Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 February 5

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Today's featured article
Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities. Shale oil extraction is usually performed above ground (ex situ processing) by mining the oil shale and then treating it in processing facilities. Other modern technologies perform the processing underground (on-site or in situ processing) by applying heat and extracting the oil via oil wells. The earliest description of the process dates to the 10th century. The industry shrank in the mid-20th century following the discovery of large reserves of conventional oil, but high petroleum prices at the beginning of the 21st century have led to renewed interest. As of 2010, major long-standing extraction industries are operating in Estonia, Brazil, and China. Its economic viability varies with the ratio of local energy input costs to energy output value. National energy security issues have also played a role in its development. Critics of shale oil extraction pose questions about environmental management issues, such as waste disposal, extensive water use and waste water management, and air pollution. (more...) Recently featured: Erie, Pennsylvania – Cottingley Fairies – Lord of the Universe Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that the sinking of the German armored cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert (pictured) resulted in the greatest single loss of life for the German Imperial Navy in the Baltic Sea during World War I? ... that, besides giving hundreds of benefit concerts for residents of OHEL children's homes, Hasidic singer Shloime Dachs frequently hosts OHEL residents at his own home? ... that, with a tower only 6.7 metres (22 ft) tall, the lighthouse keepers at Cape Cleveland Light had to wind the clockwork mechanism every 75 minutes? ... that Andrew Querbes, the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, from 1902 to 1906, was born in New Orleans while the city was occupied by the Union Army? ... that Simplicidentata, the group including rodents and their closest extinct relatives, is characterized by the loss of a pair of upper incisors? ... that, in 2000, Solomon Islands politician Andrew Nori led the Eagle Force in a coup d'état against Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, taking him hostage at gunpoint and demanding that he resign? ... that the instruction manual for the video game Summer Sports: Paradise Island was misprinted, leaving out instructions for four of the games? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Thein Sein Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein (pictured) is named President, following the 2010 general election. IANA allocates the last free blocks of IPv4 internet addresses to the regional Internet registries. Thousands of people protest in Yemen, one day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh announces he will step down in 2013. NASA's Kepler mission releases preliminary results that indicate over 1,200 candidate extrasolar planets, 54 of which are located in the habitable zone. Cyclone Yasi, a Category 5 cyclone, makes landfall in northern Queensland, Australia. Amid political unrest in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak announces he will not seek re-election in September. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
February 5: Constitution Day in Mexico (1917); Kashmir Day in Pakistan 1783 – The first of five strong earthquakes hit the region of Calabria in present-day southern Italy, killing more than 32,000 people over a period of nearly two months. 1917 – The current constitution of Mexico was adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. 1923 – Australian cricketer Bill Ponsford made 429 runs to break the world record for the highest first-class score. 1945 – In the Second World War, American General Douglas MacArthur (pictured) returned to the Philippines nearly three years after his "I shall return" speech. 1958 – A Mark 15 nuclear bomb disappeared off the shores of Tybee Island, Georgia, US after it was jettisoned during a practice exercise when the bomber carrying it collided in midair with a fighter plane. 1963 – The European Court of Justice's ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen established the principle of direct effect, one of the basic tenets of European Union law. More anniversaries: February 4 – February 5 – February 6 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now February 5 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A male Tiphiid wasp (Agriomyia sp.), feeding on nectar. Although the adults are nectarivores, the larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae. A female wasp will paralyze the victim and lay an egg on it. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva has a ready supply of food. As some of the scarab species attacked by tiphiids are pests, some of these wasps are considered beneficial as biological control agents.

Photo: Fir0002
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