Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 November 17

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From today's featured article

The Heidi Game was an American football game played on November 17, 1968, in which the Oakland Raiders came from behind to defeat the New York Jets 43–32, scoring two touchdowns in the final minute to win. It obtained its nickname because the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) controversially broke away from the game with the Jets still winning to air the television film Heidi at 7 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone. A high-scoring contest, together with a number of injuries and penalties for the two bitter American Football League rivals, caused the game to run long. NBC executives had ordered that Heidi must begin on time, but given the exciting game, they decided to postpone the start of the film. Many members of the public called NBC to inquire about the schedule, to complain or opine, jamming the network's switchboards. As NBC executives were trying to call the same switchboards to implement their decision, the change could not be communicated, and Heidi began as scheduled. The movie preempted the final moments of the game in the eastern half of the country, to the outrage of viewers. In 1997, the Heidi Game was voted the most memorable regular season game in pro football history. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that World War II aviators used the towers of St. Mary's Catholic Church (pictured) as a navigational landmark?
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... that the Pakistan national women's cricket team have won nine Twenty20 International matches against Ireland?
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... that Elizabeth Timothy was the first female publisher of a newspaper in America?
... that college dropout and impostor Leander Tomarkin became the personal physician of the King of Italy?

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In the news

Sachin Tendulkar (pictured) retires from all forms of cricket.
At Christie's in New York City, Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud sells for US$142.4 million, a record price for a work of art sold at auction.
The International Court of Justice rules that the promontory at the Preah Vihear Temple is part of Cambodia and that Thai forces must withdraw.
In motorcycling, Marc Márquez wins the MotoGP world championship.
Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest tropical cyclone of 2013, kills more than 3,600 people and causes extensive damage across the Philippines.
The European Central Bank cuts its bank rate to a record low of 0.25%.

Recent deaths: John Tavener – John Cole

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On this day...

November 17

1405 - The Sultanate of Sulu was established on the Sulu Archipelago off the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines.
1869 – The Suez Canal opened, allowing shipping to travel between Europe and Asia via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
1970 – American inventor Douglas Engelbart received the patent for the first computer mouse (pictured).
1993 – General Sani Abacha ousted Ernest Shonekan to become chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria.
2005 – "Il Canto degli Italiani" officially became the national anthem of Italy almost sixty years after it was provisionally chosen following the birth of the Italian Republic.

More anniversaries: November 16 – November 17 – November 18

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Today's featured picture

The Jebel Akhdar, meaning The Green Mountain, is part of the Al Hajar Mountains range in Oman. It is named for its ability to support agriculture despite the desert climate of the area.

Photo: Philipp Weigell

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