Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 September 7

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Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava

The flora of Madagascar consists of more than 12,000 species of vascular and non-vascular plants. Around 83 per cent of Madagascar's vascular plants are found only on the island. These include five entirely endemic plant families as well as most of the over 900 orchid species, the traveller's tree, the Madagascar periwinkle, six species of baobab (pictured) and around 200 species of palms. The high degree of endemism is due to Madagascar's long isolation following its separation from the African and Indian landmasses in the Mesozoic Era. Today, humid forests, including the lowland forests, are found on the eastern plateau. Much of the central highlands is grassland. In the west are dry forest and succulent woodland. Unique spiny thickets are in the southwest, and mangroves occur on the west coast. While 10 per cent of the land surface is protected, much of the native flora is threatened, especially through dramatic deforestation. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Elastomeric respirator in cybergoth fashion

... that elastomeric respirators are used not only to protect against COVID-19 and tear gas, but also as fashion items (example pictured)?
... that cellist, composer, and conductor Rudolf Hindemith was the brother of the famous Paul Hindemith, with whom he played in the Amar Quartet, but later used pseudonyms to hide the relation?
... that misogynist terrorism is listed as a "rising threat" by counter-terrorism researchers?
... that to raise desperately needed money, the first president of Pomona College, Cyrus G. Baldwin, built the first hydroelectric power station with high-voltage transmission in California in 1892?
... that the nesting of the bare-shanked screech owl has only been studied once, within the cavity of an oak tree?
... that Sir Robert Fletcher rose to command the East India Company's Madras Army, despite being cashiered for his involvement in the 1766 Monghyr Mutiny?
... that the founder of Reynolds Brothers retired as chairman on his 100th birthday?
... that sculptor Alfred Gilbert fled England twice—once for love, once for money?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Portal

Shinzo Abe

Scientists confirm the first detection, using gravitational-wave astronomy, of a black hole in the upper mass gap.
Parliamentary elections in Montenegro result in the first victory for opposition parties in 30 years.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) of Japan announces his intention to resign due to medical concerns.
Hurricane Laura kills more than 50 people across the Caribbean and the United States.

On this day

September 7: Labor Day in the United States (2020)

Desmond Tutu

1652 – Chinese peasants on Formosa (now Taiwan) began a rebellion against Dutch rule before being suppressed four days later.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army fought near the village of Borodino during the French invasion of Russia.
1940 – Second World War: The Luftwaffe changed their strategy in the Battle of Britain and began bombing London and other cities and towns for more than 50 consecutive nights.
1986 – Desmond Tutu (pictured) became the first black leader of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
2010 – A Chinese fishing trawler operating in disputed waters collided with Japan Coast Guard patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands, sparking a major diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Sir John Perceval, 1st Baronet (b. 1629)
Thomas Talbot (b. 1818)
Cecil Aronowitz (d. 1978)

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Symphony of the Seas

As of June 2020, the largest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas (pictured), has a gross tonnage (GT) of 228,081, is 361 metres (1,184 ft) long, 65.7 metres (216 ft) wide, and holds up to 6,680 passengers. Cruise ships can carry thousands of passengers in a single trip, and are some of the largest ships in the world by GT, bigger than many cargo ships. Cruise ships started to exceed ocean liners in size and capacity in the mid-1990s; before then, few were more than 50,000 GT. In the decades since, the size of the largest vessels has more than doubled. There have been nine or more new cruise ships added every year since 2001, most of which are 100,000 GT or greater. In the two decades between 1988 and 2009, the largest cruise ships grew a third longer (268 to 360 m [879 to 1,181 ft]), almost doubled their widths (32.2 to 60.5 m [106 to 198 ft]), doubled the total passengers (2,744 to 5,400), and tripled in volume (73,000 GT to 225,000 GT). (Full list...)

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The Tauride Palace is one of the largest and most historic palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was designed by Ivan Starov for Prince Grigory Potemkin, and was constructed between 1783 and 1789. After the owner's death, it was purchased by Catherine the Great, who constructed a theatre in the east wing and a church in the west wing. Many improvements were also made to the grounds, including construction of the Admiralty Pavilion, the gardener house, the orangery, glass-houses, bridges, and ironwork fences. Although the exterior of the building was rather plain, the interior was very luxurious. More recently, the building housed the first Imperial State Duma (1906–1917) and the post-revolution provisional government.

Photograph credit: Andrew Shiva

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