The 158th Boat Race, an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames, took place on 7 April 2012. Despite Cambridge having the heavier crew, Oxford (pictured after the race) were pre-race favourites after a successful preparation period, including a victory over Leander. Cambridge won the toss and chose to start on the Surrey side of the river. Partway through, with the boats level, the race was temporarily halted to avoid injury to a protester, Trenton Oldfield, who swam in front of the two crews. After the race was restarted, one of the Oxford crew suffered irreparable damage to his blade following a clash of oars with the Cambridge boat, ending Oxford's chances of victory. The race was eventually won by Cambridge by four-and-a-quarter lengths, in a consolidated time of 17 minutes 23 seconds. Immediately after completing the race, a member of the Oxford crew collapsed, but later recovered. Oldfield was later jailed for six months for causing a public nuisance, and as a result of the disruption, security for subsequent Boat Races was increased. (Full article...)
... that the Slovene botanist Fran Jesenko(pictured) died while doing research for Triglav National Park, which he helped establish?
... that the entrance porch of the Shankaragaurishvara Temple in Patan in Jammu and Kashmir, built in the late ninth century, has intricately sculpted carvings that appear freshly chiseled?
... that the poetess Zhao Luanluan was assumed to be a courtesan because she wrote erotic poems?
... that young men jump off a 25-metre (82 ft) waterfall for money at Baturraden?
... that Cyril Stanley Smith's sister said that "If he didn't go to Oxford or Cambridge, isn't Church of England, and doesn't like sports, you might as well marry an American"?
Anatomical diagram of an adult female chambered nautilus, the best known species of nautilus, a "living fossil" related to the octopuses. The animal has a primitive brain that forms a ring around its oesophagus, has four gills (all other cephalopods have only two), and can only move shell-first (seemingly "backwards") by pumping water out through its funnel. The shell and tentacles are shown here as shadows.
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