Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 November 19

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Today's featured article
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound. Thematically, the album is darker, more introspective, and more flippant than their previous work. Recording began at Berlin's Hansa Studios in October 1990, but the sessions were fraught with conflict, as the band argued over the direction and quality of their music. After nearly breaking up, they made a breakthrough with the improvisation of the song "One". Morale improved during the subsequent recording sessions in Dublin in 1991. Achtung Baby received favourable reviews and went to number one in several countries. It spawned five hit singles, including "One", "Mysterious Ways", and "The Fly". The album has sold 18 million copies, and in 1993, it won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The record and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour were central to U2's 1990s reinvention. Achtung Baby has regularly appeared on critics' lists of the greatest albums of all time. (more...) Recently featured: Battle of Vukovar – William de St-Calais – Ming Dynasty Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that reefs formed by the developing plume worm (pictured) are sometimes broken apart by the activity of the red boring sponge? ... that Hawaiian chief Boki accused Queen Kaʻahumanu of scheming to place her adoptive son, David Kamehameha, on the Hawaiian throne? ... that when Manasse ǃNoreseb, chief of the Red Nation in Namibia, was to be reburied at his home settlement of Hoachanas, the remains did not contain a skull? ... that future California Court of Appeal Justice Christopher Cottle attended UC Berkeley for one day before transferring to Stanford, where he was a pre-medical student and captain of the football team? ... that Nag Hammadi Codex XIII is the only surviving copy of the Trimorphic Protennoia, an early Christian Gnostic text? ... that Welsh goalkeeper Tony Millington was "a one-man entertainment" who would take sweets, pies or chewing gum from supporters and celebrate his team's goals by performing handstands? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Mario Monti Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Muammar Gaddafi, is captured in southern Libya while attempting to flee to Niger. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia sign a cooperation agreement, setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015. Soyuz TMA-22, carrying a crew of two Russians and one American, docks with the International Space Station. Following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, Mario Monti (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of Italy. The first Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit is held in Doha, Qatar. The Arab League suspends Syria's membership amid a violent crackdown on an internal uprising. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
November 19: International Men's Day; Liberation Day in Mali 1493 – Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto Rico, naming it San Juan Bautista after John the Baptist. 1794 – The United States and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty, which was the basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations. 1863 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 1941 – Second World War: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney (pictured) and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran destroyed each other off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean. 2005 – Iraq War: A group of United States Marines allegedly massacred twenty-four people in the town of Haditha in Iraq. More anniversaries: November 18 – November 19 – November 20 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now November 19, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A species of assassin bug (Gminatus australis shown) feeding on a beetle. Assassin bugs use their long rostrum to inject a lethal saliva that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. The most distinctive feature of the assassin bug family is that the tip of the rostrum fits into a groove in the prosternum, where it is rasped against ridges there to produce sound, a tactic often used to intimidate predators.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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