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The Wikipedia article of the day for December 26, 2017 is Canadian Indian residential school system . The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous children who were removed from their families and culture to be assimilated into Canadian culture. It was funded by the government's Department of Indian Affairs, in keeping with the Indian Act of 1876, and administered by various churches. Over more than a century about 30 percent of Indigenous children (roughly 150,000) were placed in residential schools, where at least 6,000 of them died. The schools were intentionally located far away from home communities, and parental visits were further restricted by a pass system that confined Indigenous peoples to reserves. Students often graduated unable to fit into either their home communities or Canadian society, and impacted families have suffered disproportionately from post-traumatic stress, alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide. The l

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 25, 2017 is Muhammad Ali Jinnah . Muhammad Ali Jinnah (25 December 1876  – 11 September 1948) is honoured as the founder of Pakistan, where his birthday is observed as a national holiday. He served as leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan's independence from Great Britain in 1947, and then as the first Governor-General of Pakistan until his death. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, he advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League. By 1940, he had come to believe that Muslims of the Indian subcontinent should have their own state. As the first leader of Pakistan, he worked to establish the nation's government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from the new nation of India to Pakist

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 24, 2017 is The American Bible Challenge . The American Bible Challenge (2012–2014) is a Biblical-themed American television game show created by Game Show Network. The series is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy (pictured), joined by Kirk Franklin in the second season. Each season of the series is played as a nine-episode tournament with six episodes of opening rounds, two semi-finals, and a final. Each opening round starts with three teams of three contestants answering questions about the Bible. One contestant from each team participates in the following round. The two highest-scoring teams compete in a final one-minute round, and a $20,000 prize is donated to a charity of the winning team's choice. Over the course of the season, winning teams advance to semi-final games and then to a final game with a grand prize of $100,000, for a total possible payout of $140,000 for the season winner's charity. The show became GSN's highest rated

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 23, 2017 is Mortimer Wheeler . Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976) was a British archaeologist and army officer who served as Director of the National Museum of Wales and the London Museum, headed the Archaeological Survey of India, and wrote twenty-four books on archaeology. He argued that excavation and the recording of stratigraphic context required an increasingly scientific and methodical approach, developing the "Wheeler Method". In 1934, he established the Institute of Archaeology as part of the federal University of London, becoming its Honorary Director and overseeing excavations of the Roman sites at Lydney Park and Verulamium and the Iron Age hill fort of Maiden Castle. During World War II, he rose to the rank of brigadier, serving in the North African Campaign and the Allied invasion of Italy. In India, he oversaw excavations of sites at Harappa, Arikamedu, and Brahmagiri. In later life, his popular books, cruise ship lectur

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 22, 2017 is Blast Corps . Blast Corps is an action video game for the Nintendo 64, released worldwide on December 22, 1997, in which the player uses vehicles to destroy buildings in the path of a runaway nuclear missile carrier. Through the game's 57 levels, the player solves puzzles by moving objects and bridging gaps with the vehicles. The game was developed at Rare by a small team of recent graduates over the course of a year. They were inspired, in part, by the puzzle elements of Donkey Kong (1994). Nintendo published and released Blast Corps to critical acclaim in March 1997 in Japan and North America, with a wider release at the year's end. The game received several editor's choice awards and Metacritic's second highest Nintendo 64 ratings of 1997, but sold below the team's expectations at one million copies. Reviewers praised the game's originality, variety, and graphics, but some critiqued its controls and r

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 21, 2017 is Musca . Musca (Latin: fly) is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, first appearing on a 35-cm (14 in) diameter celestial globe by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius published in 1597 or 1598 in Amsterdam. The first depiction in a celestial atlas was in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. Musca remains below the horizon for most Northern Hemisphere observers. Many of the constellation's brighter stars are in the Scorpius–Centaurus Association, hot blue-white stars that appear to share a common origin and motion across the Milky Way. These include Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta2 and (likely) Eta Muscae, as well as HD 100546, a blue-white Herbig Ae/Be star that is surrounded by a complex debris disk containing a large planet or brown dwarf and possible protoplanet. Two further star system

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 20, 2017 is Guilden Morden boar . The Guilden Morden boar is a sixth- or seventh-century Anglo-Saxon copper alloy figure of a boar that may have once served as the crest of a helmet. It was found around 1864 or 1865 in a grave in the village of Guilden Morden in Cambridgeshire. Herbert George Fordham, whose father discovered the boar, donated it to the British Museum in 1904, where it is now displayed. It is simply designed, with a prominent mane; eyes, eyebrows, nostrils and tusks are only faintly present. A pin and socket design formed by the front and hind legs suggests that the boar was mounted on another object, such as a helmet. Boar-crested helmets are a staple of Anglo-Saxon imagery, evidence of a Germanic tradition in which the boar invoked the protection of the gods. They may have been common, and in the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, boar-adorned helmets are mentioned five times. The Guilden Morden boar is one of three known to have

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 19, 2017 is Chad Harris-Crane . Chad Harris-Crane is a fictional character on the American soap opera Passions, which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2007 and on DirecTV in 2007–08. Developed by the soap's creator and head writer James E. Reilly, Chad was portrayed by Donn Swaby (1999 to 2002) and Charles Divins (2002 to 2007). The son of the evil patriarch Alistair Crane of the Crane family, Chad becomes involved in a love triangle with the sisters Whitney and Simone Russell. He is initially believed to be Whitney's half-brother, but is revealed to be her adoptive cousin. His later storylines focus on his confusion over his sexual identity; his relationship with tabloid reporter Vincent Clarkson includes a depiction of the two men having sex, the first such scene in any daytime soap opera. Chad attempts to reconcile with Whitney before being killed by Alistair. Critical response to Chad was mixed; some reviewers praised the handling of

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 18, 2017 is Galaxy Science Fiction . Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by World Editions and sold two years later to Robert Guinn, the magazine's printer. Its first editor, H. L. Gold, rapidly made Galaxy the leading science fiction magazine of its time, focusing on stories about social issues rather than technology, including Ray Bradbury's "The Fireman" (later expanded as Fahrenheit 451), Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, and Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. Frederik Pohl, who had been doing most of the production work for some time, took over as editor officially in 1961. Until his departure in 1969, Galaxy had continued success, regularly publishing fiction by writers such as Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and Robert Silverberg. At its peak, Galaxy greatly influenced the science fiction field. Gold b

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 17, 2017 is Persoonia terminalis . Persoonia terminalis, the Torrington geebung, is a rare shrub belonging to the family Proteaceae, and native to northern New South Wales and southern Queensland in eastern Australia. Reported as a subspecies of Persoonia nutans in 1981, it was described as a species by Lawrie Johnson and his colleague Peter Weston in 1991. Two subspecies‍—‌P. t. terminalis and P. t. recurva‍—‌are recognised; both are found on well-drained acidic soils in sclerophyll forests, and P. t. terminalis is also found on granite outcrops. Although similar in appearance, they differ in leaf length and curvature. Both have a restricted range, with P. t. terminalis found in an area of under 100 square kilometres (39 square miles). P. terminalis grows to 1.5 metres (5 feet), with an upright or spreading habit, and narrow, short leaves up to 1 centimetre (0.4 inches) in length. The yellow flowers mainly appear in December and January (

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 16, 2017 is Portman Road . Portman Road is an association football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It has been the home ground of Ipswich Town Football Club since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England international exhibition game, against Croatia in 2003. It has staged several other sporting events, including athletics meetings and international field hockey matches. In addition, musical concerts and Christian events have been held at the ground. The stadium underwent significant redevelopments in the early 2000s, which increased the capacity from 22,600 to a current figure of 30,311, making it the largest capacity football ground in East Anglia. Each of its four stands have since been converted to all-seater (eliminating standing-room only tickets), following the recommendations of the Taylor Report. Also located at the ground are conference and banqueting facilities, the

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 15, 2017 is Hawker Hurricane in Yugoslav service . The Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft was in Yugoslav service from 1938 to 1941 and 1944 to 1951. The Royal Yugoslav Air Force obtained 24 of the British fighters commencing on 15 December 1938 from early production batches, the first foreign sale of the aircraft. Twenty additional fighter aircraft were built by Zmaj under licence in Yugoslavia. When the country was drawn into World War II by the German-led Axis invasion of April 1941, the aircraft achieved some successes against the Luftwaffe, but all the Yugoslav Hurricanes were destroyed or captured during the 11-day invasion. In mid-1944, the Yugoslav Partisans formed two Royal Air Force squadrons, Nos. 351 and 352, which both operated Hurricane fighter-bombers. No. 351 Squadron flew Hurricane Mk IICs during training and was later equipped with Hurricane Mk IVs, and No. 352 briefly flew Hurricane Mk IICs during training before re-equip

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 14, 2017 is Morihei Ueshiba . Morihei Ueshiba (December 14, 1883 – April 26, 1969) was the founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido. The son of a landowner from Tanabe, he studied martial arts in his youth, and served in the Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War. In 1907 he moved to Hokkaidō as the head of a pioneer settlement and studied with Takeda Sōkaku, the founder of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu. In 1919 Ueshiba joined the Ōmoto-kyō movement, a Shinto sect, in Ayabe, and opened his first dojo. He accompanied the head of the group, Onisaburo Deguchi, on an expedition to Mongolia in 1924, where they were captured by Chinese troops and returned to Japan. Moving to Tokyo in 1926, he set up the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. He taught at this dojo and others around Japan, including several military academies. After World War II he retired to Iwama, and continued training at a dojo he had set up there. He continued to promote aikido throughout J

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 13, 2017 is Nights: Journey of Dreams . Nights: Journey of Dreams is an action video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Wii. The sequel to the 1996 Sega Saturn title Nights into Dreams, it was first released in Japan, on 13 December 2007, followed by North America, Australia and Europe. The story follows two children, Will and Helen, who enter a dream world called Nightopia. When their nightmares come to life, they enlist the flying character Nights to help them stop the evil ruler Wizeman from escaping into the real world. The main objective of the game is to fly through rings while gathering keys to access new levels. The game's setting was designed to resemble England, especially parts of London. Development of Journey of Dreams began shortly after the release of Shadow the Hedgehog in 2005, and was headed by Sonic Team veteran Takashi Iizuka. The game received mixed reviews; critics praised its colourful vis

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 11, 2017 is Nigel (bishop of Ely) . Nigel (c. 1100 – 1169) was Treasurer of England under King Henry I, before being appointed to the see, or bishopric, of Ely in 1133. Nigel owed his advancement to his uncle, Roger of Salisbury, a bishop and government minister. Following the accession of Henry I's successor, King Stephen, Nigel remained as treasurer only briefly. He rebelled and deserted to Stephen's rival Matilda, and never regained high office under Stephen. On the king's death, Nigel was returned to the treasurership by the new king, Henry II. In Nigel's second tenure as treasurer, he returned the administration to the practices of Henry I. He withdrew from much of his public work after around 1164, following an attack of paralysis. He was succeeded as treasurer by his son, Richard fitzNeal, whom he had trained in the operations of the Exchequer, or Treasury of England. Most historians have felt that Nigel's admini

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 10, 2017 is Convention of 1833 . The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas, was one in a series of unsuccessful attempts at political negotiation that eventually led to the Texas Revolution. It followed the Convention of 1832, whose resolutions had not been addressed by the Mexican government. Delegates met in San Felipe de Austin to draft a series of petitions, with the volatile William H. Wharton presiding. Although the convention's agenda largely mirrored that of the Convention of 1832, delegates also agreed to pursue independent statehood for the province, which was at the time part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas. Under the guidance of Sam Houston, former governor of the US state of Tennessee, a committee drafted a state constitution to submit to the Mexican Congress. Stephen F. Austin (pictured) journeyed to Mexico City to present the petitions to the government. Frustrated with the lack of progr

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 8, 2017 is Ian Johnson (cricketer) . Ian Johnson (8 December 1917 – 9 October 1998) was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. He was on Don Bradman's Invincibles team, which went undefeated on their tour of England in 1948. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of 22.92 runs per dismissal. He captained the Australian team in 17 Tests, winning seven and losing five, including two consecutive losses in the Ashes series against England. Urbane, well-spoken and popular with his opponents and the public, he was seen by his teammates as a disciplinarian, and his natural optimism was often seen as naive. After retirement, Johnson worked for a time as a sports commentator, and covered the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. In 1957 he was appointed Secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club, r

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 6, 2017 is Halifax Explosion . The Halifax Explosion was a maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives bound for Bordeaux, France, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, north-west of the upper Halifax Harbour. When a fire on board the French ship ignited her cargo, around 2,000 people were killed by the blast, debris, fires and collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. Nearly all structures within an 800-metre (half-mile) radius, including the entire community of Richmond, were obliterated. A pressure wave snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels, and scattered fragments of Mont-Blanc for kilometres. A tsunami created by the blast wiped out the community of Mi'kmaq First Nations people who had lived in the Tufts Cove area for generations. The blast was the large

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 4, 2017 is Typhoon Omar . Typhoon Omar of 1992 was the strongest and most destructive typhoon to strike Guam since Typhoon Pamela in 1976. It formed on August 23 from the monsoon trough across the western Pacific Ocean, and made landfall on Guam five days later with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph). The storm caused damage there costing US$457 million, and one death. Strong gusts up to 248 km/h (154 mph) left nearly the entire island without power, disrupting the water system for several days and preventing the island-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center from issuing advisories for 11 days. The storm damaged or destroyed 2,158 houses, leaving 3,000 people homeless. The next day Omar became a super typhoon with sustained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph). Passing well north of the Philippines, it killed 11 people. It weakened significantly before striking eastern Taiwan on September 4; scattered flooding caused three deaths, along with damage worth $65 

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 3, 2017 is American Arts Commemorative Series medallions . The American Arts Commemorative Series medallions are gold bullion pieces that were produced by the United States Mint from 1980 to 1984. They were sold to compete with the South African Krugerrand and other bullion coins. The series was proposed by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms after the US Department of the Treasury began selling portions of the national stockpile of gold. At the suggestion of Iowa Representative Jim Leach, the medallions depict Americans notable for their achievements in the arts. President Jimmy Carter signed the authorization into law in November 1978, despite objections from Treasury officials. The medallions were initially sold through mail order; purchasers were required to obtain the day's price by telephone before ordering. Later, the Mint sold them through telemarketing. Mintage ceased after the ten designs approved by Congress were produced. Al