Clathrus ruber, the red cage fungus, is a species in the stinkhorn family. The pink, orange or red fruit bodies form interlaced branches in the shape of a round or oval hollow sphere. The fungus is saprobic, feeding off decaying woody plant material, and is usually found in leaf litter on garden soil, grassy places, or woodchip garden mulches. Primarily a European species, C. ruber has been introduced to northern Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. The fruit body is initially white and egg-shaped, attached to the ground by mycelial cords. It has a delicate, leathery outer membrane enclosing the compressed lattice that surrounds a layer of olive-green spore-bearing slime called the gleba. As the egg ruptures and the fruit body expands, the gleba is carried upward on the inner surfaces of the spongy lattice, and the egg membrane remains as a volva at the base. The gleba smells like rotting meat, which attracts flies and other insects that carry off its spores. The fungus's edibility is unknown, but its odor would deter most from consuming it. ( Full article...)

"Nevertheless, she persisted" tattoo

• ... that after Mitch McConnell said, " Nevertheless, she persisted" in reference to Elizabeth Warren's silencing during a U.S. Senate debate, more than 100 women in Minneapolis got tattoos (example pictured) of that meme?
• ... that Barry Ramachandra Rao and his team designed the first multi-frequency HF phase path radar based on a spaced-receiver configuration?
• ... that Falcon Nest is the tallest single-family home in North America?
• ... that de Balzac considered the examining magistrate to be more powerful than the king?
• ...that the privately held Dunn Gardens in Seattle were designed by the Olmsted Brothers, who also designed the city's park system?
• ... that the Silk Board junction witnesses the slowest-moving traffic in Bangalore and is one of the two most polluted places in the city?
• ... that the communion hymn " Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele", with lyrics by Johann Franck and a melody by Johann Crüger, was translated to "Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness"?
• ... that Indonesian political prisoner Pramoedya Ananta Toer researched his historical novel Footsteps from memory and composed it through oral narration to his fellow inmates?

Mary Keitany and Daniel Wanjiru

• China launches its first domestically built aircraft carrier.
• In the London Marathon, Mary Keitany and Daniel Wanjiru (pictured) win the women's and men's races, respectively.
• A Taliban attack on an Afghan National Army base kills 140 soldiers.
• Turkey votes in a constitutional referendum in favour of replacing its parliamentary system of government with an executive presidency.
• A suicide bombing of civilian evacuation buses near Aleppo, Syria, kills more than 120 people, including at least 80 children.

May 1: Beltane in Ireland and Scotland; Yom Hazikaron in Israel (2017); Loyalty Day in the United States; International Workers' Day worldwide

Carol Ann Duffy

• 1169 – Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.
• 1776 – The secret society known as the Order of the Illuminati was founded by Adam Weishaupt and Adolph von Knigge in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
• 1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the world's largest trade union with 134 million members, was founded in Guangzhou, China.
• 1947 – Italian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and wounding 33.
• 2009 – Carol Ann Duffy (pictured) was appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly bisexual person to hold the position, as well as the first laureate to be chosen in the 21st century.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (b. 1769) · Ralph Stackpole (b. 1885) · Magda Goebbels (d. 1945)

Ayrton Senna

Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna had 41 Formula One Grand Prix wins in his career. Senna achieved his first victory in Formula One at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix on 21 April. John Blunsden of The Times described the win as "one of the most telling examples of supreme driving ability". He won two races in each of his three years with Lotus before moving to McLaren for the 1988 season. He secured his first Formula One world championship that year and enjoyed his most successful season in terms of race wins. His eight victories that year set a new record for the most wins in a season, breaking the previous record of seven by Jim Clark. In the subsequent three seasons with McLaren, he won six or more races each season, securing two more Formula One world championship titles in 1990 and 1991. Senna managed only three victories in 1992. His final win in Formula One came at the final race of the 1993 season at the Australian Grand Prix. Senna's largest margin of victory was 1:23.199 at the 1993 European Grand Prix, while the narrowest margin was at the 1986 Spanish Grand Prix, when he beat Nigel Mansell by 0.014 seconds, one of the closest finishes in Formula One. ( Full list...)