Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 July 14

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From today's featured article

The broad-billed parrot is a large extinct parrot in the family Psittaculidae that was endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, and may have been closely related to the Rodrigues parrot. The broad-billed parrot had a large head in proportion to its body, a distinct crest of feathers on the front of the head, and a very large beak that would have enabled it to crack hard seeds. Subfossil bones indicate that the species exhibited greater sexual dimorphism in overall size and head size than any living parrot. A contemporary description indicates that it had a blue head, a greyish or blackish body, and perhaps a red beak. The broad-billed parrot was first referred to as the "Indian raven" in Dutch ships' journals from 1598 onwards. It was first scientifically described from a subfossil mandible in 1866, but this was not linked to the few brief contemporary descriptions until the rediscovery of a detailed 1601 sketch (pictured). The bird became extinct in the 17th century owing to a combination of deforestation, predation by introduced invasive species, and probably also because of hunting. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that 19th-century actor Maurice Curtis said his hugely successful characterization of a Jewish traveling salesman (pictured) was based on "one of the most comical men that I ever met"?
... that Tim Rogers, originator of New Games Journalism and co-founder of Action Button Entertainment, applied his thoughts on Super Mario Brothers 3's "sticky friction" to his game design for Ziggurat and Videoball?
....that Peter Sellers, billed as "Britain's answer to Gene Krupa" at the The Aldershot Hippodrome in 1948, complained later that the band was four bars behind because they were eating sandwiches?
... that two incommunicado game show contestants can use the 100 prisoners problem to maximize the odds of sticking Monty Hall with the goat?
... that in 1995, a businessman scaled Quezon City's Welcome Rotonda and staged a hunger strike to urge disqualification of Chinese Filipino candidates from running in that year's election?
... that art dealer C. T. Loo fell in love with a French milliner, but married her 15-year-old daughter instead?
... that legend has it that a Teutonic Knight built the Leaning Tower of Toruń as punishment for falling in love with a woman, the tower's tilt signifying his deviant conduct?

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In the news

The FIFA World Cup concludes with Germany beating Argentina in the final, while Miroslav Klose (pictured) becomes the top goalscorer in the Cup's history.
The maiden flight of the Russian Angara rocket concludes successfully.
Israel launches an offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The prehistoric Pelagornis sandersi is identified as the largest flying bird yet discovered.
Twenty-nine people are killed in two attacks in Lamu, Kenya.
In tennis, the Wimbledon Championships conclude with Novak Djokovic winning the men's singles and Petra Kvitová winning the women's singles.
Ukrainian armed forces take control of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak
Recent deaths: Tommy Ramone – John Seigenthaler – Eduard Shevardnadze

On this day...

July 14: Bastille Day in France (1789)

756 – Emperor Xuanzong fled the Tang capital Chang'an as An Lushan's forces advance toward the city during the An Lushan Rebellion.
1791 – The Priestley Riots (pictured) began, in which Joseph Priestley and other religious Dissenters were driven out of Birmingham, England.
1865 – A seven-man team made the first ascent of the Matterhorn, marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.
1960 – English primatologist Jane Goodall arrived in Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve, Tanganyika, to begin her groundbreaking study of the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees.
1987 – Over 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour period in Montreal, causing severe flooding and over CA$220 million in damages.

More anniversaries: July 13 – July 14 – July 15

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From today's featured list

The FIFA World Cup finals are the last matches of the FIFA World Cup, an international association football competition established in 1930. The results of the finals determine which men's national team is declared world champions and receives the FIFA World Cup Trophy (pictured). The tournament has been decided by a one-off match on every occasion except 1950, when the tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams. With five titles, Brazil is the most successful World Cup team and also the only nation to have participated in every World Cup finals tournament. Germany, the current champions, and Italy have four titles each. The other former champions are Uruguay and Argentina with two titles each, and England, France, and Spain with one each. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

A panoramic view of Auckland, the largest and most populous city in New Zealand. At the far left is the Auckland Harbour Bridge; prominent in the centre-left of the photograph are the Sky Tower and the Auckland Central Business District, which is one of the most built-up areas in the country.

Photograph: Christian Mehlführer

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