Category: 2018

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 12, 2018 is Indian Head gold pieces.
The Indian Head gold pieces were two coin series struck by the United States Mint: a two-and-a-half dollar piece, or quarter eagle (1908–1915, 1925–1929), and a five-dollar coin, or half eagle (1908–1916, 1929). The only US coins with recessed (engraved) designs ever to enter circulation, they were the last of a long series of coins in those denominations. President Theodore Roosevelt vigorously advocated new coin designs, and had the Mint engage his friend, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to design coins that could be changed without congressional authorization. The sculptor completed an eagle ($10 piece) and double eagle before his death in 1907. Roosevelt convinced Mint Director Frank Leach to reproduce the eagle’s design on both of the smaller coins, but recessed below the background. The job fell to Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, and after some difficulty, the Mint was able to strike the coins, though Pratt was unhappy with modifications made by the Mint’s engravers. The quarter eagle enjoyed popularity as a Christmas present, but neither coin circulated much.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/02/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-february_11.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 11, 2018 is Van Diemen’s Land v Port Phillip, 1851.
A cricket match on 11 and 12 February 1851, played by teams from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) and Port Phillip District (now Victoria), was the first between two Australian colonies, recognised in later years as the initial first-class cricket match in Australia. It took place at the Launceston Racecourse (pictured in 2009). The match was one of the celebratory events marking the separation of the Port Phillip District from New South Wales in 1851 as the colony of Victoria. The team representing Port Phillip was drawn from the Melbourne Cricket Club; the Van Diemen’s Land team consisted of players from Launceston and Hobart. The visiting Port Phillip team was expected to have an advantage but had difficulties with the batting conditions and the opposition’s unusually slow bowling. Batting first, Port Phillip scored 82; Van Diemen’s Land replied with 104, assisted by a large number of extras. Batting again, the Victorian team scored 57; the Tasmanian team needed 36 to win, which they accomplished on the second day to record a three-wicket victory. Following this match, intercolonial cricket became increasingly widespread.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/02/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-february_10.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 10, 2018 is Tropical Depression Ten (2005).
Tropical Depression Ten was a precursor of Hurricane Katrina during the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on August 13 from a tropical wave off the west coast of Africa, but the depression faced strong wind shear and remained weak. By August 14, it no longer met the criteria for a tropical cyclone, and the National Hurricane Center issued their final advisory on it. Moving westward, the storm produced occasional bursts of atmospheric convection. By August 18, only a remnant mid-level circulation persisted. This merged with a second tropical wave on August 23 to form Tropical Depression Twelve, which grew into Katrina, the third most intense tropical cyclone ever to make landfall in the United States. Katrina was the costliest US disaster until Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes, causing severe destruction along the Gulf Coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to storm surge and levee failure. At least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/02/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-february.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 9, 2018 is Cragside.
Cragside is a Victorian country house near Rothbury in Northumberland, England. It was the home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth armaments firm and inventor of the hydraulic crane and the Armstrong gun. Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. The entire estate, designed by Richard Norman Shaw, was technologically advanced, with a hydraulic lift, a hydroelectric rotisserie, and early versions of a dishwasher and dumb waiter. Armstrong was raised to the peerage in 1887, taking the title Baron Armstrong of Cragside. He was the first engineer or scientist ever to join the House of Lords. He filled Cragside with a significant art collection, and it became an integral part of his commercial operations, entertaining guests including the Shah of Persia and the King of Siam. Following Armstrong’s death in 1900, his heirs struggled to maintain the house and estate. The National Trust acquired the estate in 1977 and opened it to the public in 1979.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/02/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-february-9.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 8, 2018 is U.S. Route 50 in Nevada.
In Nevada, U.S. Route 50 runs from the resort communities of Lake Tahoe eastward to the Utah border near Great Basin National Park. Route 50 is a transcontinental highway that stretches from West Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland, on the east coast. The Nevada portion crosses several large desert valleys separated by alpine forestland, across the Basin and Range province of the Great Basin. It passes through the state capital in Carson City as well as Fort Churchill State Historic Park, ghost towns and petroglyph sites. The route was constructed along a historic corridor, first used for the Pony Express and Central Overland Route and later for most of State Route 2 (before the U.S. Highway System) and the Lincoln Highway. U.S. Route 50 in Nevada was named “The Loneliest Road in America” by Life magazine in 1986; they were referring to large desolate areas with few or no signs of civilization along the route, but Nevada officials seized on the name as a marketing slogan.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2018/02/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-february-8.html