Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 November 28

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From today's featured article
Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, emetic Russula, or vomiting Russula, is a basidiomycete mushroom, and the type species of the genus Russula. It has a red, convex to flat cap up to 8.5 cm (3.3 in) in diameter, with a cuticle that can be peeled off almost to the centre. The gills are white to pale cream, and closely spaced. A smooth white stem measures up to 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and 2.4 cm (0.9 in) thick. First described in 1774, the mushroom has a wide distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows on the ground in damp woodlands in a mycorrhizal association with conifers, especially pine. The mushroom's common names refer to the gastrointestinal distress they cause when consumed raw. The flesh is extremely peppery, but this offensive taste, along with its toxicity, can be removed by parboiling or pickling. Although it used to be widely eaten in Russia and eastern European countries, it is generally not recommended for consumption. There are many similar Russula species that have a red cap with white stem and gills, some of which can be reliably distinguished from R. emetica only by microscopic characteristics. (Full article...) Recently featured: Kappa Kappa Psi – Betelgeuse – Grey Cup Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that about 100,000 people visit Varanasi today (pictured) to see the city and the Ganges lit with lamps? ... that Philadelphia Athletics shortstop Charlie Engle did not get at bat in his 1925 debut against the New York Yankees, his only game in the season? ... that role ethics is an ethical theory based on family roles? ... that will.i.am and Britney Spears's 2012 single "Scream & Shout" contains a sample of the opening line of Spears' 2007 single "Gimme More": "It's Britney, bitch"? ... that when she is inaugurated as Secretary of State of Washington in January, Kim Wyman will be the only Republican elected to statewide office on the West Coast of the United States? ... that the Knifefish robot is intended to replace the U.S. Navy's trained minesweeping dolphins? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel wins the Drivers' Championship for the third consecutive year. In Canadian football, the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Calgary Stampeders to win the 100th Grey Cup (trophy pictured). A fire at a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills at least 112 people. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi outlaws challenges to presidential authority. Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire to conclude a week-long escalation in hostilities in Southern Israel and the Gaza Strip. Recent deaths: Marvin Miller – Héctor Camacho – Larry Hagman Syrian civil war – Wikinews – More current events...
On this day...
November 28: Independence Day in Albania (1912) and Mauritania (1960); Navy Day in Iran (1980) 1660 – At London's Gresham College, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Christopher Wren and other leading scientists founded a learned society now known as the Royal Society (coat of arms pictured). 1920 – Thirty-six local Irish Republican Army volunteers killed seventeen members of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary, marking a turning point in the Irish War of Independence. 1971 – Fred Quilt, a leader of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, was severely beaten by Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables. 1979 – Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Antarctica's Mount Erebus, killing all 257 people on board. 2002 – Suicide bombers blew up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, but their colleagues failed in their attempt to bring down an Arkia Israel Airlines charter flight with surface-to-air-missiles. More anniversaries: November 27 – November 28 – November 29 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now November 28, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, a character from The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, a children's novel by the Reverend Charles Kingsley. Published in 1863, the book was extremely popular in England, and was a mainstay of British children's literature for many decades. The book had been intended in part as a satire, a tract against child labour, as well as a serious critique of the closed-minded approaches of many scientists of the day in their response to Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution.

Artist: Jessie Willcox Smith; Restoration: ErikTheBikeMan

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