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From yesterday's featured article

Raichu is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise, and the evolved form of the series mascot, Pikachu. Introduced in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue, it was created by Atsuko Nishida at the request of lead designer Ken Sugimori, with the design finalized by Sugimori. It has appeared in multiple games including Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and in merchandise. Classified as an Electric-type Pokémon, Raichu is a large orange mouse with a tail shaped like a lightning bolt, and yellow sacs on its cheek that can generate electricity. Designed to be a stronger counterpart to Pikachu, who evolves into Raichu through the use of a "Thunder Stone", Raichu was initially intended to be able to evolve into "Gorochu" before the latter was removed. While early reaction from media outlets was negative, in light of Pikachu's status as the franchise's main mascot, later reception has been more favorable. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

The Banquet of Cleopatra

... that The Banquet of Cleopatra (pictured) depicts Cleopatra drinking a dissolved pearl to impress Mark Antony?
... that an on-stage incident traumatized Antonie Mielke so much that she retired from opera?
... that people entered the Bronze Age tombs at Volimidia centuries later in the Iron Age to leave offerings to the dead?
... that Zhang Xichen founded a magazine to compete with one made by his own employer?
... that Harvard's first modern feeder school cost twice as much as Harvard itself?
... that the text of "Heaven and Earth, and Sea and Air" was written by the man after whom the Neandertal was named?
... that the unique, if "Freudian", partnership between Richard A. Hunter and his mother was the most prolific in publishing in the history of psychiatry?
... that, contrary to the perception of Phytoseiidae, Amblyseius anacardii is observed as an agricultural pest?
... that, according to legend, Ngataba Min became king after eating the head of a rooster?

In the news (For today)

Philip Pierre

In Saint Lucia, the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre (pictured), retains its majority in the House of Assembly.
Playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard dies at the age of 88.
In motorsport, Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais win the World Rally Championship.
The New Democratic Party, led by Godwin Friday, wins the Vincentian general election.

On the previous day

December 5: Krampusnacht in parts of Central Europe

Nelson's Column during the Great Smog of London

1484 – Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, which gave the Dominican inquisitor Heinrich Kramer the explicit authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany.
1952 – The "Great Smog of London" (pictured) began and lasted for five days, causing 12,000 deaths and leading to the Clean Air Act 1956.
1965 – The "glasnost meeting" took place in Moscow, becoming the first demonstration in the Soviet Union after World War II and marking the beginning of the civil rights movement in the country.
1972 – Gough Whitlam took office as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia and formed a duumvirate with his deputy Lance Barnard, ending 23 years of Liberal–Country Party government.

Phillis Wheatley (d. 1784)
Arthur Currie (b. 1875)
Louise Bryant (b. 1885)
Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (b. 1985)

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From yesterday's featured list

Elvis Presley

Record charts in the UK began life in 1952 when Percy Dickins from New Musical Express (NME) imitated an idea started in American Billboard magazine and began compiling a hit parade. Prior to this, a song's popularity was measured by the sales of sheet music. Initially, Dickins telephoned a sample of around 20 shops asking for a list of the 10 best-selling songs. These results were then aggregated to give a Top 12 chart published in NME on 14 November 1952. In terms of number-one singles, Frankie Laine, Guy Mitchell and Elvis Presley (pictured) were the most successful artists of the 1950s, having four singles reach the top spot. The longest duration of a single at number one was eighteen weeks, achieved by Frankie Laine's "I Believe", which still holds the record for the most non-consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart. (Full list...)

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Yesterday's featured picture

Till the Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker. Kern was involved with the production, but died before its completion. It was the first in a series of MGM biopics about Broadway composers. The film, directed by Richard Whorf, premiered on December 5, 1946, in New York City.

Film credit: Richard Whorf

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