Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 September 13

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From today's featured article

The Tahiti rail (Gallirallus pacificus) is an extinct bird species from Tahiti. The rail was first recorded during James Cook's second voyage in 1772–1775, during which it was painted by Georg Forster and described by his father Johann. It may have also existed on nearby Mehetia. It appears to have been closely related to the buff-banded rail, and has been confused with that bird's Tongan subspecies. The Tahiti rail was 9 in (23 cm) long, with white on its underparts, throat, and "eyebrows". Its upper parts were black with white dots and bands, the hind neck was rust-coloured, the breast was grey, and it had a black band across its throat. The bill and iris were red, and the legs were pink. It was supposedly flightless, and nested on the ground. It frequented open areas, marshes, and coconut plantations, eating mainly insects and some coconut meat. Its extinction, after 1844 on Tahiti, and perhaps in the 1930s on Mehetia, was probably due to predation by humans and introduced cats and rats. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Trypanosoma parasites in blood

... that Robert Michael Forde made the first definitive observation of the cause of sleeping sickness (parasites pictured) in human beings?
... that in 1949, the Kurtis Sport Car was driven by National Hot Rod Association founder Wally Parks to over 142.5 mph (229.3 km/h) on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah?
... that the Hong Kong Way was a peaceful political campaign held in Hong Kong on the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way?
... that American actor Matt William Knowles was a "rotating mayor" of Danzhai Wanda Village in Guizhou, China?
... that Facebook has to vet fake news in India for 23 official languages, but has been able to cover only 10 of them?
... that footballer Carrie Jones made her international debut for Wales despite being too young to play for her club side?
... that WBBY-FM lost its license because the man who claimed to be its manager worked full-time at a car dealership 120 miles (190 km) away?
... that ice almost half a million years old has been found on a mountain named after a sled dog driver?

In the news

Artist's impression of K2-18b orbiting red dwarf K2-18

Incumbent Tongan prime minister ʻAkilisi Pōhiva dies at the age of 78.
Astronomers announce the detection of water in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b (artist's impression shown), the first such discovery for a planet in the habitable zone around a star.
A stampede during the observance of Ashura in Karbala, Iraq, kills at least thirty-one people and injures more than a hundred others.
The Indian Space Research Organisation loses contact with Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lunar lander shortly before a hard landing on the Moon's surface.
Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe dies at the age of 95.

On this day

September 13: Mid-Autumn Festival (traditional Chinese, 2019); Feast day of Saint John Chrysostom (Western Christianity); Friday the 13th

Mount Kenya

1814 – War of 1812: Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor was attacked by British forces during the Battle of Baltimore, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write "Defence of Fort McHenry", which was later used as the lyrics to the United States' national anthem.
1899 – An expedition led by Halford Mackinder made the first ascent of Mount Kenya (pictured), the second-highest mountain in Africa.
1959 – Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 impacted the Moon, becoming the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body.
1985 – Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling and most influential video games of all time, was first released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan.

Kavad I (d. 531) · Clara Schumann (b. 1819) · Fiona Apple (b. 1977)

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From today's featured list

Pegwell Bay, part of Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve

Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1958, previously known as the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation. It aims to "work with people to restore, save and improve our natural spaces" and to "ensure that 30% of Kent and Medway – land and sea – is managed to create a healthy place for wildlife to flourish". KWT manages fifty-four nature reserves, of which twenty-four are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, two are National Nature Reserves (Sandwich and Pegwell Bay pictured), nine are Nature Conservation Review sites, seven are Special Areas of Conservation, three are Special Protection Areas, seven are Local Nature Reserves, one is a Geological Conservation Review site, thirteen are in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and one is a Scheduled Monument. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Atractomorpha is a genus of grasshopper in the Pyrgomorphidae family, found in Africa, Asia and Australia. The genus name is derived from Greek and means 'spindle-shaped' or 'arrow-shaped', referring to the cone-shaped head found in individuals of the genus. Atractomorpha are active during the day, and their usual habitat is reeds and grasses close to rivers or streams.

This picture shows a grasshopper of the species A. crenulata, commonly known as the tobacco grasshopper, which has a distribution from South Asia to Vietnam.

Photograph credit: Chris Woodrich

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