Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 21

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Today's featured article
"A Rugrats Chanukah" is a special episode of Nickelodeon's animated television series Rugrats. The first episode of the show's fourth season, it tells the story of the Jewish holiday Chanukah through the eyes of the Rugrats, who imagine themselves as the main characters. The idea of a Rugrats Chanukah special was pitched by Nickelodeon executives in 1992, but the concept was revised and became the 1995 special, "A Rugrats Passover". After production of the Passover episode wrapped, the crew returned to the Chanukah idea. Nickelodeon broadcast "A Rugrats Chanukah" on December 4, 1996; the episode received a Nielsen rating of 7.9 and positive reviews from television critics. Along with other Rugrats episodes featuring Grandpa Boris and his wife, the special attracted controversy when the Anti-Defamation League compared the character designs to anti-Semitic drawings from a 1930s Nazi newspaper. (more...) Recently featured: McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink – Egbert of Wessex – Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that when architect Sir Robert Smirke planned St Philip's Church in Salford, Greater Manchester (pictured), he re-used his design for St Mary's Church in Bryanston Square, London? ... that Ania Bien's 1986 photographic installation on the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam, which was destroyed in a fire that killed 33 people, included images alluding to the Holocaust? ... that the extinct Eocene maple Acer republicense is known from only one fossil seed? ... that brothers Frank and John Rolleston were both simultaneously elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1922 and defeated in 1928? ... that the seeds of Bigelow's sedge can remain viable for two centuries? ... that Swedish hip hop artist Roffe Ruff has kept his identity secret to make listeners concentrate more on his music than his personality? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Russia's top stock exchanges MICEX and RTS officially unite into MICEX-RTS. North Korea announces the death of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il (pictured). Czech writer and first President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel dies at the age of 75. The FIFA Club World Cup concludes with FC Barcelona defeating Santos FC in the final. Tropical Storm Washi hits the Philippines, killing more than 950 people. Russia is accepted for membership in the World Trade Organization. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 21 1620 – The Mayflower Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, establishing the Plymouth Colony. 1826 – American settlers in Mexican Texas made the first attempt to secede from Mexico, establishing the short-lived Republic of Fredonia. 1919 – After serving two years in prison for encouraging people to resist military conscription, anarchist Emma Goldman (pictured) was deported from the United States to Russia. 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length cel-animated feature in film history, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. 1968 – Apollo 8 launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a trajectory to the Moon, for the first visit to another celestial body by humans. More anniversaries: December 20 – December 21 – December 22 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 21, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Dirce Beauty (Colobura dirce) species of butterfly belongs to the Nymphalini tribe, the members of which are characterized by the jagged outline of their wings and the ability to survive the winter months as adults in an obligatory hibernal diapause, hiding in various shelters (e.g., crevices, hollows, cavities, even unheated buildings). The signature mark of all nymphalines is the cryptic color and spots on the underside of their wings, serving to conceal it against the surface on which it rests during hibernation.

Photo: Richard Bartz

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