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Did you know...
29 February 2020
- 01:06, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
[[File:|x110px|Russian naval operations off the coast
of Syria ]]
of Syria ]]
- ... that Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov was thanked by the chief of the Russian general staff for commanding a naval task force during the intervention in Syria (naval operations shown)?
- ... that Mark Williams won a snooker match at the 2020 World Grand Prix despite suffering from gout?
- ... that the U.S. government has tried to prevent Omar Lorméndez Pitalúa from accessing the international financial sector?
- ... that Alte Liebe (Old Love) is a novel about a couple married for 40 years, told by a couple married longer but separated, with chapters written alternately by wife and husband?
- ... that South Korean businessman Chung Mong-won, an honorary consul of Slovenia, will be inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2020?
- ... that the military of the Sasanian Empire used an uncharacterized device or technique called panjagan to fire a volley of five arrows?
- ... that John Thomas Baldwin, a botanist at the College of William & Mary, fined a group of students $100 after they cut down one of his specimens for use as a Christmas tree?
28 February 2020
- 01:07, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Wei Zhongquan, the chief designer of the Fengyun-2 satellite (model pictured), was rescued by his colleagues when it burst into flames on the eve of its scheduled launch?
- ... that in addition to its retail operations, Japanese used goods chain K-Books operates a butler café?
- ... that Canadian professor Georges Larivière conducted a research project in which a transceiver is inserted into a hockey helmet to communicate directly with ice hockey players?
- ... that the 2018 indie video game Past Cure was developed by a team from Turkey, Belgium, Egypt, Romania, England, and North Macedonia?
- ... that Suki Lopez auditioned for Sesame Street by having a heart-to-heart conversation with someone performing as Elmo?
- ... that a fishing boat capsized and sank in 1948 off the Maltese island of Gozo after too many passengers had insisted on boarding it?
- ... that Margaret Barr Fulton was the first qualified occupational therapist to work in the UK?
- ... that Deno Vourderis promised Coney Island's Wonder Wheel to his future wife as a gift 36 years before buying it?
27 February 2020
- 00:56, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Abwehr agent and Nazi propagandist Oscar Pfaus (pictured) once served in the U.S. Army?
- ... that 2019 concerts in the 19th-century Bergkirche in Wiesbaden, Germany, included Pärt's Passio and Handel's Messiah?
- ... that Dorothy Doolittle, winner of the inaugural Chicago Marathon, was later an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the 1992 Summer Olympics?
- ... that in a Europe-wide study, the boreal ensign scale was found to be the most common scale insect present in soil?
- ... that Chun Chik-yu, a descendant of Hawaiian chiefs, served as governor of Guangdong province in China?
- ... that the Band of the National Police of Peru has the oldest music library in the country?
- ... that in 2016, Alice Dearing became the first British swimmer to win a gold medal at the World Junior Open Water Championships?
- ... that Vint Cerf performed a striptease in a three-piece suit during the Protocol Wars?
26 February 2020
- 00:00, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that a lookout known as a huer would be posted to the Huer's Hut (pictured) in Newquay, Cornwall, to watch for the arrival of pilchards?
- ... that in 1965, U.S. civil rights activist John Hulett became one of the first two black voters in Lowndes County, Alabama, in more than six decades?
- ... that Werner Herzog, who plays The Client in The Mandalorian, has called the show's producers "cowards" for considering the use of computer-generated imagery for "Baby Yoda"?
- ... that Irish republican activist Michael Davitt hated the British empire, but actually liked English people?
- ... that in his 1831 chorale cantata Verleih uns Frieden, Mendelssohn set Luther's German prayer for peace to a new melody?
- ... that British screenwriter Gaby Chiappe has worked with the Rape Crisis centre in Leeds to develop a storyline about rape?
- ... that New York City's Downtown Athletic Club, for white-collar workers of Lower Manhattan, did not accept female members for 51 years?
- ... that cricketer Atharva Ankolekar's father placed a cricket bat near his crib on the day he was born?
25 February 2020
- 00:00, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the laciniate conch (shell pictured) is able to flip itself off the seabed using its muscular foot?
- ... that Virginia Walker was signed to a Hollywood film contract on the basis of her picture in a magazine advertisement for soap?
- ... that Scandinavian sagas were the first to use Eistland as a name for Estonia?
- ... that Enno Stephan's book Geheimauftrag Irland caused embarrassment in Ireland when it revealed details of Nazi espionage in the country?
- ... that The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith was filmed in Fiji to take advantage of the country's 47-percent tax rebate for films made there?
- ... that the Leeds-based software company Visionware represented a management buyout success story from the failure of a once much larger British company?
- ... that after Caroline Pafford Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her first novel, she received a letter from Margaret Mitchell saying that it was her "favorite book"?
- ... that rappers Future and Drake worked at McDonald's for a day?
24 February 2020
- 00:00, 24 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the flag of Spokane, Washington (pictured), was taken to the summit of Mount Everest in 1981?
- ... that Hildegard Heichele, a soprano of the Oper Frankfurt known for performing Mozart roles, appears as Adele on a DVD of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus from the Royal Opera House?
- ... that The Patient Assassin, a biography of Udham Singh by Anita Anand, uses evidence from documents released under the UK's Freedom of Information Act?
- ... that after being treated for uterine cancer, Ai Kidosaki taught cooking to hospital employees?
- ... that Michael Waltrip's 2019 documentary film Blink of an Eye has been called "NASCAR's answer to Senna"?
- ... that Al Ahed FC became the first Lebanese association football club to win the AFC Cup?
- ... that in 2003, a painting by Nazlı Ecevit was hung in the workplace of the Turkish prime minister, an office that her son Bülent Ecevit had previously held?
- ... that the Battle of Drepana was ill-fated for the Romans because their sacred chickens refused to eat?
- ... that at the age of 17, Esther Arditi saved a pilot and a navigator from a burning plane?
23 February 2020
- 00:00, 23 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that a painting (pictured) by N. C. Wyeth portraying George Washington's reception at Trenton was the most expensive gift ever given to Thomas Edison State University?
- ... that Ron Berteling is the first Dutch ice hockey player to be knighted by the Netherlands?
- ... that on this day in 1814, a tsar, a king, and a prince met at Troyes to discuss their war against Napoleon?
- ... that Nino Tkeshelashvili and other early Georgian feminists campaigned to uphold women's "moral standards", labeling prostitution a "social evil"?
- ... that John F. Kennedy used the first satellite in a geosynchronous orbit to phone Nigerian prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa from a ship?
- ... that Gustav Brecher, who conducted the world premieres of Jonny spielt auf and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Leipzig Opera, was dismissed by the Nazis in 1933?
- ... that a section of Japan National Route 339 on Cape Tappi is a staircase?
- ... that fashion historian Caroline Weber discovered two lost essays by Marcel Proust while researching one of her books?
22 February 2020
- 00:00, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that it was reportedly Elizabeth Willing Powel (pictured) who asked Benjamin Franklin whether the United States was to be "a republic or a monarchy", to which he responded: "A republic ... if you can keep it"?
- ... that the specific name of Pterophorus pentadactyla, commonly known as the white plume moth, comes from the Greek for 'five fingers'?
- ... that Dutch baritone John Bröcheler first sang concerts including world premieres, but was "discovered" for opera in a role of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda alongside Joan Sutherland?
- ... that although veneration of the dead is often considered blasphemy in Islam, Sukarno's grave in Blitar receives tens of thousands of Javanese Muslims each year seeking his spiritual blessing?
- ... that Ephraim Bacon, a leader of the American Colonization Society expedition that founded Liberia, fled to Barbados after coming down with a fever?
- ... that Super Lemon Haze is an award-winning cannabis strain that commonly exhibits limonene, an organic compound also found in lemons?
- ... that researcher Heejung Kim found that the influence of the oxytocin receptor gene OXTR on social behavior depends on cultural context?
- ... that Mexican indigenous radio station La Voz de los Chontales returns today after being silent for more than 30 years?
21 February 2020
- 00:00, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that depictions of urinating boys (example pictured) in Renaissance art could alternatively represent boyish innocence or erotic virility?
- ... that Keith Sebelius voted against the War Powers Resolution, but supported capping the U.S. military at 400,000 troops overseas?
- ... that Blue Square owned the franchise rights for operating IKEA in Israel during the 1990s?
- ... that William Dorsey Swann was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community's right to gather?
- ... that the Little Cross monument in Elgin, Scotland, was listed as a Category A building in 1971?
- ... that Józef Walaszczyk had to collect one kilogram (2.2 lb) of gold within five hours to save 21 Jews?
- ... that the best-selling novel Dear Edward was inspired by a real-life plane crash in which a nine-year-old boy was the sole survivor?
- ... that Kanye West sold his Maybach to buy a Polar Bear?
20 February 2020
- 00:00, 20 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the Great Hall (pictured) of New York City's Cunard Building was formerly used as a post office?
- ... that French Resistance fighter Henri Fertet was executed by occupying German forces during World War II at the age of 16?
- ... that Israeli supermarket chain Yeinot Bitan purchased its rival, Mega, in 2015, becoming the country's second-largest by number of branches?
- ... that as a child, Indian archery champion Pravin Jadhav was undernourished and lived in a shack near a drain?
- ... that the First Baptist Church is Toronto's oldest black institution?
- ... that the coloratura soprano Julia Bauer played five roles in Der Ring in Minden, including her on-stage portrayal of the Forest Bird in Siegfried?
- ... that the local medical officer thought it "inconceivable" that the Croydon typhoid outbreak of 1937 was caused by contaminated water?
- ... that Dua Saleh's debut single "First Take" was recorded in a single take?
19 February 2020
- 00:00, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the yoga breathing and meditation practiced by clarinetist Annelien Van Wauwe (pictured) led to a specially commissioned concerto by composer Wim Henderickx?
- ... that physicist John Bell published the theorem that now bears his name in a journal sometimes called by the unusual title Physics Physique Физика?
- ... that Roland Kotani, a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, was murdered by his estranged wife in 1989?
- ... that Kanye West credits creating "an album for God" for being able to collaborate with Dr. Dre on the upcoming Jesus Is King Part II?
- ... that Indonesian-born Wang Wenjiao and Chen Fushou coached the Chinese national men's and women's badminton teams to win four Thomas Cups and two Uber Cups, respectively?
- ... that all John F. Kennedy talked about on his way to and from church in England was the Profumo affair?
- ... that Ted Robbins was the longest-serving secretary in the history of the Football Association of Wales?
- ... that as part of a restoration of New York City's Bryant Park, 84 miles (135 km) of bookshelves were built underneath it?
18 February 2020
- 12:00, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the names of several side roads and buildings along the A1206 (bridge pictured) in London relate to the Isle of Dogs' connection with the shipping industry?
- ... that Vasily Bakalov oversaw the design of weapon systems to destroy tanks, such as the 9M113 Konkurs, and to protect tanks, such as the Drozd?
- ... that Newsweek described the Goucher College campus in Towson, Maryland, as "unusually bucolic"?
- ... that in the 1830s, a Mère in Lyon, France, became famous for her creation Tétons de Venus ('Venus's Breasts'), a dish of giant dumplings that was popular at bachelor parties?
- ... that the church of Santa Maria della Purità in Rome was managed by caudatari, priests whose main task was to carry the trains of the pope or cardinals?
- ... that Samuel Bacon, government agent on the first American Colonization Society expedition, died of "actual exhaustion" soon after arriving in Africa?
- ... that The Myth of the Eastern Front explores the parallels between the myth of the clean Wehrmacht and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy?
- ... that Lisa Cristiani was the first European to hold public musical concerts in Siberia?
- 00:00, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Sir Thomas Byron (pictured) was killed during the First English Civil War by one of his own soldiers over a pay dispute?
- ... that rapper Jay Electronica began recording his debut studio album A Written Testimony in December 2019, despite announcing a sequel to his first mixtape 13 years ago?
- ... that Anwar Tjokroaminoto was known as "Mr. Pervert"?
- ... that the Rockville Centre train crash was one of two Long Island Rail Road crashes in 1950 which collectively killed more than 100 people?
- ... that Flying Apsaras Award winner Tian Chengren worked as an actor until the age of 92?
- ... that the demolished Borgo Vecchio in Rome may have been the road down which Christian martyrs walked when going to the Circus of Nero to be executed?
- ... that Claudeen Arthur was the first Navajo woman to be licensed as a lawyer in the U.S.?
- ... that Grace Buxner said when the developers of Superhot noticed her "cool frog game, they were like 'hmmm... what if..... money?????'"
17 February 2020
- 12:00, 17 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that until the Salary Grab Act (cartoon pictured) was passed in 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant earned the same salary as George Washington did 80 years earlier?
- ... that Zhang Changshou co-led a Sino-American archaeological project investigating sites that were sometimes buried under more than 10 meters (33 ft) of alluvium?
- ... that "The Night We Met", a song by indie-folk band Lord Huron, was certified two-times platinum nearly two years after its initial release?
- ... that prior to becoming Google India's manager, Sanjay Gupta was credited for expanding Star India's sports business by launching Pro Kabaddi League and Indian Super League?
- ... that the copepod Mesocyclops longisetus can be used in the biological control of mosquitoes?
- ... that Egyptian radiologist Sahar Saleem has used CT scans of Tutankhamun's body to theorise that he died from the effects of a knee fracture?
- ... that the third of Claude Debussy's three Nocturnes for orchestra requires a women's chorus to sing wordlessly like sirens?
- ... that English footballer Mark Bright was a foster child, started on wages of £10 a week, and has gone on to earn £1.2 million during his career?
- 00:00, 17 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that in 1890 William Morrison invented the first successful practical electric automobile (illustration shown) in the United States?
- ... that time decompression is a common narrative technique in sports manga, with one series stretching a four-month basketball season into six years' worth of weekly stories?
- ... that Albert William Bailey translated the Gospel of John into the Mbunda language in 1916?
- ... that the Little Cut, a quarter-mile (0.4 km) branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, had the only tunnel containing a towpath on the entire 127-mile (204 km) canal?
- ... that Wang Jin, one of China's first female archaeologists, participated in the discovery of the Neolithic Qujialing culture?
- ... that the music video for Faith No More's "Anne's Song" features a caged Chuck Mosley being tormented by Metallica's James Hetfield?
- ... that Wolfgang Rehm worked on the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe from the beginning of the project in 1955 to its completion in 2007?
- ... that in 1979, the initials CIRALG were said to "spell power in central Iowa"?
16 February 2020
- 12:00, 16 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Raiatean chief Teraupo'o (pictured) was captured on the night of 15–16 February 1897 and sent into exile for leading an indigenous resistance against the French takeover of the Leeward Islands?
- ... that a fire training academy in the state of Washington has been designated as a quarantine site during the current coronavirus outbreak?
- ... that in his ballet Alice im Wunderland, composer Herbert Baumann made the story's author a character?
- ... that Leprous's 2019 album Pitfalls took shape from its songwriter's depression and anxiety?
- ... that American missionary William Harrison Anderson staked a land claim in Rhodesia for the Rusangu Mission by carving a message on a tree trunk?
- ... that groups of social feather dusters sway in unison in the water current and retract into their tubes at the slightest disturbance?
- ... that Anoosh Masood Chaudhry completed a medical degree before entering law enforcement and becoming an assistant superintendent of police?
- ... that to commemorate its new call letters in 1938, radio station KITE in Kansas City, Missouri, gave away 15,000 kites to children?
- 00:00, 16 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that according to a 1930s critic, "If ever a book comes to be written on How to Murder Architecture, the Swanage Town Hall (pictured) should find a place therein"?
- ... that Elke Heidenreich, two-time winner of the Grimme television award, wrote the book Nero Corleone featuring a tomcat as the bullying protagonist?
- ... that the 2020 opera Eurydice was created by three geniuses?
- ... that during the Battle of Kalijati, a Royal Air Force pilot managed to creep into his plane under Japanese fire and take off with it?
- ... that while other 1978 Chicago Marathon runners complained the late start meant finishing in 80 °F (27 °C) heat, winner Lynae Larson was concerned about its effect on her six-hour drive home?
- ... that the Doctor Who story Planet of Giants was inspired by Rachel Carson's 1962 environmental science book Silent Spring?
- ... that John Clark Murray was the first professor at Queen's University at Kingston to offer courses to women?
- ... that common lousewort owes its name to the belief that livestock that ate it would become lousy?
15 February 2020
- 12:00, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that William S. Hillyer (pictured) transcribed and delivered Union Army general Ulysses S. Grant's famous words, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted"?
- ... that two cinemas, a bank, and a pub are now used as places of worship in Portsmouth, England?
- ... that Swedish actor Christopher Wollter started his career as a teenage reporter for the SVT children's television show Barnjournalen?
- ... that the book Yoga Body asserts that yoga as exercise is a radical break from the spiritual hatha yoga tradition?
- ... that several mechanics of the TurboGrafx-16 game Soldier Blade were mistakenly changed due to miscommunication between the designer and staff?
- ... that the young, attractive, and date-able portrayal of Colonel Sanders in a parody dating sim is part of an effort by KFC to make the Colonel a "part of pop culture"?
- ... that Carlos Vives once invited Paraguayan violinist Ana Lucrecia Taglioretti to play with him on stage after she tried to sneak into his concert without a ticket?
- ... that viewers complained when the first episode of Living on the Veg, a vegan cookery programme, was broadcast with a sponsor's advertisements showing animal products?
- 00:00, 15 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Diego (pictured) "had so much sex he saved his species"?
- ... that for three months after Michael Rosenblum's disappearance 40 years ago today, the local police did not tell anyone that they had the car he had been driving?
- ... that the Ager Vaticanus alluvial plain in Rome was known for its unhealthy climate and bad wine?
- ... that Shirley Temple's mother tried to get the "notably talented and cute" Johnnie Russell fired from the set of The Blue Bird so that he would not share screen time with her daughter?
- ... that even after losing at the 2020 German Masters snooker tournament, Sunny Akani continued to play on the practice tables at the venue for a further two days?
- ... that Milton Tower was the birthplace of John Ogilvie, Scotland's only post-Reformation Catholic saint?
- ... that Cai Shaoqing's research showed that militarization and banditry fuelled each other during China's Warlord Era?
- ... that at a meeting about zoning for a tower for KUCB-FM in Des Moines, Iowa, a radio station board member hurled a wastebasket at the chairman of the city zoning board?
14 February 2020
- 12:00, 14 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that William III's first proclamation in England was made near the site of St Leonard's Tower (pictured) in Newton Abbot?
- ... that Teno Roncalio, the last Democratic representative from Wyoming, had land claims along the Snake River worth an estimated US$7 billion in gold?
- ... that from 1938, the Slovak People's Party denounced Czechs as "enemies and pests" of the nation?
- ... that neuroscientist Kate Jeffery correctly predicted that her postdoctoral advisor John O'Keefe would win a Nobel Prize in 2014?
- ... that American military personnel taken prisoner of war have a duty to escape?
- ... that Nintendo planned to support Animal Crossing Plaza for only a limited period, and discontinued the application after less than 17 months?
- ... that Thomas Jefferson Vance Owen, the first school commissioner of Cook County, Illinois, and Chicago's first town president, was responsible for indirectly naming Grand Avenue?
- ... that after the closure of Tranvía Villasegura, Tenerife's first tram system, in the 1950s, one of the trams was reused as a bar?
- 00:00, 14 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that George Charles Moʻoheau Beckley (pictured) claimed that he beat King Kalākaua of Hawaii in a game of poker and asked for a tax reduction in lieu of cash?
- ... that the Seattle high-rise building Third and Lenora lost its main tenant, WeWork, before it was completed?
- ... that Edward IV of England is traditionally said to have first met his wife, Elizabeth Woodville, under the Queen's Oak in Northamptonshire?
- ... that civil servant Lou Lefaive was described as a "key builder of the Canadian sport system"?
- ... that the 1941 essay "Who Goes Nazi?" by Dorothy Thompson was referenced by media outlets in commentary on the 2016 U.S. presidential election?
- ... that the hairy sea cucumber has long tube feet on its dorsal surface, giving it a furry appearance?
- ... that the airstrike that killed three-year-old Milica Rakić during the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia also wounded five other civilians?
- ... that the champions of the 2015 Camellia Bowl, the Appalachian State Mountaineers, became the first team to win a college bowl game in their first year of eligibility?
13 February 2020
- 12:00, 13 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the churchyard of St Thomas à Becket Church, Warblington – a place of worship in the Borough of Havant – has two huts (one pictured) in which grave-watchers kept a lookout for body snatchers?
- ... that Gujarati humourist Ratilal Borisagar was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award by India's National Academy of Letters in 2019?
- ... that Brewer, the fictional Pennsylvania city in John Updike's Rabbit novels, reflects change in American society throughout the second half of the 20th century?
- ... that musicologist Ulrich Konrad studied sketches that Wolfgang Amadé Mozart made for composition, and concluded that the composer planned his works more thoroughly than previously assumed?
- ... that Brenda Nelson, host of the Talk of the Town interview program on KTLO-FM in Mountain Home, Arkansas, retired after doing more than 8,000 interviews over 34 years?
- ... that after examining serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga's mobile phone, police discovered more than three terabytes of digital video evidence of his assaults?
- ... that Dutch forces surrendered to Japanese invaders after their defeat in the Battle of Tjiater Pass because they did not want to fight in Bandung?
- ... that in an Alden Rowing boat, you can expect your seat to slide out from under you?
- 00:00, 13 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Hack Fall Wood in North Yorkshire, England, hosts the rare lemon slug (example pictured)?
- ... that a pair of brothers – future meteorologist Tom Skilling and future Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling – worked at WLXT-TV in Aurora, Illinois, while in high school?
- ... that The Duke's Diwan was built in 1924 as the first post office in Amman, Jordan?
- ... that painter Fang Zengxian served as president of the Shanghai Art Museum, and founded the Shanghai Biennale?
- ... that one of the three gunmen involved in the 1991 Boston Chinatown massacre has not yet been found despite a "worldwide hunt"?
- ... that a live-action video adapting scenes from the manga The Way of the Househusband was produced to commemorate the series reaching 1.2 million copies in print?
- ... that a stanza from "Nun liebe Seel, nun ist es Zeit", a German Lutheran hymn, was used in Part V of Bach's Christmas Oratorio?
- ... that Elin C. Danien, an expert on ancient Maya ceramics, claimed that "archaeology is the most fun you can have with your pants on"?
12 February 2020
- 12:00, 12 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Castle Folds is surrounded by Great Asby Scar (pictured)?
- ... that Dagmar Schmidt, elected to the Bundestag shortly after giving birth to a son with Down syndrome, stated in a debate about prenatal testing that there should be a "right not to know"?
- ... that Fry's vegan meat was created by a former livestock trader?
- ... that the child queen Margaret, Maid of Norway, died before reaching Scotland, so her place in the list of Scottish monarchs is in dispute?
- ... that the 2002 World Matchplay saw the first nine-dart finish to be broadcast live in the United Kingdom?
- ... that the Hong Kong government withdrew their decision to use Fai Ming Estate as a quarantine facility following protests from nearby residents?
- ... that since its completion in 2015, Liberty Plaza in Atlanta has hosted demonstrations for both March for Our Lives and the September 2019 climate strikes?
- ... that Brian Lohse was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2018, six years after he and his wife won US$202 million in the state's Powerball lottery jackpot?
- 00:00, 12 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Die Wolke ('The Cloud'), a young-adult novel by Gudrun Pausewang (pictured) written after the Chernobyl disaster, was translated into English as Fall-Out?
- ... that Ma Guoqiang, the top government official in Wuhan, served as chairman of China's largest steelmaker until less than two years ago?
- ... that Neil Robertson won the 2020 European Masters snooker tournament in a 9–0 whitewash, the first time since 1989 that a two-session finalist did not win a frame?
- ... that radio station KROF derived its call sign from the three major products of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana – rice, oil, and furs?
- ... that Le Than Bwa, a 15th-century commander-in-chief of Ava forces, left the battle scene after receiving a large bribe from the enemy, forcing King Nyo to flee Ava shortly afterwards?
- ... that the 2018 American superhero film Deadpool 2 was nominated for fifteen Golden Trailer Awards?
- ... that prior to becoming president of Loyola College in Maryland, Joseph A. Canning spent eight years as a missionary in Jamaica?
- ... that by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, France was conscripting men shorter than five feet (1.5 m) tall?
11 February 2020
- 12:00, 11 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Russia's Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School (cadets pictured) celebrates its 80th anniversary today?
- ... that gerontologist Elaine Brody used the term "women in the middle" to refer to women who care for their elderly parents while raising their children?
- ... that the Australian national cricket team's 1999 tour of the West Indies was the first four-match series in the history of Test cricket to finish 2–2?
- ... that award-winning typeface designer Colin Brignall had no formal training in typography?
- ... that the 1939 defeat of Republican Spain in the Spanish Civil War marked the end of the "classical era" of the history of anarchism?
- ... that the 67-story Queens Plaza Park in Queens will incorporate the borough's first skyscraper, a 14-story clock tower?
- ... that Osbern fitzRichard is considered an English feudal baron because he held Richard's Castle as tenant-in-chief in 1086?
- ... that Marisol loves Julio, but not enough to die for him?
- 00:00, 11 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Maria, Königin des Friedens (pictured), a Brutalist pilgrimage church in Neviges, Germany, has become architect Gottfried Böhm's signature building?
- ... that debate over the Cranfield experiments in information retrieval went "well beyond the boundaries of civility"?
- ... that French historian Jean Delumeau was a prominent figure in the history of mentalities?
- ... that WCAE, the first educational television station in Indiana, received more support from viewers in Illinois than in its own state?
- ... that Swedish pianist Putte Nelsson has backed up Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, and Mary J. Blige?
- ... that Jen Wang wrote The Prince and the Dressmaker in part because she wanted to tell the story of a superhero who could create clothes that transformed those who wore them?
- ... that although the bird of paradise fly was first described from an Angophora tree, it is quite likely that this is not the insect's host plant?
- ... that after her speech on the subject of marriage to the Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales in 1891, Eliza Ashton was accused of promoting "free love" and prostitution?
10 February 2020
- 12:00, 10 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that 115 truckloads of construction sand were used to create 150 sand sculptures (example pictured) at the Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum?
- ... that Gai Mizuki and Takeshi Matsu are among the artists featured in Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, the first English-language anthology of gay manga?
- ... that the American Express Building in Manhattan replaced a pair of brownstone structures that were described as being "among the ancient landmarks" on Broadway?
- ... that Egon Hartmann won a competition to design Stalinallee in East Berlin?
- ... that equipment from defunct television station WTVI in Fort Pierce, Florida, was sold to start an unrelated WTVI in Charlotte, North Carolina?
- ... that the Tedder certificate was awarded by the British government to foreign citizens who assisted Allied prisoners of war to escape German captivity during the Second World War?
- ... that after the devastating 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, the New Zealand government "red-zoned", purchased, and demolished 8,000 houses?
- ... that the idea for the Twilight novel series came to Stephenie Meyer in a dream?
- 00:00, 10 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that John Papworth created the plasterwork on the ceiling of the Greenwich Hospital chapel (pictured) in London when it was rebuilt in the 1780s after a fire?
- ... that participants in one of Dirshu's intensive study programs are tested on their knowledge of all 2,711 pages of the Talmud at the end of the seven-and-a-half-year Daf Yomi cycle?
- ... that epidemiologist Li Lanjuan was the first to propose a lockdown of Wuhan during the present coronavirus outbreak?
- ... that Sitka Sedge State Natural Area, a pristine estuary in Oregon, almost became a golf course?
- ... that different versions of the song "Danzen! Futari wa Pretty Cure" by Mayumi Gojo were used in the first two seasons and the 25th movie of the Pretty Cure anime franchise?
- ... that Ivan Ustinov, a Soviet officer of the NKVD and SMERSH during the Second World War, threatened to shoot any soldier who wanted to surrender?
- ... that Nick Nolte, who voices Kuiil in the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian, was seriously considered for the role of Han Solo over 40 years earlier?
- ... that before the release of The Baseball Encyclopedia, a Major League Baseball committee passed a rules interpretation that would have altered Babe Ruth's home run total, before reversing its decision?
9 February 2020
- 12:00, 9 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Edwin S. Votey, while president of the Farrand & Votey Organ Company with William R. Farrand as partner, is credited with inventing the first practical player piano (pictured)?
- ... that the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC ended the First Punic War after 23 years?
- ... that Kapoli Kamakau, who composed music with a future queen and a princess, later contracted leprosy and died in exile?
- ... that the 2001 International Formula 3000 Championship featured the series's first round in the modern era to be held outside Europe?
- ... that Bishop Monkton Ings in North Yorkshire, England, provides a habitat to the semi-parasitic marsh lousewort?
- ... that actor Carl Weathers agreed to play Greef Karga on the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian on the condition that he direct future episodes of the show?
- ... that heat from the Mount Rittmann volcano in Antarctica allows mosses to grow?
- ... that Bonanza City, New Mexico, was founded in 1880 and largely abandoned by 1890?
- 00:00, 9 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Esther Lurie (pictured) used photographs of drawings to reconstruct most of her artwork that did not survive World War II?
- ... that even after narrowing the list of suspects in Geetha Angara's unsolved killing, 15 years ago today, down to three men, police could not charge any of them?
- ... that Richard Scrob built Richard's Castle, one of the few castles in England built before the Norman conquest?
- ... that Capricorn Seamount is an underwater mountain that is breaking up as it enters the Tonga Trench?
- ... that the Cymmer Colliery explosion of 1856 in Wales resulted in a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country"?
- ... that Supreme Court of British Columbia justice Dev Dley previously served as commissioner of the Western Hockey League?
- ... that Captain Tilly Park contains the "smallest island in the smallest natural body of water" within New York City?
- ... that rioters in Leicester, England, destroyed a hydrogen balloon in 1864?
8 February 2020
- 12:00, 8 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Italian Renaissance artist Raphael died in 1520 in his palace on the now demolished Borgo Nuovo (pictured) in Rome?
- ... that V. S. Lelchuk joined dissident and revisionist historians in a "historical glasnost" during the collapse of the Soviet Union?
- ... that Jon Favreau created the role of Cara Dune in The Mandalorian with former mixed martial artist Gina Carano in mind, and did not audition any other actresses for the role?
- ... that Mar Field Fen is "one of the best examples of fen habitat in the Vale of York"?
- ... that during her final performance at the 1994 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Louisiana Creole singer Inez Catalon chastised female audience members for dressing immodestly?
- ... that the title of the book A Very Stable Genius comes from a tweet by Donald Trump?
- ... that Iranian women's rights activist Mastoureh Afshar organized the second Eastern Women's Congress, held in Tehran in 1932, which drew delegates from Afghanistan to Zanzibar?
- ... that television station WETV in Key West, Florida, was forced off the air by an act of Congress?
- 00:00, 8 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that David Roberts's The Holy Land, a collection of 250 orientalist lithographs (example shown), has been called the "most pervasive and enduring" 19th-century depiction of the East in the West?
- ... that software engineer David Notkin worked to expand computer science research to a wider demographic, particularly women?
- ... that salmon conservation measures are threatening the survival of a fishing technique first brought to Britain a thousand years ago by the Vikings?
- ... that Italian mathematician Giovanni Prodi was initially drafted into the National Republican Army and trained as a telephonist during World War II?
- ... that images of the widowed queen who commissioned the first major work of Indian Deccan painting were erased after her son rebelled and imprisoned her?
- ... that Jean Bégin was the first coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to make three appearances at the Memorial Cup?
- ... that Fort Tryon Park, located on steep terrain in Manhattan, was designed as a landscaped park with the Cloisters museum as the main point of interest?
- ... that Edda Tasiemka was known as the "human Google"?
7 February 2020
- 12:00, 7 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the alga Acetabularia acetabulum (pictured) resembles a green parasol?
- ... that hedge fund manager Jacob Gottlieb hired Status Labs to counteract negative news coverage of him over the closure of Visium Asset Management?
- ... that Wolfgang J. Fuchs, an early German comics scholar who co-wrote a 1971 standard work on the topic, translated Garfield and Mom's Cancer?
- ... that according to The Independent, KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps "renders the unimaginable evil of the camps relatable"?
- ... that Eric Bowen's paintings were inspired by tantra?
- ... that the studio building used by Oklahoma City radio station KJEM was the last structure that was demolished to make way for the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building?
- ... that Thomas H. Lee, who developed the vacuum interrupter at General Electric, won an Asian table tennis championship while in college?
- ... that the Austins Quarter of Newton Abbot in Devon, England, is named after a department store?
- 00:00, 7 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Johann Baptist Sigl (pictured) was imprisoned multiple times for publishing insulting articles about the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and the German emperor?
- ... that the Courtois Hills region has the most rugged terrain and steepest average slopes of any sub-region of the Missouri Ozarks?
- ... that Skandinavskii sbornik (Scandinavian Review) was the principal forum for Soviet scholars of Nordic studies for 35 years until the collapse of the Soviet Union?
- ... that during the Cultural Revolution, Zhu Yuli was denounced as a counterrevolutionary and suffered beatings which caused disability in his right hand?
- ... that the Tulsa Club Building suffered four major fires in 2010, including three in a two-week period, yet remained strong enough to allow conversion to a hotel instead of demolition?
- ... that Cueros de Purulla volcano had a large eruption 7820 years ago and was later a source of obsidian?
- ... that at the time of her retirement in 2008, Florida State Seminoles coach JoAnne Graf held the record for most wins in the history of NCAA Division I softball?
- ... that the differences between live versions of Rush's "Witch Hunt" were seen as an instance of "translation" à la Walter Benjamin?
6 February 2020
- 12:00, 6 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that religious timekeepers employed by the Umayyad Mosque (pictured) in Damascus included a 14th-century astronomer who proposed geocentric models mathematically identical to those later proposed by Copernicus?
- ... that Mollie Hughes is the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole?
- ... that the first president of the University of Kentucky, James Kennedy Patterson, personally financed its first three buildings?
- ... that although author Lao She declared his satirical novel Cat Country a failure, it has been translated into at least six languages?
- ... that despite an early career spent with the Soviet and Russian Airborne Forces, Viktor Astapov is currently a deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy?
- ... that there have been 49 captains in the Big Bash League?
- ... that American missionary Vernon Andy Anderson noted that those accused of witchcraft in the Belgian Congo were likely to be women over 55 and subject to murder by vigilantes?
- ... that the final of the 2020 Masters snooker tournament was interrupted by a "whoopee cushion" device?
- 00:00, 6 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Acer diabolicum, the devil maple, gets its scientific and common names from the curly stigmas of its flowers (pictured)?
- ... that Josef Protschka, who sang as a soloist in Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge at age 12, later appeared in leading tenor roles in the Mozart cycle staged by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle at the Cologne Opera?
- ... that when the LineageOS operating system refused to integrate MicroG software, the project forked its own version, with MicroG pre-installed?
- ... that Romanian neuroscientist Viviana Gradinaru was part of the research team from Caltech that found that serotonin is necessary for sleep in zebrafish and mice?
- ... that drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova have hosted the entertainment series UNHhhh, The Trixie & Katya Show, and I Like to Watch?
- ... that the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management has conducted research to improve the taste and nutrition of a children's dietary supplement distributed by the government of Kerala?
- ... that Harun el-Raschid Hintersatz, a German convert to Islam, led a Muslim SS unit comprising Turkmens and Tatars during World War II?
- ... that during a renovation of New York City's Bowne Park, some fish from its pond ended up in refrigerators of nearby homes?
5 February 2020
- 12:00, 5 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that William Rose illustrated dozens of film posters of the Classical Hollywood era, but only a fraction – including an alternate poster for Citizen Kane (pictured) – have been attributed to him by name?
- ... that the blue pitta is a shy, secretive bird, but will respond to a recording of its call?
- ... that Italian soprano Carolina Crespi was born in Prague, appeared in Barcelona in a child role, met her husband in Paris, and performed with him in world premieres of operas at La Scala in Milan?
- ... that in 2016, New York became the 50th U.S. state to legalize and regulate mixed martial arts?
- ... that Bill Gates is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering?
- ... that the serial novel and manga series Nokemono to Hanayome was inspired by the Tokyo subway sarin attack?
- ... that the Survey of Palestine was led by the man who "wants you", the man who was too late to save Gordon of Khartoum, a Jack the Ripper suspect, and the police chief who chased him?
- 00:00, 5 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Leitmeritz concentration camp (memorial pictured) was not liberated, but dissolved by the German Instrument of Surrender?
- ... that Edith Hern Fossett, one of Thomas Jefferson's slaves, was taught French cuisine in the White House and became the head chef at Monticello?
- ... that before becoming a passenger ferry, the MV Star of Malta made a round-the-world cruise, belonged to a Dominican Republic dictator, and served in the United States Navy?
- ... that Lin Zonghu was China's first graduate student to major in boilers?
- ... that no fungi or algae are listed as endangered or threatened by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board?
- ... that the 16-piece Detroit News Orchestra was the first symphonic orchestra in the world organized specifically to play on radio?
- ... that the Fatimid military commander Dirgham abandoned his pupil Ruzzik ibn Tala'i, the vizier, to be deposed and killed by Shawar, only to overthrow the latter a few months later?
- ... that the short story "I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter", intended to subvert a transphobic Internet meme, was retracted after accusations of transphobia?
4 February 2020
- 12:00, 4 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that The Minute Man (pictured) was cast from the metal of ten cannons captured from the Confederate Army during the American Civil War?
- ... that the ant Acropyga exsanguis shares its nest with several species of mealybug, including Geococcus coffeae?
- ... that archaeologist Winifred Lamb had previously worked in Room 40, the Royal Navy's cryptanalysis section, during World War I?
- ... that in 1952, Los Angeles radio station KFAC boasted a recording library weighing 28 tons, enough to program the station for a year without repeating a selection?
- ... that entomologist Karim Vahed led the team that found a cricket species in which the testes accounted for 14 percent of the insect's body mass?
- ... that after regular service to Leavenworth station ceased, annual trains continued to run to serve ski jumping spectators?
- ... that Bach used the first, fifth and seventh stanzas of the 1533 hymn "In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr", a paraphrase of Psalm 31, as chorales in three vocal works, including in the St Matthew Passion?
- ... that before the creation of Roy Wilkins Park in 1976, the site was described as a wasteland with eighteen "rat-infested" buildings and a "leaking swimming pool full of dead dogs"?
- 00:00, 4 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the cultural and literary journal Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände was most successful under its only female editor, Therese Huber (pictured)?
- ... that the largest civil rights demonstration of the 1960s took place when more than 450,000 New York City students boycotted school to protest segregation in public schools?
- ... that Canadian professor and writer W. G. Hardy was given the honorary tribal chief title of "Chief Running Eagle" by the Sarcees?
- ... that Sunrise, Inverness Copse, a World War I watercolour by Paul Nash, was one of what he described as "fifty drawings of muddy places on the Front"?
- ... that of the initial cluster of people confirmed to have been infected by a novel coronavirus in China, two-thirds had been directly exposed to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan?
- ... that Sarah Ellerby's flight to the United States to play professional pool was diverted due to the September 11 attacks?
- ... that growth in the brown seaweed Zanardinia typus occurs at the base of the hairs that grow around the edge of the frond?
- ... that James Thompson, who made the first plat of Chicago, declined an offer of land in the city in favor of $300?
3 February 2020
- 12:00, 3 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the hollow Shelton Oak (pictured) near Shrewsbury was so big that a party of eight could dance a quadrille inside it?
- ... that artist and illustrator Rune Naito, credited with pioneering the culture and aesthetic of kawaii, also contributed erotic illustrations to the gay men's magazine Barazoku?
- ... that a bus shelter on New York City's Q26 route was the subject of two 1948 lawsuits that alleged negative effects on nearby property values?
- ... that Henry Eastburn studied under his uncle John Smeaton before undertaking his own civil engineering projects, such as the Basingstoke Canal?
- ... that the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Keep On Chooglin'" popularized the neologism "chooglin'", which has been interpreted as a sexual term?
- ... that the life expectancy at Gusen concentration camp was as short as six months?
- ... that Girmay Zahilay defeated a six-term incumbent on King County Council in Washington?
- ... that IG-11, from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, so closely resembles the character IG-88 that fans and journalists initially confused the two?
- 00:00, 3 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Rooks Nest House (pictured) in Stevenage was the childhood home of author E. M. Forster, who described it in his 1910 novel, Howards End?
- ... that Hawaiian pastor Moses Kuaea raised funds for Kaumakapili Church, which was later burned down in the Great Honolulu Chinatown Fire of 1900?
- ... that "Die Himmel rühmen!" ('The heavens praise'), which begins an 1803 lieder collection by Beethoven setting Gellert's paraphrase of Psalm 19 to music, is also the title of a concert series by pop singer Heino?
- ... that Sallie Shearer's brothel in Reading, Pennsylvania, was "magnificently furnished" with fine velvet carpets and beautiful mirrors?
- ... that over 100 Moroccan Hajj pilgrims died on the SS Sardinia when it caught fire off Malta in 1908?
- ... that huge lakes of oil created following the discovery of Oklahoma's Glenn Pool Oil Reserve would sometimes catch fire when struck by lightning?
- ... that computer scientist Sheree Atcheson has been recognised by Computer Weekly as one of the "most influential women in UK tech"?
- ... that The Coca-Cola Company proposed painting a gasometer in Gothenburg, Sweden, to resemble a Coke can?
2 February 2020
- 12:00, 2 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that a Royal Air Force serviceman was recalled from a Second World War secret mission to help run Syd's coffee stall (pictured) in London?
- ... that the Grotta del Gelo cave on the Etna volcano is partially filled with ice?
- ... that mathematician Pamela E. Harris co-founded the online platform Lathisms to promote Hispanic and Latino American participation in mathematics?
- ... that the mobile game Bleach: Brave Souls features story arcs from the manga Bleach that did not appear in its anime adaptation, including the unaired final arc?
- ... that the Siege of Hull took place in 1642 after the governor twice refused to admit King Charles I to the town?
- ... that German politician Diether Dehm employed former terrorist Christian Klar to work on his website?
- ... that the Dedham Covenant was meant to be eternally binding?
- ... that Mary Gordon, the first British female prison inspector, once forestalled recidivism by supplying men's clothes and a train fare to South Wales to a female inmate who wanted to live as a man?
- 00:00, 2 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Quarry Moor is one of the few locations in England where the rare parasitic plant thistle broomrape (example pictured) grows?
- ... that Dave Hakkens founded Precious Plastic, an open hardware plastic recycling project, to enable individuals to set up "their own miniature recycling company"?
- ... that knights are depicted in the Freydal illuminated manuscript enjoying cross-dressing after a day's jousting?
- ... that c. 1900, the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company provided health care to field workers with a mobile clinic transported by railroad flatcar?
- ... that Church of the Cosmic Skull released a single to celebrate a solar eclipse?
- ... that in 1939, Lawrence Milner testified against Australian-born longshoremen union leader Harry Bridges in what Time magazine called "the most important deportation hearings of the decade"?
- ... that one surveyor's proposal for removing the Blackwall Rock obstruction in the Thames involved using explosives he knew would likely kill some of the labourers?
- ... that Western Hockey League coach Punch McLean was born in a coal mine?
1 February 2020
- 12:00, 1 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that Crepereia Tryphaena's doll (pictured) had its own kit, comprising several jewels, a wooden casket, two silver mirrors, and two tiny bone combs?
- ... that diversity ideologies are intended to reduce prejudice, but can backfire and promote more hostility instead?
- ... that former residents of Chicago's Aldine Square held a reunion at a hotel?
- ... that Canadian Yves Abel, the chief conductor of a German symphony orchestra, founded Opéra Français de New York, which focuses on rarely played French operas?
- ... that NearlyFreeSpeech was considered a "safe haven" for alt-right Twitter alternative Gab?
- ... that the 1978 Japanese manga series California Story was inspired by American New Wave cinema, particularly Midnight Cowboy?
- ... that the owner of WRSL AM and FM in Stanford, Kentucky, built a dinner theater on the station's property?
- ... that marketing for the Venezuelan film That's the Woman I Want told prospective viewers it was so funny they would forget about foot-and-mouth disease?
- 00:00, 1 February 2020 (UTC)
- ... that the Michigan Stove Company, started by Jeremiah Dwyer, made the World's Largest Stove (pictured), a 15-ton replica conceived by George H. Barbour and designed by William J. Keep?
- ... that 2020 AV2 is the first asteroid discovered to have an orbit completely within Venus's orbit?
- ... that the song "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" from the Netflix television series The Witcher became a viral hit within days of the show's release?
- ... that in 1138–39, Fatimid vizier Ridwan ibn Walakhshi attempted to overthrow the Isma'ili caliphate and replace it with a Sunni regime headed by himself?
- ... that juvenile ornate surgeonfish are quite different in colouring from the adult fish?
- ... that Widener University Commonwealth Law School is one of two independent law schools run by Widener University?
- ... that field hockey player Avtar Singh Bhurji was shot in the leg during a robbery in 1996?
- ... that Rue du Brexit in France was named as a tribute to the British people after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union?