#wikipedia polls

[officiallordvetinari]

Below are 10 articles from Wikipedia's featured articles list. Links and descriptions are below the cut.

On Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves played to a 1–1 tie in 26 innings, the most innings ever played in a single game in the history of Major League Baseball. Both Leon Cadore of Brooklyn and Joe Oeschger of Boston pitched complete games, and with 26 innings pitched, jointly hold the record for the longest pitching appearance in MLB history.

Clarence 13X, also known as Allah the Father (born Clarence Edward Smith) (February 22, 1928 – June 13, 1969), was an American religious leader and the founder of the Five-Percent Nation, sometimes referred to as the Nation of Gods and Earths.

Henry Edwards (27 August 1827 – 9 June 1891) was an English stage actor, writer and entomologist who gained fame in Australia, San Francisco and New York City for his theatre work.

The law school of Berytus (also known as the law school of Beirut) was a center for the study of Roman law in classical antiquity located in Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon). It flourished under the patronage of the Roman emperors and functioned as the Roman Empire's preeminent center of jurisprudence until its destruction in AD 551.

Minnie Pwerle (also Minnie Purla or Minnie Motorcar Apwerl; born between 1910 and 1922 – 18 March 2006) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Minnie began painting in 2000 at about the age of 80, and her pictures soon became popular and sought-after works of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.

Ove Jørgensen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoːvə ˈjœˀnsən]; 5 September 1877 – 31 October 1950) was a Danish scholar of classics, literature and ballet. He formulated Jørgensen's law, which describes the narrative conventions used in Homeric poetry when relating the actions of the gods.

Legends featuring pig-faced women originated roughly simultaneously in The Netherlands, England and France in the late 1630s. The stories tell of a wealthy woman whose body is of normal human appearance, but whose face is that of a pig.

The Private Case is a collection of erotica and pornography held initially by the British Museum and then, from 1973, by the British Library. The collection began between 1836 and 1870 and grew from the receipt of books from legal deposit, from the acquisition of bequests and, in some cases, from requests made to the police following their seizures of obscene material.

Qalaherriaq (Inuktun pronunciation: [qalahəχːiɑq], c. 1834 – June 14, 1856), baptized as Erasmus Augustine Kallihirua, was an Inughuit hunter from Cape York, Greenland. He was recruited in 1850 as an interpreter by the crew of the British survey barque HMS Assistance during the search for John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition.

Sophie Blanchard (French pronunciation: [sɔfi blɑ̃ʃaʁ]; 25 March 1778 – 6 July 1819), commonly referred to as Madame Blanchard, was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and after her husband's death she continued ballooning, making more than 60 ascents.

[hummingbird-hunter]

Your gender is now the first randomized wikipedia article you get. No rerolls.

[kjscottwrites]

And, importantly, share some recs!

[wiki-fight]

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[phayz]

(or any variation of)

[mythologyolympics]

Mythology Olympics tournament round 1

Propaganda!

Thoth is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. Thoth played many vital and prominent roles in Egyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe, and being one of the two deities (the other being Ma'at) who stood on either side of Ra's solar barque. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, and the judgment of the dead. Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were many. He served as scribe of the gods, credited with the invention of writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the underworld, Duat, he appeared as an ape, Aani, the god of equilibrium, who reported when the scales weighing the deceased's heart against the feather, representing the principle of Maat, was exactly even. The ancient Egyptians regarded Thoth as One, self-begotten, and self-produced.

Loki is a god in Norse mythology. Like other gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate sources appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse 'thanks'). While sometimes friendly with the gods, Loki engineers the death of the beloved god Baldr. For this, Odin's specially engendered son Váli binds Loki with the entrails of one of his sons, where he writhes in pain. Loki is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources: the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; the Norwegian Rune Poems, in the poetry of skalds, and in Scandinavian folklore. Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone and the Gosforth Cross. Scholars have debated Loki's origins and role in Norse mythology, which some have described as that of a trickster god. Loki has been depicted in, or referenced in, a variety of media in modern popular culture.

Submitted propaganda:

half the myths they are in are just "loki fucks around and finds out" and that's wonderful i think

[critter-creature-or-beast]

By AfricanConservation - Own work, from Working with Wildlife, CC BY-SA 4.0

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Mollusca - Gastropoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

The class Gastropoda is the most diverse and successful class of molluscs, living in most habitats in saltwater, freshwater, and on land. They are one of the largest classes of animals, second only to insects. Members of this class either have an external or internal shell, or have lost their shell secondarily. Gastropoda includes the snail clades Sorbeoconcha, Hypsogastropoda, Architaenioglossa, and Neogastropoda, the snails and slugs of the clades Heterobranchia, the snails, slugs, and limpets of the clade Neritimorpha, the deepwater limpet clade Neomphaliones, the “true limpet” clade Patellogastropoda, and the primitive snails and limpets of the clade Vetigastropoda.

The anatomy, behavior, feeding, and reproductive adaptations of gastropods vary significantly from one clade to another, so it’s hard to make a general summary. As you can probably tell above, the terms snail, slug, and limpet are not taxonomic, but moreso descriptive! The word “snail” is generally used for gastropods with an external shell big enough for the body to withdraw completely inside. Marine snails tend to have many names based on their shell shape, such as abalone, conch, periwinkle, whelk, and cowrie. “Limpets” are generally considered to be marine snails with a simple, conical, flattened shell. “Slugs” are snails that have no shell or a very small, internal shell, while “semislugs” are snails that have a shell that they can partially retreat into but not entirely. These groups are all paraphyletic, as some slugs are closer related to shelled snails than they are to other slugs and vice versa. Shells have evolved and been lost within the many different gastropod lineages. These species are wildly diverse, living from the depths of hydrothermal vents to dry deserts to inside other organisms as parasites.

Gastropods are distinguished by an anatomical process known as torsion, where the visceral mass of the animal rotates 180° to one side during development, such that the anus is situated more or less above the head. The gill-combs, the olfactory organs, the foot slime-gland, nephridia, and the auricle of the heart are single or at least are more developed on one side of the body than the other. Torsion is present in all gastropods, but the opisthobranch gastropods are secondarily untorted. Gastropods typically have a well-defined head with two or four sensory tentacles with eyes, and a ventral foot. Gastropod eyes range from simple ocelli that only distinguish light and dark, to more complex pit eyes, and even to lens eyes. Most shelled gastropods have a one piece shell (though there are some bivalved gastropods), typically coiled or spiraled, at least in the larval stage. This coiled shell usually opens on the right-hand side. Many species have an operculum, which acts as a trapdoor to close the shell. Like most molluscs, they have a rasping, toothed tongue called a radula. Gastropods can be herbivores, detritus feeders, predatory carnivores, scavengers, or parasites.

Some gastropods have seperate sexes while some are hermaphroditic. Many undergo elaborate courtship rituals before mating. Some utilize unique calcareous or chitinous “love darts” in courtship, which are coated in allohormones that enable their partner to receive and store more sperm. Gastropods will lay eggs which hatch into larvae, some of which are planktonic trochophore or veliger larvae. A newly hatched snail is called a neonate, and their larval shell is called a protoconch.

The fossil record of gastropods dates back to the Late Cambrian, with Chippewaella and Strepsodiscus, though these may be stem-gastropods as their only gastropod characteristic is a coiled shell. Crown-gastropods arrived and began to diversify in the Ordovician, though they were still less common than bivalves. By the Mesozoic, the ancestors of many of our modern living gastropods had evolved. Most ancient gastropods were marine, with some land snails appearing in the Carboniferous, but not becoming common or diverse until the Cretaceous.

Propaganda under the cut (warning: gif heavy!)

Gastropod shells make up many of the “seashells” washed ashore after the animal dies, and are created by the animal via secretions of chitin and conchiolin from its mantle edge. Unfortunately, many species are also endangered or extinct in the wild due to overcollection of live gastropods to be killed for their meat or “collectable” shells, as well as due to habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change.

The Rough Keyhole Limpet (Diodora aspera) has a symbiotic relationship with the Scale Worm Copepod (Anthessius nortoni). The limpet provides host for the copepod, which in turn bites predatory starfish to discourage them from eating the limpet.

The largest gastropod is the Australian Trumpet (Syrinx aruanus), a sea snail that can measure up to 75 cm (2 ft 5.5in) long and weigh up to 18 kg (40 lb)! While the animal’s shell is well-known and valued by collectors, it is rarely seen alive.

“Micromolluscs” are numerous species of gastropod with adult shell lengths of around 600 μm. You could say this is no bigger than a grain of sand, and you would be right, as many of their washed up shells are sand. Not much is known about these species and many remain unclassified as their minute size makes them very challenging to study.

Members of the family Conidae, known as “cone snails”, are some of the most venomous animals on earth. They use a modified radula tooth like a dart or harpoon to attack and paralyze their prey. Their beautifully patterened shells lead to humans sometimes trying to pick them up, resulting in the snail using this tooth in defense. The harpoons of some of the larger species of cone snail can even penetrate gloves or wetsuits. Symptoms of a more serious cone snail sting include severe localized pain, swelling, numbness and tingling, and vomiting. Symptoms can start immediately or can be delayed for days. Severe cases involve muscle paralysis and changes in vision and respiratory failure that can lead to death. Cone snail venoms are mainly peptide-based, and contain many different toxins that vary in their effects. Cone snail venom is under study for its use in the medical field, as it works quickly and precisely. Many of the compounds target only a particular class of receptor. This means that they can reliably and quickly produce a particular effect on the body's systems without side effects; for example, almost instantly reducing heart rate or turning off the signaling of a single class of nerve, such as pain receptors. Ziconotide, a pain reliever 1,000 times as powerful as morphine, was initially isolated from the venom of the Magician Cone Snail (Conus magus). It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2004 under the name Prialt. Other drugs based on cone snail venom targeting Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and epilepsy are in clinical or preclinical trials.

Sea slugs:

[queeringclassiclit]

Enjolras & Grantaire

from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

[humancelltournament]

Human Cell Tournament Round 1

Propaganda!

Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 appear in the genetic code of life. Amino acids can be classified according to the locations of the core structural functional groups (alpha- (α-), beta- (β-), gamma- (γ-) amino acids, etc.); other categories relate to polarity, ionization, and side-chain group type (aliphatic, acyclic, aromatic, polar, etc.). In the form of proteins, amino-acid residues form the second-largest component (water being the largest) of human muscles and other tissues. Beyond their role as residues in proteins, amino acids participate in a number of processes such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis. It is thought that they played a key role in enabling life on Earth and its emergence.

Schwann cells or neurolemmocytes (named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann) are the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Glial cells function to support neurons and in the PNS, also include satellite cells, olfactory ensheathing cells, enteric glia and glia that reside at sensory nerve endings, such as the Pacinian corpuscle. The two types of Schwann cells are myelinating and nonmyelinating.[1] Myelinating Schwann cells wrap around axons of motor and sensory neurons to form the myelin sheath. The Schwann cell promoter is present in the downstream region of the human dystrophin gene that gives shortened transcript that are again synthesized in a tissue-specific manner.

[officiallordvetinari]

Below are 10 featured Wikipedia articles. Links and descriptions are below the cut.

On February 17, 1974, U.S. Army Private First Class Robert Kenneth Preston (1953–2009) took off in a stolen Bell UH-1B Iroquois "Huey" helicopter from Tipton Field, Maryland, and landed it on the South Lawn of the White House in a significant breach of security. Preston had enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot. However, he did not graduate from the helicopter training course and lost his opportunity to attain the rank of warrant officer pilot. His enlistment bound him to serve four years in the Army, and he was sent to Fort Meade as a helicopter mechanic. Preston believed this situation was unfair and later said he stole the helicopter to show his skill as a pilot.

J. R. R. Tolkien, a fantasy author and professional philologist, drew on the Old English poem Beowulf for multiple aspects of his Middle-earth legendarium, alongside other influences. He used elements such as names, monsters, and the structure of society in a heroic age. He emulated its style, creating an impression of depth and adopting an elegiac tone. Tolkien admired the way that Beowulf, written by a Christian looking back at a pagan past, just as he was, embodied a "large symbolism" without ever becoming allegorical. He worked to echo the symbolism of life's road and individual heroism in The Lord of the Rings.

The construction of the first World Trade Center complex in New York City was conceived as an urban renewal project to help revitalize Lower Manhattan spearheaded by David Rockefeller. The project was developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The idea for the World Trade Center arose after World War II as a way to supplement existing avenues of international commerce in the United States.

The Coterel gang (also Cotterill, fl. c. 1328 – 1333) was a 14th-century armed group that flourished in the North Midlands of England. It was led by James Coterel—after whom the gang is named—supported by his brothers Nicholas and John. It was one of several such groups that roamed across the English countryside in the late 1320s and early 1330s, a period of political upheaval with an associated increase in lawlessness in the provinces. Coterel and his immediate supporters were members of the gentry, and according to the tenets of the day were expected to assist the crown in the maintenance of law and order, rather than encourage its collapse.

Eunice Newton Foote (July 17, 1819 – September 30, 1888) was an American scientist, inventor, and women's rights campaigner. She was the first scientist to confirm that certain gases warm when exposed to sunlight, and that therefore rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels could increase atmospheric temperature and affect climate, a phenomenon now referred to as the Greenhouse effect. Born in Connecticut, Foote was raised in New York at the center of social and political movements of her day, such as the abolition of slavery, anti-alcohol activism, and women's rights. She attended the Troy Female Seminary and the Rensselaer School from age 17–19, gaining a broad education in scientific theory and practice.

Simonie Michael (Inuktitut: ᓴᐃᒨᓂ ᒪᐃᑯᓪ;  first name also spelled Simonee, alternative surnames Michel  or E7-551; March 2, 1933 – November 15, 2008) was a Canadian politician from the eastern Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) who was the first Inuk elected to a legislature in Canada. Before becoming involved in politics, Michael worked as a carpenter and business owner, and was one of very few translators between Inuktitut and English. He became a prominent member of the Inuit co-operative housing movement and a community activist in Iqaluit, and was appointed to a series of governing bodies, including the precursor to the Iqaluit City Council.

The St. Johns River (Spanish: Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and it is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At 310 miles (500 km) long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in elevation from headwaters to mouth is less than 30 feet (9 m); like most Florida waterways, the St. Johns has a very slow flow speed of 0.3 mph (0.13 m/s), and is often described as "lazy".

Warlugulong is a 1977 acrylic on canvas painting by Indigenous Australian artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Owned for many years by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the work was sold by art dealer Hank Ebes on 24 July 2007, setting a record price for a contemporary Indigenous Australian art work bought at auction when it was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for A$2.4 million. The painting illustrates the story of an ancestral being called Lungkata, together with eight other dreamings associated with localities about which Clifford Possum had traditional knowledge. It exemplifies a distinctive painting style developed by Papunya Tula artists in the 1970s, and blends representation of landscape with ceremonial iconography. Art critic Benjamin Genocchio describes it as "a work of real national significance [and] one of the most important 20th-century Australian paintings".

William Samuel Sadler (June 24, 1875 – April 26, 1969) was an American surgeon, self-trained psychiatrist, and author who helped publish The Urantia Book. The book is said to have resulted from Sadler's relationship with a man through whom he believed celestial beings spoke at night. It drew a following of people who studied its teachings.

Zebras (US: /ˈziːbrəz/, UK: /ˈzɛbrəz, ˈziː-/) (subgenus Hippotigris) are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), the plains zebra (E. quagga), and the mountain zebra (E. zebra). Zebras share the genus Equus with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae. Zebra stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. Several theories have been proposed for the function of these patterns, with most evidence supporting them as a deterrent for biting flies. Zebras inhabit eastern and southern Africa and can be found in a variety of habitats such as savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands, and mountainous areas.

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET SIX - ROUND ONE - MATCH THREE

"Electric Fan (Feel it Motherfuckers): Only Unclaimed Item from the Stephen Earabino Estate" (1997 - John Boskovich) / "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)" (1991 - Félix González-Torres)

ELECTRIC FAN (FEEL IT MOTHERFUCKERS): it makes me literally insane that’s all that’s left of him and he made sure it would stay remembered, something something the last trace of a breath immortalized the only way it could be. Feel it, motherfuckers. (courfeyracs-swordcane) (also submitted by callixton and weeweewhirlwind)

UNTITLED (PORTRAIT OF ROSS IN L.A.): It fucks me up SO MUCH. The artist's partner was named Ross, and died of AIDS in the same year this was created. The ideal weight is roughly the average of an adult man. The allegory there... people taking the candy, decreasing the weight, the same way people took away from Ross and every other victim of the AIDS crisis by refusing to help, to do anything at all. Except this has an "endless supply" of candy. People can take and take and it keeps coming back. They can't get rid of us forever. We will prevail and we will rebuild and I WILL be fucked up about this forever (ceaseless-rambler)

("Electric Fan (Feel It Motherfuckers): Only Unclaimed Item from the Stephen Earabino Estate" is an electric fan encased in plexiglass with vinyl faux etching and a plexiglass base with casters by gay American artist John Boskovich--Stephen Earanbino's partner. It was the last item left in Stephen Earabino's estate after his death by AIDS and measures 56 7/8 x 22 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (144.5 x 57.8 x 31.8 cm). It is held by The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

"Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA)" is a modern art installation consisting of wrapped candies (constantly removed and replaced) by gay Cuban-American artist Félix González-Torres after the death of his partner, Ross, by AIDS. The weight is equivalent to a healthy human male - approximately 175 lbs (79kg). It is located at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.)

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[wiki-fight]

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.