Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 August 24

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From today's featured article

The FP is a 2011 American independent comedy film written and directed by brothers Brandon (pictured right) and Jason Trost (pictured left). The film focuses on two gangs—the 248 and the 245—that are fighting for control of Frazier Park (The FP). The gangs settle their disputes by playing Beat-Beat Revelation, a video game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Gang member JTRO (Jason Trost) undergoes training to defeat L Dubba E (Lee Valmassy), the leader of a rival gang. Jason Trost conceived The FP when he was 16 years old, and developed it into a short film. He was then encouraged to make a feature-length version. Ron Trost—Brandon and Jason Trost's father—served as special effects supervisor and executive producer of the film, and his property was the primary filming location. The full-length version of The FP premiered at South by Southwest on March 13, 2011, and received positive reviews. After its screening at the Fantasia Festival on July 30 that year, Drafthouse Films acquired the film for distribution. It had a limited release and received mixed reviews, failing to recoup its production budget. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that pride parades in South Africa (pictured) are increasingly used for political advocacy against LGBT hate crimes and to remember their victims?
... that the mix of modern elements and traditional gothic norms in "The Harrowing", episode six of Inside No. 9, was used for both comedy and horror?
... that Bill Watkins led Detroit to the 1887 World Series and by 1894 had won more pennants than any other manager?
... that Andrew Carnegie objected to his grant money being used for amenities such as a dome, public meeting room, and fireplaces in the Guthrie, Oklahoma Carnegie Library?
... that sociologist Mihai Ralea was sent to the West by Communist Romania with documents exposing the fascist past of Romanian exiles, only to find himself subject to similar accusations?
... that the distribution of Beck's tree frog is limited to altitudes of over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in Papua New Guinea?
... that Taylor Swift's single "Shake It Off" is dedicated to her haters?

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In the news

Bank of America agrees to pay more than US$16 billion for the sale of risky mortgage-backed securities before the Great Recession.
At least 39 people are killed in a series of landslides (damage pictured) in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
The 41st Chess Olympiad concludes with China winning the open section and Russia winning the women's section of the tournament.
Mathematicians Artur Ávila, Manjul Bhargava, Martin Hairer, and Maryam Mirzakhani are awarded the Fields Medal; Mirzakhani is its first female recipient.
Actor and comedian Robin Williams dies at the age of 63.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Gaza conflict – Ukrainian unrest
Recent deaths: B. K. S. Iyengar

On this day...

August 24: Independence Day in Ukraine (1991)

AD 79 – According to estimates based on the Codex Laurentianus Mediceus, Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae in Italy.
1814 – War of 1812: British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to various U.S. government buildings, including what is now the White House (pictured).
1889 – The predominantly Māori New Zealand Native football team played the last match of their 107-game tour, the longest in rugby union history.
1963 – Buddhist crisis: The U.S. State Department ordered Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. to encourage South Vietnamese Army officers to oust Ngo Dinh Diem if he did not willingly remove Ngo Dinh Nhu from his unofficial position of power.
2004 – About 90 total people died after suicide bombers attacked two airliners flying out of Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport.

More anniversaries: August 23 – August 24 – August 25

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It is now August 24, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The reverse of the 1933 double eagle, a United States 20-dollar gold coin designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 445,500 specimens were minted, but after the Gold Reserve Act withdrew the legal tender status of gold coins and outlawed most private possession of gold, almost all were destroyed.

Only two double eagles were intentionally spared; they are in the National Numismatic Collection of the National Museum of American History. But at least twenty more were stolen by an unidentified person. Of these, nine were melted down in the 1940s and 50s and ten more are held at Fort Knox. Another, which had belonged to King Farouk of Egypt, was recovered in 1996 and sold at auction in 2002 to an anonymous bidder for almost 7.6 million dollars.

Coin: Augustus Saint-Gaudens; photo: United States Mint

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