Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 October 11

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From today's featured article

Fork-marked lemurs (the genus Phaner) are primates native to Madagascar. Weighing around 350 grams (0.77 lb) or more, they are some of the largest members of the family of dwarf and mouse lemurs in the suborder Strepsirrhini. They have a dorsal forked stripe, dark rings around their eyes, and large membranous ears. Like other members of their family, they are nocturnal, and sleep in tree holes and nests during the day. Males are very vocal, making repeated calls at the beginning and end of the night. Monogamous pairing is typical; females are dominant, and are thought to have only one offspring every two years or more. Fork-marked lemurs run quadrupedally across branches in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from dry deciduous forests to rainforests. Their diet consists primarily of tree gum and other exudates, though they may obtain some of their protein by hunting small arthropods later at night. Three of the four species are endangered and the other is listed as vulnerable. Their populations are in decline due to habitat destruction. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Nakhl Gardani ritual in Iran

... that Nakhl Gardani (pictured) is a ritual in which a woody structure symbolizing Husayn ibn Ali's coffin is carried on the day of Ashura?
... that in his 1960 Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, Maurice Duruflé "shows his particular genius for invoking the spiritual element of plainsong in a polyphonic context"?
... that the western bronze-naped pigeon is found in many countries across Africa?
... that former Dutch Chess Champion Jorden van Foreest is the great-great grandson of Arnold van Foreest, a three-time Dutch Chess Champion?
... that in 1745, King Frederick II of Prussia came to be known as "Frederick the Great" after defeating Austria and Saxony in the Second Silesian War?
... that M.L. Tahaliyani handed down the death penalty to Ajmal Kasab for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks?
... that the song "Why Didn't Rosemary?" from the 1969 album Deep Purple was inspired by the film Rosemary's Baby?
... that in 2014, Sarah Barrow won the first individual European gold medal for a female British diver in 87 years?

In the news

Hurricane Nate

Richard Thaler is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Flooding and landslides from Hurricane Nate (pictured) kill at least 38 people in Central America.
Kazuo Ishiguro is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young share the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.
In the United States, 59 people are killed and 489 others are injured in a mass shooting at a concert near Las Vegas.

On this day...

October 11: National Coming Out Day (international)

Huldrych Zwingli

1492 – Members of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus reported the sighting of unknown light on their way to Guanahani.
1531 – Swiss Reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli (pictured) was killed in battle when Catholic cantons attacked in response to a food blockade being applied by his alliance.
1942 – World War II: At the Battle of Cape Esperance on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal, American ships intercepted and defeated a Japanese fleet sent to attack Henderson Field.
1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Indian Peace Keeping Force began Operation Pawan to take control of Jaffna from the Tamil Tigers to enforce their disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.

Casimir Pulaski (d. 1779) · María Teresa Ferrari (b. 1887) · Thích Nhất Hạnh (b. 1926)

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Today's featured picture

A five rupee note from Ceylon, dated 1929. Printed by Thomas De La Rue, London, for the Government of Ceylon, it features the engraved signatures of the Commissioners of Currency Francis Graeme Tyrrell (later acting Governor of British Ceylon) and W. W. Woods, Auditor General.

Rupee banknotes were introduced by the Government of Ceylon in 1885. Initially limited to a face value of five rupees, by 1930 banknotes had been issued in denominations ranging from one to one thousand rupees.

Banknote: Government of Ceylon (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)

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