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Today is Sunday, November 3, 2024.
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Today's featured article

Specimen ballot from Lake County, Illinois
Specimen ballot from Lake County, Illinois

On November 3, 1964, Illinois chose all 177 members of the state's House of Representatives in a single at-large election. The government was required to draw new electoral districts before the election, each of which would choose three representatives, but both the legislative process and a special commission failed to produce a district map. As a result, the state's constitution mandated that all 177 representatives were to be elected from a statewide at-large district. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party each nominated 118 candidates to appear on the ballot (specimen pictured); voters were allowed to choose up to 177. All 118 Democratic candidates were elected, flipping the Illinois House of Representatives from its previous narrow Republican control, alongside the concurrent presidential election won by Democratic incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson in a landslide. This election is the only time in American history that a state legislative chamber has been elected at-large. (Full article...)

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Today's featured picture

Coconut

The coconut (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm tree family, Arecaceae. Originally native to the Central Indo-Pacific, in the regions of Maritime Southeast Asia and Melanesia, coconuts are now found across the world due to human cultivation and dispersal. They are normally cultivated in hot and wet tropical climates. The term coconut also commonly refers to the seed and fruit of the coconut tree, which is botanically a drupe. The fruit has three layers including an edible white, fleshy endosperm and is filled with a liquid known as coconut water. The coconut thus played a critical role in the migration of Austronesian peoples across the Indian Ocean, as it provided a portable source of both food and water for long sea voyages. In modern times coconuts are used extensively in cooking and cuisine, using the raw flesh, the water or in alternative forms such as coconut milk and coconut butter. These coconuts, one whole and one halved, were grown in the Dominican Republic; this photograph was focus-stacked from 19 separate images.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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In the news

Collapsed Novi Sad railway station canopy
Collapsed canopy

Did you know...

James Davis
James Davis


On this day...

November 3: Culture Day in Japan

Truman showing the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline
Truman showing the "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline
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