Monday, 7 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2017 is Quehanna Wild Area.
Quehanna Wild Area is a wildlife area in Cameron, Clearfield, and Elk counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. At 48,186 acres (75 sq mi; 195 km2), it is the largest state forest wild area in Pennsylvania, and hosts herds of native elk. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the logging industry cut the virgin forests. In 1955 the Curtiss-Wright Corporation bought 80 square miles (210 km2) of state forest for a facility developing nuclear-powered jet engines. A succession of tenants further contaminated the nuclear reactor facility and its hot cells with radioactive isotopes, including strontium-90 and cobalt-60. Pennsylvania reacquired the land in 1963 and 1967, and in 1965 established Quehanna as a wild area, but retained the nuclear facility and industrial complex. The facilities were used to treat hardwood flooring with radiation until 2002. The cleanup of the reactor and hot cells took over eight years and cost $30 million. Quehanna Wild Area has many sites with radioactive and toxic waste; some have been cleaned up, but others have been dug up by black bears and white-tailed deer.

Sunday, 6 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2017 is Disneyland Railroad.
The Disneyland Railroad is a 3-foot (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United States. Its route is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) long, has four train stations, and encircles almost everything in the park. The rail line, which was built by WED Enterprises, is operated with two steam locomotives built by WED and three historic steam locomotives originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The attraction originated as a concept created by Walt Disney, who drew inspiration from the ridable miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad built in his backyard. Since 1955 when the Disneyland Railroad first opened to the public at the park's grand opening, it has been consistently billed as one of the top attractions, and for many years visitors had to buy a top-tier ticket to ride the train. It is one of the world's most popular steam-powered railroads, with an estimated 6.6 million passengers served each year.

Saturday, 5 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2017 is The Chase (U.S. game show).
The Chase is an American television quiz show based on the British program of the same name. It premiered on August 6, 2013, on the Game Show Network, hosted by Brooke Burns and featuring Mark Labbett as a quiz show genius called the "chaser". The American version of the show follows the same general format as the original UK version, but with teams of three contestants instead of four. Each player who stays ahead of the chaser on the gameboard retains the winnings for that round. Successful contestants advance to the Final Chase, in which they answer questions as a team playing for an equal share of the prize fund accumulated during the episode. The Chase earned positive reviews, as did Burns and Labbett individually, and the pacing of the game was mentioned favorably. At the 2014 Daytime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Game Show, and Burns was nominated two years later for Outstanding Game Show Host.

Friday, 4 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2017 is Name-letter effect.
The name-letter effect is the tendency of people to prefer the letters in their name over other letters in the alphabet. Discovered in 1985 by the Belgian psychologist Jozef Nuttin, the effect has been replicated in dozens of studies. Whether subjects are asked to rank all letters of the alphabet, rate letters individually, choose one of two letters, or pick a small set of letters, on average people prefer the letters in their own name, but few are aware that they are choosing letters from their name. The effect has been attributed to the fact that most people associate their names with themselves, and like themselves. People who do not like themselves tend not to exhibit the name-letter effect. In psychological assessments, the Name Letter Preference Task is widely used to estimate implicit self-esteem. There is some evidence that people have been influenced by the name-letter effect even when making important decisions, although many studies have been controversial.

Thursday, 3 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2017 is Rare Replay.
Rare Replay is a compilation of 30 video games by developer Rare and its predecessor, Ultimate Play the Game, released on August 4, 2015. The emulated games span 30 years and multiple genres and consoles, from the ZX Spectrum to the Xbox 360. The compilation adds cheats to make the older games easier and a challenge mode of specific sequences culled from the games. Player progress is rewarded with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews about Rare's major and unreleased games. Rare incorporated six hardware emulators in the package, and used an unannounced Xbox 360 emulation from its parent company, Microsoft. Rare Replay was released worldwide as an Xbox One exclusive to generally favorable reviews. Critics appreciated its archival game content and developer interviews, but faulted technical issues in the Xbox 360 emulation and game installation. Among its games, reviewers preferred Rare's Nintendo 64 classics, especially Blast Corps, but disliked Perfect Dark Zero, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and the Spectrum titles. Rare Replay became Rare's first United Kingdom all-format charts bestseller since Banjo-Kazooie in 1998.

Wednesday, 2 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2017 is William Cooley.
William Cooley (1783–1863) was one of the first American settlers in what is now Broward County, in the US state of Florida. Born in Maryland, he arrived in East Florida as part of a military expedition. He was a farmer in the northern part of the territory before moving south, where he traded with local Indians and continued to farm. He sided with natives in a land dispute against a merchant who had received a large grant from the King of Spain and was evicting them from their lands. Unhappy with the actions of the Spanish, he moved to the New River in 1826, an area removed from their influence. He was a salvager and farmer, cultivating and milling arrowroot. His fortune and influence grew, and he became the first judge in the settlement. His decision in a case involving the murder of a local chief antagonized the natives, who attacked the settlement in revenge in January 1836 during the Second Seminole War, killing his family. Cooley was one of the first city councilors of Tampa, serving three terms.

Tuesday, 1 August 2017

Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2017 is Teleost.
A carp, an example of a teleost The teleosts (from Greek for "complete bone") are an infraclass of ray-finned fishes that arose in the Triassic period. Making up 96 percent of all known fish species, this diverse group includes about 40 orders and 448 families. They inhabit oceans at all depths, estuaries, rivers, lakes and swamps. They range in size from the giant oarfish, measuring 25 feet (7.6 m) or more, and the ocean sunfish, weighing over 2.2 short tons (2 tonnes), to the male anglerfish Photocorynus spiniceps, just 0.24 inches (6.2 mm) long. Teleosts can be torpedo-shaped, flattened (vertically or horizontally) or cylindrical, and some, like the anglerfish and seahorse, have unique shapes. They can protrude their jaws, enabling them to grab prey and draw it into their mouth. Depicted in art over the centuries, teleosts are economically important to humans. They are harvested for food, captured for sport, kept in aquariums, and used in research, especially in the fields of genetics and developmental biology.