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From today's featured article

Joaquin at peak intensity near the Bahamas

Hurricane Joaquin was a powerful tropical cyclone in 2015 and one of the strongest hurricanes on record to affect the Bahamas. It evolved from a non-tropical low to a tropical depression, becoming a Category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale on October 1. On October 3, Joaquin acquired sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h). Between October 1 and 3, it caused extensive damage on Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador Island. Prolonged, intense winds brought down trees and power lines, and unroofed homes. Flooding persisted for days after the hurricane's departure. Relief efforts were hampered by heavy damage to airstrips and flooded roads. The Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, and Haiti were all severely affected. Over the Southeastern United States, a separate storm system drew tremendous moisture from the hurricane, leading to catastrophic flooding in South Carolina. Over its lifetime, Joaquin killed 34 people and caused US$120 million in damage. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Duplicating Machine Memorial

... that a monument in Szczecin, Poland (pictured), consists of a spirit duplicator encased in resin?
... that, during the Middle Ages, cameline sauce was thickened with bread, almonds, eggs, or chicken livers?
... that Carl Grillmair, a Canadian astrophysicist at Caltech, discovered water on multiple exoplanets?
... that the Tumʔi language of South Africa was only remembered by two people as of 2023?
... that Josh LaRocca was signed and then released by the Denver Broncos in 1996, again in 1997, and then for a third time in 1998?
... that the Honkai: Star Rail character Robin's songs were used to raise awareness about hearing loss?
... that Prince Ramón and Princess Ermesinda lured their brother the king onto a hunting trip and pushed him off a cliff?
... that the Byzantine general Belisarius convinced the Goths to surrender their capital by tricking them into thinking he would become the emperor?
... that the Norwegian Red Cross started a blood-donation campaign targeting football fans through their teams' rivalries?

In the news

Wu Yize

Wu Yize (pictured) defeats Shaun Murphy to win the World Snooker Championship.
An explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China, kills 26 people.
In horse racing, Golden Tempo wins the Kentucky Derby.
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, wins an increased majority in the general election.

On this day

May 6

Christopher Smart

1536 – Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Sapa Inca emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui's army began a ten-month siege of Cusco.
1757 – English poet Christopher Smart (pictured) was admitted to St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement in mental asylums.
1801 – French Revolutionary Wars: The 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo was captured by the outmanned and outgunned HMS Speedy.
1941 – American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involvement with them.
1976 – An earthquake struck Northern Italy, killing 990 people and injuring up to 3,000.
2023 – King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.

Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
Mary Martha Sherwood (b. 1775)
Dries Mertens (b. 1987)
Lillian Asplund (d. 2006)

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From today's featured list

Miriam Makeba

Artists from South Africa have collectively won 34 Grammy Awards from 114 nominations. Miriam Makeba (pictured), a South African singer, is widely reported as having been the first African Grammy Award winner when she won Best Folk Recording for An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba in 1966 at the 8th Annual Grammy Awards, although South African–born sound engineer Phil Ramone had won a Grammy a year earlier. Makeba won her award while fighting the apartheid regime in South Africa during her exile. Ramone is the most honoured South African Grammy Award winner, with fourteen accolades, followed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo (five), and the Soweto Gospel Choir and Wouter Kellerman (three each). In 2024, Tyla became the youngest African soloist to win a Grammy after receiving the inaugural Best African Music Performance award for "Water" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Other South African artists who have been nominated for Grammy Awards include Hugh Masekela and Trevor Noah. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The olive-bellied sunbird (Cinnyris chloropygius) is a small bird in the family Nectariniidae, the sunbirds, widespread across the African tropical rainforest. The male has a metallic green head, back and throat, a blue rump, scarlet breast patch, yellow pectoral tufts and an olive belly, while the female has an olive-brown head and upperparts, dark brown wings and tail, and olive underparts washed with yellow. The olive-bellied sunbird resembles the tiny sunbird, but is slightly larger and lacks blue bars in the red breast plumage. It feeds on insects such as caterpillars, beetles and spiders, as well as nectar, flowers and seeds, usually foraging low in the canopy. The species is common, faces no major threats, and is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This male olive-bellied sunbird in flight was photographed in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Photograph credit: Giles Laurent

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