An attempted coup took place on September 13, 1964, in South Vietnam against the ruling military junta, led by Nguyễn Khánh(pictured). In the preceding month, Khánh had tried to improve his leadership by declaring a state of emergency, provoking protests and riots. He made concessions to the protesters and removed military officials linked to former President Ngo Dinh Diem, including Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức. They responded with a coup, broadcasting their promise to revive Diem's policies. Khánh evaded capture and rallied allies while the U.S. continued their support for his rule. Khánh forced Phát and Đức to capitulate the next morning and various coup leaders appeared at a media conference where they denied that a coup had taken place. To maintain power, Khánh tried to court support from Buddhist activists, who supported negotiations to end the Vietnam War. As the Americans were strongly opposed to such policies, relations with Khánh became strained. (Full article...)
Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin. Grand Prismatic Spring was noted by geologists working in the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, and named by them for its striking coloration. Its colors match most of those seen in the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. The bright, vivid colors in the spring are the result of microbial mats around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The mats produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature gradient in the runoff. In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green. The deep blue color of the water in the center of the pool results from the intrinsic blue color of water. The effect is strongest in the center of the spring, because of its sterility and depth. This aerial photo shows Grand Prismatic Spring from the south in August 2022.
1848 – An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage; his survival and recovery influenced 19th-century discussion of psychology and neuroscience.
1919 – The Boston police strike ended after four days of rule by the state militia, the deaths of nine people, and accusations that striking officers were "agents of Lenin".
2005 – A software bug caused a simulated pandemic in the online video game World of Warcraft, serving as a model for epidemiologists to understand how human interaction influences disease outbreaks.