Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 November 13

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From today's featured article

Myriostoma, the salt-shaker earthstar, is the largest fungus in the earthstar family, with a fruit body up to 12 cm (4.7 in) across. It has been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. It grows in humus-rich forests or in woodlands, especially on well-drained and sandy soils. Myriostoma coliforme, the only species in the genus, is somewhat rare, appearing on the Red Lists of 12 European countries. It was one of 33 species proposed for protection in 2004 under the Bern Convention by the European Council for Conservation of Fungi. The inedible fruit body, initially shaped like a puffball, is encased in an outer covering that splits open from the top to form rays. These pieces curve down in a star shape to expose a papery spore case surrounding the fertile spore-bearing tissue, the gleba. The fungus is unique among the earthstars in having a spore sac that is supported by multiple stalks, and is perforated by several small holes, suggestive of its common name. The spores are dispersed when falling water hits the sac, forcing them up through the holes. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Sophia

... that Sophia (pictured) is the first robot to become a recognised citizen of a country?
... that Super Mario World was designed to make the most out of the then-new Super Nintendo Entertainment System's features?
... that Seattle mayoral candidate Cary Moon qualified for the general election by a margin of 1,170 votes?
... that in the pastoral poem "Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke", by Angelus Silesius, the Soul promises to love Jesus until her death?
... that Raju Patel teamed up with Walt Disney Studios to produce Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book?
... that the slipper sea cucumber is avoided by most predatory fish, crabs, and gastropod molluscs, but is preyed on by starfish, especially the leather star?
... that Queen May Hnin Theindya of Pegu tried to save her husband Tarabya's life by tying her tresses with his?
... that urban planner Robert Moses was said to have laughed at protesters he encountered while surveying routes for the Clearview Expressway in New York City in the 1950s?

In the news

Mohammad bin Salman

An earthquake strikes the border between Iraq and Iran, killing more than 200 people.
The Paradise Papers—more than 13 million financial documents relating to offshore investment—are leaked.
In Sutherland Springs, Texas, United States, 26 people are killed and 20 others are injured in a mass shooting at a Baptist church.
In the midst of reforms by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (pictured), more than 40 senior Saudi princes and ministers are arrested on corruption charges.
In baseball, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeat the Yokohama DeNA BayStars to win the Japan Series.

On this day...

November 13: Feast day of Saint John Chrysostom (Christianity)

Æthelred II of England

1002 – King Æthelred II (pictured) ordered the massacre of all Danes in England.
1642 – First English Civil War: The Royalist army engaged the much larger Parliamentarian army at the Battle of Turnham Green near Turnham Green, Middlesex.
1927 – The Holland Tunnel, connecting Manhattan with Jersey City, New Jersey, under the Hudson River, opened.
1992 – The High Court of Australia ruled in Dietrich v The Queen that although there is no absolute right to have publicly funded counsel, in most circumstances a judge should grant any request for an adjournment or stay when an accused is unrepresented.
2007 – An explosion hit the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City, the Philippines, killing Congressman Wahab Akbar and at least four others.

Malcolm III of Scotland (d. 1093) · Robert Louis Stevenson (b. 1850) · Amory Lovins (b. 1947)

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From today's featured list

Drug overdose and intoxication are significant causes of accidental death, and can also be used as a form of suicide. Death can occur from overdosing on a single or multiple drugs, or from combined drug intoxication due to poly drug use. Poly drug use often carries more risk than use of a single drug, due to an increase in side effects, and drug synergy. Drug use and overdoses increased significantly in the 1800s due to the commercialization and availability of certain drugs. For example, while opium and coca had been used for centuries, their active ingredients, morphine and the cocaine alkaloid, were not isolated until 1803 and 1855 respectively. Cocaine and various opiates were subsequently mass-produced and sold openly and legally in the Western world, resulting in widespread misuse and addiction. Efforts to prohibit various drugs began to be enacted in the early 20th century, though the effectiveness of such policies is debated. Deaths from drug overdoses are increasing. Between 2000 and 2014, fatal overdoses rose 137% in the United States, causing nearly half a million deaths in that period, and have also been continually increasing in Australia, Scotland, England, and Wales. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Danish West Indian daler was the currency of the Danish West Indies between 1849 and 1917, and of the United States Virgin Islands between 1917 and 1934. The coin shown here is a ten-daler gold coin issued in 1904, the only year such coins were minted. Also struck that year were gold coins worth four daler.

Photograph: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History

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