Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 October 22

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From today's featured article

Amargasaurus was a sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina from roughly 129 to 122 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous epoch. The only known skeleton was discovered in 1984 and is virtually complete. Amargasaurus cazaui, the only species in the genus, was a large animal reaching 9 to 10 meters (30 to 33 feet) in length, with two parallel rows of tall spines down its neck and back. The spines, taller than in any other known sauropod, probably protruded as solitary structures supporting a keratinous sheath, and may have been used for display, combat, or defense. Alternatively, they might have formed a scaffold supporting a skin sail. A herbivore, Amargasaurus probably fed at mid-height. Discovered in sedimentary rocks of the La Amarga Formation, it is most closely related to the Late Jurassic genera Dicraeosaurus, Brachytrachelopan and Suuwassea. Together, these genera form the family Dicraeosauridae, with shorter necks and smaller body sizes than other sauropods. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Male R. pulchellus

... that Rhipicephalus pulchellus (pictured) is sometimes known by its common name "the zebra tick", both because zebras are one of its main hosts and because of the males' black and white ornamentation?
... that in the 1951–52 Indian general election, the 27-year old Sunkam Achalu was elected by the largest margin?
... that Governor David B. Hill prevented New York from carrying out a state census in 1885?
... that looming war between the Dacian king Burebista and Julius Caesar was preempted by the assassination of both leaders?
... that Icelandic chess grandmaster Margeir Pétursson founded the country's only commercial bank that did not crash during the financial crisis of 2007–08?
... that the Canales investigation heard 80 witnesses describing murders, kidnappings, and other crimes committed by the Texas Rangers in the early 20th century?
... that John Potter's story of his role as a secret agent in occupied France was exposed as false only after his death?
... that people have suffered an Antabuse-type reaction from eating the club foot mushroom and drinking alcohol?

In the news

Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern (pictured) is set to become Prime Minister of New Zealand after forming a Labour–NZ First coalition government.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders wins the Man Booker Prize.
The Syrian Democratic Forces declare victory in the Battle of Raqqa.
The first observation of a neutron star merger in gravitational waves – as well as gamma rays, visible light, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation – is announced.
The ÖVP, led by Sebastian Kurz, wins the most seats in the Austrian legislative election.

On this day...

October 22: Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá’í Faith, 2017), International Stuttering Awareness Day

André-Jacques Garnerin's parachute

1797 – Dropping from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet (980 m) above Paris, André-Jacques Garnerin carried out the first descent using a frameless parachute (schematic pictured).
1877 – The Blantyre mining disaster, Scotland's worst mining accident, occurred when an explosion at a colliery in Blantyre killed 207 miners.
1907 – A bank run forced New York's Knickerbocker Trust Company to suspend operations, which triggered the Panic of 1907.
1966 – With their album The Supremes A' Go-Go, The Supremes became the first all-female group to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.
2001 – The controversial video game Grand Theft Auto III was first released to critical acclaim, and went on to popularise open world and mature-content games.

Qian Weijun (b. 955) · Sahle Selassie (d. 1847) · Deepak Chopra (b. 1946)

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Today's featured picture

Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (The Harem) is a painting by the French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir completed 1872. Renoir created the painting, which acknowledged the artificial nature of much Orientalist painting by making it clear that these were Parisian women in costume, in homage to Eugène Delacroix's Women of Algiers (1834). Rejected for entry to the 1872 Paris Salon and disliked by the artist, it was eventually sold for a small sum as part of a larger lot. It is now in the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.

Painting: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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