Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 June 17

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Today's featured article
Tropical Storm Alberto was the first of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming on June 10 in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, the storm moved generally to the north, reaching a maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) before weakening and moving ashore in the Big Bend area of Florida on June 13. Alberto then moved through eastern Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia as a tropical depression before becoming extratropical on June 14. Across the western Caribbean, the storm produced heavy rainfall, causing minor damage. In Florida, a moderate storm tide caused coastal damage and flooding, while Alberto's outer rainbands produced several tornadoes. Alberto was indirectly responsible for two drownings off the coast of Tampa Bay. In North Carolina, heavy rainfall caused locally severe flooding, and one child drowned after being sucked into a flooded storm drain near Raleigh. The remnants of Alberto produced strong winds and left four people missing in Atlantic Canada. Overall, damage was minor along Alberto's path. (more...) Recently featured: Myst – Thích Quảng Đức – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Filipina TV host Daphne Oseña-Paez (pictured) got her big break by waiting for a network executive in the ABS-CBN parking lot to show him a TV program that she filmed, shot, and edited herself? ... that an apprentice who served on board Empire Deben later became the captain of Canberra during the Falklands War? ... that success in the sport of shin-kicking requires the ability to endure pain? ... that The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) has been banned by the British Board of Film Classification? ... that Thepchai Yong won an International Press Freedom Award for reporting on Thailand's Black May uprising despite military pressure to censor coverage? ... that the Flåm Line, originally operated with El 9 locomotives, is the steepest standard gauge railway in Europe? ... that the Sausalito Record Plant served for a time as the residence for Rick James who slept in a conference room built with a waterbed floor? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Colum McCann Let the Great World Spin, by Irish writer Colum McCann (pictured), wins the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeds Osama bin Laden as al-Qaeda's leader. In ice hockey, the Boston Bruins defeat the Vancouver Canucks in game seven to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972. Amid protests and deepening economic crisis, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou submits a new cabinet for a vote of confidence. In basketball, the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat to win their first NBA championship. A Gay Girl In Damascus, a popular opposition blog about the 2011 Syrian uprising, is revealed to be a hoax. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 17: Icelandic National Day 1579 – Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it New Albion and claiming it for England. 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal, wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died in childbirth; Jahan spent the next seventeen years constructing her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal (pictured). 1775 – American Revolutionary War: British forces took Bunker Hill outside of Boston. 1963 – Around 2,000 people rioted in South Vietnam, despite the signing of the Joint Communique to resolve the ongoing Buddhist crisis one day earlier. 1991 – The Parliament of South Africa repealed the Population Registration Act, which required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered by race as part of the system of apartheid. More anniversaries: June 16 – June 17 – June 18 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 17, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A mosquito (Ochlerotatus notoscriptus shown) feeding on a human arm. Mosquitoes have mouthparts that are adapted for piercing the skin of plants and animals. While males typically feed on nectar and plant juices, the female needs to obtain nutrients from a "blood meal" before she can produce eggs. In some of the 3,500 species of mosquito, the females feed on humans, and are therefore vectors for a number of infectious diseases.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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