Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 March 10

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From today's featured article

The mangrove swallow (Tachycineta albilinea) is a bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions of Mexico and Central America. It is a seasonal breeder and is territorial when breeding, much like the related tree swallow. Its nests are frequently found near water, no more than 2 metres (7 ft) above the ground. It usually forages close to the nest when feeding its chicks, but will go much further when foraging for itself. In between foraging attempts, it perches near water. It subsists primarily on a diet of flying insects, including dragonflies and bees, unusually large prey for a bird of its size. It has blue-green upperparts, white underparts, a white streak above the eye, and blackish flight and tail feathers. This swallow's song is a soft trilling, with a rolled jeerrt call, and a sharp alarm note. With a slowly decreasing population of at least 500,000 individuals, the mangrove swallow is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Lightning rod umbrella

... that the lightning rod fashion (lightning rod umbrella shown) was a fad in 18th-century Europe?
... that Nuggehalli Raghuveer Moudgal established a Primate Research Laboratory at the Indian Institute of Science in 1965, the then largest primate house in India?
... that "Better Place" was inspired by the engagement of Rachel Platten's sister?
... that in the Sasak language, the verb "to eat" differs depending on the social status of the speaker and the addressee?
... that gridiron football player Charles Alston was the first college athlete to play in NCAA football and basketball games on the same day?
... that the original 1620 "L" shape of Urchinwood Manor was made into a "U" by a mid-17th century extension?
... that the fossil elm Ulmus okanaganensis had been tentatively identified as two other plants before it was formally described in 2005?
... that the Seattle City Council approved a street vacation for an Amazon.com office building in 2016, provided that a public "free speech zone" be designated at the site?

In the news

Park Geun-hye

Park Geun-hye (pictured) is removed as President of South Korea by the Constitutional Court.
Donald Tusk is re-elected as President of the European Council despite opposition from his home country, Poland.
The Azure Window, a limestone natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses during a storm.
WikiLeaks begins releasing Vault 7, a series of documents detailing activities of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to perform electronic surveillance and cyberwarfare.
The United States begins deployment of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea.

On this day...

March 10

Uranus and some of its moons

1876 – Alexander Graham Bell made his first successful bi-directional telephone call, saying, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."
1915 – First World War: The Battle of Neuve Chapelle opened, the first deliberately planned British offensive of the war.
1952 – Facing likely electoral defeat, former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista staged a coup d'état to resume control.
1977 – Astronomers using NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory discovered a faint planetary ring system (false-color image pictured) around Uranus.
2005 – Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, announced his resignation following widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership.

Agnes Blannbekin (d. 1315) · Lillian Wald (b. 1867) · Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy (d. 2010)

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From today's featured list

South Africa women in 2009

The South Africa women's national cricket team has played five Test matches since 1997, and 71 Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) since their first such contest in 2007. The team has represented South Africa in international women's cricket since 1960, when they hosted England, contesting four Test matches. Their next officially recognised series was against New Zealand, more than eleven years later. In 1977, they were excluded from competing in international sporting events, when the Commonwealth of Nations signed the Gleneagles Agreement as part of the international campaign against apartheid. Although the men's national team returned to international cricket in 1991, the women's team did not compete again until 1997, when they toured Ireland and England. Since then, the team has played regularly in One Day Internationals. South Africa have played four different sides in women's Test cricket, with England their most frequent opponent, having faced them in six Tests. South Africa have similarly faced England more times than any other team in women's One Day International cricket. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

A micrometer is a device incorporating a calibrated screw, widely used for precise measurement of components in mechanical engineering and machining. Micrometers are usually, but not always, in the form of calipers (opposing ends joined by a frame). The spindle is a very accurately machined screw and the object to be measured is placed between the spindle and the anvil. The spindle is moved by turning the ratchet knob or thimble until the object to be measured is lightly touched by both the spindle and the anvil.

Photograph: Lucasbosch

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