This is a selection of recently created new articles and greatly expanded former stub articles on Wikipedia that were featured on the Main Page as part of Did you know? You can submit new pages for consideration. (Archives are in sets of 50–100 items each.) Tip: To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did You Know?, return to the article and click "What links here" to the left of the article. Then, in the dropdown menu provided for namespace, choose Wikipedia and click "Go". When you find "Wikipedia:Recent additions" and a number, click it and search for the article name. Current archive | 250 | 249 | 248 | 247 | 246 | 245 | 244 | 243 | 242 | 241 | 240 | 239 | 238 | 237 | 236 | 235 | 234 | 233 | 232 | 231 | 230 | 229 | 228 | 227 | 226 | 225 | 224 | 223 | 222 | 221 | 220 | 219 | 218 | 217 | 216 | 215 | 214 | 213 | 212 | 211 | 210 | 209 | 208 | 207 | 206 | 205 | 204 | 203 | 202 | 201 | 200 | 199 | 198 | 197 | 196 | 195 | 194 | 193 | 192 | 191 | 190 | 189 | 188 | 187 | 186 | 185 | 184 | 183 | 182 | 181 | 180 | 179 | 178 | 177 | 176 | 175 | 174 | 173 | 172 | 171 | 170 | 169 | 168 | 167 | 166 | 165 | 164 | 163 | 162 | 161 | 160 | 159 | 158 | 157 | 156 | 155 | 154 | 153 | 152 | 151 | 150 | 149 | 148 | 147 | 146 | 145 | 144 | 143 | 142 | 141 | 140 | 139 | 138 | 137 | 136 | 135 | 134 | 133 | 132 | 131 | 130 | 129 | 128 | 127 | 126 | 125 | 124 | 123 | 122 | 121 | 120 | 119 | 118 | 117 | 116 | 115 | 114 | 113 | 112 | 111 | 110 | 109 | 108 | 107 | 106 | 105 | 104 | 103 | 102 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 59 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 52 | 51 | 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 Edit the DYK archive navigation template
This page is no longer updated automatically, for now and possibly the future it will be done manually, so this page may be out of date at times. If an update hasn't been done, feel free to do it yourself. Thanks. Did you know... Please add the line ==={{subst:CURRENTDAY}} {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}=== for each new day and the time the set was removed from the DYK template at the top for the newly posted set of archived hooks. This will ensure all times are based on UTC time and accurate. This page should be archived once a month. Thanks. 10 December 2009 - 10:21, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
- ... that the American rodent tribe Oryzomyini includes species living in trees, in the water (including the Marsh Rice Rat, pictured), and on the Galápagos Islands?
- ... that the Ross Casino in Pichilemu was the first casino in Chile?
- ... that the gay pornography film studio Corbin Fisher offers contracted actors health benefits and a 401(k) plan?
- ... that Gordon Bastian, the Second Engineer of the Empire Bowman, was awarded an Albert Medal for rescuing two stokers after the ship was torpedoed by U-404?
- ... that opera singer Zélie de Lussan sang 2,000 performances in the title role of Carmen?
- ... that the oblique cord is a 3.4 cm long ligament in the forearm near the elbow, between the ulnar and radius bones, which has no known function and may be vestigial?
- ... that Robert Sumrall survived being lost in the Gila National Forest for seven days in winter without food, water, or camping gear?
- ... that in Teotitlán del Valle, it is possible to "steal" a bride?
- 02:21, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
9 December 2009 - 18:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that the globular cluster Terzan 5 (pictured) is likely the core of a disrupted dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way?
- ... that horn player Neill Sanders commuted from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to London, where he played in the Melos Ensemble?
- ... that climate change and rising ocean acidity are affecting fisheries and modifying fish distributions?
- ... that despite most of its interments later being moved to larger rural cemeteries, Sharp Burial Ground in Kingston, New York, still has the graves of two former U.S. Congressmen?
- ... that during his imprisonment in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Fritz Weiss continued his collaboration with jazz orchestras outside of the camp?
- ... that NEADS/Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans relies on help from inmates from 15 New England correctional facilities to train many of its assistance dogs?
- ... that James Jones, a pitcher in college, entered the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft and was selected in the fourth round as an outfielder by the Seattle Mariners?
- ... that in 1641, Bristol Corporation concluded a perambulation of the city boundaries with a duck hunt at Treen Mills on the River Malago?
- 12:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that if a Member of the Parliament of Singapore (Parliament House pictured) claims a division during a vote on a motion, MPs are locked inside the debating chamber until their votes have been tallied?
- ... that the Naval Training Center San Diego was the home of a commissioned "non-ship" of the U.S. Navy, the USS Recruit, a concrete model of a warship built right into the ground and nicknamed the "USS Neversail"?
- ... that during his career, comic actor Willie Edouin was said to have portrayed as many as 500 characters?
- ... that the Thikse Monastery in India is called Mini-Potala because of its structural similarity to the former residence of the Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace in Tibet?
- ... that Berbak National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, forms part of the largest undisturbed swamp forest in southeastern Asia, and the peat swamp forest with the greatest number of palm species?
- ... that unlike her predecessors, the Empress Regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng was not worshipped in Lý Bát Đế Shrine because of her responsibility in the collapse of Lý Dynasty?
- ... that Marvin Minoff, executive producer of The Nixon Interviews between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and journalist David Frost, began his career as a talent agent?
- ... that the shell of the snail Paryphanta busbyi may explode when dried?
- 06:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
- 00:14, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that Native Americans lived at the Canfield Island Site (pictured) on the West Branch Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for thousands of years, and now hold an annual pow wow there?
- ... that 32% of welding defects are from operator error?
- ... that the first single from In the Room Up There, Australian band Elora Danan's debut album, was entitled "Door, Up, Elevator" and "inspired by elevator music, and the etiquette that goes on in elevators"?
- ... that former Baton Rouge Mayor-President Bobby Simpson worked to end chronic homelessness in his city?
- ... that crystals of campigliaite, first discovered in Tuscany, are transparent with a light or pale blue vitreous luster?
- ... that actress Jessalyn Gilsig hoped viewers would warm to her Glee character Terri Schuester after the episode "Mattress", having previously experienced a fan backlash?
- ... that Benny Benson created the Alaskan flag while living at the Jesse Lee Home for Children, an orphanage in Seward, Alaska?
- ... that it was feared Seattle's Art Deco-styled Naval Reserve Armory would become a white elephant?
8 December 2009 - 18:14, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:14, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 06:21, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
- 00:07, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that Sir William Sharington (pictured) was pardoned after he was described in a sermon by Bishop Hugh Latimer as "an honest gentleman, and one that God loveth"?
- ... that Schwa, an upscale restaurant in Chicago, employs no receptionist, waiters, or other support staff?
- ... that according to legend, Dunan Aula was the burial site of the Viking warrior 'Olaf, son of the King of Denmark'; after he was slain in combat against local Scots?
- ... that Sathyavani Muthu was one of the first two non-Congress members from Tamil Nadu to serve as a Union Minister in India?
- ... that the Atlantic torpedo can produce an electric shock of up to 220 volts, and was the namesake of the naval weapon?
- ... that former Louisiana State Senator Bill Keith authored a creation science law that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1987 case Edwards v. Aguillard?
- ... that the development of the Oseberg oil field is one of the significant milestones in the creation of Norway's oil and gas industry?
- ... that Slaughter County, Iowa, named after William B. Slaughter, was renamed because its citizens were dissatisfied with the name?
7 December 2009 - 18:07, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:19, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
- 06:07, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that for over a century after it was introduced into English the word "landscape" was only used for works of landscape art (example pictured)?
- ... that Lee Boyd Malvo entered an Alford plea in 2004 for his role in the Beltway sniper attacks, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty?
- ... that Paul Eggers, the Texas Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1970, trailed his senatorial ticket mate, George H.W. Bush, by 34,000 votes, and both lost to Democrats?
- ... that the Gorgas-Manly Historic District in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, contains two of only seven buildings to survive the burning of the University of Alabama by the Union Army on April 4, 1865?
- ... that because of the Bambi effect, some people will not eat a whole fish?
- ... that Jean-Claude Biver has been credited with "saving the mechanical watch industry from the quartz movement"?
- ... that child actor Joey Pollari was 15 years old when he appeared in the Disney XD film, Skyrunners?
- ... that the large weight (55 tons) of the main cannon at the Bijapur Fort discouraged the British from carrying it as a trophy to England?
- 00:00, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that the city of Minneapolis refused the gift from T. B. Walker (pictured) that may have included a landscape by Frederic Edwin Church later sold for US$8.5 million?
- ... that that the fourth floor of Havnelageret in Oslo was used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War?
- ... that Louis Lesser developed Barrington Plaza, the largest urban renewal project in the western United States under President John F. Kennedy, as well as many of Howard Hughes' properties?
- ... that according to a mediaeval Icelandic saga, Jarl Gilli dreamt of the violent death of Irish king, Brian Boru?
- ... that the Peirce Geodetic Monument serves as a geodetic marker which indicates the exact latitude, longitude, and altitude of its location?
- ... that New Jersey Attorney General George F. Kugler, Jr. was the father of Pete Kugler who played in three Super Bowls for the San Francisco 49ers?
- ... that the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 covers not only land, but also aircraft and ships?
- ... that Rizong Monastery in Ladakh, Inidia, is known as “the paradise for meditation”?
6 December 2009 - 18:00, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
- 12:00, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that on the Hindu festival Ratha Saptami, the icons of the Sun-god (pictured) are carried in ceremonial processions in Mysore and Melkote?
- ... that the Baylor University began its organized football team in 1899, but adopted a mascot only after the completion of the 1914 season?
- ... that Sword of Aragon, a video game published in 1989, frustrated players with its copy protection that prompted them with inaccurate information?
- ... that prior to being hired as a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Katherine Kersten worked as a lawyer and banker?
- ... that an example of the extinct Toy Trawler Spaniel, bred by Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, is preserved at the Natural History Museum at Tring?
- ... that in an Alford plea a defendant in U.S. criminal court admits there is evidence to support a conviction and enters a guilty plea, while asserting innocence?
- ... that Arvid Johanson took over as Norway's second Minister of Petroleum and Energy in 1980, when Bjartmar Gjerde resigned due to high job pressure?
- ... that the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest invites entrants to compose the opening sentence for "the worst of all possible novels"?
- 05:56, 6 December 2009 (UTC)
5 December 2009 - 23:56, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- 17:56, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
- 10:41, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that Cleveland S. Rockwell (pictured) used the sketches he made during topographical survey expeditions for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as the basis for his landscape watercolor and oil paintings?
- ... that the Royal National College for the Blind was the subject of the 2007 Cutting Edge documentary Blind Young Things?
- ... that St. Timothy Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, has an antique gold leaf altarpiece believed to have been made in Spain in the 1600s?
- ... that Vietnamese scholar Đào Duy Từ was forbidden from taking Le Dynasty's court examination because his father was a folk singer?
- ... that a 1999 fire in St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church caused an estimated $1.2 million in damage?
- ... that the music on Slut's album StillNo1 has been compared to a variety of different artists, amongst them Radiohead, Depeche Mode, The Divine Comedy, Sigur Rós and The Beatles?
- ... that David Morehouse, president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, served on the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry?
- ... that the Redmond Caves in Oregon were considered for potato storage as early as the 1910s?
- 04:26, 5 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that Franz Liszt's abandoned opera Sardanapale was in part inspired by Eugène Delacroix's painting, The Death of Sardanapalus (pictured)?
- ... that Pete Heine participated in the Berlin Airlift, then became the crew chief on an F-86 Sabre jet, and was later mayor of Baker, Louisiana?
- ... that initial deliveries of the Polikarpov I-3 in 1929 were to units in the Belorussian Military District, where they replaced the Grigorovich I-2?
- ... that Jan Leighton played over 1,200 famous persons in television and print advertisements, and 1,800 more on radio?
- ... that John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun, tried to blame the British loss in the 1756 Battle of Fort Oswego on William Shirley?
- ... that Spoon River College in Illinois was founded in 1959 as Canton Community College?
- ... that the medieval English judge Ralph Basset earned a mention in the 1124 entry of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for hanging 44 thieves?
- ... that the Phineas and Ferb character Perry the Platypus was made a platypus because of the animal's striking appearance?
4 December 2009 - 22:08, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that St. Bendt's Church (pictured) in Ringsted, Denmark, where Danish kings and queens of the 12th to 14th centuries were buried, is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia?
- ... that Akira Iwasaki was the only film critic arrested by the ideological police in wartime Japan?
- ... that a noted 20th century antiquary considered the four most interesting ruinous fortifications on Coll to be Dùn an Achaidh, Dùn Anlaimh, Dùn Dubh, and Dùn Morbhaidh?
- ... that Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner told readers he was a transsexual in a 2007 essay entitled "Old Mike, new Christine"?
- ... that reform of trusts law eventually contained in the United Kingdom's Trustee Act 2000 had been requested since 1982?
- ... that Émilien Amaury left school at 12 to ride a delivery bicycle, became head of propaganda in the government of Vichy France aged 30, and then founded the Amaury publishing empire?
- ... that the highest-ranked British casualty in the 1878 Battle of Ali Masjid suffered a gunshot wound that drove a metal locket with his wife's photograph through his heart?
- ... that ESPN The Magazine's October 9, 2009, Body Issue sold more issues at the news stand than any other issue of the magazine in the prior two years?
- 16:02, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
- 10:02, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that the Kingston, New York, zoning code forbids new construction in the Stockade District to higher than 62 feet (19 m), the height of the base of the steeple of the Old Dutch Church (pictured)?
- ... that the Super Falcon Submersible, which cost $1.5 million, is the world's fastest personal submarine?
- ... that the Regency era British women's magazine La Belle Assemblée featured original fiction and articles on politics and science in addition to fashion plates?
- ... that Trần Quang Khải was not only grand chancellor of Trần Dynasty for many years but also a famous poet and the creator of a traditional dance?
- ... that "Moses," the first solo single by Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser, is a tribute to ex-Echo & the Bunnymen keyboardist Jake Drake-Brockman, who had been a close friend?
- ... the P'urhépecha people of Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, have been producing hand-hammered copper products since pre-Hispanic times?
- ... that John Baldwin Neil served as Rutherford B. Hayes' personal secretary before President Hayes appointed him Governor of Idaho Territory?
- ... that the Saw series has grossed more than one billion dollars, making it one of the highest-grossing fright franchises ever?
- 02:48, 4 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that following court directives, Indian BEST Bus launched limited 'disabled friendly' buses (pictured) on exclusive routes in 2005?
- ... that as the mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, W.W. Dumas called a curfew in 1969 to halt riots after the fatal shooting of a fleeing black suspect by a white police officer?
- ... that during the latter part of the 20th century, Heekin Can was one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of food cans?
- ... that Joseph Moir built the largest stone shot tower in the southern hemisphere?
- ... that the Italian ambassador to the United States offered in the 1920s to disband the Fascist League of North America?
- ... that after Eleanor Evans was appointed as Stage Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1949, a large number of performers, including Martyn Green, Ella Halman and Radley Flynn, left in the following years?
- ... that the poppy seed test is a simple, accurate, and inexpensive medical test for vesicointestinal fistula?
- ... that Idaho Territory Governor Mason Brayman negotiated the agreement which allowed the Mormons to leave Illinois following the Illinois Mormon War?
3 December 2009 - 20:40, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:36, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
- 05:28, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
2 December 2009 - 23:34, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that solenodons (pictured), the only surviving soricomorphs of the Caribbean, are a distinct lineage that may date back to the Mesozoic?
- ... that the song "Speechless", by Lady Gaga, was written as a plea to her father to receive the open-heart surgery he needed for a bad aortic valve?
- ... that the 47-gun galleon Elizabeth Bonaventure carried 51½ tons of weaponry against the Spanish Armada?
- ... that Memorial Park Site in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, contains prehistoric cultural deposits up to 8,000 years old?
- ... that a new railway station was built in six days in Workington to enable residents north of the river to access the town centre following floods which split the town in two?
- ... that in Ancient Egypt, servants of the pharaohs would agree to be sacrificed to provide their care in the afterlife?
- ... that in 1995, American blues harmonica player James Harman recorded a song named for the Zoo Bar club in Lincoln, Nebraska?
- ... that when Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park in Arizona was a U.S. Army post from 1864 to 1877, up to 900 mules were kept there to help deliver supplies to five U.S. states?
- 17:39, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
- 11:00, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
- 03:46, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
1 December 2009 - 21:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
- 15:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
- 09:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that the precuneus (pictured), a part of the human brain hidden in between the two cerebral hemispheres, is involved with episodic memory, visuospatial processing, reflections upon self, and consciousness?
- ... that LA's St. Cecilia Church, built in 1927, adapted to its multiethnic community by installing shrines to a beatified Nigerian priest, a Oaxacan Virgin, and a Guatemalan "Black Christ"?
- ... that Holby City hospital's disabled CEO Vanessa Lytton is played by Leslie Ash, whose own disability resulted from a hospital stay?
- ... that Đại Việt Emperor Trần Thuận Tông was forced to cede the throne to his three-year old son Trần Thiếu Đế and thus held the title Retired Emperor at the age of 20?
- ... that the oldest complete document in the National Archival Services of Norway is from 1189?
- ... that former Louisiana Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle has joined a new company trying to rebuild Six Flags New Orleans, which has been closed since Hurricane Katrina?
- ... that under Jewish views of moral agency a deaf-mute could even commit murder with impunity, as Jewish law forbids legal cases without verbal communication between the involved parties?
- ... that "the wrong kind of snow" delayed British Rail services during the winter of 1990–1991?
- 03:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 - ... that the clock (pictured) on St. Nicolas' Church, North Stoneham, Hampshire, England, has only one hand?
- ... that John W. Reynolds was admitted to practice law in Oregon before he graduated from law school?
- ... that except for bats, nearly 90% of the native land mammals of the Caribbean, including all sloths and monkeys, are now extinct?
- ... that Bryant Hammett resigned from the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2006 to oversee disaster recovery for infrastructure impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?
- ... that the Ventura Oil Field is the seventh largest oil field in California, and was at one point the 12th most productive oil field in the United States?
- ... that despite being only the son of Hát tuồng actors, Dương Nhật Lễ was enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt by his impotent predecessor Trần Dụ Tông?
- ... that one part of Mendelssohn’s operetta Son and Stranger comprises only a few bars, all on the note F, because the composer’s brother-in-law, Wilhelm Hensel, had no ability as a singer?
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