Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 9

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Today's featured article
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Maple trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap. The sap is processed by heating to evaporate some of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup was first collected and used by indigenous people of North America. The practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually improved production methods. Technological improvements in the 1970s further refined syrup processing. Quebec, Canada is by far the largest producer, making about three-quarters of the world's output. The syrup is graded according to the Canada, United States, or Vermont scales based on its density and translucency. Sucrose is the most prevalent sugar in maple syrup. Maple syrup is often eaten with waffles, pancakes, oatmeal (porridge), and French toast. It is also used as an ingredient in baking, and as a sweetener and flavouring agent. Culinary experts have praised its unique flavour, though the chemistry responsible is not fully understood. Maple syrup and the sugar maple tree are symbols of Canada and several US states, in particular Vermont. (more...) Recently featured: Xá Lợi Pagoda raids – USS Arizona – McDonnell XF-85 Goblin Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that painter and poet Fritz Graßhoff (pictured) published the collection of poetry Halunkenpostille in 1947, made money with hits for singers Lale Andersen and Hans Albers, and translated poems from Latin and Swedish? ... that the song "Another Nail in My Heart" has a "McCartneyesque" melody and peaked at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart? ... that the COEX Aquarium in Gangnam district, Seoul, is one of South Korea's largest aquariums with over 40,000 creatures from over 650 species on display? ... that Heinrich Wiegand refused an appointment as State Secretary for the Colonies to remain head of the Norddeutscher Lloyd? ... that Sevmorput is the only nuclear-powered cargo ship currently in service? ... that the dark-scaled knight is in danger of extinction in the Netherlands? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Positive Slovenia, led by Ljubljana mayor Zoran Janković (pictured), wins a narrow plurality in the Slovenian parliamentary election. After 541 days of negotiations, a new Belgian government is sworn in, with Elio Di Rupo as prime minister. A centre-left coalition of four parties, led by Zoran Milanovic, wins a majority in the Croatian parliamentary election. United Russia, with incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev at the top of the party list, wins a majority of seats in the Russian legislative election. The first summit of CELAC, a bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations, takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 9: Independence Day in Tanzania (1961); Army Day in Peru (1824) 1917 – First World War: Hussein al-Husayni, the Ottoman mayor of Jerusalem, surrendered the city to the British (pictured). 1931 – The approval of the Spanish Constitution by the Constituent Cortes paved the way to the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. 1968 – The NLS, a computer collaboration system that was the first to employ the practical use of hypertext, the computer mouse, and other modern computing concepts, was publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco. 1979 – A World Health Organization commission of scientists certified the global eradication of smallpox, making it the only human infectious disease to date to have been completely eradicated from nature. 1981 – Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested for the murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner; his subsequent conviction and death sentence became the source of great controversy in the United States. More anniversaries: December 8 – December 9 – December 10 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 9, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Cohesion is the action or property of like molecules sticking together, being mutually attractive. Water is strongly cohesive, as seen in this photo of a weightless "bubble" of water on board Space Shuttle Discovery. Note that the astronaut's image in the bubble is inverted because of refraction.

Photo: NASA

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