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USS Congress was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate launched on 15 August 1799. She was one of the original six frigates of the newly formed United States Navy and along with her sister ships was larger and more heavily armed than standard frigates of the period. Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France. In 1804 and 1805 Congress helped defeat the Barbary corsairs in the First Barbary War. During the War of 1812 she made several extended cruises with President: the pair captured 20 British merchant ships. At the end of 1813, due to a lack of materials to repair her, she was placed in reserve. In 1815 she took part in the Second Barbary War and made patrols through 1816. In the 1820s she helped suppress piracy in the West Indies, made several voyages to South America, and was the first U.S. warship to visit China. Congress spent her last ten years as a receiving ship until broken up in 1834. (Full article...)

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The Sun, viewed through a clear solar filter

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation. The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V), informally called a yellow dwarf, though its light is actually white. It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago and is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. From Earth the Sun is 1 astronomical unit (1.496×10⁸ km) or about 8 light-minutes away. Its diameter is about 1,391,400 km (864,600 mi), 109 times that of Earth. Its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth, making up about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. Every second, the Sun fuses about 600 billion kilograms (kg) of hydrogen into helium and converts 4 billion kg of matter into energy. The Sun has been venerated in many cultures, and a central subject for astronomical research since antiquity. (Full article...)

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The Virgo interferometer is a large-scale scientific instrument near Pisa, Italy, for detecting gravitational waves. The detector detects minuscule length variations in its two 3-km (1.9 mi) arms induced by the passage of gravitational waves. The project, named after the Virgo galaxy cluster, was first approved in 1992 and construction was completed in 2003. In 2015, the first observation of gravitational waves was made by the two other detectors, while Virgo was being upgraded. It resumed observations in early August 2017, making its first detection on 14 August; followed by the detection of the GW170817 gravitational wave, the only one also observed with classical methods (optical, gamma-ray, X-ray and radio telescopes) as of 2024. Virgo is hosted by the European Gravitational Observatory; the broader Virgo Collaboration, gathering 940 members in 20 countries, operates the detector, and defines the strategy and policy for its use and upgrades. (Full article...)

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Co-star Linda Griffiths

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank is a 1984 science fiction television film starring Raul Julia and Linda Griffiths (pictured). Based on the 1976 John Varley short story of the same name from the Eight Worlds series, the film takes place in a dystopian future where an employee at a conglomerate, played by Julia, gets trapped inside the company's computer. There he is monitored and later abetted by a character played by Griffiths as he affects the real world. It was co-produced by Canada's RSL Films in Toronto and New York television station WNET. Because of its limited budget, the motion picture was shot on videotape instead of film and was pre-sold to small American cable companies. It premiered on CBC Television in 1984 and was broadcast on American Playhouse in 1985. The film had a mixed reception from critics. Overdrawn at the Memory Bank was featured in the eighth season finale episode of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1997. (Full article...)

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Sappho as imagined in 1881

Anactoria is a woman mentioned in the work of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who wrote in the late seventh and early sixth centuries BCE. Sappho names Anactoria as the object of her desire in a poem numbered as fragment 16. Another of her poems, fragment 31, is traditionally called the "Ode to Anactoria", though no name appears in it. As portrayed by Sappho, Anactoria is likely to have been an aristocratic follower of hers, of marriageable age. The English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne's "Anactoria" was published in 1866 and is written from the point of view of Sappho, who addresses the title character in a long monologue written in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter. The monologue expresses Sappho's lust for her in sexually explicit terms. Swinburne's poem created a sensation by openly approaching then-taboo topics such as lesbianism and dystheism. Anactoria later featured in an 1896 play by H. V. Sutherland and in the 1961 poetic series "Three Letters to Anaktoria" by Robert Lowell. (Full article...)

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A vial of methanol (left) and one of ethanol

Over 70 people died of methanol poisoning in the Russian city of Irkutsk in December 2016. Caused by the consumption of adulterated surrogate alcohol, it was the deadliest such incident in Russia's post-Soviet history. Russian consumption of surrogate alcohol rose rapidly in the early 2010s amid worsening economic conditions. Surrogates cost less than government-regulated vodka and were commonly available. In the Irkutsk incident, people drank hawthorn-scented bath oil which was typically made with and labeled as containing drinkable ethanol. At least one batch was made instead with a toxic amount of methanol, causing injuries and deaths among residents of the Novo-Lenino neighborhood in Irkutsk. An investigation found that the surrogate alcohol's producer sourced the methanol from an employee of a local windshield washer fluid production facility. Subsequently punishments were increased for illegally producing and selling alcohol, and it was made more difficult to acquire surrogate alcohol. (Full article...)

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The Boot Monument is an American Revolutionary War memorial located in Saratoga National Historical Park, New York. Sculpted by George Edwin Bissell and erected during 1887 by John Watts de Peyster, it commemorates Major General Benedict Arnold's service at the Battles of Saratoga while in the Continental Army, but does not mention him on the monument as Arnold later defected from the Americans to the British. Instead, it commemorates Arnold as the "most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army". While fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights, the second of the Saratoga engagements, Arnold was shot and severely injured in his left leg. His horse was also hit by gunfire and fell on Arnold, crushing his already injured leg. Arnold was then passed over for promotion and court-martialed. Feeling hard done by he attempted to help the British capture the fortification of West Point but was discovered and fled to the British army. (Full article...)

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Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. Some philosophers designate metaphysics as the first philosophy, to suggest that it is more fundamental than other forms of philosophical inquiry. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the fundamental categories of human understanding. Metaphysics investigates the nature of existence, the features all entities have in common, and their division into categories of being. An influential division is between particulars and universals. Modal metaphysics examines what it means for something to be possible or necessary. Metaphysicians also explore the concepts of space, time, and change, and their connection to causality and the laws of nature. Other topics include how mind and matter are related, whether everything in the world is predetermined, and whether there is free will. In the 20th century, traditional metaphysics in general and idealism in particular faced various criticisms, which prompted new approaches to metaphysical inquiry. (Full article...)

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2009–10 home colours

During the 2009–10 English football season, Notts County F.C. competed in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Shortly before the season began, the club was subject to a high-profile takeover by Munto Finance, which was controlled by a convicted fraudster. The club had been acquired as part of an elaborate scheme to list a fake mining company on the stock exchange. The scheme collapsed and Notts County was left deeply in debt. A further takeover prevented bankruptcy and saw the team winning the League Two championship and promotion to Football League One. The team also fared well in the FA Cup, reaching the last sixteen of the competition. The season saw four different owners, three permanent first-team managers and two spells of interim management. In total, the team played 54 competitive matches, winning 31, drawing 14 and losing nine. Notts County continued to experience off-field problems and the team were relegated to non-League football in 2019. (Full article...)

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• @Dank and Wehwalt: does what I am trying to do with this blurb image work on TFA? Cheers. Gog the Mild (talk) 16:02, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

Major General Patch (foreground) observing the landing of troops and supplies

The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse took place from 15 December 1942 to 23 January 1943 and was primarily an engagement between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S. forces were under the overall command of Major General Alexander Patch (pictured), the Japanese under the overall command of Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake. U.S. soldiers and Marines, assisted by native Solomon Islanders, attacked Imperial Japanese Army forces defending well-entrenched positions on several hills and ridges. With difficulty the U.S. succeeded in taking Mount Austen, in the process reducing a strongly defended position called the Gifu, as well as the Galloping Horse and the Sea Horse. In the meantime, the Japanese decided to abandon Guadalcanal and withdrew; most of the surviving Japanese troops were successfully evacuated. (This article is part of a featured topic: Guadalcanal Campaign.)

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Untitled Goose Game is a 2019 indie puzzle stealth video game developed by House House and published by Panic Inc. Players control a goose which bothers the inhabitants of an English village. Players must use the goose's abilities to manipulate objects and non-player characters to complete objectives. Inspired by Super Mario 64 and the Hitman series, the game combines stealth mechanics with a lack of violence to create humorous scenarios. It was released for macOS, Nintendo Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game's unusual name came from a last-minute decision during preparation for entry to a games festival. The music uses short clips from six of Claude Debussy's Préludes. Untitled Goose Game received positive reviews, with critics praising its gameplay and humour. The game received the D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year and the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, among other accolades. Dan Golding, who curated the game music, was nominated for an ARIA award. By the end of 2019, Untitled Goose Game had sold more than a million copies. (Full article...)

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Adele

"My Little Love" is a song by English singer Adele from her fourth studio album, 30 (2021). Adele wrote it with its producer, Greg Kurstin. The song became available as the album's third track on 19 November 2021, when it was released by Columbia Records. "My Little Love" is a jazz, R&B, and soul song with a 1970s-style groove, gospel music influences, late-night bar piano, and a funk bassline. The song incorporates voice notes of Adele's conversations with her son as she explains the effects of her divorce on his life and pleads for his understanding and forgiveness. Critics generally praised "My Little Love", comparing it to the work of Marvin Gaye, among other artists. Reviews highlighted the emotionalism and vulnerability displayed in the song, but some found the inclusion of the voice notes excessive. The track reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden and entered the top 40 in several other countries. (This article is part of a featured topic: 30 (album).)

The Japanese battleship Tosa (土佐) was a planned battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Designed by Yuzuru Hiraga, Tosa was to be the first of two Tosa-class ships. Displacing 39,900-long-ton (40,540 t) and armed with ten 410 mm (16.1 in) guns, these warships would have brought Japan closer to its goal of an "Eight-four" fleet (eight battleships and four battlecruisers). Compared with earlier designs the ships would have had higher steaming speed despite increased tonnage, flush decks, and inclined armor. Tosa was ordered in 1918, laid down in February 1920 in Nagasaki and launched in December 1921. All work on the ship was halted in February 1922 after the Washington Naval Conference and the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty. As the vessel had to be destroyed in accordance with the terms of the treaty, it was subjected to various tests to gauge the effectiveness of Japanese weaponry before being scuttled on 9 February 1925. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Japan.)

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The Benty Grange helmet is an Anglo-Saxon boar-crested helmet from the seventh century AD. It was excavate in 1848 from a tumulus at the Benty Grange farm in Monyash in western Derbyshire. The grave had probably been previously looted, but still contained other high-status objects, suggestive of a richly furnished burial. The helmet was constructed by covering the outside of an iron framework with plates of horn and the inside with cloth or leather; the organic material has since decayed. It would have provided some protection against weapons, but was also ornate and may have been intended for ceremonial use. It was the first Anglo-Saxon helmet to be discovered, with five others found since. The contemporary epic Beowulf mentions such helmets five times. The most striking feature of the helmet is the boar at its apex; this pagan symbol faces towards a Christian cross on the nasal in a display of syncretism. The helmet is displayed at Sheffield's Weston Park Museum. (Full article...)

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Charge of the Carthaginian war elephants as envisaged by Gaston Bussière in 1920.

The Battle of the Bagradas River was fought in 240 BC in what is now north-east Tunisia between a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar Barca and a rebel force led by Spendius. Carthage was fighting a coalition of mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities in the Mercenary War, which had started late the previous year in the wake of the First Punic War. Hamilcar left Carthage and evaded a rebel blockade by crossing the Bagradas River (the modern Medjerda River) at its mouth. Two rebel armies marched towards the Carthaginians. When they came into sight Hamilcar ordered a feigned retreat. The rebels broke ranks to chase the Carthaginians and this impetuous pursuit caused them to fall into disorder. Once the rebels had closed, the Carthaginians turned and charged them. The rebels broke and were routed. The Carthaginians pursued, killing or capturing many of the rebels and taking a bridge over the Bagradas. This victory gave Hamilcar freedom to manoeuvre and the operational initiative. (Full article...)

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Weise's epitaph in Eisenberg, Germany

In historical linguistics, Weise's law describes the loss of palatal quality some consonants undergo in specific contexts in the Proto-Indo-European language. In short, when the consonants represented by *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ, called palatovelar consonants, are followed by *r, they lose their palatal quality, leading to a loss in distinction between them and the plain velar consonants *k *g *gʰ. Some exceptions exist, such as when the *r is followed by *i or when the palatal form is restored by analogy with related words. Although this sound change is most prominent in the satem languages, it is believed that the change must have occurred prior to the centum–satem division, based on an earlier sound change which affected the distribution of Proto-Indo-European *u and *r. The law is named after the German linguist Oskar Weise, who first postulated it in 1881 as the solution to reconciling cognates in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit. (Full article...)

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The giant golden mole is the type host of H. niekerki.

Heptamegacanthus is a genus of acanthocephalans (thorny- or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species, Heptamegacanthus niekerki. This worm is a parasite of the endangered giant golden mole found only in isolated forests near East London and in the Transkei, both in South Africa. The worms are about 4 millimetres (0.2 in) long and 2 millimetres (0.08 in) wide with minimal sexual dimorphism. Their body consists of a proboscis with 40 to 45 hooks arranged in rings which are used to pierce and hold the rectal wall of its host and a long trunk. The life cycle of H. niekerki remains unknown; however, like other acanthocephalans, it likely involves complex interactions with at least two hosts. Although the intermediate host for Heptamegacanthus is not definitively identified, it is presumed to be an arthropod such as an insect which is then eaten by the giant golden mole where they mature and reproduce sexually within the Gastrointestinal tract#Lower gastrointestinal tract, creating eggs which are released in the feces.

Union artillery in action at Cane Hill

The battle of Cane Hill was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862, near the town of Cane Hill, Arkansas. Union troops under James G. Blunt had pursued Confederate troops commanded by Thomas C. Hindman into northwestern Arkansas, and Hindman saw an opportunity to attack Blunt while the latter was isolated. Confederate cavalry under John S. Marmaduke moved to Cane Hill to collect supplies. Blunt moved to attack Marmaduke on November 27. The Union advance made contact with Confederate troopers the next morning. The Confederates fell back to an elevation known as Reed's Mountain. Blunt continued to pursue after the Confederates abandoned Reed’s Mountain, but his leading elements ran into an ambush. The Confederates then presented a flag of truce as a ruse to buy time. Hindman’s army and Blunt’s reinforced command fought the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, which retained Union control of Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. (Full article...)

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