This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from roughly June 20 through July 26. Most prose is copied from the bolded articles, see their histories for attribution.
The vermilion flycatcher(
nominated by
CaptainEek) is a small
passerine bird in the
tyrant flycatcher family found throughout South America and southern North America. It is a striking exception among the generally drab Tyrannidae due to its
vermilion-red coloration. The males have bright red
crown, chests, and underparts, with brownish wings and tails. Females lack the vivid red coloration and can be hard to identify—they may be confused for the
Say's phoebe.
Riparian habitats and semi-open environments are preferred. As aerial
insectivores, they catch their prey while flying. Their several months-long
molt begins in summer. Populations have declined because of
habitat loss, though the species remains abundant. The overall population numbers in the millions, thus the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers it a species of
least concern.
The 1985 World Snooker Championship(
nominated by
Lee Vilenski and
BennyOnTheLoose) was a
ranking professional
snooker tournament that took place from 12 to 28 April 1985 at the
Crucible Theatre in
Sheffield, England. Organised by the
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), the event was the ninth consecutive
World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in
1977. The winner received £60,000, which was the highest amount ever received by the winner of a snooker event at that time. The defending champion was Englishman
Steve Davis, who had previously won the World Championship three times. He met Northern Irishman
Dennis Taylor in
the final which was a best-of-35-
frames match. Davis took an early 8–0 lead, but Taylor battled back into the match and drew level at 17–17, forcing a deciding frame. The 35th frame was contested over the final
black ball, with the player able to
pot the ball winning the world title. After both players missed the black twice, Taylor potted the ball to win his sole World Championship. The match, often referred to as the "black ball final", is commonly considered to be the best-known match in the history of snooker and a reason for the surge in the sport's popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. The final also holds the record for the most-viewed broadcast in the United Kingdom of a programme shown after midnight, with a peak of 18.5 million viewers for the match's final frame, breaking the existing records for the most-viewed sporting event and
BBC2 programme.
The
Battle of Adys(
nominated by
Gog the Mild) was fought in late 255 BC during the
First Punic War between a
Carthaginian army and a
Roman army. The Romans had successfully invaded Carthage's homeland in North Africa and 15,500 men to hold their
lodgement over the winter. These advanced on and
besieged the city of Adys. The Romans executed night marches to launch dawn assaults on the Carthaginian army's fortified hilltop camp. One part of this force was repulsed and pursued down the hill. After the other part charged the pursuing Carthaginians in the rear and routed them, the remaining Carthaginians panicked and fled. Despairing, the Carthaginians
sued for peace, but the terms Regulus offered were so harsh that they resolved to fight on.
Sir
Fabian Ware(
nominated by
Eddie891) was a British journalist and the founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), now the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He travelled to the
Transvaal Colony where he became Director of Education in 1903. Two years later he became editor of the British newspaper The Morning Post. In 1916, the Department of Graves Registration and Enquiries was created with Ware at its head. On 21 May 1917 the IWGC was founded and Ware served as its vice-chairman. He ended the war as a
major-general. Post-war, Ware was heavily involved in the IWGC's function. When the
Second World War broke out, he continued to serve as vice-chairman of the IWGC and was re-appointed director-general of Graves Registration and Enquiries.
George Gosse(
nominated by
Peacemaker67) was an
Australian recipient of the
George Cross. Gosse served in the
Royal Australian Navy between 1926 and 1933, and in 1940 joined the
Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve. In April 1945 he was given command of a party responsible for mine clearance in the recently captured
Bremen Harbour in Germany. He displayed courage in defusing three mines under very difficult conditions between 8 May and 19 May 1945, for which he was awarded the George Cross. He died of a heart condition in 1964 and his medal set is displayed in the Hall of Valour at the
Australian War Memorial.
Hyborian War(
nominated by
Airborne84) is a
play-by-mail game set during the
Hyborian Age in the world of
Conan the Barbarian within the heroic fantasy genre, also known as
sword and sorcery. The game has been continuously available for worldwide play since its inception in 1985 and has changed little in its overall format. Although it relies on
postal mail or email and has turnaround times which are relatively long for the
digital age of
video games, Hyborian War has retained a sizable player base. The game incorporates diverse landscapes and cultures, grand armies, large-scale battles, wizards tipping the scales of power, and stories of courageous and heroic deeds.
The Space Shuttle(
nominated by
Balon Greyjoy) was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system that was operated from 1981 to 2011 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program.
The Beautician and the Beast(
nominated by
Aoba47) is a 1997 American
romantic comedy film directed by
Ken Kwapis. It stars
Fran Drescher as a New York City
beautician who is hired, under the false assumption that she is a science teacher, to tutor the four children of a dictator of a fictional
Eastern European nation, played by
Timothy Dalton. The film was released on February 7, 1997, to generally negative reviews. Critics panned the story as more appropriate for a
sitcom rather than a feature film, and called it a poor example of the romantic comedy genre. Drescher and Dalton received mixed reviews for their performances; Drescher was nominated for the
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. The Beautician and the Beast was a
box-office bomb, grossing roughly
$11.5 million against a production budget of $16 million.
The
Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international
association football. The side played their first fixture in March 1876, four years after
Scotland and
England had contested the first-ever international match. From 1876 to 1976(
nominated by
Kosack) the team developed. They won their first
British Home Championship in the
1906–07 tournament, and between the
First and
Second World Wars saw great success, winning several further championships. After the end of the Second World War they began participating in more international contests, such as the
FIFA World Cup. Wales entered a period of decline in the 1960s, though they shared the British Home Championship during the
1969–70 season, bringing their total wins of the championship to twelve.
The Canada lynx(
nominated by
Sainsf) is a medium-sized North American
cat that ranges across
Alaska,
Canada and many of the
contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears with black tufts at the tips, and broad,
snowshoe-like paws. Similar to the
bobcat (L. rufus), the hindlimbs are longer than the forelimbs, so that the back slopes downward to the front. The Canada lynx stands 48–56 cm (19–22 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 5 and 17 kg (11 and 37 lb). The lynx is a good swimmer and an agile climber. This lynx occurs predominantly in dense
boreal forests, and its range strongly coincides with that of the snowshoe hare. Given its abundance throughout the range, and no severe threats, the Canada lynx has been listed as
Least Concern on the
IUCN Red List. This lynx is regularly trapped for the international
fur trade in most of Alaska and Canada but is protected in the southern half of its range due to threats such as
habitat loss.
Computer Space(
nominated by
PresN) is a
space combatarcade game developed in 1971. Created by
Nolan Bushnell and
Ted Dabney in partnership as Syzygy Engineering, it was the first
arcade video game as well as the first commercially available video game. Computer Space is a derivative of the 1962 computer game Spacewar!, possibly the first video game to spread to multiple computer installations. It features a
rocket controlled by the player engaged in a missile battle with a pair of hardware-controlled
flying saucers set against a starfield background. The goal is to score more hits than the enemy spaceships within a set time period, which awards a free round of gameplay. While the game was successful and validated Syzygy's belief in the future of arcade video games, selling over 1,000 cabinets by mid-1972 and ultimately 1,300–1,500 units, it was not the runaway success that Nutting had hoped for. Computer Space's release marked the ending of the
early history of video games and the start of the commercial
video game industry.
Ismail I of Granada(
nominated by
HaEr48) was the fifth
Nasrid ruler of the
Emirate of Granada on the
Iberian Peninsula, from 1314 to 1325. He claimed the throne during the reign of his uncle,
Sultan Nasr, after a rebellion started by his father
Abu Said Faraj. The war ensuing war with
Castile reached its climax in the
Battle of the Vega in 1319, a complete victory for Ismail's forces. Ismail followed up his victory with the capture of castles on the Castilian border in 1324 and 1325. He was murdered by his relative Muhammad ibn Ismail.
The
Partisan Congress riots(
nominated by
Buidhe) were attacks on Jews by former Slovak World War II partisans in Bratislava and other cities and towns in the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia between 1 and 6 August 1946. Nineteen people were injured, four seriously, in
Bratislava alone despite police attempts to maintain order. The contemporary press played down the involvement of partisans.
William Edward Sanders(
nominated by
Zawed) was a New Zealand recipient of the
Victoria Cross (VC). After the outbreak of
World War I he served on
troopships until April 1916, when he was commissioned in the
Royal Naval Reserve. He was given his own command,
HMS Prize, in February 1917. Sanders was awarded the VC for his actions while on his first patrol as captain, when Prize engaged and drove off a German
U-boat that had attacked and damaged the ship. He was killed in action when Prize was sunk by a U-boat on her fourth patrol.
Five Go Down to the Sea?(
nominated by
Ceoil) were an Irish
post-punk band from
Cork, active from 1978 to 1989. Vocalist and lyricist
Finbarr Donnelly, guitarist
Ricky Dineen and brothers Philip O'Connell (bass) and Keith "Smelly" O'Connell (drums) formed the band as 'Nun Attax' when they were teenagers. They became known for Donnelly's
absurdist, surreal lyrics and stage presence, Dineen's angular guitar and bass parts, and the
Captain Beefheart-style rhythm section. The group later included guitarists Mick Finnegan (1979),
Giordaí Ua Laoghaire (1979 to 1980) and Mick Stack (1982 to 1985), and cellist Úna Ní Chanainn (1982 to 1983). Although the band only released four EPs and did not sell many records, their reputation has grown over time.
Leeches(
nominated by
LittleJerry &
Chiswick Chap &
Cwmhiraeth) are segmented
parasitic or
predatory worms that belong to the
phylumAnnelida and comprise the
subclass 'Hirudinea'. They are closely related to the
oligochaetes, which include the
earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial and marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are
hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide
hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. Leeches have been used in
medicine from ancient times until the 19th century.
In
Major League Baseball (MLB), the 20–20–20 club(
nominated by
Bloom6132) is the group of batters who have collected 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in a single season. In total, seven players are members of the club.
Between 1925 and 1990,
Brown & Bigelow released a yearly calendar for the
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) featuring a painting(
nominated by
Guerillero) by illustrators
Norman Rockwell (from 1925 to 1976) and (from 1977 to 1990) Joseph Cesatari. Rockwell only failed to complete a painting for two years: 1928 and 1930; Cesatari completed a painting for every year. The illustrations show scouts of different kinds –
Cub Scouts,
Scouts BSA (Boy Scouts at the time),
Venturing (Explorers at the time),
Sea Scouts, and
Air Scouts – engaging in mostly outdoor activities. The calendars were large – 22 by 44.5 inches (56 by 113 centimeters) – and featured a single image for the year; the months were changed by tearing off a paper portion at the bottom
Hot Country Songs is a
chart that ranks the top-performing
country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1967, 23 different singles(
nominated by
ChrisTheDude) topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
List of World Heritage Sites in Iceland(
nominated by
Tone) The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
World Heritage Sites are places of importance to
cultural or
natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
Iceland accepted the convention on 19 December 1995, making its natural and cultural sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2020, Iceland has three sites inscribed on the list. The first site added to the list was the
Þingvellir National Park, in 2004. Two further sites were added later,
Surtsey in 2008 and
Vatnajökull National Park in 2019. Þingvellir is a cultural site while the other two are natural sites. In addition to its World Heritage Sites, Iceland also maintains six properties on its tentative list. The existing site of Þingvellir is listed on the tentative list twice, as a proposal to extend the cultural site to include the natural heritage, and as a part of a new transnational nomination to cover the
Viking heritage.
Cruise ships are large
passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike
ocean liners, which are used for transport, they typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on
tours known as "shore excursions." They can carry thousands of passengers in a single trip, and are some of the largest ships(
nominated by
Ahecht) in the world by
gross tonnage(GT), bigger than many
cargo ships. Cruise ships started to exceed ocean liners in size and capacity in the mid-1990s. In the decades since, the size of the largest vessels has more than doubled. There have been nine or more new cruise ships added every year since 2001, most of which are 100,000GT or greater. In the two decades between 1988 and 2009, the largest cruise ships grew a third longer (268 m to 360 m), almost doubled their widths (32.2 m to 60.5 m), doubled the total passengers (2,744 to 5,400), and tripled in volume (73,000 GT to 225,000 GT). As of June 2020[update], the largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, has a gross tonnage of 228,081, is 361 metres (1,184 ft) long, 65.7 metres (216 ft) wide, and holds up to 6,680 passengers.
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of
open-wheeledauto racing defined by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as
Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built
circuits, and in a few cases on
closed city streets. Drivers are awarded
points based on their position at the end of each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each calendar year is crowned that year's
World Champion. At each Grand Prix, the driver who completes the quickest lap of the circuit is said to have completed the
fastest lap. The driver who set the fastest lap in a Grand Prix was awarded a point from the
1950 season to
1959. This was reintroduced in the
2019 season. As of the
2020 Hungarian Grand Prix, 134 different drivers(
nominated by
NapHit) have set a
fastest lap in a Formula One Grand Prix.
Hot Country Songs is a
chart that ranks the top-performing
country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1968, 24 different singles(
nominated by
ChrisTheDude) topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) wrote several works for the stage between 1604 and 1643, including ten works(
nominated by
Gerda Arendt) of the then-emerging
opera genre. For three of these, the music and
libretto are extant: L'Orfeo (1607), Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1640), and L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643). Seven other opera projects are known, of which four were completed and performed during Monteverdi's lifetime, while he abandoned the other three at some point. The libretto has survived for some of these
lost operas.
Throughout Chinese history many copies were made of Wang Xizhi's famous work Lantingji Xu, which described the beauty of the landscape around the Orchid Pavilion and the get-together of Wang Xizhi and his friends. The original is lost. Some believed that the original was buried with
Emperor Taizong of Tang in his mausoleum. This Tang Dynasty copy by Feng Chengsu (馮承素) is considered the best of all the extant copies. It is located in the Palace Museum in Beijing. (created by
Wang Xizhi;
nominated by
MER-C)
Advertisement for the music score of
Giacomo Puccini's La bohème, showing the quartette in the third act between Marcello, Musetta, Mimi, and Roldolpho. (restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
Set for Act II of
Giacomo Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots in the première production of 29 February 1836 at the Académie Royale de Musique - Le Peletier. No. 12 from Album de l'Opéra. Lithograph, 22.2 x 29.5 cm (restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
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