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December 16

Greek fragment of the Apocalypse of Peter

The Apocalypse of Peter is an apocryphal text of the 2nd century. It is the earliest-written extant work depicting a Christian account of heaven and of hell in detail. The work describes a divine vision experienced by Peter through Jesus Christ. It delves into a vision of the afterlife (katabasis), and details both heavenly bliss for the righteous and infernal punishments for the damned. The punishments are graphically described and loosely correspond to "an eye for an eye": blasphemers are hung by their tongues; liars have their lips cut off; callous rich people are pierced by stones and are dressed in filthy rags; and so on. While the Apocalypse of Peter influenced other early Christian works, it eventually came to be considered inauthentic and was not included in the standard canon of the New Testament. It influenced later works in which the protagonist takes a tour of the realms of the afterlife, including the Apocalypse of Paul, and the Divine Comedy of Dante. (Full article...)

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April 16

Colditz Castle is a castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it became notorious as a prisoner-of-war camp for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly escaped from other camps, as well as for deutschfeindlich ("anti-Germans") during World War II. The Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) made Colditz a Sonderlager (high-security prison), the only one of its type within Germany. Hermann Göring even declared Colditz "escape-proof." This was in part because of its lack of escapes during its term as prison camp in World War I, but mostly due to it being the only German prisoner-of-war camp with more guards than prisoners. Yet despite this audacious claim, there were multiple escapes by British, French, Polish, Dutch, and Belgian inmates. (more...)

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March 16

Cannabis rescheduling in the United States refers to the proposed removal of marijuana from Schedule I, the most tightly-restricted category of drugs, by the U.S. Congress or the Attorney General. Since the early 1970s, cannabis reform advocates and the Drug Enforcement Administration have been battling over whether to transfer marijuana to a different category that would allow medical use. Rescheduling proponents claim that cannabis is not addictive or harmful enough to meet the Controlled Substances Act's strict criteria for placement in Schedule I. The Government argues that marijuana does not meet its criteria for acceptable medical use, and that evidence of cannabis' widespread use is more relevant than animal studies in establishing the drug's abuse potential. The most recent rescheduling petition, filed by medical marijuana advocates in 2002, is likely to wind up in the U.S. Court of Appeals. (more...)

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February 16

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states, most of which were once governed by the United Kingdom and are its former colonies. It was formerly known as the British Commonwealth and many still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the many other commonwealths around the world. The Commonwealth is largely an organisation where countries with diverse economic backgrounds have an opportunity for close and equal interaction. The primary activities of the Commonwealth are to create an atmosphere of economic cooperation between member nations, as well as the promotion of democracy and good governance in them. (more...)

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January 16

"The Long and Winding Road" is a pop ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on the Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' last Number 1 song in the United States on June 13, 1970. While the released version of the song was very successful, the post-production modifications to the song by producer Phil Spector angered McCartney to the point that when he made his case in court for breaking up the Beatles as a legal entity, he cited the treatment of "The Long and Winding Road" as one of six reasons for doing so. (more...)

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December 16

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series, produced by the BBC and concerning the adventures of a mysterious time travelling adventurer known only as "The Doctor". It is also the title of a 1996 television movie featuring the same character. The programme is a significant part of British popular culture, widely recognised for its creative storytelling, use of innovative music which was produced by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and low-budget special effects. The show has become a cult television favourite on par with Star Trek, and has influenced generations of British genre television writers, many of whom grew up watching the series. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Doctor Who was placed third. (more...)

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November 16

A scene of Felix "laffing" from "Felix in Hollywood" (1923).

Felix the Cat is a cartoon character. Created in 1922, his black body, white eyes and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations his cartoons placed him in, combined to make him one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in the world. Felix was the first cartoon character to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences based solely on his star power. His origins were in cartoons starring an animated Charlie Chaplin that Messmer created while working at the animation studio of Australian émigré Pat Sullivan. Felix reached the height of his worldwide fame in 1925. Felix's career plummeted in 1930, when a desperate attempt to add sound to the shorts failed. However, the advent of television would prove the cat's savior. (more...)

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October 16

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. During George III's reign, Great Britain lost many of its colonies in North America; the rebellious colonies later formed the United States. Also during his reign, the realms of Great Britain and Ireland united to form the United Kingdom. George III suffered from a mental disease, now thought to be porphyria. After a final relapse in 1811, George's eldest son, The Prince George, Prince of Wales reigned as Prince Regent. Upon George III's death, the Prince of Wales succeeded his father to become George IV. (more...)

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September 16

Lawrence v. Texas was a 2003 case decided by the United States Supreme Court. In the 6–3 ruling, the justices invalidated the criminal prohibition of homosexual sodomy in Texas. The court had previously addressed the same issue in 1986 with Bowers v. Hardwick, but there had upheld the challenged Georgia statute, not finding a constitutional right to homosexual sodomy. Lawrence overturned Bowers, which it held viewed the liberty at stake too narrowly. The Lawrence court held that intimate consensual sexual conduct was part of the liberty protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. Lawrence had the effect of invalidating similar laws throughout the United States insofar as they apply to consenting adults acting in private. The case attracted much public attention, and a large number of amicus curiae briefs were filed in the case. The decision was celebrated by gay rights activists, hoping that further legal advances may result as a consequence; the decision was lamented by social conservatives for the same reasons. (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 16

Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan at the end of World War II, but was ultimately never used. It was scheduled to occur in two parts — Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyūshū, set to begin in November, 1945; and later Operation Coronet, the invasion of Honshū near Tokyo, scheduled for the spring of 1946. Kyūshū was to be invaded at three points — Miyazaki beach, Ariake beach, and Kushikino beach. Southern Kyūshū would become a staging ground for operation Coronet, and would give the Allies a valuable airbase from which to operate. Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, the Japanese surrendered and the operation was cancelled. (more...)

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July 16

The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher

The laws of Kashrut are the Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with Jewish law is termed kosher, from the Hebrew term kasher, meaning "fit". Food which is not in accord with Jewish law is termed treifah - "torn". The basic laws of kashrut are in the Torah, their details explicated in the oral law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) and codified by the later rabbinical authorities. From the context of the laws in the Biblical book of Leviticus, the purpose of kashrut is related to ritual purity and holiness. (more...)

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June 16

The exposed geology of the Bryce Canyon area shows a record of deposition that covers the last part of the Cretaceous period and the first half of the Cenozoic era in that part of North America. The ancient depositional environment of the region around what is now Bryce Canyon National Park varied from the warm shallow sea the Dakota Sandstone and the Tropic Shale were deposited in to the cool streams and lakes that contributed to the colorful Claron Formation that dominates the park's amphitheaters. Other formations were also created but were mostly eroded following two major periods of uplift; one around 70 million years ago (creating the Rocky Mountains) and another 10 to 15 million years ago (creating the Colorado Plateaus). (more...)

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May 16

The Sino-Soviet split was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. It led to a parallel split in the international Communist movement, although it was as much about Chinese and Soviet national interests as it was about Communist ideology. (more...)

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April 16

Titanium is a chemical element that has the symbol Ti and atomic number 22 in the periodic table. A light, strong, white-metallic, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal, titanium is used in strong light-weight alloys and in white pigments. This element occurs in numerous minerals with the main sources being rutile and ilmenite. Titanium is a metallic element which is well known for its excellent corrosion resistance (almost as resistant as platinum) and for its high strength-to-weight ratio. (more...)

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March 16

The Prisoner's dilemma is a classic example of a non-zero-sum game that demonstrates a conflict between rational individual behavior and the benefits of cooperation in certain situations. In political science, the Prisoner's Dilemma is often used to illustrate the problem of two states engaged in an arms race. It is fundamental to certain theories of human cooperation and trust. On the assumption that transactions between two people requiring trust can be modelled by the Prisoner's Dilemma, cooperative behavior in populations may be modelled by a multi-player, iterated, version of the game. It has, consequently, fascinated many scholars over the years. (more...)

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