Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 August 21

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From today's featured article

Seorsumuscardinus, a genus of European dormice identified by fossils, lived around 17 million years ago during the early Miocene. Fossils from one species, S. alpinus, have been taken from rock strata in Oberdorf am Hochegg in Austria, Karydia in Greece, and Tägernaustrasse in Switzerland. A second species, S. bolligeri, was found at a single site in Affalterbach, Germany. Identified from many isolated teeth, both species were medium-sized dormice, with flat teeth characterized by long transverse crests coupled with shorter ones. Seorsumuscardinus may be related to Muscardinus, the genus of the living hazel dormouse, which appears in the fossil record at about the same time, and the older Glirudinus. Because the two known species lived at different times, the paleontologist Jerome Prieto has suggested that the genus may be useful for biostratigraphy, the use of fossils to determine the age of deposits. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Sepia dun winged adult

... that the sepia dun mayfly (pictured) can be an alternate host for the nematode Cystidicoloides tenuissima, a parasite of trout and salmon?
... that the queenship of Blanche of Artois seemed perfect until her only son was dropped from the castle walls by his nurse?
... that a sea monster figurehead has been recovered from the wreckage of Gribshunden, a 15th-century Danish warship?
... that Palokë Nika, who founded the oldest Albanian football club, KF Vllaznia Shkodër, was the first coach of KF Tirana?
... that the Benjamin Loxley house is noted in history as the place where a Quakeress overheard secret British plans and passed them on to George Washington, saving the Continental Army?
... that the feature film Mama was based on Andrés Muschietti's "scariest" short film?
... that the sacred geography of Varanasi is known as the "microcosm of India"?
... that Howard Wiest, who never finished high school or attended law school, became Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court?

In the news

Jason Day

A bomb explosion in Bangkok, Thailand, kills 20 people and injures more than 120 others.
In golf, Jason Day (pictured) wins the PGA Championship.
The Netball World Cup concludes with Australia defeating New Zealand in the final.
Trigana Air Service Flight 257 crashes in Papua, Indonesia, killing all 54 passengers and crew.

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On this day...

August 21: Youth Day and King Mohammed's Birthday in Morocco; Ninoy Aquino Day in the Philippines

Lincoln

Douglas

1689 – Jacobite risings: Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland clashed with a government regiment of Covenanters supporting William of Orange, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland.
1858 – The first of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas (both pictured), candidates for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate, was held in Ottawa, Illinois.
1945 – American physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a delta phase plutonium bomb core and exposed himself to a lethal dose of neutron radiation, becoming the first known fatality due to a criticality accident 25 days later.
1986 – A limnic eruption of a cloud of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon killed up to 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby villages.
2013 – Syrian Civil War: Rockets containing sarin struck the opposition-controlled portions of the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, resulting in at least 281 deaths.

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From today's featured list

2010 Winter Olympics women's super-G alpine skiing medalists

Medals were won by 450 individual athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics, which were held in Vancouver, Canada, from February 12 to February 28, 2010. A total of 2,632 athletes representing 82 National Olympic Committees participated in these Games. Medal winners came from 26 countries; 19 of those countries won at least one gold. Canada won its first gold medal at an Olympic Games it hosted, having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Canada finished first in gold medal wins and became the first host nation since Norway in 1952 to lead the gold medal count, with 14. Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen was the most successful athlete, winning three gold, one silver and one bronze medal, and became the ninth Winter Olympian to win five medals at one edition of the Games. Chinese short-track speed skater Wang Meng also won three gold medals. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

A first-issue 5¢ ($0.05) note of fractional currency, depicting Thomas Jefferson on the obverse. Issued between 21 August 1862 and 27 May 1863 in response to a shortage of coins owing to the American Civil War, this first issue was based on Treasurer of the United States Francis E. Spinner's handmade examples of a currency based on postage stamps and released in denominations of 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, and 50¢. Though not legal tender, postage currency could be exchanged for United States Notes in $5 lots and was receivable in payment of all dues to the United States, up to $5. Four more subsequent issues followed before fractional currency was discontinued in 1876.

Other denominations: 10¢, 25¢, 50¢

Banknote: National Banknote Company & the Treasury Department (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)

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