Category: 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for November 6, 2017 is Rotating locomotion in living systems.
Rotating locomotion in living systems – the use of wheels and propellers by organisms – has long been pondered among biologists and writers of speculative fiction. Rolling and wheeled creatures have appeared in the legends of many cultures. While other human technologies, like wings and lenses, have common analogues in the natural world, and several species are able to roll, structures that propel by rotating relative to a fixed body are represented only by the corkscrew-like bacterial flagella. Macroscopic organisms have apparently never evolved wheels, and this is attributed to two main factors: limitations of evolutionary and developmental biology, and disadvantages of wheels, when compared with limbs, in many natural environments. Wheels, beyond the molecular scale, may not be within the reach of natural evolution, and may be infeasible to grow and maintain with biological processes. Compared with limbs, they are often less energy-efficient, less versatile, and less capable of traversing or avoiding obstacles. These environment-specific disadvantages of wheels also explain why some historical civilizations abandoned them.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-november-6.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for November 5, 2017 is Guy Fawkes Night.
Guy Fawkes Night is an annual commemoration of the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. To celebrate the arrest, which put an end to the plot on King James I’s life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving. Within a few decades Gunpowder Treason Day, as it was known, became the predominant English state commemoration. As it carried strong Protestant religious overtones, it also became a focus for anti-Catholic sentiment; increasingly raucous celebrations featured the burning of effigies of popular hate-figures, such as the pope. Towards the end of the 18th century, children were seen begging for money with effigies of Guy Fawkes. In the 1850s much of the day’s anti-Catholic rhetoric was toned down, and by the 20th century Guy Fawkes Day had become an enjoyable social commemoration. Today it is usually celebrated with bonfires and extravagant firework displays.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-november-5.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for November 4, 2017 is Leek Town F.C..
Leek Town Football Club is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South. The team, nicknamed “The Blues”, play their home games at Harrison Park. The club was founded in 1946 and played in a variety of local leagues, including the Staffordshire County League, Manchester League, Mid-Cheshire League and Cheshire County League, before becoming founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982 and from there progressing to the Northern Premier League in 1987. In 1997 they were Northern Premier League champions and gained promotion to the Football Conference, the highest level of English non-league football, spending two seasons at that level before being relegated. Leek Town reached the final of the FA Trophy in 1990, having progressed all the way from the first qualifying round, but lost in the final at Wembley Stadium 3-0 to Barrow.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-november-4.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for November 3, 2017 is Pru (album).
Pru is the debut studio album by American singer Pru, released in November 2000 through Capitol Records. The album was managed by Capital Records executive Roy Lott, who had signed Pru to Warner/Chappell Music Publishing after being impressed by her songwriting and voice on a demo tape. Pru collaborated with Ben Garrison, the Characters, and Rick Williams on the album. According to Lott, Pru was part of Capitol Records’ attempts to attract a wider audience through her crossover appeal. Music critics have identified several genres on the album, with some commentators noting influences from neo soul. Pru also used poetry as an inspiration for writing music. Reviews of the album were generally positive, noting its composition and Pru’s voice, and comparing her favorably to contemporary artists. The album peaked at number 176 on the Billboard 200 chart, an achievement made possible in part by an intensive marketing strategy devised by Capitol Records executives. Two singles – “Candles” and “Aaroma (of a Man)” – were released to positive reviews. “Candles” peaked at number 68 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Billboard chart.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-november-3.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for November 2, 2017 is Balfour Declaration.
The Balfour Declaration (2 November 1917) was a public statement issued by the British government during World War I announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a minority Jewish population. It represented the first expression of public support for Zionism by a major political power. The term “national home” had no precedent in international law, and was intentionally vague as to whether a Jewish state was contemplated. The second half of the declaration was added to satisfy opponents, who had claimed that it would otherwise prejudice the position of the local population of Palestine and encourage antisemitism against Jews worldwide. While the declaration called for political rights in Palestine for Jews, rights for the vast majority of the local population, the Palestinian Arabs, were limited to the civil and religious spheres. The declaration greatly increased popular support for Zionism, and led to the creation of Mandatory Palestine, which later became Israel and the Palestinian territories. Historians consider it one of the causes of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/11/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-november-2.html