featured Wiki of the Day

fWotD Episode 2584: Ludwigsburg Palace Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Saturday, 1 June 2024 is Ludwigsburg Palace. Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is 32 ha (79 acres) – the largest palatial estate in the country. The palace has four wings: the northern wing, the Alter Hauptbau, is the oldest and was used as a residence of the Duke of Württemberg; the east and west wings were used for court purposes and housing guests and courtiers; the southern wing, the Neuer Hauptbau, was built to house more court functions and was later used as a residence. Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, appointed Philipp Joseph Jenisch to direct the work, and construction began in 1704. In 1707, Jenisch was replaced by Johann Friedrich Nette, who completed the majority of the palace and surrounding gardens. Nette died in 1714, and Donato Giuseppe Frisoni finished much of the palace façades. In the final year of construction, Eberhard Louis died, and the Neue Hauptbau's interiors were left incomplete. Charles Eugene's court architect, Philippe de La Guêpière, completed and refurbished parts of the New Hauptbau in the Rococo style, especially the palace theatre. Charles Eugene abandoned the palace for Stuttgart in 1775. Duke Frederick II, later King Frederick I, began using Ludwigsburg as his summer residence in the last years of Charles Eugene's reign. Frederick and his wife Charlotte, Princess Royal, resided at Ludwigsburg and employed Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret to renovate the palace in the Neoclassical style. Thouret converted much of Ludwigsburg's interiors over the reign of Frederick and later life of Charlotte. As a result of each architect's work, Ludwigsburg is a combination of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Empire style architecture. The constitutions of the Kingdom and Free People's State of Württemberg were ratified at Ludwigsburg Palace, in 1819 and 1919 respectively. It was the residence for four of Württemberg's monarchs and some other members of the House of Württemberg and their families. The palace was opened to the public in 1918 and survived World War II intact. It underwent periods of restoration in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s and again for the palace's 300th anniversary in 2004. The palace had more than 350,000 visitors in 2017 and has hosted the Ludwigsburg Festival every year since 1947. Surrounding the palace are the Blooming Baroque (Blühendes Barock) gardens, arranged in 1954 as they might have appeared in 1800. Nearby is Schloss Favorite, a hunting lodge built in 1717 by Frisoni. Within the palace are two museums operated by the Landesmuseum Württemberg dedicated to fashion and porcelain respectively. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Saturday, 1 June 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Ludwigsburg Palace on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Aditi Standard.

fWotD Episode 2583: Siege of Guînes (1352) Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Friday, 31 May 2024 is Siege of Guînes (1352). The siege of Guînes took place from May to July 1352 when a French army under Geoffrey de Charny unsuccessfully attempted to recapture the French castle at Guînes which had been seized by the English the previous January. The siege was part of the Hundred Years' War and took place during the uneasy and ill-kept truce of Calais. The English had taken the strongly fortified castle during a period of nominal truce, and the English king, Edward III, decided to keep it. Charny led 4,500 men and retook the town, but could not blockade the castle. After two months of fierce fighting, a large English night attack on the French camp inflicted a heavy defeat and the French withdrew. Guînes was incorporated into the Pale of Calais. The castle was besieged by the French in 1436 and 1514 but was relieved each time, before falling to the French in 1558. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:48 UTC on Friday, 31 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Siege of Guînes (1352) on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Emma Standard.

fWotD Episode 2582: Boundary Fire (2017) Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Thursday, 30 May 2024 is Boundary Fire (2017). The Boundary Fire was a 2017 wildfire in Arizona that burned 17,788 acres (7,199 ha) of the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests. The fire was ignited on June 1 when lightning struck a spot on the northeast side of Kendrick Peak within the Coconino National Forest. The fire spread rapidly because of high temperatures, steep terrain, leftovers from a wildfire in 2000, and high wind speeds. The winds blew smoke over local communities and infrastructure, leading to the closure of U. S. Route 180 from June 8 to June 21. Smoke was also visible from the Grand Canyon. The Boundary Fire burned out on July 3, 2017, after 32 days of firefighting. The cost of managing the fire was $9.4 million (equivalent to $11.5 million in 2023). Damage to the area's foliage increased the risk of landslides into 2018. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:42 UTC on Thursday, 30 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Boundary Fire (2017) on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Niamh Neural.

fWotD Episode 2581: Beulé Gate Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Wednesday, 29 May 2024 is Beulé Gate. The Beulé Gate (French pronunciation: [bœ'le]) is a fortified gate, constructed in the Roman period, leading to the Propylaia of the Acropolis of Athens. It was constructed almost entirely from repurposed materials (spolia) taken from the Choragic Monument of Nikias, a monument built in the fourth century BCE and demolished between the second and fourth centuries CE. The dedicatory inscription from Nikias's monument is still visible in the entablature of the Beulé Gate. The gate was integrated into the Post-Herulian Wall, a late Roman fortification built around the Acropolis in the years following the city's sack by the Germanic Heruli people in 267 or early 268 CE. Its construction marked the beginning of a new phase in the Acropolis's use, in which it came to be seen more as a potential defensive position than in the religious terms that had marked its use in the classical period. During the medieval period, the gate was further fortified and closed off, before being built over with a bastion in Ottoman times. The monument was discovered by the French archaeologist Charles Ernest Beulé in 1852, and excavated between 1852 and 1853. Its discovery was greeted enthusiastically in France among the scholarly community and the press, though archaeologists and Greek commentators criticised the aggressive means – particularly the use of explosives – by which Beulé had carried out the excavation. In modern times, the gate has served primarily as an exit for tourists from the Acropolis. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:37 UTC on Wednesday, 29 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Beulé Gate on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Emma Standard.

fWotD Episode 2580: Nicholas of Worcester Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Tuesday, 28 May 2024 is Nicholas of Worcester. Nicholas of Worcester (died 24 June 1124) was the prior of the Benedictine priory of Worcester Cathedral from about 1116 until his death. He was born around the time of the Norman Conquest. It is not known who his parents were, but the twelfth-century historian William of Malmesbury wrote that he was "of exalted descent", and the historian Emma Mason argues that he was a son of King Harold Godwinson. Nicholas was the favourite pupil of Wulfstan, the bishop of Worcester, who brought him up. Wulfstan, the last surviving Anglo-Saxon bishop, lived until 1095. He was influential in transmitting Old English culture to Anglo-Norman England. Nicholas carried on this work as prior, and he was highly respected by the leading chroniclers, William of Malmesbury, John of Worcester and Eadmer, who acknowledged his assistance in their histories. Several letters to and from Nicholas survive. Nicholas was an English monk at a time when both Englishmen and monks rarely received promotion in the church. When Bishop Theulf of Worcester died in October 1123, Nicholas led an unsuccessful attempt of the monks of the priory chapter to be allowed to choose the next bishop. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:48 UTC on Tuesday, 28 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Nicholas of Worcester on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Salli Neural.

fWotD Episode 2579: SMS Lothringen Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Monday, 27 May 2024 is SMS Lothringen. SMS Lothringen was the last of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down in December 1902, was launched in May 1904, and was commissioned in May 1906. She was named for Bezirk Lothringen, a government region within the Lorraine area of Alsace-Lorraine, a province of the German Empire from 1871–1918. The ship was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Like all other pre-dreadnoughts built around the turn of the century, Lothringen was quickly made obsolete by the launching of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought in 1906; as a result, her career as a front-line battleship was cut short. Lothringen's peacetime career centered on squadron and fleet exercises and training cruises with II Battle Squadron. Scheduled to be withdrawn from service in July 1914 and replaced by newer dreadnought battleships, the outbreak of World War I that month prevented her retirement. She spent the first two years of the war primarily serving as a guard ship in the German Bight. She and the rest of II Squadron joined the dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet to support the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby in December 1914. In poor condition by 1916, she was withdrawn from fleet service in February. She thereafter patrolled the Danish straits until she was replaced by the battleship Hannover in September 1917. She spent the rest of the war as a disarmed training ship. After the war, Lothringen was retained by the re-formed Reichsmarine and converted into a depot ship for F-type minesweepers from 1919 to 1920. After the task of clearing the wartime minefields in the North Sea was completed, she was placed in reserve in March 1920. The ship remained inactive for the next decade and was stricken from the naval register in March 1931 and sold to ship breakers later that year. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:32 UTC on Monday, 27 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see SMS Lothringen on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Justin Standard.

fWotD Episode 2578: The Day Before the Revolution Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Sunday, 26 May 2024 is The Day Before the Revolution. "The Day Before the Revolution" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. First published in the science fiction magazine Galaxy in August 1974, it was anthologized in Le Guin's 1975 collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters and in several subsequent collections. Set in Le Guin's fictional Hainish universe, the story has strong connections to her novel The Dispossessed (also published in 1974), and is sometimes referred to as a prologue to the longer work, though it was written later. "The Day Before the Revolution" follows Odo, an aging anarchist revolutionary, who lives in a commune founded on her teachings. Over the course of a day, she relives memories of her life as an activist while she learns of a revolution in a neighboring country and gets caught up in plans for a general strike the next day. The strike is implied to be the beginning of the revolution that leads to the establishment of the idealized anarchist society based on Odo's teachings that is depicted in The Dispossessed. Death, grief, and sexuality in older age are major themes explored in "The Day Before the Revolution". The story won the Nebula and Locus awards for Best Short Story in 1975, and was also nominated for a Hugo Award. It had a positive critical reception, with particular praise for its characterization of Odo: a review in Extrapolation called the story a "brilliant character sketch of a proud, strong woman hobbled by old age". Multiple scholars commented that it represented a tonal and thematic shift in Le Guin's writing and toward non-linear narrative structures and works infused with feminism. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Sunday, 26 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see The Day Before the Revolution on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Salli Standard.

fWotD Episode 2577: 2019 FA Cup final Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Saturday, 25 May 2024 is 2019 FA Cup final. The 2019 FA Cup final was an association football match between Manchester City and Watford on 18 May 2019 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the 138th FA Cup final. It was Manchester City's first FA Cup final appearance since 2013 and Watford's second since 1984. Kevin Friend was the referee for the match played in front of 85,854 spectators. Manchester City dominated the early stages of the final. In the 21st minute, Abdoulaye Doucouré's shot struck Vincent Kompany's arm in the Manchester City penalty area, but after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR), Friend declined to award a penalty and showed Doucouré the first yellow card of the game for his subsequent protests. In the 26th minute the deadlock was broken, as David Silva scored from a Raheem Sterling header. Twelve minutes later Manchester City doubled their lead after Gabriel Jesus side-footed the ball past Kiko Femenía and Heurelho Gomes in the Watford goal. On 61 minutes City further extended their lead to 3–0 with a goal from substitute Kevin De Bruyne from close range. Seven minutes later, Jesus made it 4–0 after taking the ball on the counter-attack and shooting past Gomes. In the 81st minute, Sterling scored from a Bernardo Silva cross to make it 5–0, before scoring again in the 87th minute after his initial shot was pushed onto the post by Gomes. The match ended 6–0 to Manchester City: it was only the third time that a team has scored six goals in an FA Cup final, and the margin of victory is the joint-largest in an FA Cup final, equalling Bury's 6–0 win over Derby County in 1903. De Bruyne was named man of the match. The win completed a domestic treble for Manchester City, who had already won the League Cup and the Premier League that season, which at the time was unprecedented by any English men's team. As they had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League, City's continental qualification place for winning the FA Cup went to the team that finished seventh in the league (Wolverhampton Wanderers), who entered the second qualifying round of UEFA Europa League. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:34 UTC on Saturday, 25 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see 2019 FA Cup final on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Joey Standard.

fWotD Episode 2576: George Town, Penang Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Friday, 24 May 2024 is George Town, Penang. George Town is the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is the core city of the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia's second largest metropolitan area with a population of 2.84 million and the second highest contributor to the country's GDP. The city proper spans an area of 306 km2 (118 sq mi) encompassing Penang Island and surrounding islets, and had a population of 794,313 as of 2020. Initially established as an entrepôt by Francis Light in 1786, George Town serves as the commercial centre for northern Malaysia. According to Euromonitor International and the Economist Intelligence Unit, it has the highest potential for revenue growth among all Malaysian cities and contributed nearly 8 per cent of the country's personal disposable income in 2015, second only to the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Its technological sector, anchored by hundreds of multinational companies, has made George Town the top exporter in the country. The Penang International Airport links George Town to several regional cities, while a ferry service and two road bridges connect the city to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. Swettenham Pier is the busiest cruise terminal in the country. George Town was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia, and its proximity to maritime routes along the Strait of Malacca attracted an influx of immigrants from various parts of Asia. Following rapid growth in its early years, it became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1826, only to lose its administrative status to Singapore in 1832. The Straits Settlements became a British crown colony in 1867. Shortly before Malaya attained independence from Britain in 1957, George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II, making it the first city in the country's history. In 1974, George Town was merged with the rest of the island, throwing its city status into doubt until 2015, when its jurisdiction was reinstated and expanded to cover the entire island and adjacent islets. The city is described by UNESCO as having a "unique architectural and cultural townscape" that is shaped by centuries of intermingling between various cultures and religions. It has also gained a reputation as Malaysia's gastronomical capital for its distinct culinary scene. The preservation of these cultures contributed to the designation of the city centre of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:42 UTC on Friday, 24 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see George Town, Penang on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Kendra Neural.

fWotD Episode 2575: Mount Edziza volcanic complex Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Thursday, 23 May 2024 is Mount Edziza volcanic complex. The Mount Edziza volcanic complex (; abbreviated MEVC) is a group of volcanoes and associated lava flows in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. Located on the Tahltan Highland, it is 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Telegraph Creek and 85 kilometres (53 miles) southwest of Dease Lake. The complex encompasses a broad, steep-sided lava plateau that extends over 1,000 square kilometres (390 square miles). Its highest summit is 2,786 metres (9,140 feet) in elevation, making the MEVC the highest of four large complexes in an extensive north–south trending volcanic region. It is obscured by an ice cap characterized by several outlet glaciers that stretch out to lower altitudes. The MEVC consists of several types of volcanoes, including stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, cinder cones and lava domes. These volcanoes have formed over the last 7.5 million years during five cycles of magmatic activity which spanned four geologic epochs. Volcanic eruptions during these magmatic cycles produced a wide variety of volcanic rocks that comprise 13 geological formations. The most recent eruptions took place in the last 11,000 years but none of them have been precisely dated. Current activity occurs exclusively in the form of hot springs. Future eruptions are likely to impact local streams and cause wildfires. Several streams surround the MEVC, many of which drain the flanks of the volcanic complex. They include the Little Iskut River along the southeastern flank, Kakiddi Creek along the northeastern flank, the Klastline River along the northern flank and Mess Creek along the western flank. The valleys of these streams contain several species of trees, including white spruce, trembling aspen and lodgepole pine. Animal species such as birds, rodents, bears, sheep, goats, moose and caribou inhabit the area. Warm summers and cold, snowy winters characterize the climate at the MEVC; snow and ice remain on the highest volcanoes year-round. Indigenous peoples have lived adjacent to the MEVC for thousands of years. Historically, the local Tahltan people used volcanic glass from the MEVC to make tools and weaponry. Intermittent geological work has been carried out at the volcanic complex since at least the 1950s, the most detailed studies having been conducted in the 1960s. A large provincial park, which can only be accessed by aircraft or by a network of footpaths, dominates the MEVC. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Thursday, 23 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Mount Edziza volcanic complex on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Geraint Standard.

fWotD Episode 2574: Oyster dress Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Wednesday, 22 May 2024 is Oyster dress. The oyster dress is a high fashion gown created by British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his Spring/Summer 2003 collection Irere. McQueen's design is a one-shouldered dress in bias-cut beige silk chiffon with a boned upper body and a full-length skirt consisting of hundreds of individual circles of organza sewn in dense layers to the base fabric, resembling an oyster shell. According to McQueen, the gown took a month's work for three people, who cut and assembled all the pieces individually. In addition to the original beige dress, a version with a red bodice and the ruffled skirt in rainbow colours was also created. The beige and red versions appeared in the Irere runway show, and were photographed for magazines to promote the collection. The dress originated as a reinterpretation of the "shellfish dress" designed by John Galliano in 1987, which McQueen had long admired and sought to emulate. Contemporary critical response to McQueen's oyster dress was positive. It has become known as the most significant design from Irere, and is considered an iconic piece of McQueen's work, surpassing the famed Galliano original. Only two copies are known to exist, one held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York City and one by media personality Kim Kardashian. The Met's copy has appeared in several exhibitions, particularly the retrospective Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. McQueen returned to the oyster dress concept several times over his career, most prominently in his Autumn/Winter 2006 collection The Widows of Culloden. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Oyster dress on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Kimberly Neural.

fWotD Episode 2573: Mary Anning Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Tuesday, 21 May 2024 is Mary Anning. Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth. Anning searched for fossils in the area's Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone cliffs, particularly during the winter months when landslides exposed new fossils that had to be collected quickly before they were lost to the sea. Her discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton when she was twelve years old; the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons; the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany; and fish fossils. Her observations played a key role in the discovery that coprolites, known as bezoar stones at the time, were fossilised faeces, and she also discovered that belemnite fossils contained fossilised ink sacs like those of modern cephalopods. Anning struggled financially for much of her life. As a woman, she was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London, and did not always receive full credit for her scientific contributions. However, her friend, geologist Henry De la Beche, who painted Duria Antiquior, the first widely circulated pictorial representation of a scene from prehistoric life derived from fossil reconstructions, based it largely on fossils Anning had found and sold prints of it for her benefit. Anning became well known in geological circles in Britain, Europe, and America, and was consulted on issues of anatomy as well as fossil collecting. The only scientific writing of hers published in her lifetime appeared in the Magazine of Natural History in 1839, an extract from a letter that Anning had written to the magazine's editor questioning one of its claims. After her death in 1847, Anning's unusual life story attracted increasing interest. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:32 UTC on Tuesday, 21 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Mary Anning on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Kimberly Neural.

fWotD Episode 2572: City of Champaign v. Madigan Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Monday, 20 May 2024 is City of Champaign v. Madigan. City of Champaign v. Madigan, 2013 IL App (4th) 120662, 992 N. E.2d 629 (2013), is a case decided by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2013 concerning the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The court ruled that messages sent and received by elected officials during a city council meeting and pertaining to public business are public records subject to disclosure, even when those communications are stored on personal electronic devices. It was the first court ruling in Illinois to hold that private messages were subject to public disclosure under FOIA. The case addressed a public records request from a reporter for The News-Gazette in Champaign, Illinois, who observed Champaign city council members and the mayor using their personal electronic devices to send messages during a city council meeting. City officials denied the reporter's request for disclosure of the private messages. The case eventually reached the Appellate Court, which held that public officials have to disclose their records, even if they are stored on a personal electronic device or account, but only when acting as a public body. The court found that members of a city council do not constitute a public body when acting individually. However, because the city council members in question had convened a public meeting, they were acting collectively as a public body, and their messages were therefore subject to disclosure under FOIA. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:03 UTC on Monday, 20 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see City of Champaign v. Madigan on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Olivia Neural.

fWotD Episode 2571: Gento (song) Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Sunday, 19 May 2024 is Gento (song). "Gento" (stylized in all uppercase) is a song recorded by the Filipino boy band SB19 for their second extended play (EP), Pagtatag! (2023). The band's leader, Pablo, wrote the song and co-produced it with Joshua Daniel Nase and Simon Servida. A pop and hip hop track, it is about empowerment and uses gold mining as a metaphor for achieving success, alluding to the band's career. The song was released via Sony Music Philippines on May 19, 2023, as the EP's lead single. Most reviews from music critics favored the single's catchy lyricism, but one criticized it for its unvarying energy. The song was the band's first entry on two of Billboard's record charts: World Digital Song Sales—a first among Filipino groups—and the Philippines Songs charts, peaking at numbers eight and eleven, respectively. A dance challenge set to the song became a trend on TikTok. The accompanying music video, directed by Kerbs Balagtas, depicted the band members mining for gold. The group promoted the song with live performances and included it on the set list of their Pagtatag! World Tour (2023–2024). The song has received multiple accolades, including the Wishclusive Pop Performance of the Year award at the Wish 107.5 Music Awards 2024. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Sunday, 19 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Gento (song) on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Joanna Standard.

fWotD Episode 2570: Tropical Storm Hernan (2020) Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Saturday, 18 May 2024 is Tropical Storm Hernan (2020). Tropical Storm Hernan was a short-lived tropical cyclone that brought widespread flooding and destructive mudslides to southwestern Mexico in late August 2020. Hernan was the thirteenth tropical cyclone and eighth named storm of the 2020 Pacific hurricane season. The system developed from a low-pressure area to the southwest of Mexico on August 26, as a low-end tropical storm. Moving generally northward and paralleling the west coast of Mexico, Hernan was hindered by a high wind shear environment and only slightly strengthened. The cyclone achieved its peak intensity around 06:00 UTC on August 27 with maximum sustained winds of 70 km/h (45 mph) and a minimum barometric pressure of 1,001 mbar (29.6 inHg). Passing just offshore of the state of Jalisco, Hernan turned west and degenerated to a remnant low on August 28. The low passed near the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula later that day and dissipated shortly thereafter. Despite Hernan's short existence, it dropped more than 280 millimeters (11 inches) of rain across many areas of southwestern Mexico, with accumulations peaking at 590 mm (23.24 in) in Jalisco. Multiple highways had to be shut down due to dangerous conditions, including mudslides and rivers overflowing their banks. Several schools suffered damage in the state of Colima, and in the city of Manzanillo, homes, businesses, and streets were damaged and covered in mud. Nearly 20,000 people were heavily impacted by Hernan in Jalisco, and 1,674 homes and 9 schools suffered severe damage. In that state, a man fell off his roof and died while inspecting it for damage following the storm. Severe damage was also reported in Guerrero, with the most significant flooding taking place in the Costa Grande Region. Lesser effects from the storm were felt in several other coastal states across western Mexico. Recovery efforts were carried out by the Mexican Armed Forces across several states. Total damage from Hernan in Mexico was estimated to be MXN$594.05 million (USD$26.91 million). This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:38 UTC on Saturday, 18 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Tropical Storm Hernan (2020) on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Justin Neural.

fWotD Episode 2569: Raymond Brownell Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Friday, 17 May 2024 is Raymond Brownell. Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, (17 May 1894 – 12 April 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After flight training in the United Kingdom, Brownell was commissioned as a second lieutenant and posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia. Commissioned in the RAAF in 1921, Brownell had risen to the rank of group captain by the beginning of the Second World War. Establishing the RAAF base in Singapore, he returned to Australia in 1941 as an air commodore and was appointed to lead No. 1 Training Group. He was Air Officer Commanding Western Area from January 1943 until July 1945, when he took charge of the recently formed No. 11 Group on Morotai. Retiring from the Air Force in 1947, Brownell assumed a partnership in a stockbroking firm. He died in 1974 aged 79; his autobiography, From Khaki to Blue, was published posthumously. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 10:08 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Raymond Brownell on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Arthur Neural.

fWotD Episode 2568: Hö'elün Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Thursday, 16 May 2024 is Hö'elün. Hö'elün (Mongolian: ᠥᠭᠡᠯᠦᠨ, Ö’elün Üjin, lit. 'Lady Ö’elün'; fl. 1162–1210) was a noblewoman of the Mongol Empire and the mother of Temüjin, better known as Genghis Khan. She played a major role in his rise to power, as described in the Secret History of the Mongols. Born into the Olkhonud clan of the Onggirat tribe, Hö'elün was originally married to Chiledu, a Merkit aristocrat; she was captured shortly after her wedding by Yesügei, an important member of the Mongols, who abducted her to be his primary wife. She and Yesügei had four sons and one daughter: Temüjin, Qasar, Hachiun, Temüge, and Temülen. After Yesügei was fatally poisoned and the Mongols abandoned her family, Hö'elün shepherded all her children through poverty to adulthood—her resilience and organisational skills have been remarked upon by historians. She continued to play an important role after Temüjin's marriage to Börte—together, the two women managed his camp and provided him with advice. Hö'elün married Münglig, an old retainer of Yesügei, in thanks for his support after a damaging defeat in 1187; during the next decades, she arranged marriages and maintained alliances in Yesügei's place. After Temüjin's 1206 entitlement as Genghis Khan, she likely felt she had been under-rewarded for her efforts compared to her husband. She was also heavily involved in disputes between Genghis, his brothers, and Münglig's sons; possibly due to the stress of mediating, she died soon after on an unknown date. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 09:12 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Hö'elün on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Geraint Standard.

fWotD Episode 2567: Operation Title Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Wednesday, 15 May 2024 is Operation Title. Operation Title was an unsuccessful Allied attack on the German battleship Tirpitz during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It involved two British Chariot manned torpedoes that were transported close to the battleship's anchorage in Trondheimsfjorden (English: the Trondheim Fjord) in occupied Norway, by a Norwegian-crewed boat between 26 and 31 October 1942. The attack was abandoned following the accidental loss of both Chariots during the evening of 31 October. The Allies considered Tirpitz to be a major threat to their shipping, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill directed that priority be placed on destroying the battleship. Several Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bomber raids against Tirpitz failed to inflict any damage, and it was decided to use Royal Navy midget submarines instead. Operation Title involved a pair of two-man British Chariot crews, two British support personnel and four members of the Norwegian resistance. They were transported to Norway on board a small boat named Arthur that had been modified to covertly carry the Chariots and their crews. Arthur suffered mechanical problems during the voyage to Trondheimsfjorden, causing delays. Its captain, Leif Larsen, used forged documents to bluff his way through German defences near the mouth of the fjord. Both Chariots were lost when bad weather caused them to detach from Arthur on 31 October, shortly before the attack was to have begun. This forced the operation to be abandoned. It was not possible for the Allied boat to return to the sea due to German security measures, and Arthur was scuttled. The Allied personnel attempted to escape overland to neutral Sweden, and all but one reached Sweden on 5 November. The other – a British serviceman – was taken prisoner by German forces and murdered on 19 January 1943. Historians regard Operation Title as a skilful attack that failed due to bad luck and faulty workmanship. The British attacked Tirpitz again in September 1943 (Operation Source) using a different type of midget submarine; this operation caused severe damage to the battleship. The Royal Navy conducted several air raids against Tirpitz between April and August 1944, with mixed results. She was crippled by a RAF heavy bomber attack in September 1944 and sunk by another such raid in November that year. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 07:47 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Operation Title on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Ruth Neural.

fWotD Episode 2566: Mars Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Tuesday, 14 May 2024 is Mars. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing. It is classified as a terrestrial planet and is the second smallest of the Solar System's planets with a diameter of 6,779 km (4,212 mi). In terms of orbital motion, a Martian solar day (sol) is equal to 24.5 hours, and a Martian solar year is equal to 1.88 Earth years (687 Earth days). Mars has two natural satellites that are small and irregular in shape: Phobos and Deimos. The relatively flat plains in northern parts of Mars strongly contrast with the cratered terrain in southern highlands – this terrain observation is known as the Martian dichotomy. Mars hosts many enormous extinct volcanos (the largest is Olympus Mons, 21.9 km or 13.6 mi tall) and one of the largest canyons in the Solar System (Valles Marineris, 4,000 km or 2,500 mi long). Geologically, the planet is fairly active with marsquakes trembling underneath the ground, dust devils sweeping across the landscape, and cirrus clouds. Carbon dioxide is substantially present in Mars's polar ice caps and thin atmosphere. During a year, there are large surface temperature swings on the surface between −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F) to 5.7 °C (42.3 °F) similar to Earth's seasons, as both planets have significant axial tilt. Mars was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. During the Noachian period (4.5 to 3.5 billion years ago), Mars's surface was marked by meteor impacts, valley formation, erosion, and the possible presence of water oceans. The Hesperian period (3.5 to 3.3–2.9 billion years ago) was dominated by widespread volcanic activity and flooding that carved immense outflow channels. The Amazonian period, which continues to the present, has been marked by the wind as a dominant influence on geological processes. Due to Mars's geological history, the possibility of past or present life on Mars remains of great scientific interest. Since the late 20th century, Mars has been explored by uncrewed spacecraft and rovers, with the first flyby by the Mariner 4 probe in 1965, the first orbit by the Mars 2 probe in 1971, and the first landing by the Viking 1 probe in 1976. As of 2023, there are at least 11 active probes orbiting Mars or on the Martian surface. Mars is an attractive target for future human exploration missions, though in the 2020s no such mission is planned. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 06:31 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Mars on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Amy Standard.

fWotD Episode 2565: Doom (2016 video game) Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day. The featured article for Monday, 13 May 2024 is Doom (2016 video game). Doom is a 2016 first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is the first major installment in the Doom series since 2004's Doom 3 and was a reboot of the franchise. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2016. A port for Nintendo Switch was co-developed with Panic Button and released in November 2017, and a version for Google Stadia was released in August 2020. Players take the role of an unnamed space marine, known as the "Doom Slayer", as he battles demonic forces within an energy-mining facility on Mars and in Hell. Doom was announced as Doom 4 in 2008, and that version underwent an extensive development cycle with different builds and designs before the game was restarted in 2011 and revealed as simply Doom in 2014. It was tested by customers who pre-ordered the 2014 MachineGames game Wolfenstein: The New Order and the general public. Mick Gordon composed the music, with contributions by Richard Devine. The game also has an online multiplayer component and a level editor known as "SnapMap", co-developed with Certain Affinity and Escalation Studios respectively. Doom was well received by critics and players. The single-player campaign, graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay received considerable praise, whereas the multiplayer mode drew significant criticism. It was the second best-selling video game in North America and the UK in the week of its release and sold over 500,000 copies for PCs by the end of May 2016. A sequel, Doom Eternal, was released in March 2020. This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 05:56 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024. For the full current version of the article, see Doom (2016 video game) on Wikipedia. This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes. Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai. Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast. Until next time, I'm Joey Standard.