Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 17

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Today's featured article
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The album was released in North America on 1 January 2008 on TBD Records. In Rainbows was Radiohead's first release after the end of their contract with EMI and the end of the longest gap between studio albums in their career. Recording with producer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead worked on In Rainbows for more than two years, beginning in early 2005. In between recording, the band toured Europe and North America for three months in mid-2006. The songwriting on In Rainbows was more personal than that on Radiohead's other albums, with singer Thom Yorke describing most tracks as his versions of "seduction songs". Radiohead incorporated a wide variety of musical styles and instruments on the album, using not only electronic music and string arrangements, but also pianos, celestes, and the ondes Martenot. The album earned widespread critical acclaim, and was ranked as one of the best albums of 2007 by several publications. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album no. 336 on their updated version of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. (more...) Recently featured: José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco – Manhunter – DNA nanotechnology Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the pigment on the dark-coloured eggs of the parasitic Shining Bronze Cuckoo (pictured) rubs off easily? ... that the Shimōsa Plateau, which occupies most of northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan, is home to Narita International Airport? ... that the 2010 album Mondo Cane by Mike Patton was conceived during the singer's time in Bologna? ... that the National Hero of Indonesia Mas Mansoer declared interest forbidden? ... that "Overpass Light Brigade" is an activist collaborative public art project where "holders of the light" stand over roadways at night with lighted letters to spell out messages? ... that 2012 Australian athletics Paralympian Katy Parrish trains with Tim Matthews in Melbourne, Victoria? ... that Oevaang Oeray was the first ethnic Dayak governor of West Kalimantan? ... that the racehorse Amiable won two British Classic Races in 1894 despite having severe stringhalt that made her look like she was "walking on hot bricks"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The government of Ecuador grants political asylum to Julian Assange (pictured), founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab is sentenced to three years for instigating and participating in unauthorised protests during the Bahraini uprising. British bank Standard Chartered agrees to pay the US state of New York a $340 million fine to settle money laundering charges. The closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics is held in London. Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy wins the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi orders Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to resign and cancels military-declared constitutional amendments. Syrian Civil War – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 17: Independence Day in Indonesia (1945) 1807 – Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat, the world's first commercially successful paddle steamer, went into service on the Hudson River in New York. 1945 – Animal Farm, British author George Orwell's satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism, was first published. 1950 – Korean War: A North Korean Army unit massacred 42 American prisoners of war so that they would not slow the North Koreans down (memorial pictured). 1959 – Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, one of the best selling and most critically acclaimed jazz recordings of all time, was released. 1998 – U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 2009 – A turbine at Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Khakassia, Russia, broke apart violently, flooding the power station, causing widespread power failures, and killing 75 people. More anniversaries: August 16 – August 17 – August 18 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 17, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Panellus stipticus is a common and widely distributed species of fungus that grows on decaying deciduous trees, especially beech, oak, and birch. In some areas, it is bioluminescent, and the fruit bodies of these strains will glow in the dark—an effect known as foxfire—when fresh or sometimes when revived in water after drying.

Photo: Ylem

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