Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 February 8

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In Nevada, U.S. Route 50 runs from the resort communities of Lake Tahoe eastward to the Utah border near Great Basin National Park. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway that stretches from West Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion crosses several large desert valleys separated by alpine forestland, across the Basin and Range Province of the Great Basin. It passes through the state capital in Carson City as well as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, ghost towns and petroglyph sites. The route was constructed along a historic corridor, first used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route and later for most of State Route 2 (before the U.S. Highway System) and the Lincoln Highway. U.S. Route 50 in Nevada was named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in 1986; they were referring to large desolate areas with few or no signs of civilization along the route, but Nevada officials seized on the name as a marketing slogan. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Chrysler Turbine Car

... that the Chrysler Turbine Car (pictured) could burn a variety of unusual fuels, ranging from furnace, peanut, and soybean oils to tequila?
... that Russian serial killer Mikhail Popkov has confessed to murdering more people than either Andrei Chikatilo or Alexander Pichushkin?
... that the seeds of the Bredasdorp sceptre are carried underground by ants?
... that, from 1966 to 1991, the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs was the most comprehensive annual survey of Communist activities worldwide?
... that Blanche Georgiana Vulliamy was fond of portraying bats, goblins, and other reclusive and grotesque creatures?
... that in a recent court case, the Minnesota Supreme Court resolved a dispute between the state's legislative and executive branches for the first time in its history?
... that the Church of St. Lambertus in Immerath, Germany, withstood artillery fire in World War II, but not the expansion of a lignite mine in 2018?
... that People described a carry-on manufactured by Away as "the little black dress of luggage"?

In the news

Falcon Heavy launch

An earthquake strikes Hualien, Taiwan, killing at least 7 people and injuring more than 250 others.
The SpaceX launch vehicle Falcon Heavy makes its maiden flight (pictured), carrying Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.
In American football, the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Archaeologists announce the discovery using LiDAR of approximately 60,000 Mayan structures in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala.
A total lunar eclipse occurs, close to perigee and also the second full moon in a month, a coincidence of events not seen for 35 years.

On this day...

February 8: Fat Thursday (Catholicism, 2018)

Theatrical poster for The Birth of a Nation

1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex led a failed rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I.
1879 – Enraged by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket spectators rioted and attacked the England cricket team during a match in Sydney, Australia.
1915 – Film director D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (film poster pictured) was released, becoming one of the most influential and controversial films in the history of American cinema.
1971 – Trading began on NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange.
2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggered a series of at least 36 avalanches that buried over 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of road, killed 171 people and trapped over 2,500 travellers.

Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid (b. 882) · Jules Verne (b. 1828) · Iris Murdoch (d. 1999)

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Issued during the German occupation of a small section of Iran during the Persian Campaign of World War I, this 1904 five Mark German Imperial Treasury note has been overstamped in Farsi with the denomination of 12 qiran 10 shahi for local circulation. This note is the smallest denomination in a five-note issue which included 25 qiran (overprinted on a 10 Mark note), 5 tomans (20 Mark), 25 tomans (100 Mark), and 250 tomans (1,000 Mark).

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

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