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From today's featured article
Operation Title was an unsuccessful 1942 Allied attack on the German battleship Tirpitz during World War II. The Allies considered Tirpitz to be a major threat to their shipping and after several Royal Air Force heavy bomber raids failed to inflict any damage it was decided to use Royal Navy midget submarines instead. Operation Title involved a pair of two-man British Chariots which were transported to Norway on board a small boat named Arthur. Both Chariots were lost when bad weather caused them to detach from Arthur on 31 October. It was not possible for the Allied boat to reach the sea due to German security measures, and Arthur was scuttled. The Allied personnel attempted to escape overland and all but one reached neutral Sweden on 5 November. The other – a British serviceman – was taken prisoner by German forces and murdered on 19 January 1943. Tirpitz was eventually sunk by another bomber raid on 12 November 1944. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that this year's inductees to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame include a man with Down syndrome who has lifted 425 pounds (193 kg) (pictured, left), an "average gymnast" turned Olympics judge, a "preeminent sportswriter", the state's "greatest high hurdler", the "inventor" of the modern sports mascot, a record-setting 10-year-old, a champion gymnast, an Olympic field hockey player, and a pro baseball player in five countries?
- ... that the Japanese Nozawana plant got its name from skiers visiting Nozawaonsen, who were impressed by the area's pickled turnip?
- ... that prior to embarking on a music career during the pandemic, the DJ Sim0ne placed fifth on the eleventh series of Britain's Next Top Model in 2017?
- ... that the architects of the Eldridge Street Synagogue were Catholics who had never designed a synagogue before?
- ... that ...
- ... that Macklemore's song "Hind's Hall" refers to the six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed in the Gaza Strip in January 2024?
- ... that ...
- ... that ...
In the news
- Switzerland, represented by Nemo (pictured) with "The Code", wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
- A series of solar storms impact Earth, creating aurorae seen farther from the poles than usual.
- Former prime minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama is sentenced to one year in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
- Mahamat Déby is declared the winner of the Chadian presidential election.
- Flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, leaves more than 140 people dead and at least 130 others missing.
On this day
May 15: Feast day of Saint Carthage (Catholicism); Nakba Day in Palestinian communities
- 392 – Roman emperor Valentinian II (pictured) was found hanged in his residence in Vienne, in present-day France.
- 1855 – Thieves stole 224 pounds (102 kg) of gold from a train travelling from London to Folkestone, England.
- 1864 – American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union Army out of the Shenandoah Valley.
- 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank after striking several mines off Port Arthur, China.
- 1916 – Jesse Washington, a teenage African-American farmhand, was lynched in Waco, Texas.
- Hilary of Galeata (d. 558)
- Emily Dickinson (d. 1886)
- K. M. Cariappa (d. 1993)
Today's featured picture
The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually long beak, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses this to drink nectar from flowers with long corollas and has coevolved with the plant Passiflora mixta. While most hummingbirds preen using their beaks, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its beak being so long. Photograph credit: Andy Morffew
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