Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 10

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

Today's featured article
Norwich Market is an outdoor market consisting of around 200 stalls in central Norwich, England. Founded in the latter part of the 11th century to supply Norman merchants and settlers moving to the area following the Norman conquest of England, it replaced an earlier market a short distance away. It has been in operation on the present site for over 900 years. By the 14th century, Norwich was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in England, and Norwich Market was a major trading hub. In the Georgian era, Norwich became an increasingly popular destination with travellers, and developed into a fashionable shopping town. Following the First World War, the local authority began to systematically buy up all the stalls on the market, eventually bringing the entire market into public ownership, and the market was radically redesigned in the 1930s. Stalls were arranged into parallel rows, and a new City Hall was built along the entire western side of the marketplace to replace the by now inadequate Guildhall. This new arrangement survived with few significant changes for the rest of the 20th century. By the 1990s the market was becoming decrepit, and proposals were made for another radical rebuilding of the area. These proposals were abandoned in favour of a scheme which replaced the old stalls with steel units of four stalls each. The rebuilt market was completed in early 2006, and is one of the largest markets in Britain. (more...) Recently featured: Maple syrup – Xá Lợi Pagoda raids – USS Arizona Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the giant plumose anemone (pictured) can grow to a height of one metre (39 inches)? ... that Papon appeared on music documentary TV series The Dewarists with Rabbi Shergill and recorded a song "Khule Da Rabb"? ... that the newly discovered Puhinui Craters form the only cluster of three small maars in the Auckland volcanic field? ... that numerous Polish formations fought in Russia from the First World War, through the Russian Revolution of 1917 up to the Polish–Soviet War? ... that Alexis Bachelot, who led the first Catholic mission to Hawaii, was suspected of being a covert agent of the French government by some Hawaiian chiefs? ... that the scene showing a dead woman with her lips sewn shut, in the music video for the song "Oh Father", was inspired by singer Madonna's memory of her mother's funeral? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Positive Slovenia, led by Ljubljana mayor Zoran Janković, wins a narrow plurality in the Slovenian parliamentary election. After 541 days of negotiations, a new Belgian government is sworn in, with Elio Di Rupo (pictured) as prime minister. The International Court of Justice rules that Greece breached its existing accords with Macedonia by blocking its entry to NATO in 2008. A centre-left coalition of four parties, led by Zoran Milanović, wins a majority in the Croatian parliamentary election. United Russia, with incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev at the top of the party list, wins a majority of seats in the Russian legislative election. The first summit of CELAC, a bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations, takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. The United Kingdom expels all Iranian diplomats from the country following an attack on its embassy in Tehran. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 10: Human Rights Day; Constitution Day in Thailand (1932) 1799 – France became the first country to adopt the metric system as its system for weights and measures. 1884 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by American author Mark Twain was first published in the United Kingdom and Canada. 1911 – Calbraith Rodgers (pictured) completed the first transcontinental flight across the United States. 1948 – The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, representing the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. 1983 – Raúl Alfonsín became the first democratically elected President of Argentina to take office after the fall of the military dictatorship. More anniversaries: December 9 – December 10 – December 11 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 10, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The American Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) is one of the about 50 species of bird grasshopper. Many of these swarm as locusts, the best known of which is probably the desert locust (S. gregaria).

Photo: Tom Friedel

Recently featured: Weightless water bubble – White-headed dwarf gecko with missing tail – Seaweed farming in Indonesia

Archive – More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.