Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 May 1

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Fake Nazis harassing a newspaper carrier during If Day

If Day was a simulated Nazi invasion of the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and surrounding areas on February 19, 1942, during the Second World War. It was an elaborate campaign to promote the purchase of Victory Bonds, loans to the government to allow for increased war spending, and over C$3 million was collected in Winnipeg on If Day. As money came in from those selling Victory Bonds, the sections were "reclaimed" from the Nazi invaders. The event was organized by the Greater Winnipeg Victory Loan organization, led by prominent Winnipeg businessman J. D. Perrin. The organizers believed that bringing the war (or, rather, a simulation thereof) to people's homes would result in a change of attitude among those not directly affected by the war. The simulation included 3,500 Canadian Army members, representing all of Winnipeg's units, making it the largest military exercise in Winnipeg to that point. If Day included a staged firefight between Canadian troops and volunteers dressed as German soldiers, the internment of prominent politicians, the imposition of Nazi rule, and a parade. It was later the subject of a 2006 documentary, and was included in Guy Maddin's film My Winnipeg. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

Viking siege of Paris

  • ... that Danish Vikings sacked Paris in 845 (pictured), and did not leave until being paid a ransom of 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) of gold and silver?
  • ... that Mount Ollivier, named after Arthur Ollivier, was proposed to be renamed in honour of New Zealand's great mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary?
  • ... that the name of the Omaha Hotel created the impression that it was affiliated with the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway?
  • ... that James Leal Greenleaf was a civil engineer who also landscaped the Washington Monument?
  • ... that Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design for the Chicago Tribune earned him $20,000 but was never built?
  • ... that Liu-Wang Liming, a Chinese feminist, was imprisoned after being accused of being a spy of the CIA in 1966?
  • ... that a commercial for the anime Free! led fans to create various fan works expanding upon the nameless characters from the ad?
  • Today's articles for improvement

    In the news

    Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
  • Willem-Alexander (pictured) becomes King of the Netherlands.
  • The Herschel Space Observatory, a far-infrared space telescope, ends its mission after running out of liquid helium coolant.
  • NBA player Jason Collins becomes the first active player of the four major men's professional sports leagues in North America to publicly come out as gay.
  • The Independence Party and the Progressive Party win the most seats in the Icelandic parliamentary election.
  • The South Sudanese government announces that the rebel South Sudan Liberation Army has laid down its arms.
  • Enrico Letta is appointed Prime Minister of Italy following a general election.
  • The 11th-century minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo in Aleppo, Syria, is destroyed during civil war fighting.

    Recent deaths: George Jones

  • On this day...

    May 1: International Workers' Day; Beltane in Ireland and Scotland; Law Day and Loyalty Day in the United States

    Penny Black postage stamp

  • 1776 – The Order of the Illuminati, a secret society, was founded by Adam Weishaupt and Adolph von Knigge in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
  • 1840 – The United Kingdom issued the Penny Black (pictured), the world's first official adhesive postage stamp.
  • 1851The Great Exhibition, the first ever world's fair, opened in London's Hyde Park.
  • 1897 – The Hindu monastic order Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda.
  • 1947 – Italian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and wounding 33.
  • 1956 – A doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.

    More anniversaries: April 30 May 1 May 2

    It is now May 1, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page
  • Today's featured picture

    Varosha quarter of Veliko Tarnovo

    The Varosha quarter of Veliko Tarnovo, a city in Bulgaria. Commonly known simply as Tarnovo, the city was capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire between the 12th and 14th centuries.

    Photo: Plamen Agov

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