine II of Russia in 1765, was briefly closed down by the imperial Russian authorities in 1900 amid accusations of fomenting revolutionary upheaval?
• ...that Novgorod's medieval river pirates, called ushkuiniki, wreaked havoc along the Volga River as far downstream as Kazan and Astrakhan?
• ...that the Tennessee State Museum has one of the largest collections in the United States of weapons, flags, and uniforms from the civil war? (Hendrick Island debris)
• ...that the International Cricket Council awarded Australia and New Zealand the hosting rights to the 2015 Cricket World Cup because they were sufficiently impressed with their 2011 bid which lost to Asia by 7 votes?
• ...that since the floods of 2004-2005, the riparian areas of Hendrick Island have been choked by debris from upstream in the Delaware River?
• ...that Nerima Daikon Brothers is a rare musical comedy format anime series that pokes fun of Junichiro Koizumi, Michael Jackson, Bae Yong-Joon, and other contemporary topics in Japan?
• ...that the media reports that Deborah Freund, Vice Chancellor and Provost for Academic Affairs at Syracuse University, is to replace Albert Carnesale as the chancellor of UCLA?
• ...that the English composer Anthony Payne, who completed a version of Elgar's third symphony, has also composed a version of Elgar's incomplete Pomp and Circumstance March No. 6?
• ...that the affair between Teresa Bagioli Sickles and Philip Barton Key was the motive for the murder committed by Teresa's husband, who became the first person to successfully use the insanity defense in U.S. legal history? (Theresa bagioli Sickles)
• ...that, during the Russo-Swedish War, 1656-1658, the Russians had to lift their siege of Riga after foreign officers of the Russian flotilla had defected to the other side?
• ...that David Clyde was the first person selected in the 1973 MLB Draft and signed to a $125,000 bonus, the highest bonus ever given to a draft pick at the time?
• ...that Nikolai Skoblin was a general in the counterrevolutionary White Russian army, a leader of the expatriate Russian All-Military Union, a Bolshevik double-agent, and a Gestapo agent?
• ...that the Chesed-El Synagogue, built in 1905, is the second synagogue for the Jewish community in Singapore, and was one of the first places to use gaslights in Singapore?
• ...that Russian sculptor Anna Golubkina used the same model for her sculpture, The Old Age, as Auguste Rodin had used for his sculpture, The Thinker, 14 years earlier? (Anna Golubkina)
• ...that Frank Beaurepaire, a Lord Mayor of Melbourne, member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and multi-millionaire tyre businessman was a six-time Olympic medallist in swimming who set 15 world records in his swimming career?
• ...that The Masked Rider mascot of Texas Tech University wears a black and red outfit and rides his black horse around to enthuse fans of the Texas Tech Red Raiders?
• ...that Michelle Ford was the first woman to win individual swimming medals at the Olympics in two distinct specialized strokes?
• ...that the Lake Tanganyika passenger ferry MV Liemba began its life as a German warship in World War I, spent eight years on the bottom of the lake, and later portrayed the Empress Luisa in the film The African Queen?
• ...that the houses at Roman Bulla Regia in Tunisia were built in two levels, a ground level to catch winter sun and a subterranean one round an open atrium for coolness in summer?
• ...that Cedric Griffin, the only University of Texas football player ever to return a blocked field goal for a touchdown, was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings?
• ...that firing of Anna Walentynowicz, a Polish free trade union activist, was one of the events that led to the giant wave of strikes in Poland and eventually the creation of Solidarity?
• ...that Cyclone Mala was the strongest tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal to be named, although several unnamed cyclones have been stronger?
• ...that when Rollie Free rode his motorcycle to a land speed record in 1948, he was wearing only a Speedo bathing suit, a shower cap, and a pair of borrowed sneakers?
• ...that Gustav Adolf von Götzen, a German explorer and Governor of German East Africa, was the first European to set foot in Rwanda?
• ...that Reaper, a 105-year-old historic Fifie herring drifter, nearly sank off the north east coast of England after being restored and put back into service as a museum ship? (Reaper)
• ...that the Kremlin stars, crowning five towers of the Moscow Kremlin since the 1930s, are made of ruby glass?
• ...that John Devitt was awarded a gold medal in the 100m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome despite all three timekeepers awarding a faster time to the silver medallist?
• ...that the Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party, a Maoist group, took part in the Liberation War of Bangladesh but continued armed activities after the independence of the country?
• ...that Władysław Filipkowski, a Polish resistance fighter and commander of the Lwów Uprising against Nazi Germany occupiers in 1944, was soon afterwards arrested by the Soviet NKVD and imprisoned for three years?
• ...that Moscow City Hall, built in the 1890s to the tastes of the Russian bourgeoisie, was converted by Communists into the Central Lenin Museum after its rich interior decoration had been plastered over? 100px|Moscow City Hall
• ...that Lydia Sokolova, born in Wanstead as Hilda Munnings, was the principal character dancer of the Ballets Russes and the first English ballerina in the company?
• ...that during the Battle of Hel, one of the longest battles in the 1939 Polish September Campaign, Polish forces temporarily separated the peninsula from the mainland, forming an island?
• ...that Greyfriars Kirkyard, famed for its association with Greyfriars Bobby, is haunted by the spirit of "Bluidy Mackenzie" and featured in the early photography of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson?
• ...that when Edwin J. Cohn gave public demonstrations of the newly-invented blood fractionation machine, he used his own freshly-drawn blood which, when the machine exploded after clogging, led to the first several rows of the audience being covered in blood?
• ...that the Capitoline Wolf, the icon of the founding of Rome, is actually an Etruscan bronze statue depicting a she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus? (The Capitoline Wolf)
• ...that Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso was murdered while investigating the privatization of the country's largest bank?
• ...that although archaeologists in Singapore have discovered many artifacts, they do not have government support for their work, and there is no centralised place to store the artifacts?
• ...that the Battle of Zhuolu, fought in the 26th century BC and the second recorded battle in Chinese history, is often considered a pivotal moment in the establishment of the Han Chinese civilization?
• ...that Nikolay Glazkov, a Soviet poet, is credited with having coined the term samizdat, which has come to be internationally known?
• ...that Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, a castle in the Rhine that Victor Hugo described as a “ship of stone”, also used it's well as a dungeon? (Burg Pfalzgrafenstein)
• ...that on Christmas Eve 1942, in the Tatsinskaya Raid, the Red Army's 24th Tank Corps captured the German airfield that was conducting the Stalingrad relief airlift?
• ...that the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, a bird endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, engages in anting, a behavior in which birds rub ants on their feathers?
• ...that the mummified remains of outlaw Hazel Farris helped raise funds for the Bessemer Hall of History in Bessemer, Alabama?
• ...that The Stewardesses, the most profitable 3-D film in history, was notorious for still being edited during the first year of its of showing in theaters?
• ...that French singer Édith Piaf dedicated her recording of the song, Non, je ne regrette rien, to the French Foreign Legion?
• ...that, during half a millennium, the Croÿ family produced two cardinals, seven bishops, nine field marshals, twenty generals, and thirty two knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece? (Arms of Philippe I de Croÿ)
• ...that the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry suffered 330 casualties, including 120 dead, in eight minutes at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the largest number of fatalities received by any federal infantry unit in the entire American Civil War?
• ...that the Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum, a medieval didactic poem, was considered a scholarly medical work that was seriously discussed until the 19th century?
• ...that in Miller v. Jackson the Court of Appeal of England and Wales found that a cricket club was liable in negligence and nuisance when sixes were hit over the boundary onto neighbouring property, and that it is best known for the lyrical dissenting judgment of Lord Denning, MR?
• ...that the English Sundew, a carnivorous plant with wide distribution in the northern hemisphere, originated from a hybrid involving a plant with localized distribution in the Great Lakes area? (Drosera anglica with prey)
• ...that pitcher-outfielder Clint Hartung was hyped as Cooperstown-bound but played so poorly for the New York Giants that his name has become synonymous with rookies who flop?
• ...that Protmušis is a quizbowl competition that has been taking place in Vilnius, Lithuania since 1997
• ...that a private citizen, Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, entirely funded the construction of the Mahim Causeway, a major throughfare connecting the island city of Mumbai (Bombay) with its north-western suburbs?
• ...that the Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
• ...that the Willow Tearooms, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, is the most famous of many new Glasgow tearooms opened in the early 20th century due to the emergence of the Temperance movement? 100px|The Room de Luxe in the Willow Tearooms
• ...that in the Battle of Gdynia during the Polish September Campaign, the German armed forces captured Gdynia, an important port and industrial center of the Second Polish Republic?
• ...that the SS leader Felix Landau temporarily spared the life of the Jewish artist Bruno Schulz, because Landau liked his art and wanted the artist to paint a set of murals for his young son's bedroom?
• ...that the Ford Mustang SSP, in addition to being advertised by Ford as "chasing Porsches for a living", was also used as a pursuit car for the Lockheed U2 spy plane?
• ...that in the Night Attack skirmish, Vlad III Dracula is said to have been "one of the first European crusaders to use gunpowder in a deadly artistic way"?
• ...that a bull terrier named Stubby attained the rank of sergeant during World War I? (Sergeant Stubby)
• ...that Kongara Jaggayya was the first Indian film actor to be elected directly to the Parliament?
• ...that Camille Gravel, a Louisiana Democrat and civil rights advocate, was highly influential in state and national politics despite never holding office?
• ...that the Uruguayan Invasion was a musical phenomenon of the 1960s distinctly similar to the British Invasion, with rock bands from Uruguay rapidly gaining popularity in Argentina?
• ...that the Battle of the Lower Dnieper is considered to be one of the largest battles in world history, involving almost 4,000,000 men on both sides and stretching on a front 1,400 kilometers wide?
• ...that the Senyavin Islands of Micronesia were named after Dmitry Senyavin, who destroyed the Ottoman Fleet in the Battle of Athos in 1807? Image:Athosbattle.jpg
• ...that The Tanganyika Rifles mutinied in 1964, seizing control of Tanganyika for days before surrendering to the Royal Marines?
• ...that the calls of the Red-throated Ant-Tanager, a noisy passerine bird native to the Caribbean, include a scolding raaah or nasal pip pik, and the song is a throaty whistled cherry quick cherry quick cherry quick cherry quick?
• ...that Jefferson Pier in Washington, D.C. was a survey monument for the first meridian of the United States, replacing one set by Thomas Jefferson in 1793, and that it was later used as a mooring bollard on the Potomac River?
• ...that, during the Battle of Königsberg, German troops were subjected to Soviet propaganda, telling them that they were trapped in a pocket and that their resistance was pointless?
• ...that Isaac Newton was so unhappy with the publication of his Arithmetica Universalis, he considered buying all the copies of the first edition so he could destroy them? (Arithmetica)
• ...that a pioneer automobile manufacturer, August Duesenberg, went bankrupt after his failure to sell his first mass produced vehicle, although his race cars had won seven of the first ten places in the 1920 Indianapolis 500-mile race?
• ......that the Battle of Domašov during the Seven Years' War was the first big military success of Ernst Gideon von Laudon, which made Prussian King Frederick the Great finish the siege of Olomouc and leave Moravia?
• ...that Robin Philipson, former President of the Royal Scottish Academy, was particularly renowned for his cockfight paintings?
• ...that in 1132 George of Antioch was given the title ammiratus ammiratorum, which translates as Admiral of Admirals in modern English, but meant Emir of Emirs to contemporaries?
• ...that the world's earliest-known reservoirs were constructed by the people of the ancient city of Dholavira, which is located on an island in Kutch? (Dholavira)
• ...that, in the history of wound care, the Ancient Greeks were the first to differentiate between acute and chronic wounds, calling them "fresh" and "non-healing", respectively?
• ...that the sepoys lost the Central India Campaign (1858) because most of their officers were elderly men who had attained rank through seniority while seeing little action and receiving no training as leaders?
• ...that the Birdsville Races in Queensland, Australia used to have separate races for horses that ate grass and those that ate corn?
• ...that in his poem Dushenka, the 18th-century Ukrainian-born poet Ippolit Bogdanovich changed the setting of Apuleius's story about Cupid and Psyche to a contemporary Russian village? (Ippolit Bogdanovich)
• ... that the 1065-m long Črni Kal viaduct on the A1 highway is the longest viaduct in Slovenia?
• ... that a bouchon is a type of traditional restaurant in Lyon, serving such delicacies as pig's head cheese, tripe soup and andouillette?
• ... that Peter the Great was the principal editor of the Vedomosti, the first newspaper printed in Russia?
• ... that Hugh Green received the Walter Camp Award and the Lombardi Award, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996?
• ... that the Neo-Renaissance architectural style encompasses such dissimilar structures as the Opera Garnier and Hôtel de Ville in Paris, the National Theatre in Prague, the Reichstag in Berlin, Mentmore Towers near London, Vladimir Palace in Saint Petersburg, and the Public Library in Boston? Image:4807-09 bates5a.jpg
• ... that the 111th Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force successfully foiled an attack by the German Luftwaffe about an hour before World War II broke out in Westerplatte ?
• ... that Yueh Hai Ching Temple is the oldest Taoist temple in Singapore, and Chinese Emperor Guang Xu presented a plaque to the temple in 1907?
• ... that Will Jefferson is probably the tallest professional cricketer ever, at about 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall?
• ... that Philip II of Macedon used the Social War (357-355 BC) as an opportunity to further the interests of his Macedonian Empire in the Aegean region?
• ... that the choir of Stavropoleos Church, an Eastern Orthodox church in central Bucharest, Romania, sings (neo-)Byzantine music, now a rare occurrence for churches in Romania? Image:Stavropoleos detail 2.jpg
• ... that Arthropleuridea is an extinct class of myriapods which includes, at over 2 meters long, the largest terrestrial arthropods that ever lived?
• ... that King James IV of Scotland once used Mingarry Castle as a stronghold for fighting off clan Donald in the late 15th century?
• ... that some call the Atchison County Historical Museum the "world's smallest presidential library"?
• ... that during the American Civil War, an early Union steam torpedo boat, USS Spuyten Duyvil, was used to clear obstructions so President Lincoln could visit the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia after General Lee's withdrawal?
• ... that French-born artist Jan Piotr Norblin is famous in Poland for illustrating many important historical moments of the last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and is considered one of the most important painters of the Polish Enlightenment? Image:Jan piotr norblin autoportret.jpg
• ... that the Canadian Parliament Buildings have housed several dozen stray cats since the 1970s?
• ... that the 2005-06 World Sevens Series in rugby sevens will be the first in seven seasons of the competition to be won by a team other than New Zealand?
• ... that Australia has a National Public Toilet Map, allowing users to locate the 14,000 public toilets across the country to four decimal places of latitude and longitude?
• ...that Count Nikolay Kamensky, a Russian commander in the Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812, died after catching a fever on the battlefield? (Image:Kamensky.jpg)
• ...that BASICODE programs were broadcast by radio for recording onto compact audio cassettes, and could run on nearly all 8-bit home computers of the 1980s?
• ...that the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, which is located in the Moti Shahi Mahal in Ahmedabad, was built by Emperor Shahjahan and was formerly the residence of the Governor of Gujarat?
• ...that in the 1936 Siege of the Alcázar, around 1000 Spanish Nationalists in Toledo held a medieval castle for two months despite aerial and artillery bombardments and a sustained assault by 8000 Republican troops?
• ...that the Middle Awash is a site along the Awash River of Ethiopia in which some of the most famous extinct hominids have been discovered?
• ...that Peter of Eboli, a monk from Eboli, wrote the first book on the therapeutic properties of spa mineral waters around 1220? (Peter of Eboli)
• ...that a Mercedes roadster was colloquially named after a wealthy German call girl, Rosemarie Nitribitt, who was murdered in Frankfurt in 1957?
• ...that Stamp mills, first used during the Renaissance in such diverse industries as paper making, oil-seed processing, and ore refining, work to crush their material by repeatedly dropping heavy weights on them?
• ...that Ivan Shuvalov, who was a favourite of Empress Elizabeth, 27 years his senior, used his influence at court to establish the first permanent theatre, university, and academy of arts in Russia?
• ...that despite inherent design flaws, the Polish Navy ordered two Wicher-class destroyers from a French shipyard in order to help secure a line of credit for the Polish government?
• ...that a working steam clock is located in the Gastown district of Vancouver, British Columbia? (Image:GastownSteamClock.jpg)
• ...that the Ashfork-Bainbridge Steel Dam, one of only 3 such steel dams built in the United States, and located in the Kaibab National Forest, is the only one still in service?
• ...that it took thirty railway cars to move the Fersman Mineralogical Museum collections from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in 1934?
• ...that the Splittail, a cyprinid fish native to the Central Valley in California, is the sole living member of its genus?
• ...that canoe racer Josefa Idem, a 1984 Olympic bronze medalist for West Germany, later took an Italian citizenship and became the first female Olympic medalist in canoeing for her new country?
• ...that the Bobby Goldsboro song "Honey" (1968), Goldsboro's first and only number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart, frequently appears on "worst songs of all time" lists?
• ...that the modern states of Armenia and Azerbaijan occupy those territories that were conquered by Ivan Paskevich from Persia during the Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828? (Ivan Paskevich)
• ...that the Trinity Church is a permanent building in Antarctica and the most southern church in the world?
• ...that the Gujarat Vidyapith was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi as a means to establish an education system for all Indians free of British rule?
• ...that mellah is a walled Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco, an analogue of the European ghetto?
• ...that the Kirghiz novel The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years takes place over the course of one day and chronicles efforts of two cosmonauts, one American and one Soviet, to make contact with intelligent life from another planet?
• ...that the reforms of the Great Sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, based on the French revolution, were annulled by the military intervention of the Russian Empire?
• ...that a detailed Development Guide Plan exists for each of Singapore's 55 urban planning areas? (Urban planning areas in Singapore)
• ...that the Red Army conducted the successful Toropets-Kholm Operation in January 1942, threatening to encircle German Army Group Centre?
• ...that the culture of medieval Poland, the earliest stage of Polish culture, was heavily influenced by the Catholic Church?
• ...that Women Strike for Peace played a crucial role in bringing down the HUAC and were acknowledged by both U Thant and John F. Kennedy as a factor in the adoption of the Limited Test Ban Treaty?
• ...that the Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union, an Indian farm labourers movement, claims a membership of over 2.5 million?
• ...that the French light cruiser Marseillaise was sabotaged by her own crew on November 27, 1942, in order to prevent the Germans from capturing the ship?
• ...that the General Union of Syrian Women released a ground-breaking report on domestic violence against women in April 2006? (General Union of Syrian Women)
• ...that Bud Neill was a Scottish newspaper cartoonist whose best loved strip was set in "Calton Creek", a fictional Arizona outpost of the wild west populated with Glaswegians, including Sherriff "Lobey Dosser" who rode a two-legged horse?
• ...that Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka is the oldest mosque in Singapore and was established in 1820, just a year after the British set up a trading post in Singapore?
• ...that the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company carrying passengers and freight from Sydney to the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, between 1850 and 1955, was known as the 'Pig and Whistle line' because it was said that the fleet ships would wait an hour for a pig but not a minute for a passenger?
• ...that the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther contains 66,000 exhibits, including Reaper, a 104-year old restored fifie herring drifter?(right|Scottish Fisheries Museum)
• ...that William Hamilton, a surgeon of British East India Company, cured the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar from recurrent illness, thereby hastening the process of achieving the grant that allowed the company to legally trade in India?
• ...that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
• ...that the Peking Plan saved three destroyers of the Polish Navy from imminent destruction at the beginning of the Second World War?
• ...that The University of Texas School of Law has been involved in two separate court cases, one of which reached the Supreme Court, which significantly redefined university admissions criteria across the United States?
• ...that the Russo-Persian War of 1796 was cancelled by Tsar Paul I within one month after his ascension to the Russian throne?
• ...that Bohdan Khmelnytsky's son Yurii, who spent half his adult life as a monk, was repeatedly proclaimed Hetman of Ukraine by various foreign powers? (right|Yurii Khmelnytsky)
• ...that the Jugendweihe is a secular alternative to confirmation in Germany and became a Socialist pledge in the atheist GDR?
• ...that completion of the West Coast Highway viaduct — the longest in Singapore — was delayed for more than two years because of the contractor's financial problems?
• ...that Charles Schepens, an influential ophthalmologist and regarded by many in the profession as "the father of modern retinal surgery", was also a leader in the Nazi resistance movement?
• ...that Katie Melua agreed to re-record her song "Nine Million Bicycles" (2005) in response to criticisms from physicist Simon Singh, who described its lyrics as "an insult to a century of astronomical progress"?
• ...that Linimo in Aichi, Japan claims to be the world's first commercial automated "Urban Maglev" train, but it has to be shut down when it is too windy? (right|Linimo)
• ...that the wars in Lombardy, fought between Venice and Milan from 1425 to the signing of the Treaty of Lodi in 1454, mark the emergence of five great Italian territorial states and the European concept of "balance of power"?
• ...that Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, a German Jewish painter, is considered "the first Jewish painter" because his work was informed by his cultural and religious roots at a time when many of his contemporaries chose to convert?
• ...that many cases of nuclear espionage are thought to have occurred since the Manhattan Project?
• ...that Henrik Hybertsson was the shipbuilder responsible for building the Regalskeppet Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage and is now on display in Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden?

• ...that Stanisław Mokronowski was the fourth person to receive the Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish military decoration? (right|80px|Stanisław Mokronowski)
• ...that Robert Triffin predicted the reasons for the collapse of the Bretton Woods System over ten years before it happened?
• ...that Doctor Who spoofs range from a 1964 novelty Christmas single by the Go-Go's called "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas With A Dalek" to two sketches on Saturday Night Live?
• ...that the Warsaw Arsenal was the scene of heavy fighting during the Warsaw Uprising of 1794?
• ...that Catherine II's Instruction to the Legislative Assembly was banned in pre-revolutionary 18th-century France as a "libertarian book"?
• ...that the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards recognise British achievement in the space industry, and that the awards have the same proportions as the monolith from Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey? (right|Sir Arthur Clarke Award)
• ...that the Finnish Communist leader Arvo Tuominen broke with the Soviet Union during the Winter War and ordered the Finnish Communists not to assist the Red Army?
• ...that the EMAS has been so effective in monitoring traffic conditions on Singapore's expressways that the LTA removed most SOS telephones from the expressways as a result?
• ...that the Vanessa Carlton song "White Houses" (2004) provided the inspiration for a charity which aimed to raise money for Habitat for Humanity International?

• ...that Carrollton Viaduct in Baltimore, Maryland is the world's oldest railway bridge still in use, and that its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1828? (right|90px|Carrollton Viaduct)
• ...that Anna Marly originally wrote Chant des Partisans, the song that became the anthem of the French Resistance following the prohibition of La Marseillaise, in Russian?
• ...that the village of Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland, is the site of the first confirmed case of H5N1 avian flu in the United Kingdom, and was once home to a 200-strong fishing fleet?
• ...that methoxychlor is used as an insecticide instead of the chemically related DDT because it apparently does not lead to bioaccumulation?
• ...that the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, apart from being the seat of the Spanish Inquisition was also the meeting place between Columbus and Isabella before he made his voyage to the New World in 1492?
• ...that 1985's only super typhoon, Super Typhoon Dot, is the sixth-most intense tropical cyclone in terms of wind speed to affect Bicol Region, Philippines between 1947 and 2004? (right|Super Typhoon Dot of 1985)
• ...that the explorer Peter Semenov of Tian Shan presided over the Russian Geographical Society for more than 40 years?
• ...that PZL-230 Skorpion attack aircraft, cancelled in 1992, was one of the most ambitious airplane projects of Poland?
• ...that Colonel Peter Egerton Warburton was a British explorer who crossed the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia in 1873 by camel?
• ...that German artist Johnny Friedlaender, after surviving internment in Nazi concentration camps, taught Carcan and Boulanger and continued his own career to gain international recognition? right|90px|A work by Friedlaender
• ...that a Katsa is a field intelligence officer of the Mossad who collects information and runs agents, similar to the case officer of the CIA?
• ...that more than 30 km² of the Losiny Ostrov National Park forest fall within the boundaries of Moscow?
• ...that retired U.S. Air Force general John Chain is the chairman of the board of Northrop Grumman, director of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and director of ConAgra Foods, Inc.?
• ...that the m/42 Swedish military bicycle became so popular when it was sold as surplus that a company was created to produce copies of it almost 50 years after production ended? right|90px|The "m/42"
• ...that Raul Macias, a Cuban-Mexican boxer parlayed his popularity into a successful career in telenovelas?
• ...that Return from the Stars is regarded as the most optimistic of Stanisław Lem science fiction utopian novels?
• ...that Marguerite Porete, author of the mystical text The Mirror of Simple Souls, was burnt at the stake for heresy in 1310?
• ...that despite its name, the Australian Mathematics Competition receives entries from 38 countries and that the students are ranked with respect to other students in their states, not all of Australia?
• ...that the Chontal Maya of Tabasco, Mexico consider themselves the direct descendents of the Olmec civilization?
• ...that a cross was found amidst the debris of the September 11, 2001 attacks? right|90px|The 9/11 "Cross"
• ...that Chandra Prakash Mainali, who led an armed Maoist revolt in eastern Nepal in 1971, later served as Minister of Local Development in 1994-95?
• ...that the flèche is an aggressive fencing attack generally used with the foil and épée weapons, and is actually illegal to use with the sabre under USFA rules?
• ...that in their final mission of World War II, No. 453 Squadron RAAF escorted the aircraft that returned Queen Wilhelmina to the Netherlands after she spent three years in exile in Britain?
• ...that John Weston became a published poet after retiring from his post as Ambassador to the United Nations?
• ...that during the Moscow Uprising of 1682, two maternal uncles of the 9-year-old tsar Peter I were lynched in his presence? (right|Moscow Uprising of 1682 - Painting)
• ...that the 1963 Federal Election in Australia was the first election where all Indigenous Australians could vote?
• ...that William G. McGowan underwent a heart transplant while serving as chairman of MCI Communications?
• ...that the Nigerian Baptist Convention is the third largest Baptist convention of the Baptist world?
• ...that Nig Cuppy, having scored five runs against the Chicago Colts on August 9 1895, holds the record for most runs scored by a pitcher in a major league baseball game?

• ...that the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, by the time of its construction in 1912 was the tallest building in Warsaw, Poland, but was demolished less than 15 years after its construction, in the mid-1920s? (right|Alexander Nevsky Cathedral )
• ...that Philip J. Perry, the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is the son-in-law of Vice President Dick Cheney?
• ...that the irony mark is an atypical punctuation mark that, along with others, has been featured in some French artistic and literary publications to denote typographically different meanings in sentences?
• ...that the Karoo National Park in South Africa is a leading force in the resettling of the Black Rhinoceros and Riverine Rabbit back into the wild?
• ...that the Millennium Monument in Novgorod, weighing more than 65 tons, incorporates bronze sculptures of 129 eminent figures in Russian history?

• ...that American painter Julian Scott entered the Third Vermont Regiment during American Civil War at the age of 15 and four years later was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor? (right|Art by Scott)
• ...that videokeratography is a non-invasive medical imaging technique for mapping the surface topology of the cornea?
• ...that the Northland Center opened in 1954 and was the United States' first suburban shopping mall?
• ...that the Mutsun language became an extinct Native American language in 1930 mainly because of the Spanish missionaries who made the Mutsun learn the Spanish language?
• ...that the Kingston-Port Ewen Suspension Bridge opened in 1921 to complete U.S. Route 9W, was built in part by a female welder?
• ...that the Russian clown Slava Polunin celebrated the 20th anniversary of his theater by organizing its funerals?

• ...that the decoration of the 9th-century Asturian La Cava Bible is limited to four crosses, elaborate initials, and frames surrounding explicits and titles? (right|La Cava Bible)
• ...that the song Justified and Ancient, by The KLF (and their alias The JAMs), featured regularly in their work from 1987 to 1991, and was a statement of rebellion inspired by characters from The Illuminatus! Trilogy novels?
• ...that the Battle of Lechaeum was the first battle in ancient Greek history in which heavy infantry, or hoplites, were defeated by spear throwers, or peltasts?
• ...that Sir Richard Wild, at the age of 54, was the youngest Chief Justice of New Zealand since 1875?
• ...that the Church of the Twelve Apostles in the Moscow Kremlin was consecrated in 1656 as a domestic church of Patriarch Nikon?
• ...that the Autumn of Nations, which began in Poland, marked the end of the Cold War?
• ...that Kajetan Sołtyk, 18th century Bishop of Cracow, an important politician in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was eventually declared insane by his political opponents and removed from power? right|75px|Sołtyk
• ...that Souvenir of Their Visit to America was the first Beatles' EP released in America, but did not chart?
• ...that the Azerbaijani geologist Farman Salmanov, who discovered huge oil fields of Western Siberia in 1961, was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor at the unusually young age of 37?
• ...that the Foxglove was chosen as the county flower for four different U.K. counties in a competition run by the plant conservation charity Plantlife in 2002?
• ...that after Egyptian land reform individual land ownership in Egypt was limited to a maximum of 200 feddans?
• ...that at the end of World War II, ten German nuclear scientists were detained and wiretapped at a house in England as part of Operation Epsilon in order to determine how close the Nazis had come to building an atomic bomb?
• ...that the city of Tashkent was formerly surrounded by a 25-kilometer-long wall featuring twelve city gates? (right|Depiction of 12 city gates of Tashkent)
• ...that Dining in refers to a formal military dinner, a practice thought to have begun in 16th Century England in monasteries and universities, adopted by the British Army during the 18th Century and revived in the U.S. Military during World War II?
• ...that Arcady Boytler was born in Russia but produced some of the most successful films of the Golden age of the cinema of Mexico?
• ...that while noise mitigation consists of numerous strategies to reduce environmental sound levels, a major breakthrough is the hybrid vehicle in moderate speed operation?
• ...that while the monthly average rainfall for Oahu in August is 0.8 inches, 1959's Hurricane Dot dumped 2.66 inches of rain over the island?
• ...that the Russian imperial Field Marshal Peter Lacy started his military career at the age of 13, defending Limerick during the Williamite war in Ireland?

• ...that before restoring ferry service across the Hudson River between Newburgh and Beacon, NY Waterway had to strengthen the boat's hull so it could withstand river ice? (right|Newburgh-Beacon ferry)
• ...that although the parents of Juan Bautista Rael, a Stanford University professor and folklorist, sent him away for schooling due to limited educational options in their town, he focused his academic career on the folk plays and religious songs of that region?
• ...that such characters of medieval romance as Palamedes, Dinadan, and Lamorak make their first appearance in the prose romance of Tristan?
• ...that in 1827, the only open pit amber mine in the world was established in Yantarny?
• ...that the Russian Admiral Samuel Greig died days after his most famous victory—the Battle of Hogland?
• ...that Saint Jack, a 1979 fiction film about a prostitute in Singapore and the only Hollywood film about Singapore to be shot on location, was banned in the country until 2006?
• ...that the Ostrog Bible of 1580 was the first complete printed edition of the Bible in a Slavic language? right|90px|Title page of the Ostrog Bible
• ...that the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center is the northernmost supercomputer cluster in the world?
• ...that Werowocomoco was the chief village of the Powhatan Confederacy in Virginia where Captain John Smith of Jamestown was rescued from execution by Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan?
• ...that the pseudonymous author of the defunct left-wing muckraker blog Media Whores Online has not yet been identified?
• ...that Proclamation of Połaniec from 1794, abolishing serfdom in Poland, is regarded as the most famous legal act of the Kościuszko Uprising?
• ...that the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that operated in Arizona, New Mexico and California from July 1, 1897 till July 1, 1902?
• ...that the first Slavonic translations of the Bible were prepared by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century? (right|Saints Cyril and Methodius)
• ...that the level of copyright protection of photographs in Switzerland depends, among other things, on whether the image constitutes an "individual expression of thought"?
• ...that there were six claimants for the title of Roman Emperor in the Year of the Six Emperors (AD 192–193)?
• ...that the Glasgow Inner Ring Road was only half complete when it was abandoned in 1980, leaving several incomplete junctions, one of which ends abruptly in mid-air?
• ...that J.S. Bach's renowned Goldberg Variations was named for 14-year-old virtuoso harpsichordist and composer Johann Gottlieb Goldberg?

• ...that the term Cicisbei refers to legal and generally respected companions and often lovers of married women in eighteenth-century Italy? (right|Depiction of a Cicisbeo)
• ...that researchers are studying the waters of Soap Lake in Washington with the hope of learning about life on Mars?
• ...that the City of London Yeomanry was a regiment of the British Territorial Army which served at various times as a cavalry, infantry, artillery, anti-aircraft, and armoured unit, and now forms a squadron of the Royal Corps of Signals?
• ...that George Mason University basketball coach Jim Larranaga motivated his players in their 2006 NCAA regional final by telling them their opponents from the University of Connecticut didn't know what conference they were in?
• ...that Rusumo Falls was a significant site during the 1994 Rwandan genocide as thousands of dead bodies flowed underneath the bridge while a simultaneous stream of refugees crossed over it, fleeing into Tanzania to escape the fighting? (right|Rusumo Falls)
• ...that Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, now recognized as one of the leading poets of Polish baroque, considered his career as a courtier much more important than that of a poet?
• ...that, before he was President of the United States, Herbert Hoover was married at the Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey, California?
• ...that Perry Greeley Holden was the first professor of agronomy in the United States?
• ...that Amantaní, an island on Lake Titicaca, is also known as the "Island of the Kantuta", the national flower of Peru and Bolivia? right|100px|Amantani from a distance
• ...that Jean Armand de Lestocq, a French physician, wielded immense influence on the foreign policy of Russia during the early reign of Empress Elizabeth?
• ...that when Jester Center was built in 1969, it was the largest dormitory in North America, the largest building in Austin, Texas, and the largest building project by the University of Texas at Austin?
• ...that the Lieven princely family claims descent from Caupo of Turaida, one of the first Livonians to convert to Christianity?
• ...that we know about Latin profanity from both graffiti at Pompeii, and from the poems of Martial, Catullus, and Horace?
• ...that Repnin Sejm of 1767-68 in Poland was so named after the Russian Empire ambassador Nicholas Repnin, who coerced the Sejm (Polish parliament) into accepting his demands? right|90px|Repnin
• ...that the recent Capitol Hill massacre is regarded as the worst mass-killing in Seattle since the 1983 Wah Mee Massacre?
• ...that the Golden Charter of Bern — the bull that made Berne, Switzerland, an Imperial Free City in 1218 — is now considered to have been forged decades later by the Bernese themselves to confirm the rights they had seized?
• ...that Adwaita, the reportedly 255-year-old Aldabra Giant Tortoise that recently died in Kolkata zoo, was a pet of Robert Clive, the Commander-in-Chief, India of British East India Company?
• ...that Cuicocha is a crater lake in the Ecuadorian Andes which was created by a massive Phreatic eruption in the 11th century BC? (right|Cuicocha)
• ...that Lantian Man, who was discovered in China in 1963, preceded Peking Man by several hundred thousand years?
• ...that The Impressions' 1967 single "We're a Winner", written by Curtis Mayfield, was a socially conscious song which became an anthem for the American Civil Rights movement?
• ...that ADMA, a chemical found in human blood, produces adverse effects that may lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and erectile dysfunction?
• ...that Emperor Paul of Russia ordered the name of his mistress Anna Lopukhina to be given to warships and to be inscribed on the standards of his Leib Guard? (right|Anna Lopukhina)
• ...that the seal emblazoned on the flag of Nashville, Tennessee displays a Native American holding a skull that is believed to be Oconostota, former leading Chief of the Cherokee Nation?
• ...that the Westfield Brandon is one of five shopping malls in the U.S. state of Florida managed by the Australian Westfield Group?
• ...that in an engagement on Lake Huron, a small British force captured two American gunboats in the summer of 1814?
• ...that the arrano beltza, the black eagle flag of the Basque nationalist movement, derives from the seal used by Sancho III of Navarre a thousand years ago? (right|arrano beltza)
• ...that soil conservation was first practiced by the Phoenicians, and today it embraces disciplines such as hydrology, microbiology and soil chemistry research?
• ...that North Berwick Harbour was built in the 12th century as a ferry port for St. Andrews bound pilgrims, while Pagans believe "Satan himself" once worshipped on the Harbour's "Auld Kirk Green"?
• ...that while Aleksandra Pakhmutova composed pieces for the symphony orchestra and a ballet, her fame in the former Soviet Union rests primarily on 400 songs she composed back in the 1960s and 1970s?
• ...that Deneb is the only character to appear in all four of Quest's video games in the Ogre Battle series?

• ...that Natalia Goncharova, the wife of the poet Alexander Pushkin, was rumoured to have had a liaison with Nicholas I of Russia after the death of her husband? right|90px|Natalia Goncharova
• ...that in the 26 uses of the Page playoff system in championship curling tournaments, only once has a third- or fourth-placed team won the tournament?
• ...that Sarat Chandra Bose, the brother of Subhash Chandra Bose attempted to obtain independence for a united Bengal with Muslim leader Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in 1947?
• ...that the Washington Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation in the District of Columbia that has operated continuously since its formation on April 25, 1852, by twenty-one members?
• ...that the long-running German TV show Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst is the only German television format to have entered the United States, where it is produced by Fox as America's Most Wanted?
• ...that Polish bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski, founded Załuski Library, one of the largest 18th century European libraries? right|100px|Józef Andrzej Załuski
• ...that the Korzhenevskaya Peak in Tajikistan is one of the five "Snow Leopard Peaks" of the former Soviet Union?
• ...that an estimated 892 Edsel Bermuda station wagons were produced before the model was dropped after a single year of production?
• ...that famous Russian painter Ilya Repin contributed to the Russian connections in Australia by helping to create the Orthodox Church of Saint Vladimir on Robertson Road in Sydney?
• ...that Gessius Florus became the Roman procurator of Judea due to his wife's friendship with Emperor Nero's wife Poppaea?
• ...that the Royal Navy operated a secret training and anti-submarine warfare base at Seacliff in Scotland during World War I? (right|Seacliff, Scotland)
• ...that Andrey the Elder, brother of Ivan III, sponsored the construction of the first stone edifices in his capital, Uglich?
• ...that Historic Jamestowne is a National Historic Site on Jamestown Island on the James River at Jamestown, Virginia operated by the Colonial National Historical Park of the U.S. National Park Service?
• ...that the Azerbaijani singer Muslim Magomayev, who sang with great success at La Scala and the Paris Olympia, was not allowed to pursue an international career by the Soviet Ministry of Culture?
• ...that no fewer than a dozen people from western countries have been killed by crocodiles since 1990?
• ...that the Peruvian village Písac gets its name from a ruined Incan citadel which represents the wing of a partridge? right|100px|View from the Sun Temple at Pisac
• ...that Marcos Daniel is the highest placed Brazilian tennis player on ATP's ranking despite not winning any official ATP tournament?
• ...that the 1859 McLane-Ocampo Treaty would have given the United States extensive free trade and transit rights across Mexico and the right of military intervention, in exchange for a $4 million loan to the Benito Juarez government then fighting a civil war, but was never ratified by Congress?
• ...that automated CPR machines such as AutoPulse are used to treat cardiac arrest in both humans and animals?
• ...that in the course of the Crimean War, the British and French Navies undertook three attempts to lay a siege to the town of Taganrog?
• ...that the official death date of the Soviet statesman Nikolai Bryukhanov (1878-1938) was changed to 1943 as part of Khruschev's policy to minimize the scope of the Great Purge by falsifying the dates of its victims' deaths?
• ...that the Chinese House in Potsdam was Frederick the Great's attempt to follow the contemporary Chinese fashion, which originated in France? right|100px|Chinese House in Potsdam
• ...that diamond magnate Woolf Barnato won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times, and in 1930 won a race across France in his Bentley against Le Train Bleu?
• ...that the TV Land Awards have been awarded annually since 2003 by the TV Land network to reward classic television?
• ...that New Mexico's Carson National Forest, named after Kit Carson, contains Anasazi artifacts?
• ...that the global stratotype for the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary is a cliff at Fortune Head, southeastern Newfoundland?
• ...that Tom Stoppard's play Rough Crossing is a loose adaptation of Hungarian dramatist Ferenc Molnár's Play at the Castle?
• ...that due to the legend which states that "as long as Davie Poplar doesn't fall, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will continue to prosper," the tree has been filled with cement? (right|Davie Poplar)
• ...that the scarf worn by members of the Young Pioneers, the national youth organization of the Communist Party of China, corresponds to a triangle that is missing from one of its flags?
• ...that the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering of the Pennsylvania State University, founded in 1908, was the first industrial engineering department in the world?
• ...that the Boy Scouts of America 50-Miler Award, given to those who hike or paddle 50 or more miles, is designed to encourage personal fitness, self-reliance, and a practical understanding of conservation?
• ...that Marcel Boulestin, who appeared on the BBC's experimental television broadcasts in 1937 was the first television chef?
• ...that environmental noise health effects place millions of people at risk of hearing loss, cardiovascular disease or even abnormal fetal development? (right|Human ear)
• ...that the play Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson explores the disillusionment of former American anti-war activists in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate?
• ...that Surendranath Banerjea founded the Indian National Association, the first Indian political organization in British-ruled 19th-century India?
• ...that Langley Park makes Perth the only city in the world where aircraft can land in the central business district?
• ...that Commander Edwin Taylor Pollock became the first American governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands by beating the commander of the USS Olympia in a race to Saint Thomas?

• ...that the White House Tee Ball Initiative was created by President George W. Bush to promote baseball and softball by allowing youth Tee Ball events on the grounds of the White House in 2001? right|100px|Tee Ball at White House
• ...that Prasoon Joshi, an award-winning advertising executive is also a lyricist for Bollywood movies?
• ...that the Vanessa Carlton song "A Thousand Miles" became popular amongst U.S. troops serving in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and was the most requested song on the radio station BFBS Middle East in April 2003?
• ...that only 6% of Pacific hurricanes make landfall on the United States, and that the state of Arizona is affected by a tropical cyclone only about once every five years?
• ...that Ludwig Fahrenkrog was a German artist who founded one of the first neopagan religious groups, the Germanic Faith-Community, in 1907?
• ...that Gideon Brecher (1797 - 1873) was a Jewish Austrian physician and writer who wrote what is most likely the first scholarly article on circumcision, Die Beschneidung der Israeliten, etc., in 1845?
• ...that Marie Palace (1839-44) was the last Neoclassical imperial palace to be constructed in Saint Petersburg, Russia? (right|Marie Palace)
• ...that some elements of the Jules Verne adventure story Two Years' Vacation are to be found in William Golding's Lord of the Flies, written 66 years later?
• ...that Satyajit Ray, the noted Indian film director, also wrote popular fiction, especially detective stories and science fiction in Bengali?
• ...that a cuttie-stool is the Lowland Scots name for a three legged stool that was thrown by Jenny Geddes at the Dean of St Giles High Kirk, in protest at the introduction of Anglican style prayer books in 1637?
• ...that Beekman Winthrop, the third American Governor of Puerto Rico, was a direct descendant of both John Winthrop, the first Governor of Massachusetts, and John Winthrop, the Younger, the first Governor of Connecticut?
• ...that the French inventor Félix du Temple accomplished in 1874 a short flight with his steam-powered aircraft Monoplane, often considered the first manned powered flight in history? right|100px|Monoplane
• ...that Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground with burial towers known as chullpas?
• ...that when the British Army attacked the Agra Fort in 1803, a cannon ball fired by the artillery struck the Takht-i-Jahangir  (throne of Jahangir), but only caused a superficial crack on one side?
• ...that Parlophone's "₤" trademark, made famous on The Beatles UK records, is actually not the British pound sign, but a Germanic "L" for the Lindstrom in Carl Lindstrom Company?
• ...that though the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth decreased from 1620s till its end, the number of its provincial governors kept increasing, as the offices of a lost province could not be dissolved?
• ...that Balchug island opposite Moscow Kremlin takes its name from the Tatar word for "marsh"? right|100px|Balchug
• ...that Sanford N. McDonnell, the chairman emeritus of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, is also a past national president of the Boy Scouts of America?
• ...that most knights of the Middle Ages wore chausses as leg protection?
• ...that Tony Saunders was the first player selected in the expansion draft when Major League Baseball added teams in 1997?
• ...that Georgia’s capital Tbilisi functioned as the center of an Islamic emirate under the Arab rule from 736 to 1122?
• ...that historian Doane Robinson conceived of the idea of Mount Rushmore in order to attract greater tourism to South Dakota?
• ...that Imbabura is an inactive stratovolcano in northern Ecuador which is revered in local folklore as a protective parent? right|100px|Imbabura
• ...that the Ronald Reagan Trail is a collection of highways in central Illinois that connect villages and cities that were of importance to former United States President Ronald Reagan?
• ...that in 1978, the nitrate-base film vaults of both the US National Archives and George Eastman House autoignited?
• ...that the Vietnamese "poet of love" Xuân Diệu wrote a poem about the love affair between the French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, fueling speculations that he himself was homosexual?
• ...that the Washoe Theater in Anaconda, Montana was the last Art Deco theater constructed in the United States?
• ...that Alonso Manso was the first bishop to arrive in the New World and also the first Inquisitor General of the Indies?
• ...that a 1906 football match between a team of youngsters from Kraków and the troupe of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is one of the milestones in the history of football in Poland? right|100px
• ...that the history of Berne, the Swiss capital, begins not with her founding in 1191, but with the Helvetian oppidum Brenodor that Caesar conquered in the Gallic Wars?
• ...that Sir Henry Segrave's accomplishments inspired the Segrave Trophy, which is awarded to the British subject who accomplishes the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, sea, air or water?
• ...that the boojum phenomenon in superfluidity physics is named after an imaginary monster in a poem by Lewis Carroll?
• ...that in 1977, K. Leroy Irvis of Pennsylvania became the first Black American to serve as a speaker of the house in any state legislature in the United States? (right|Irvis)
• ...that The Falling Man is a photograph by Richard Drew depicting a man who had jumped from the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York?
• ...that the eminent Russian culinary writer William Pokhlebkin was in fact a notable expert in the history of diplomacy, but also the author of A History of Vodka, and that his name was thought to be a pen name?
• ...that Doe Lang, who performed on Broadway and appeared in TV soaps, also authored best-selling self-help books and is the president of an image consulting firm?
• ...that Saint Stephen of Perm invented the Permian alphabet for the Komi people in order to facilitate their education and eventual conversion to Christianity? (Saint Stephen of Perm)
• ...that a recent cricket match saw the record for highest team total for a single innings in One-day Internationals broken by both the teams, and has been called the greatest ODI match ever by much of the cricket media?
• ...that the prosauropod dinosaur Efraasia was misidentified at least four times before being recognized as a separate genus?
• ...that Hakeem Olajuwon was the last player to be named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA men's basketball tournament while playing for a team that failed to win the title, earning the honor in the 1983 tournament?
• ...that while the gold ceiling mosaics that gave the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia its name are no longer present, it still contains tombs such as those of Saint Augustine mentioned by Dante in Il Paradiso? (right|Tomba di Severino Boezio)
• ...that the Daytona Beach Road Course was the site of fifteen world land speed records, and the course was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR?
• ...that the Battle of Krasny Bor was a World War II battle in which neutral Spain assisted Germany with an all volunteer infantry division?
• ...that Apple Computer's PowerBook 5300 got the nickname "HindenBook" after the Lithium ion batteries used in the original design were shown to burst into flames under certain circumstances?
• ...that "The Grange" in Upper Manhattan was the only home ever owned by Alexander Hamilton, and that he died only two years after the Federal style house was completed in 1802? (right|Hamilton Grange National Memorial)
• ...that the Great Rose Bowl Hoax was a 1961 prank by students at the California Institute of Technology that was broadcast by NBC to an estimated 30 million viewers in the United States?
• ...that cosmonauts such as Grigori Nelyubov, dismissed from the Soviet space program, were airbrushed out of official photographs, leading to early Cold War speculation of failed missions even when the actual reasons for dismissal were sometimes mundane?
• ...that during the Gothic War in the 4th century, the Goths killed a Roman Emperor, destroyed a Roman army and laid waste large tracts of the Roman Balkans?
• ...that the Ribbon of Saint George is worn in Russia on Victory Day as an act of commemoration of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War? (right|Ribbon of Saint George)
• ...that the Wissenschaft des Judentums or "the scientific investigation of Judaism", was a 19th century movement by Jewish philosophers in Berlin premised on using scientific methods to analyze the origins of Jewish traditions?
• ...that a house was held to be haunted by poltergeists as a matter of law in the 1991 New York case Stambovsky v. Ackley, making the Nyack, New York house the only legally haunted house in the United States?
• ...that the British Rail flying saucer was an unbuilt nuclear fusion powered space craft, proposed and patented in the 1970s by British Rail?
• ...that the ASTRA National Museum Complex includes 90 hectares of exhibits about Transylvania, but also includes objects such as an Ancient Egyptian mummy? (right|Astra Palace)
• ...that Norway's first regional theatre, the Hålogaland Teater, used to be housed in a disused margarine factory in the Arctic Circle town of Tromsø?
• ...that several Turkic nomads of the Kipchak clan settled in Georgia in 1118 and served in the Georgian military ranks for nearly two centuries?
• ...that Hurricane Felix in 1995 was a moderately powerful hurricane that, despite not making landfall, caused severe beach erosion and 8 deaths along the East Coast of the United States?
• ...that the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin, known as a traditional burial place of Muscovite tsarinas, was dismantled in 1929 to make room for the Red Commanders School? (right|Ascension Convent)
• ...that folklorist Kathryn Tucker Windham's most famous book, 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, is named after a ghost that Windham believed haunted her home?
• ...that William Burnet, Governor of New Jersey and New York, obtained his position of governorship by trading his job as comptroller of the customs with Robert Hunter?
• ...that over 5,000 Rosenwald Schools in the United States were built primarily for the education of African Americans with funds donated by Julius Rosenwald, who was part-owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company?
• ...that the spangenhelm was the most popular war helmet in Europe and the Middle East during the early Middle Ages? (right|Spangenhelm)
• ...that January 26th, which in 1950 became the Republic Day of India, was also the day of the promulgation of Purna Swaraj Declaration in 1930?
• ...that the Soviet ideologue and foreign minister Dmitri Shepilov denounced jazz and rock music as "wild cave-men orgies" and the "explosion of basic instincts and sexual urges"?
• ...that the name Japanese War Tuba was a name applied to the acoustic locators used by Japan during World War II?
• ...that Richard Ingoldesby, Governor of New Jersey, caused the defeat of a bill to raise 200 men for an invasion of Canada in order to remove the Quakers from all public offices in New Jersey?
• ...that rumour had it that Hugh Owen Thomas, pioneer of British orthopaedic surgery, would attack people and break their bones in order to reset them? (right|Hugh Owen Thomas)
• ...that the race movie, a genre of films produced for black audiences and featuring black casts, was very popular among African Americans in the United States between 1915 and 1945?
• ...that the aluminum smelting plant in Tursunzade is the largest aluminum manufacturing plant in Central Asia?
• ...that the oldest written constitution of a Greek city was discovered in an inscription at Dreros in Crete?
• ...that the Council of Nablus, held in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1120, established punishments for adultery, bigamy, homosexuality, and sexual relations with Muslims?
• ...that the Allies broke through the largest German entrenched position in World War One at the Battle of the Hindenburg Line? (right|Battle of the Hindenburg Line, 1918)
• ...that the compound 4-ethylphenol, produced by the spoilage yeast Brettanomyces, can make wine smell like band-aids?
• ...that jazz singer Ilse Huizinga is known in the Netherlands as the First Lady of Jazz?
• ...that the Pickens County Courthouse in Carrollton, Alabama is famous for the ghostly image of a murdered man's face that can be seen in one of its windows?
• ...that the Afghan Church in Mumbai was built to commemorate the dead of the First Afghan War of 1838?
• ...that the Ancient Greeks credited Broteas, the ugly son of Tantalus, with an ancient rock-cut cliff-face carving of the Great Mother of the Gods in modern Turkey?
• ...that the Great Atlanta fire of 1917 destroyed 300 acres and nearly 2,000 buildings and was put out with help from fire engines as far away as Knoxville, Tennessee? (The extent of Atlanta Fire, 1917)
• ...that Jerry Reuss was one of a few players in Major League Baseball history to play in four different decades?
• ...that Super typhoon Nancy is one of the eight typhoons to receive a special name from the Japan Meteorological Agency?
• ...that the recently discovered deep-sea decapod Kiwa hirsuta was dubbed the yeti crab by its discoverers on account of its hairy appearance?
• ...that Matvei Muranov was one of the few Old Bolsheviks to survive the Great Purge?
• ...that although the Park Theatre was considered the highest-class playhouse in New York, Edgar Allan Poe criticized it for being infested by rats? (right|Park Theatre, Manhattan)
• ...that Stephanie von Hohenlohe, a Jew, was a close friend of Hitler and according to a MI6 report, perhaps the only woman who could exercise influence on him?
• ...that the docu-drama The Road to Guantanamo, depicting the incarceration of three British detainees at Guantanamo Bay, is the first film to be released simultaneously in theatres, on DVD and on the Internet?
• ...that the early contact lens pioneer August Müller demonstrated his technique for grinding scleral lenses by correcting his own severe myopia?
• ...that Ramy Brooks, a competitor in the 1,049 mi 2006 Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska, is one of the few Native Alaskans competing in the event?
• ...that a steam-powered locomotive built specifically by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad in 1893 for its Empire State Express passenger train was the first manmade object on wheels to exceed 100 miles-per-hour? (right|Empire State Express 1905)
• ...that at its first years Kiev Zoo had to move its animals into the food storage of the main Kiev railway station for the winter?
• ...that an agent of the Malaysian Special Branch so successfully infiltrated the Malayan Communist Party that he was in turn ordered by them to infiltrate the Special Branch?
• ...that Tom Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, but never played a game with them?
• ...that Bonnybridge, forming part of the "Falkirk Triangle" in Scotland, is considered by many UFO enthusiasts to be world's number one UFO hotspot, with around 300 sightings every year?
• ...that in local gigantism, parts of a limb can take gigantic shapes, without affecting other parts of the body? (right|Local gigantism)
• ...that Bhulabhai Desai negotiated a secret power-sharing deal with Liaquat Ali Khan in 1945 that would have prevented the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan?
• ...that the Renaissance composer Cornelis Verdonck wrote the only known motet written to be performed on the back of an elephant?
• ...that while the female and male sexual organs of Congdon silktassel are on separate plants, it is the pendant male catkins that are more showy?
• ...that an Indo-Corinthian capital is a Buddhist adaption of the Greek Corinthian capital, often incorporating images of the Buddha?
• ...that the Lübeck Cathedral collapsed during an Allied bomb raid in 1942 but was subsequently restored? (right|Lübeck Cathedral)
• ...that the German hip-hop crew Fünf Sterne Deluxe made their 1999 comeback with the single "Ja Ja..., deine Mudder", a German take on the dozens?
• ...that Stony Clove Notch, a pass in the Catskill Mountains, was once so narrow that it could only be traversed by people walking in single file?
• ...the Siege of Compiègne was Joan of Arc's final military action?
• ...that botanist Tomitaro Makino, despite dropping out of grammar school, named over 2500 plants and is known as the "Father of Japanese Botany"?
• ...that the Cossack Hetman and the later Muscovite voyevoda Petro Doroshenko signed a treaty with Sultan Mehmed IV recognizing the Cossack Hetmanate as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire? (right|Petro Doroshenko)
• ...that until 1988, a woman could apply for and receive an Australian Passport in her future married name, before she was actually married?
• ...that the Italian scholar Girolamo Maggi wrote and illustrated two detailed treatises, from memory, while chained in a dungeon in Istanbul?
• ...that a fall of red rain in Kerala in 2001 might have contained microbes of extraterrestrial origin?
• ...that the Mexican actress Leticia Palma's dispute with Jorge Negrete led to the end of a career described as "one of the most interesting presences" of the cinema of Mexico?
• ...that Klarälven, Sweden's longest river, was the last Swedish river where log driving was practiced, ending in 1991? (right|Map of Klarälven delta)
• ...that Hieronymus Bosch paintings helped inspire the Surrealist movement?
• ...that Blanton C. Winship, a veteran of Spanish-American War and World War I survived an assassination attempt while he was Governor of Puerto Rico in 1938?
• ...that Tran Duc Thao, a Vietnamese philosopher, attempted to reconcile Marxist philosophy's dialectical materialism with Husserlian phenomenology?
• ...that gastric lymphoma is the most common lymphoma affecting the gastrointestinal tract?
• ...that Peter Joseph Lenné's gardening academy in Potsdam was the first school to formally teach garden architecture? (right|Peter Joseph Lenné)
• ...that Mustelus hacat is a species of smooth-hound shark discovered in 2003 in the Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Mexico?
• ...that the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas was formed in December 20, 1895, when the Missionary District of Northern Texas was granted diocesan status and that it now includes more than seventy parishes and schools in the diocese?
• ...that in Islam, Tahrif is the charge that Jewish and Christian holy books have been subject to change, alteration or forgery?
• ...that Anna of Kashin, a Russian medieval princess, was twice canonized as a holy protectress of women who suffer the loss of relatives? (right|Anna of Kashin)
• ...that Clarence L. "Biggie" Munn was Michigan State University's most successful football coach with a winning percentage of 85.7 over seven years, including a 28-game winning streak from October 14, 1950 through October 17, 1953?
• ...that the English Canal was a partially completed canal project started in 1864 that would connect the iron ore fields in northern Sweden with the Gulf of Bothnia?
• ...that The Exile, the first African American talking film, was a semi-autobiographical film about a Black rancher in South Dakota, with elements of interracial romance and some nightclub scenes set in Chicago?
• ...that Catherine the Great wrote several comedies and an opera libretto for the productions of the Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg? (right|Hermitage Theatre)
• ...that Jatin Das, an Indian freedom fighter, died after sixty three days of hunger strike demanding rights for prisoners and undertrials in Lahore jail in 1929?
• ...that The Observatory, a Singaporean space rock band released their first album packaged as a diary, complete with torn pages and paperclipped photos?
• ...that NKVD official Yakov Blumkin organised and personally took part in an expedition to find the Shambhala, a mystical kingdom hidden in the Himalayas?
• ...that the Sanssouci Picture Gallery is the oldest extant museum built for a German ruler?
• ...that the Iberian Ribbed Newt's ability to keep live sperm in its cloaca for up to 5 months was a reason it was chosen to be flown into space? (Image:Pleurodeles waltl BUD.jpg)
• ...that Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio became lit with electric street lights as early as 1879 ?
• ...that Rough Castle Fort is the best preserved Roman fort along the Antonine Wall?
• ...that the S500 was the first production car from Honda?
• ...that the endangered species California Clapper Rail, a chicken-sized bird that rarely flies, has chicks that can swim when they are just two hours old? (Image:Raildumbartrazorback.jpg)
• ...that the 1934 jazz standard "Stars Fell on Alabama" was inspired by the Leonid meteor shower that was observed in Alabama a century earlier, in 1833?
• ...that S. R. Rao led the excavations of Dwaraka — the mythical city of Krishna submerged in the Arabian Sea?
• ...that Preparing for Emergencies was a British Home Office programme to increase public safety after several major disasters, including the Madrid bombings, SARS outbreak and UK foot and mouth crisis?
• ...that Italo Santelli is widely considered to be the "father of modern sabre fencing"? (right|Italo Santelli)
• ...that in 1998, a study proposed to relocate Jordanhill railway station, a station currently located near the Jordanhill Campus of the University of Strathclyde and the Jordanhill School that opened in 1887?
• ...that Northern Ireland is the only constituent country in the United Kingdom that uses the Union Flag as it's official flag? The Flag of Northern Ireland was made unofficial in 1973.