Our tireless WIT coordinator, Neila222, has an exciting announcement this week:
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Friday, July 03, 2009
Spotlight:
Pickett's Charge was repulsed on this date in 1863 on the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Union troops, under General George Meade, triumphed over General Robert E. Lee's Confederate soldiers, in the bloodiest battle of America's Civil War. General George Pickett's division attacked the Union center at Cemetery Ridge. Confederate casualties numbered over 7,000 — more than half their forces. Though the war went on for nearly two more years, the Gettysburg Campaign was considered to be its turning point. Years later, when asked why Pickett's charge at Gettysburg failed, Pickett was said to have responded, "I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."
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Pickett's Charge
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Quote:
"Up men to your posts! Don't forget today that you are from old Virginia." — George E. Pickett
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| Great Auk |
Today in History:
- Quebec: city was founded by Samuel de Champlain (1608)
- great auks: the last pair of the extinct species, found incubating an egg, was killed (1844)
- Algeria: became independent after 132 years of French rule (1962)
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| Dave Barry |
Today's Birthdays:
- Franz Kafka (1883-1924): author of The Metamorphosis; writers M. F. K. Fisher (1908-1992), Tom Stoppard (72) and Jay Tarses (70) share this birth date
- John Kundla (93): basketball hall-of-famer and coach; baseball outfielder Moisés Alou (43) was also born today
- Pete Fountain (79): jazz clarinetist
- Dave Barry (62): humor writer who won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
- Montel Williams (53): former TV talk-show host
- Yeardley Smith (45): the voice of Lisa on The Simpsons; other actors born on this date include Kurtwood Smith (66), Jan Smithers (60) and Tom Cruise, Thomas Gibson and Hunter Tylo (all 47)
Word of the Day:
hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
or sesquipedalophobia
Fear of long words.
(© Answers Corporation)
or sesquipedalophobia
Fear of long words.
Long words have a sesquipedalian charm all their own. Here are a week's worth to consider when you're in the mood to say a mouthful.
Previous words: aequeosalinocalcalinosetaceoaluminosocupreovitriolic, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, honorificabilitudinitatibus
See previous Highlights.
Over at WikiAnswers.com, we are extremely proud of our large and growing community of folks who hail from Down Under. For all you young ‘uns out there, Down Under is a colloquialism affectionately used to refer to Australia. One of the brightest shining stars from this land of magic and beauty is our very own On the Wallaby, who watches over a gazillion unique categories including Platypuses and Echidnas; Possums; Ludwig van Beethoven; and Bass and Flinders. She also happens to be the Category Supervisor of all things Australia and New Zealand.
If you’re curious how this amazing lady thunk up the name On the Wallaby, wonder no more. Direct from her bio: “In 1891, Australian poet Henry Lawson penned a now-famous poem entitled ‘Freedom on the Wallaby.’ ‘On the wallaby track’ is an Australian term meaning someone is out wandering and exploring the country. One of my favourite pastimes is driving and exploring with my husband (and my dog).” Dying to know more? Read on!
Where do you hail from?.. Click here to read more
What's New: In the Community...
Release update: Snippets, search tools and more
June 23rd, 2009 . by ShayaYou may have noticed some extra activity in the WikiAnswers search box… or tiny badges on your bio page. Not to mention little snippets of text here and there.
No, aliens have not taken over WikiAnswers (this time). We’ve rolled out a couple of great new features that we hope will make asking, answering and searching a more pleasant and effective experience for you. Our goal with these features is to bring information more directly to you so you don’t have to search for it - and we hope you’ll let us know if we’ve achieved that goal. Now, without further ado, an overview of said features:
FAYT (Find As You Type)
Asking a question? Looking up a person, place or thing? No problem - before you’ve even finished typing, we’ll show you if there’s a matching reference article - or if someone in the community has answered your question.
Wondering How to Contribute? Click Here to Become a Member!
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