Category: 2018

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 9, 2018 is Armillaria gallica.
Armillaria gallica is a species of honey mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. It is a common and ecologically important wood-decay fungus that can feed on dead organic material in soil, or live as an opportunistic parasite in weakened tree hosts to cause root or butt rot. It is found in temperate regions of Asia, North America, and Europe. The yellow-brown mushrooms, covered with small scales, can grow to around 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. On the underside of the caps are gills that are white to creamy or pale orange. The fungus has been the subject of considerable scientific research into its role as a plant pathogen, its ability to bioluminesce, its unusual life cycle, and its ability to form large and long-lived colonies. A 1,500-year-old colony was discovered in the early 1990s in a Michigan forest, reported to cover an area of 15 hectares (37 acres) and weigh at least 9,500 kilograms (21,000 lb); as a tourist attraction called the “humungous fungus”, it inspires an annual mushroom-themed festival in Crystal Falls.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/03/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-march-9.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 8, 2018 is Louise Bryant.
Louise Bryant (1885–1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist. After growing up in rural Nevada and graduating with a degree in history from the University of Oregon, she wrote for two newspapers, the Spectator and The Oregonian. After leaving her first husband in 1915, she married John Reed and moved to Greenwich Village, where she formed friendships with leading feminists of the day. Like Reed, she took lovers, including the playwright Eugene O’Neill and painter Andrew Dasburg. Her news stories were distributed by Hearst during and after her trips to Petrograd and Moscow, and appeared in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Generally in sympathy with the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution, her articles featured Catherine Breshkovsky, Maria Spiridonova, Alexander Kerensky, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky. A collection of articles from her first trip was published as a book in 1918, Six Red Months in Russia. After Reed’s death in 1920, Bryant wrote for Hearst about Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Russia, and other countries. The Bryant–Reed story is told in the 1981 film Reds. Her neglected grave in Versailles was restored in 1998.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/03/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-march-8.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 7, 2018 is Henry Wrigley.
Henry Wrigley (1892–1987) was an air vice marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). A pioneering flyer and aviation scholar, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and afterwards laid the groundwork for the RAAF’s air power doctrine. During World War I, he joined the Australian Flying Corps and saw combat with No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his 1919 cross-country flight. He was a founding member of the RAAF in 1921. In 1936, he was promoted to group captain and took command of RAAF Station Laverton. Raised to air commodore soon after the outbreak of World War II, he became Air Member for Personnel in November 1940. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the next year. He served as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Overseas Headquarters, London, from 1942 until his retirement from the military in 1946. His writings on air power were collected and published posthumously as The Decisive Factor in 1990.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/03/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-march-7.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 6, 2018 is 3 of Hearts (album).
3 of Hearts is the self-titled debut studio album by the American group 3 of Hearts, released on March 6, 2001, through the record label RCA Nashville. It is a teen pop and country music album, though according to some music critics, it leans more towards pop music. The album was managed by American producer Byron Gallimore; its marketing focused on the group’s crossover appeal to teenagers and young adults. 3 of Hearts performed on a national tour sponsored by Seventeen magazine and another sponsored by Walmart, and the singers were featured in several marketing campaigns. Reviews of the album were mixed; some critics praised the group’s vocals and public image, but others criticized the songs as generic and lacking an authentic country sound. The album peaked at number 45 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. “Love Is Enough” and “Arizona Rain” were released as singles and made appearances on the Country Airplay Billboard chart. The album’s low sales and lack of appeal to country radio audiences led RCA to drop the group.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/03/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-march-6.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 5, 2018 is Thorium.
Thorium is a chemical element with symbol Th and atomic number 90. A reactive actinide metal, its chemistry is dominated by the +4 oxidation state; it is silvery and tarnishes black in air, forming the dioxide. It is malleable and moderately hard, with a high melting point. Its most stable isotope, 232Th, is weakly radioactive with a half-life of 14.05 billion years, roughly the age of the universe: it decays very slowly to stable lead. Thorium and uranium are the only two significantly radioactive primordial elements. Thorium is chiefly refined from monazite sands as a byproduct of extracting rare earth metals. It was discovered in 1829 by the Norwegian mineralogist Morten Thrane Esmark and identified by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who named it after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Applications were found for the element in the 19th century, but after its radioactivity was discovered in the early 20th century, its use significantly declined. Thorium has been suggested as a replacement for uranium in nuclear reactors.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/03/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-march-5.html