The Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2016 is Nights into Dreams….
Nights into Dreams… is an action video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn in 1996. The story follows two teenagers, Claris and Elliot, who enter a dream world called Nightopia where all dreams take place. With the help of Nights, they begin a journey to stop the evil ruler Wizeman from destroying Nightopia and consequently the real world. Nights flies through Claris and Elliot’s dreams, gathering energy to defeat Wizeman and save Nightopia. Development began soon after the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, and was led by Sonic Team veterans Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Takashi Iizuka. Naka began the project with flight as a main theme, and Ohshima designed the character Nights to resemble an angel that could fly like a bird. An analogue controller, known as the Saturn 3D controller, was designed alongside the game. Nights into Dreams… received positive reviews upon release; critics praised the graphics, gameplay, soundtrack, and atmosphere. It has been included on multiple lists as the best Sega Saturn game of all time, as well as one of the best video games ever made.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for July 4, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 4, 2016 is United States Sesquicentennial coinage.
The United States Sesquicentennial coins, a commemorative half dollar and quarter eagle (gold $2.50 piece) for the 150th anniversary of American independence, were struck in 1926 at the Philadelphia Mint. The half dollar depicts George Washington and then-president Calvin Coolidge, making Coolidge the only president to appear on a U.S. coin while living. The National Sesquicentennial Exhibition Commission was chartered by Congress in 1925, and was allowed to purchase and resell for profit 1,000,000 specially designed half dollars and 200,000 quarter eagles. The Commission had trouble agreeing on designs with Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, and asked artist John Frederick Lewis to submit sketches. These were adapted by Sinnock for the half dollar, without giving credit to Lewis, whose involvement would not be generally known for forty years. The maximum number of each coin was struck, with many melted when they failed to sell at a premium. The Liberty Bell reverse for the half dollar was reused by Sinnock, again without giving Lewis credit, on his Franklin half dollar, first minted in 1948.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 3, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 3, 2016 is John Balmer.
John Balmer (3 July 1910 – 11 May 1944) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He joined the RAAF in 1932, and gained attention as a cross-country motorist before the war. In 1940 he became the inaugural commanding officer of No. 13 Squadron, operating Lockheed Hudsons in Northern Australia. He was raised to temporary wing commander in 1941, and within a year had taken charge of the RAAF’s first Bristol Beaufort unit, No. 100 Squadron. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942, he led the Beauforts on bombing and torpedo missions against Japanese targets during the New Guinea campaign. Posted to England in 1943, Balmer took command of No. 467 Squadron RAAF, flying Avro Lancasters in the air war over Europe. He led his unit through the Battle of Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944. In April he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the following month promoted to temporary group captain. Days later, on the night of 11 May, Balmer’s last scheduled operation as the squadron’s commanding officer, he and his crew were killed when their plane was shot down. He was buried outside Brussels.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 1, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 1, 2016 is The Man in the Moone.
The Man in the Moone is a book by the English Church of England bishop Francis Godwin (1562–1633). Initially considered to be one of his early works, it is now thought to date from the late 1620s. It was first published posthumously in 1638 under the pseudonym of Domingo Gonsales. The work made a contribution to the branch of astronomy influenced by Nicolaus Copernicus, the only astronomer mentioned by name. Gonsales is a Spaniard forced to flee the country after killing a man in a duel. Having made his fortune in the East Indies he decides to return to Spain, but falls ill on the voyage home and is set off on St Helena to recover. He resumes his journey, but his ship is attacked by a British fleet off the coast of Tenerife. He uses a flying machine he has devised to escape, but once safely landed he is approached by hostile natives and is forced to take off again. This time the birds powering his machine fly higher and higher, ultimately reaching the Moon. There Gonsales encounters the Lunars, a tall Christian people inhabiting what appears to be a utopian paradise. Some critics consider The Man in the Moone to be one of the first works of science fiction.
Wikipedia article of the day for June 30, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for June 30, 2016 is Covent Garden.
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin’s Lane and Drury Lane. On the north side are shops centred on Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials; the south side holds the Royal Opera House (also called Covent Garden), the Drury Lane theatre, the London Transport Museum, and other cultural and entertainment venues. Its central square (pictured) is a popular shopping and tourist site. The area was originally the “garden of the Abbey and Convent”, with orchards for Westminster Abbey, around 1200. In 1630 the 4th Earl of Bedford commissioned Inigo Jones to design the Italianate arcaded square, which served as a prototype for other estates as London grew. A small open-air market and its neighbourhood fell into disrepute as taverns, theatres and brothels opened up; the gentry moved away, and rakes, wits and playwrights moved in. Charles Fowler’s neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and organise the market. Further buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market. The central building reopened as a shopping centre in 1980 with cafes, pubs, small shops and a craft market.
Wikipedia article of the day for June 29, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for June 29, 2016 is Robert of Jumièges.
Robert of Jumièges (died 1052–1055?) was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He had served as prior of the Abbey of St Ouen at Rouen in Normandy, before becoming abbot of Jumièges Abbey (pictured), near Rouen, in 1037. He was a friend and advisor to the king of England, Edward the Confessor, who appointed him Bishop of London in 1044, and then archbishop in 1051. Robert’s time as archbishop lasted only about eighteen months. He had already come into conflict with the powerful Earl Godwin of Wessex, and had made attempts to recover lands lost to Godwin and his family. He also refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, Edward’s choice to succeed Robert as Bishop of London. The rift between Robert and Godwin culminated in Robert’s deposition and exile in 1052, and he died at Jumièges shortly after. Robert commissioned significant building work at Jumièges and was probably involved in the first Romanesque building in England, the church built in Westminster for Edward the Confessor, now known as Westminster Abbey. Robert’s treatment by the English was used as one of the justifications of William the Conqueror for his invasion of England.
Wikipedia article of the day for June 28, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for June 28, 2016 is George S. Patton slapping incidents.
After he slapped two soldiers, US Lieutenant General George S. Patton was sidelined from combat command by General Dwight Eisenhower and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. On 3 August 1943, during the Sicily Campaign of World War II, Patton struck, kicked and berated a soldier he found at an evacuation hospital with no apparent injuries, for being “gutless”; in fact, the soldier had malaria with a temperature of 102.2 °F (39.0 °C). Patton struck another soldier complaining of “nerves” at another hospital seven days later and threatened him with a pistol for being a “whimpering coward”; in fact, the soldier had been begging to rejoin his unit. Both soldiers suffered from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder. Patton’s actions were suppressed in the news until journalist Drew Pearson publicized them. Congress and the general public expressed both support and disdain. Patton was removed from combat command for almost a year, but did take a decoy command in Operation Fortitude to mislead German agents as to the location of the planned invasion of Europe. His later successes commanding the US Third Army largely rehabilitated his reputation.
Wikipedia article of the day for June 27, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for June 27, 2016 is 2010 Sylvania 300.
The 2010 Sylvania 300 was an American stock car racing competition held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on September 19. The 300-lap race was the twenty-seventh in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the first in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ended the season. Clint Bowyer (pictured) of the Richard Childress Racing team won the race; Denny Hamlin finished second and Jamie McMurray came in third. Brad Keselowski started at the pole position, but was quickly passed by Tony Stewart. Many participants in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, including Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and Hamlin, were in the top ten for most of the race, although some encountered problems in the closing laps. Stewart was leading the race with two laps remaining but ran out of fuel, giving the lead, and the win, to Bowyer. There were twenty-one lead changes and eight cautions during the race. It was Bowyer’s first win in the 2010 season, and the third of his career. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, ahead of Toyota and Ford. Attendance was 95,000, and the television audience was 3.68 million.
Wikipedia article of the day for June 26, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for June 26, 2016 is Seacology.
Seacology is a nonprofit charity headquartered in Berkeley, California, that focuses on preserving island ecosystems and cultures. It originated with the work of ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox in the village of Falealupo in Samoa. When the villagers were being pressured to sell logging rights to their rainforest in 1988 to build a new school, Cox and his wife offered to help secure funds in return for an agreement with the villagers to protect their forest. Cox and the village chief, Fuiono Senio (both pictured), later received the Goldman Environmental Prize for their efforts. As demand increased for similar projects on other islands, Cox, along with Bill Marré and Ken Murdock, founded Seacology in 1991. By 2016, the nonprofit had initiated 200 projects globally, helping to preserve 1,116 square miles (2,890 km2) of marine habitat and 946.7 square miles (2,452 km2) of terrestrial habitat. The organization fosters ecotourism, and has helped raise emergency funds following destructive tsunamis. It was featured in the music video “What About Now” by the American rock band Daughtry.
