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How a Mosquito Operates (1912) is a silent animated film by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. The six-minute short, about a giant mosquito tormenting a dozing man who tries in vain to shoo it away, is one of the earliest works of animation. It is considered far ahead of its contemporaries in its technical quality. McCay had a reputation for his proficiency as a cartoonist, exemplified in the children's comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. He delved into the infant art of animation with the 1911 film Little Nemo, and followed its success by adapting an episode of his comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend into How a Mosquito Operates. McCay gives the animation naturalistic timing, motion, and weight, and displays a more coherent story and developed character than in Little Nemo. The film was enthusiastically received when McCay first unveiled it during a chalk talk (a vaudeville act with drawings) and in a theatrical release that soon followed. In 1914 McCay further developed his character animation style in his best-known animated work, Gertie the Dinosaur. (Full article...)

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HMS Pembroke in 2008

... that while travelling back to Scotland from the Persian Gulf in 2012, the minehunter HMS Pembroke (pictured) protected a cargo ship adrift in the Gulf of Aden from pirates?
... that after retiring from the Kentucky Supreme Court, Dan Jack Combs was twice arrested on marijuana-related charges and became an advocate for the drug's legalization in the United States?
... that Coimbatore is known as "Manchester of South India" due to its cotton production and textile industries?
... that the 2016 Gran Alternativa wrestling tournament marked the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre debut of Golden Magic?
... that Russian-Jewish linguist Elye Falkovitsh saved the lives of 88 wounded people during a single battle in World War II?
... that the upcoming film Patriots Day is based on the 2013 terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day?
... that "Atatürk's Pine Tree" is a place in the Soğuksu National Park with historic value, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk once took a rest?
... that the Welsh women's rugby union international Elen Evans rode a lifeboat across the Menai Strait as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay?

In the news

Mario Gutierrez

In horse racing, Nyquist, ridden by Mario Gutierrez (pictured), wins the Kentucky Derby.
Enda Kenny of Fine Gael is re-elected Taoiseach of Ireland and forms a minority coalition government.
A wildfire in Canada displaces 88,000 people and destroys more than 1,600 buildings in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
In association football, Leicester City win the English Premier League for the first time.
Mark Selby defeats Ding Junhui to win the World Snooker Championship.
The Kenyan government burns the largest-ever pile of ivory to combat illegal ivory trade.

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On this day...

May 10: Independence Day in Romania (1877)

Golden Spike Ceremony

28 BC – The first recorded observation of a sunspot was made by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han.
1824 – The National Gallery in London opened to the public, in the former townhouse of the collector John Julius Angerstein.
1869 – The Golden Spike Ceremony (pictured) was held at Promontory Summit, Utah, celebrating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States between the Missouri and Sacramento Rivers.
1941 – World War II: Nazi leader Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom.
1981 – François Mitterrand was elected to be the first socialist President of the French Fifth Republic.

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Today's featured picture

Louis XVI of France (1754–1793) was King of France (later King of the French) from 1774 until his deposition in 1792. His early reign was marked by attempts to reform France in accordance with Enlightenment ideals, including ultimately quashed efforts to abolish serfdom, remove the taille, and increase tolerance toward non-Catholics. However, after several years of national debt and financial and food crises, Louis was arrested during the insurrection of 10 August 1792, found guilty of high treason, and executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793.

Painting: Antoine-François Callet

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