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Koala

The koala is an arboreal plant-eating marsupial native to Australia, recognised worldwide as a symbol of the country. Its closest living relatives are the wombats. It has a stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and a large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60 to 85 cm (24 to 33 in) and weighs 4 to 15 kg (9 to 33 lb). Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodlands, and the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. Because this eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content, koalas are largely sedentary and sleep for up to 20 hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding only exists between mothers and dependent offspring. They have few natural predators or parasites but are threatened by various pathogens, as well as by bushfires and droughts. The biggest threat to their existence is habitat destruction due to agriculture and urbanisation. (Full article...)

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Dragonesque brooch
Dragonesque brooch

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Prague candlelight vigil
Prague candlelight vigil

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January 1: Public Domain Day; Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Roman Rite Catholicism)

"Am I not a man and a brother", emblem used by abolitionists
"Am I not a man and a brother", emblem used by abolitionists
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Al Dexter
Al Dexter

In 1944, the American magazine Billboard published its first chart ranking the top-performing country music songs in the United States, under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The Juke Box Folk listing was compiled based on reports from "Billboard representatives" detailing the most-played songs of the genre in jukeboxes from "all the country's leading operating centers", which were averaged to give an overall chart. The first number-one song listed was "Pistol Packin' Mama", which remained in the top spot for the first seven weeks. The song, originally recorded by Al Dexter (pictured) in 1942, had remained hugely popular ever since, and been recorded by many different singers. Dexter was the artist with the most different songs at number one in 1944, topping the chart with "Pistol Packin' Mama", "Rosalita", "Too Late to Worry" and "So Long Pal". Red Foley had the longest unbroken run at number one, spending thirteen consecutive weeks in the top spot in the fall with the patriotic wartime song "Smoke on the Water". (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It marks Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse's first appearance in a distributed film. Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by Universal Pictures, and when two silent films featuring Mickey failed to gain a distributor, Walt Disney decided instead to put him in a sound cartoon – perhaps inspired by The Jazz Singer. With music arranged by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis, Steamboat Willie was one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound. The film received wide critical acclaim upon its release, and it has been preserved in the United States National Film Registry for its significance. The film enters the public domain under U.S. copyright law today (January 1, 2024), 95 years after its release in 1928.

Film credit: Walt Disney Studios

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