From today's featured article
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. It is based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, played by Christian Bale (pictured), and is the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy and the sequel to Batman Begins (2005). In the film, Batman, police lieutenant Jim Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent ally to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. They are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind played by Heath Ledger. Ledger's posthumous awards included Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor. The ensemble cast also included Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. The film was the fourth-highest-grossing film ever at the time. It has been assessed as one of the best films ever made. The Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry in 2020. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded the trilogy in 2012. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that the song "Now You're Gone" by Basshunter (pictured) was played non-stop for 20 hours in a charity fundraising event?
- ... that MetroHero used to let riders know whenever the Washington Metro caught on fire?
- ... that an Armenian Apostolic Church lawsuit over the Zeytun Gospels led Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh to write a history of its separated canon tables?
- ... that during the excavation of the Beulé Gate, a dynamite explosion sent a piece of mortar through one onlooker's hat?
- ... that an Egyptian rabbi's authority was invoked in a deed freeing a woman from slavery in 1132 in Mangalore, India?
- ... that the Kawa model uses the metaphor of a river to help people contemplate their well-being?
- ... that Paul Christiano founded the Alignment Research Center to align advanced artificial intelligence with human values and priorities?
- ... that joking about the Chinese military can cost you US$2 million?
In the news
- In the United States, actors in the SAG-AFTRA trade union (president Fran Drescher pictured) go on strike, joining writers in the Writers Guild of America strike.
- In the Netherlands, the governing coalition collapses and Prime Minister Mark Rutte announces his upcoming resignation.
- In Brazil, the Superior Electoral Court bars former president Jair Bolsonaro from running for political office until 2030 for abuse of power before the 2022 general election.
- Riots break out across France after a 17-year-old is fatally shot by police in Paris.
On this day
July 14: Bastille Day in France (1789); Festino di Santa Rosalia begins in Palermo, Italy
- 1791 – The Priestley Riots (depicted), targeting religious dissenters such as Joseph Priestley, began in Birmingham, England.
- 1902 – The medieval St Mark's Campanile in Venice collapsed, also demolishing the Loggetta del Sansovino.
- 1950 – Early in the Korean War, North Korean troops began attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in Taejon, South Korea.
- 1987 – More than 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour period in parts of Montreal, causing severe flooding.
- 2016 – A man deliberately drove a truck into crowds in Nice, France, resulting in 86 deaths.
- Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester (d. 1262)
- Estella Hijmans-Hertzveld (b. 1837)
- Mihran Kassabian (d. 1910)
- Maryam Mirzakhani (d. 2017)
From today's featured list
2013 action-adventure game The Last of Us garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its story, sound and music, graphical and artistic design, and the performances. Players assume control of Joel (Troy Baker), escorting the young Ellie (Ashley Johnson) across a post-apocalyptic United States. At the 10th British Academy Video Games Awards, The Last of Us received ten nominations and went on to win five awards: Best Game, Action & Adventure, Audio Achievement, Performer, and Story. The game led the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards with thirteen nominations and ten awards, including Game of the Year. At the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, it won Game of the Year, Best Design, and Best Narrative. The game received seven nominations at the Spike VGX, with Baker winning the award for Best Voice Actor and Johnson winning the award for Best Voice Actress. (Full list...)
Today's featured picture
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Stibnite, also known as antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb2S3. This soft grey material crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group. Pastes of stibnite powder in fat or other materials have been used since at least 3000 BC as eye cosmetics in the Mediterranean and farther afield; in this use, it is called kohl. It was used to darken the brows and lashes, or to draw a line around the perimeter of the eye. Stibnite is also the most important industrial source for the metalloid antimony. This stibnite crystal, measuring 5.0 cm × 2.8 cm × 1.5 cm (1.97 in × 1.10 in × 0.59 in), was found in the Herja Mine in Maramureș, Romania. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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