User:Sal's Wrecking Company
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From today's featured article
The Icelandic horse is a breed of horse developed in Iceland. Developed from ponies brought to Iceland by Norse settlers in the 9th and 10th centuries, the breed is mentioned in Icelandic literature and historical records. They are long-lived, hardy, and have few diseases in their country. In addition to the gaits typical of other horse breeds, many Icelandic horses can also do the tölt (pictured) and the flying pace. The only breed of horse in Iceland, sizable populations exist in Europe and North America. They are used for sheepherding work in Iceland, leisure, showing, and racing. Selective breeding and natural selection with the Icelandic climate developed them into their current form. In the 1780s, much of the breed was killed after a volcanic eruption at Laki. The first breed society for the Icelandic horse was created in Iceland in 1904; the breed is now represented by organizations in 19 nations, under the auspices of the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
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- ... that Joe Shield was the first person from Vermont to be drafted into the NFL and then make a team's roster?
- ... that codebreaker Emily Anderson was trained to become a Hush WAAC before she joined the British GCHQ?
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- ... that making the manganese nitride Mn2N requires a sponge?
- ... that AI researcher Jan Leike believes "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products" at OpenAI?
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- ... that Drake discovered an ancient Chinese city?
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On this day
- 1579 – Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it New Albion and claiming it for England.
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal (pictured), wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died in childbirth; Jahan spent the next seventeen years constructing her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
- 1919 – Hundreds of Canadian soldiers rioted in Epsom, England, leading to the death of a British police officer.
- 1952 – Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to local peasants.
- M. C. Escher (b. 1898)
- Richard Gagnon (b. 1948)
- Amari Cooper (b. 1994)
- Mohamed Morsi (d. 2019)