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Today's featured article

Benjamin F. McAdoo (1920–1981) was an American architect mainly active in the Seattle area. Born in Pasadena, California, he was inspired to study architecture by a mechanical-drawing class and the work of Paul R. Williams. After working as a draftsman for local architectural firms and the Corps of Engineers, he pursued his Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Washington. The first licensed Black architect in the state of Washington, his work featured a modernist aesthetic influenced by the Northwest Regional style. After designing a number of low-income houses and apartments throughout the 1950s, he was hired by the Agency for International Development to design modular houses in Jamaica. He returned to Seattle after a period of work in Washington, D.C., and pursued civic commissions. Outside of work, he participated in the NAACP, hosted a weekly radio show on racial issues for several years, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives. (Full article...)

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Selected anniversaries

February 18

Protesters during the Revolution of Dignity

3102 BCE – According to Hindu scriptures, Kali Yuga, the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas, began.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: French troops led by Napoleon forced the Army of Bohemia to retreat after it advanced dangerously close to Paris.
1977 – The Xinjiang 61st Regiment Farm fire started during Chinese New Year when a firecracker ignited the wreaths of late Mao Zedong, killing 694 personnel.
2014 – A series of violent events (pictured) involving protesters, riot police, and unknown shooters began in Kyiv that culminated in the ousting of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych five days later.

Angilbert (d. 814)
Per Brahe the Younger (b. 1602)
Ōyama Sutematsu (d. 1919)
Vernon (b. 1998)

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In the news

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf

At the British Academy Film Awards, Conclave wins four awards including Best Film.
Mahamoud Ali Youssouf (pictured) is elected as chairman of the African Union Commission.
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis resigns from office, and is succeeded by Ilie Bolojan in an acting capacity.
A bus falls off a bridge over the Las Vacas River in Guatemala City, killing at least 55 people.
The Baltic states complete synchronization of their power grids with continental Europe's, disconnecting from Russia's.

Texas nipple cactus

... that according to one cacti nurseryman, the Texas nipple cactus (pictured) is so easy to grow that connoisseurs almost look down on it?
... that Thomas Burdet supposedly plotted treason against King Edward IV in 1477 after he killed Burdet's favourite white deer?
... that 23 tons of dog food were once stolen from the Malibu Feed Bin?
... that Alf Jacques crafted more than 80,000 wooden lacrosse sticks in his lifetime?
... that the Chinese silent film Lustrous Pearls has been described as blurring the differences between male and female bodies through long shots?
... that by 2006, Catholic sister Rosalind "Sister Roz" Gefre had given an estimated 7,000 massages at St. Paul Saints baseball games?
... that Inky the octopus attracted worldwide media attention after escaping from the National Aquarium of New Zealand?
... that Benedictine monk Brother Justus helped make stills so that farmers could illegally make alcohol during Prohibition?
... that even mpreg enthusiasts disapprove of "ass babies"?

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