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August 29

Yuan-era stele in the ruins of the Cross Temple

The Cross Temple is a former place of worship in Fangshan, Beijing. Built as a Buddhist temple, it may have seen Christian use during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The temple was used by Buddhists during the Liao dynasty (916–1125) and by Christians during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), returned to Buddhist use during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and was sold in 1911. Its first modern mention was in 1919. The Cross Temple was damaged during the Cultural Revolution but recognised as a national-level protected site in 2006. Some scholars consider it to be the only place of worship of the Church of the East (also known as Nestorian Christianity) discovered in China. In the early 20th century, two stone blocks carved with crosses were discovered, one of which had an inscription in Syriac; they are presently on display at Nanjing Museum. Today, the site features two ancient steles (one pictured) dating to the Liao and Yuan dynasties, some groundwork and the bases of several pillars. (Full article...)

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April 29

The Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the ancient ceremony wherein individuals participated in a vigil of fasting, prayer, and bathing on the day before being knighted. Apart from the Sovereign and the Great Master, before 1815 there were a maximum of thirty six 'Knights of the Bath' (K.B.). After 1815 the number of classes and members were increased several times; the Order now includes three classes in civil and military divisions. The Order's motto is Tria juncta in uno (Latin for "Three joined in one"), a reference to either the union of England, Scotland and Ireland, or to the Holy Trinity. The Order is the fourth-most senior in the British honours system, after Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, and Order of St Patrick. The last of the aformentioned Orders—which relates to Ireland, which, except for Northern Ireland, is no longer a part of the United Kingdom—still exists but is in disuse; no appointments have been made to it since 1934. (more...)

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March 29

The Supremes were a very successful Motown all-girl singing group active from 1959 until 1977, performing at various times during its existence doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway showtunes, psychedelia, and disco. One of Motown's signature acts, The Supremes were the most successful black musical act of the 1960s, recording twelve #1 hits between 1964 and 1969, many of them written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. The crossover success of the Supremes during the mid-1960s paved the way for future black soul and R&B acts to gain mainstream audiences both in the United States and overseas. Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglas public housing project in Detroit, were the sister act to The Primes (later The Temptations). In 1960, Barbara Martin replaced McGlown, and the group signed with Motown in 1961 as The Supremes. (more...)

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February 29

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 29, 2005

January 29

The Pulaski Skyway is a cantilever truss structure in New Jersey carrying U.S. Highways 1 and 9 between the far east side of Newark and Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City, passing through Kearny. The Skyway spans the Passaic River and Hackensack River, the New Jersey Turnpike, many local roads, and several railroads. It is named for General Kazimierz Pulaski, the Polish military leader who helped the United States in the Revolutionary War. It is known as a 'skyway' because it travels high (41.1 meters/135 feet at its highest point) above the meadows to avoid drawbridges across the two navigable rivers. The Skyway was opened in 1932 as the last part of the Route 1 Extension, considered by many to be the first "super highway" in the United States, and is still in use in its original form, with only minor changes. (more...)

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December 29

Turquoise is an opaque, hydrated, blue-to-green copper aluminium phosphate mineral. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been enjoyed as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times turquoise—like most other opaque gems—has had its popularity undermined by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market, some difficult to detect even by experts. The word "turquoise" is very old and of uncertain origin, derived from the French pierre turquoise, meaning "Turkish stone." This is thought to have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded there, and the gem became associated with the country in the West. (more...)

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November 29

The Celtic Tiger is a nickname for the Republic of Ireland during its period of rapid economic growth between the 1990s and 2001 or 2002. Many economists credit Ireland's low taxation rate (10 to 12.5 percent throughout the late 1990s) and business-friendly regulation policies as responsible for much of the growth. A more sceptical interpretation is that much of the growth was due to the fact that the economy of Ireland had lagged the rest of northwestern Europe for so long that it had become the one of few remaining sources of a relatively large, low-wage labour pool left in Western Europe. (more...)

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October 29

The speed of light in a vacuum is exactly equal to 299,792,458 metres per second (approximately 186,282 miles per second). This exact speed is a definition, not a measurement, as the metre is defined in terms of the speed of light and not vice versa. According to standard modern physical theory, all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, propagates (or moves) at a constant speed in vacuo, known as the speed of light, which is a physical constant denoted as c. According to the theory of special relativity, all observers will measure the speed of light as being the same, regardless of the reference frame of the observer or the velocity of the object emitting the light. (more...)

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September 29

Possibly the most famous Roman adoptee, Augustus Caesar

Adoption in Rome was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the upper senatorial class. The need for a male heir and the expense of raising children were strong incentives to have at least one son, but not too many children. Adoption, the obvious solution, also served to cement ties between the two families, thus fostering and reinforcing alliances. In the Imperial period, the system also acted as a mechanism for ensuring a smooth succession, the emperor taking his chosen successor as his adopted son. (more...)

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September 6

The Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the Second World War by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from German occupation and Nazi rule. It started on August 1, 1944 as a part of a nationwide uprising, Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the German-led forces until October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was destroyed during the urban guerrilla war and after the end of hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within a few hundred metres of the city from September 16 onward, the link between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since. (more...)

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August 29

A map of the traditional counties of England

The traditional counties of England are historic subdivisions of the country into around 40 regions. They were used for administrative purposes for hundreds of years, and over time became established as a geographic reference frame. The usually-accepted set of counties was established in the 12th century, although it did not become finalized until the 16th century. After local government reform since the late 19th century, they are no longer in general use for geographic purposes (in favour of ceremonial counties or administrative counties), but the system in use is partially based on the traditional counties, and the postal counties often still follow them. (more...)

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July 29

Radar is an acronym for radio detection and ranging. It is a system used to detect, range (determine the distance of), and map objects such as aircraft and rain. Strong radio waves are transmitted, and a receiver listens for any echoes. By analysing the reflected signal, the reflector can be located, and sometimes identified. Although the amount of signal returned is tiny, radio signals can easily be detected and amplified. (more...)

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June 29

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible that was popular in the mid-20^th century and that posed the first challenge to the King James Version as the most popular Bible in English. The RSV is a revision of the 1901 American Standard Version. In 1937, an international council decided that a revision would be done and put together a panel of 32 scholars for that task. The decision, however, was delayed by the Great Depression. The translation panel used the 17^th edition of the Nestle Greek text. The New Testament was released in 1946, and the Old Testament in 1952. Special editions of the RSV were released for the Catholic Church in 1965 and for Eastern Orthodox churches in 1977. Reader's Digest published a condensed edition of the RSV in 1982. Revisions of the RSV were released by different groups in 1989 and 2001. (more...)

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May 29

In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by an open configuration of the vocal tract, in contrast to consonants, which are characterized by a constriction or closure at one or more points along the vocal tract. Vowels usually form the peak or nucleus of a syllable, whereas consonants form the onset and coda. Some languages allow sounds that wouldn't normally be classified as vowels to form the nucleus of a syllable, such as the sound of m in the English word prism, or the sound of r in the Czech word vrba (="willow"). Sometimes vowels are defined by the criterion of whether they form the nucleus of a syllable, and by that criterion these sounds are vowels, but usually the sounds that can form the nucleus of a syllable are called sonorants. (more...)

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April 29

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a US National Park established to preserve Carlsbad Cavern and numerous other caves within a Permian-age fossil reef. Carlsbad Cavern, with one of the world's largest underground chambers and countless formations, is highly accessible, with both self-guided and a variety of ranger-guided tours offered year round. (more...)

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March 29

Yellowstone National Park is a United States National Park that is located in the U.S. states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Yellowstone is the first and oldest national park in the world. The park is famous for its various geysers, hot springs, and other geothermal features and is home to grizzly bears and wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk. The park was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. (more...)

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