Horse-flies are large flies of the family Tabanidae that feed mainly on nectar. The males have weak mouthparts; only the females bite animals, including humans, to obtain enough protein from the blood to produce eggs. For this they use a stout stabbing organ and two pairs of sharp cutting blades to bite, and a spongelike part to lap up the blood that flows from the wound. They can transferblood-borne diseases from one animal to another. They can also reduce growth rates in cattle and lower the milk output of cows if suitable shelters are not provided. Horseflies prefer to fly in sunlight, avoiding dark and shady areas, and are inactive at night. They are found all over the world except for some islands and the polar regions. The larvae are predaceous and grow in semiaquatic habitats. Horse-flies have appeared in literature since Aeschylus in Ancient Greece wrote about them driving people to madness. Gadflies (horse-flies and botflies) are mentioned in Shakespeare's plays King Lear and Antony and Cleopatra. (Full article...)
1374 – An outbreak of dancing mania, wherein crowds of people danced themselves to exhaustion, took place in Aachen (present-day Germany), before spreading to other cities and countries.
Blenduk Church, formally the Immanuel Protestant Church of Western Indonesia, is a Protestant church in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Established in 1753, it is the oldest church in the province. The current building dates back to 1787; the towers and dome were added in 1894.
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