Archives are generally grouped by month of Main Page appearance. (Currently, DYK hooks are archived according to the date and time that they were taken off the Main Page.) To find which archive contains the fact that appeared on Did you know, go to article's
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... that the
Gujarat Communist Party head Dinkar Mehta escaped from jail in 1949 and remained underground until 1951?
... that a business-firm party is a political party created and run by one person to further their own interests?
... that most of the windows of the Ford Foundation Building in
Manhattan could not be cleaned for two years because a New York state board would not allow it?
00:00, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
Facade of the St. Paul Building
... that when New York City's St. Paul Building was demolished, part of the facade (pictured) was preserved in
Indianapolis?
... that in 2018, Guyanese politician Charrandas Persaud voted against his own government coalition in a
no-confidence motion, causing the coalition to fall by one vote?
... that two Northumbrian kings,
Ælla and
Osberht, were killed by Vikings in 867 at the Battle of York?
... that American naturalist William Harvey Brown, who went to Africa to collect specimens, ended up fighting in two wars there?
... that the lyrics of
BTS's song "DNA" compare love to a mathematical formula and divine providence?
... that Chopin's mother was his first music teacher, but his musical ability surpassed hers before he was seven?
... that an Iron Age bull statue known as the verraco of the bridge was thrown into the
Tormes river in 1834, and stayed there for more than 30 years?
... that after passing a literacy examination at the age of 96, Karthyayani Amma said: "I learned so much for no reason. The tests were way too easy for me"?
... that the Corbin Building(pictured) was one of several "smaller infill buildings" in New York City that "experiment[ed] with new forms and unusual compositions" during the late 19th century?
... that the orchid Acampe rigida(pictured) is pollinated by raindrops?
... that in July 2020 the Chinese Consulate-General in Houston, the People's Republic of China's first consulate in the United States, was given just 72 hours to close down?
... that Kirkandrews in
Dumfries and Galloway used to host an annual fair, dedicated to
St Lawrence, that a 17th-century minister complained was full of drink, debauchery, and "great lewdness"?
... that the American Surety Building, built at a time when skyscrapers were generally criticized, has been called an "outstandingly fine early skyscraper"?
... that Arab cryptologist Ibn 'Adlan wrote about the
cryptanalysis of
ciphers with no space symbol, three centuries before it was first done in the West by
G. B. Porta?
... that in a 1949 war plan, the United States targeted 70 Soviet cities with 133 nuclear weapons, of which eight would be dropped on Moscow and seven on Leningrad?
... that American historian and author Mary Henderson Eastman promoted both Native American rights and Black slavery?
... that although registered nurses in Hong Kong are legally required to undergo only three years of training, bachelor's degrees in nursing are five years in length?
... that Greek-Turkish singer Eftalya Işılay earned her nickname "Efthalia the Mermaid" for singing on a rowboat in the
Bosphorus during full-moon nights in summer?
... that American abolitionist Margaret Mercer freed the slaves she inherited from her father, Maryland governor
John Francis Mercer, and sent six of them to Liberia?
... that while in many countries the government cannot finance its deficit by creating new money, it may still borrow from the central bank, which can?
... that in 2021, the dwarf periodical cicada(pictured) is due to emerge in parts of eastern North America, not having been seen for 17 years?
... that Franz-Peter Weixler was arrested for sharing uncensored pictures of the
Massacre of Kondomari in Crete, the originals of which were later burned in Berlin?
... that Symbolon, composed by
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, was the first piece of American orchestral music to be premiered in the Soviet Union?
... that in the early 20th century near
Kirkandrews in Scotland, a herd of twelve cows lived in their own palace?
22 August 2020
00:00, 22 August 2020 (UTC)
New Zealand White Ensign
... that until a distinct white ensign(pictured) was adopted in 1968, Royal New Zealand Navy vessels at sea might have been indistinguishable from British vessels?
... that
the Duke of Tuscany allied with Ali Janbulad, the
Kurdish chief and rebel governor of
Aleppo, to destroy the Ottoman Empire and establish Ali as "Prince of the Kingdom of Syria"?
... that Maria Ovsiankina studied the
Zeigarnik effect of how people remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones, and described the
Ovsiankina effect of how likely they are to resume those tasks?
... that an industry observer noted that
Perkin-Elmer's Micralignaligner "literally made the modern [integrated circuit] industry"?
... that a "pickle train" delivered workers to the Budlong Pickle Company in the early 20th century?
20 August 2020
00:00, 20 August 2020 (UTC)
Ruth Blair
... that when
Georgia was given
Rhodes Hall as a state archives building, the donor asked that it always be occupied, so state historian Ruth Blair(pictured) moved into the house herself?
... that when built, the Broad Exchange Building was described as "a town under a single roof"?
... that Ghansi created a well so that he could be remembered after his death?
... that the magazine Pulp serialized the manga series Voyeur concurrently with a column by a sex worker to provide an alternate perspective on prostitution?
... that
Jarosław Kaczyński, an adviser to the prime minister of Poland, claimed that equality marches(example pictured) are "a real threat to ... the Polish state"?
... that the multi-talented Aonghus McAnally has been a radio producer, television presenter, guitarist, singer, Irish billiards champion, actor, stand-up comedian, and magician?
... that St. Stephanus in
Bork, a Baroque church built in the 1720s, received a large former
wayside cross in the 20th century?
... that
Byzantine general Manuel Kamytzes began a rebellion against his emperor when the latter took advantage of his capture to confiscate his fortune, imprison his family, and refuse to
ransom him?
... that three 200-year-old Persian
Torah scrolls were gifted to the Synagogue of Deal(pictured), a Syrian Jewish congregation in
New Jersey, at its dedication in 1973?
... that Exchange Place in New York City still survives largely as it existed in 1660?
... that since the German army did not accept female doctors, Käte Frankenthal served in the Austrian army during World War I, and was the only woman in her barracks?
... that despite having the widest distribution in the United States, the arid-land subterranean termite causes less structural damage than other members of its genus?
... that linguist Esther T. Mookini translated many works of 19th-century native Hawaiians, including the 1838 Anatomia, the only medical textbook written in the
Hawaiian language?
... that the Yeoman Warders Club might be the most exclusive
pub in the world, with only 37 members?
00:00, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
Patio of Villa Wolf
... that there are plans to reconstruct Villa Wolf(pictured) in
Gubin, Poland, which was built in 1926 by
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and destroyed during World War II?
... that analytical chemist N. Howell Furman was part of a secret team of Princeton scientists – including
John Archibald Wheeler – who "disappeared to Shangri-La" to work on the atomic bomb?
... that the title of
Ava Max's song "Sweet but Psycho" was inspired by her parents telling her "you're sweet, but you're a little psycho" when she was younger?
... that scientists accidentally created a
hybrid of two endangered fish species, called the sturddlefish?
00:00, 17 August 2020 (UTC)
Looking north-east on Stonegate
... that Stonegate(pictured), a street in York, is "narrow, quite long, and with a variety of good things"?
... that South African refugee Jerry Masslo was granted a state funeral after his murder in Italy in 1989?
... that the forward-facing
incisors of the extinct dolphin Ankylorhiza(restoration pictured) may have been used for ramming their prey, similar to a hunting method used by modern
orcas?
... that in the 1700s, Helen Hope turned a Scottish moor into a wood and named it after her eldest son?
... that Monika Rice's "What! Still Alive?!" has been described as a "disturbing narrative of violence, hostility, and indifference" towards Holocaust survivors in Poland?
... that whilst making his record
break of 499,135,
English billiards player Tom Reece was in play for 85 hours and 49 minutes without his opponent taking a turn?
... that in 2014, the government of Bangladesh removed 2,367 former communist guerrilla fighters from the official listing of freedom fighters, but this move was overruled by the
High Court?
... that U.S. federal judge Miranda Du came to the United States as a child after her family
fled Vietnam?
... that because of its isolated, moorside location, Wells House,
Ilkley, is the only building by
Cuthbert Brodrick known to have been surrounded by a designed landscape?
... that
South Carolina radio station WDAB sold its former call letters to
Michael Bloomberg, then named itself after an owner who had not yet bought the station?
... that the English classicist Roger Mynors was discussing the death of
Bede shortly before being killed in a car crash?
... that South African
forwardLetago Madiba started playing football at the age of five in the streets of her hometown, and was the only female footballer in her school?
... that the Naewat-dang shamanic paintings were discovered when a university professor encountered a nearly eighty-year-old homeless woman living in a cave?
00:00, 15 August 2020 (UTC)
Dona Joaninha
... that Dona Joaninha(pictured), which had hauled
sugar cane across Brazil since 1940, was sold to a scrap dealer and then became a monument?
... that today, JoAnne S. Bass becomes not only the first female
senior enlisted member of any U.S. military branch, but also the first person of Asian descent to hold that position in the Air Force?
... that in 1264, the
Genoesecaptured an entire
Venetian trade convoy after tricking the Venetian fleet into thinking that they had sailed for the
Levant?
... that students in the Baranovich Yeshiva, a premier Torah institute in pre-war Europe, spent years learning to understand the simple meaning of the
Talmud?
... that more than 70 buildings designed by Paul Max Bertschy, the city architect of
Liepāja for over 30 years, are still extant?
... that a "self-proclaimed public avenger" cut down the tower of Oregon television station KVDO-TV in 1976 to protest its sale to the state government?
... that under the
Republic of Venice, the Procuratie in
St Mark's Square included apartments and shops that were rented out to finance maintenance on public buildings and provide assistance to the poor?
... that Bert Nievera, dubbed the
Johnny Mathis of the Philippines, encountered the real singer who watched him perform "
Misty", the latter's signature song?
... that a 1950 documentary filmed at a Christian college in
Beirut shows how missionary education imparts "modern democratic ways of thinking and living" to Christians, Muslims, and Jews?
... that the 800-year-old Minchenden Oak is one of the oldest trees in London?
... that the Turkish women's league seasons of 2019–20
football and 2020
rugby sevens were named to commemorate Özge Kanbay, a football referee and rugby player, who died in 2019 at age 22 from cancer?
... that the Swedish warship Oscar II(pictured), the first Swedish vessel named after the ruling monarch since 1824, was autographed by
the king shortly after being commissioned in 1907?
... that Molly Neptune Parker was able to support her family, buy a home, and pay for her grandchildren's education through
basket weaving?
... that Maxine Dunlap, the first licensed female
glider pilot in the U.S., began her flight training after catching "
lindberghitis"?
13 August 2020
12:00, 13 August 2020 (UTC)
Het Nieuwe Instituut
... that the archive at the Het Nieuwe Instituut(pictured) contains more than 18 km (11 mi) of architectural resources?
... that people used to drive by John and Mary Pappajohn's house to look at the sculptures in their yard before they were donated for the Pappajohn Sculpture Park?
... that
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Sunny Cheung once said: "We want to build a democratic Hong Kong. It's not our responsibility to build a democratic China"?
... that Bruus, once the national
card game of
Hamburg, rewards players for "daring and tormenting" certain top trumps, and that such tactics lend the game "a certain charm"?
... that hockey executive Cecil Duncan helped introduce the centre red line of an
ice hockey rink(pictured) to allow more passing and create excitement?
... that the song and visual images in the music video for "Bola Maya" express the pain of those who lose their loved ones in foreign lands?
... that when the wealthy
Abbasid prince Muhammad ibn Sulayman died in 789, government agents found vast quantities of spoilt food in his palace, and dumped it on the street outside?
... that the
Mandinkadouga, the "dance of the vulture" described in 20th-century African literature, may go back to
Sundiata, and reach across to American
Gullah culture,
buck dance, and the
minstrel show?
... that Canadian sports journalist Jim Proudfoot was reportedly a lifetime hitchhiker to get to sporting events?
00:00, 11 August 2020 (UTC)
Devunigutta Temple
... that the newly reported 6th-century Devunigutta Temple(pictured) in
Telangana, India, only came to international scholarly attention when images were posted on
social media in 2017?
... that after World War II, German industrialists who used forced labor claimed to be victims and opponents of Nazism?
... that the 608,832 lithium-ion battery cells assembled at the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project are capable of powering between 1,600 and 2,400 homes for four hours?
... that Muhammad al-Qunawi wrote a Turkish edition of
Al-Khalili's tables because, according to him, "some of our sons wanted, from this poor man, to learn about
sine tables"?
00:00, 10 August 2020 (UTC)
Cobra King shortly after battling into the Bastogne perimeter
... that the publication of Cantate!,
Heinrich Bone's 1847 hymnal with a title translating to Sing!, was followed five years later by an edition with melodies?
... that instead of paying salaries, owner Ron Butlin gave ice hockey players a share of the team's profits, provided medical benefits, and assisted them in finding day jobs?
... that students and adults of three different religions visited the Armenian church in
Kuzguncuk, Istanbul, as part of a social activity organized by the local women residents of these religions?
... that The New York Times continued working in a wood and tar-paper enclosure while its new building was being constructed around its older headquarters?
... that the flower buds of the woolly thistle(pictured) can be eaten in a similar way to
artichokes?
... that while the title track of Crazy features the signature sound of South Korean girl group
4Minute—a
hip hop– and
trap-infused dance number—its
lead single was a ballad?
... that judge Frank Park volunteered to provide 100 "
fat possums" captured from the wilds of his county for a "Possum and 'Taters" dinner honoring president-elect
William Howard Taft?
... that in the 1920s, "the mouthpiece of Bloomsbury liberalism" was published in London's Great James Street?
... that Kawade Shibatarō co-developed the moriage ('piling-up') technique, which gives
enamel artworks a three-dimensional effect?
... that after being squatted by hundreds of refugees, the 18th-century Debbane Palace was restored to its former state and turned into a private museum?
... that the Morse Building, once one of New York City's tallest buildings, was expanded twenty years after completion, having been considered "small and old-fashioned"?
... that the LGBT Centre Mongolia was legally registered in 2009 after being told more than ten times that its name did not suit "Mongolian traditions and customs"?
... that after the death of Olaseni Lewis, who was restrained by 11 police officers, UK law was changed to require police to wear
body cameras when dealing with vulnerable people?
... that
D'Arcy Carden has about 40 minutes of screen time in "Janet(s)" even though the episode is only 22 minutes long?
6 August 2020
12:00, 6 August 2020 (UTC)
Liselotte Funcke in 1974
... that as Federal Commissioner for Foreigners in the 1980s, German politician Liselotte Funcke(pictured) saw her role as an "interpreter" of the problems of foreign workers, especially Turks?
... that when the
Jehovah's Witnesses sold New York City radio station WBBR in 1957, the purchase included the 18-acre (7.3 ha) farm, complete with 20 chicken houses, at the transmitter site?
... that to convince people to let him record their singing,
Ozarker folklorist Max Hunter helped them out with chores, including delivering
moonshine?
... that the presence of the umbrella slug in the
Bay of Biscay, first reported in 2016, may be an example of "tropicalisation"?
... that
Luton Town F.C. chairman John Gurney organised a "Manager Idol" phone-vote in order to find the club's new manager?
... that choreographer
Kenneth MacMillan turned a duet in his ballet Concerto into a female solo when the male dancer broke his foot prior to the premiere?
... that despite a poll showing that the
2019 election in the Milton federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, would be a toss-up,
Liberal candidate and former Olympian
Adam van Koeverden(pictured) won by a margin of fifteen percent?
... that in 1947, New York City's WMGM rated dead last among FM radio stations, at a time when just 3 percent of metropolitan area residents had FM receivers?
... that 40 musicians from seven countries collaborated on the song "We Are One", which extends a message of hope and unity to the global population affected by
COVID-19?
... that Hilda Gregg published a novel every year for three decades?
... that two versions of each episode of The Titan's Bride are produced: a version that airs on broadcast television, and an online-only "premium edition" featuring explicit content?
4 August 2020
12:00, 4 August 2020 (UTC)
Mughal nobleman on horseback,
c. 1656
... that Rembrandt's Mughal drawings(example pictured) depict Indian emperors and noblemen, and are the only drawings in which the artist engaged with the style of a "dramatically foreign culture"?
... that director
Patrick Creadon said he made the documentary Hesburgh in part because he was skeptical whether the work of Father
Theodore Hesburgh "really lived up to his reputation"?
... that Herbert Edwin Bradley was criticised for taking his wife and six-year-old daughter on a gorilla-hunting expedition in 1921?
00:00, 4 August 2020 (UTC)
Flag of Grenada
... that the
nutmeg on the flag of Grenada(pictured) alludes to one of the country's key exports, which gave rise to its nickname, the "Isle of Spice"?
... that nearly 5,000 fans of
easy-listening music successfully petitioned Mississippi radio station WEQZ to adopt the format when another station changed away from it?
... that after a fisherman crashed into a volcano, it was named after him?
00:00, 3 August 2020 (UTC)
Richard Ernest Dupuy announces the Normandy landings.
... that Colonel Richard Ernest Dupuy's radio statement (recording featured) announcing that the
Normandy landings had taken place was so short that he read it twice?
... that the ancient fortified city of Bhitargarh served as a node to the strategic trade routes connecting Tibet and eastern India?
... that Lisa Kearney was the first
judoka representing Ireland to reach the final of a Judo World Cup?
... that after the American Revolutionary War, only five of First Presbyterian Church of Newtown's congregants remained, so a nearby Dutch church took them in?
... that according to Naraporn Chan-o-cha, the wife of the current prime minister of Thailand,
Prayut Chan-o-cha, she is responsible for his clothes, make-up, and haircut?
... that
NCT Dream performed songs from their album Reload on the world's first paid online concert Beyond LIVE?
... that the earliest known vessel (pictured) in enamelled glass comes from
a pharaoh's tomb of
c. 1425 BC, after which there are no other pieces for some 1400 years?
... that
Kanye West premiered his song "Wash Us in the Blood", which discusses mass incarceration, slavery, genocide, and drug-dealing, at a Christian opera?
... that Ugandan rebels did not recognize Ali Fadhul as the enemy commander when he drove past them during an invasion of Uganda in 1972?
... that Theo Akkermann, whose first major work was a war memorial, created a sculpture for his family's grave?
... that from 2015 to 2019, the U.S. state of
Georgiadecertified more than 3,000 police officers, while
Maryland decertified just one?
... that Chilean television station TVO fired presenter
Pamela Jiles for appearing in a presidential campaign advertisement, even though it described itself as editorially "tolerant"?
... that British 19th-century prison visitor
Sarah Martin criticised living conditions at The Tolhouse jail, and objected to the fact that the inmates had no access to a church or chaplain?