Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 December 28

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film. The fourth film in the series, it completes the story arc from The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock. Returning home to face trial for their crimes, former crewmembers of the USS Enterprise find Earth in danger from an alien probe attempting to contact now-extinct humpback whales. They travel to Earth's past to find whales who can answer the probe. After directing The Search for Spock, cast member Leonard Nimoy (pictured) was asked to direct the next feature, and given greater freedom regarding its content. He and producer Harve Bennett conceived a story with an environmental message and no clear-cut villain. Dissatisfied, Paramount Pictures hired The Wrath of Khan writer and director Nicholas Meyer, who rewrote the story with Bennett. Unlike previous Star Trek films, The Voyage Home was shot extensively on location, for scenes set in and around San Francisco. The film's humor and unconventional story were well received by critics, fans of the series and the general audience. It was financially successful, and received several awards and four Academy Award nominations for its cinematography and audio. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Fifth Test, 1948 Ashes series – Turkey vulture – Nativity (Christus)

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that music from Joaquin Turina's opera Margot (libretto cover pictured) about a Parisian courtesan has become a popular piece during the processions of Holy Week in Seville?
... that New York City plans to use its payphone network to provide free WiFi coverage over five boroughs?
... that the fossil maple species Acer kenaicum was suggested to be an ancestor of silver maples?
... that the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game had the highest Nielsen ratings of any U.S. basketball game?
... that Little Black Creek is not a perennial stream, but contributes 11.43 cubic feet of water per second to the Jeddo Tunnel?
... that the saint Narahari Sonar calls God his customer?
... that Harry S. Dent, Sr. and J. Fred Buzhardt, two of Strom Thurmond's closest advisors, tried to talk him out of his marriage to former beauty queen Nancy Moore?

Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news

Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 goes missing en route to Singapore with 162 passengers and crew on board.
A militant attack on tribal people and subsequent retaliations in Assam, India, kill at least 85 people.
Beji Caid Essebsi (pictured) wins the Tunisian presidential election.
India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III successfully completes its first flight, carrying the crew vehicle demonstrator CARE.
U.S. aid worker Alan Gross and three members of the Cuban Five are released by Cuba and the United States, respectively, as both nations move to resume diplomatic relations.
In an effort to curtail the rapid decline of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia raises interest rates to 17%.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Leo Tindemans – Edward Greenspan – K. Balachander

On this day...

December 28: Day of the Holy Innocents (Western Christianity)

1836 – At the Old Gum Tree (pictured) near present-day Adelaide, Royal Navy Rear-Admiral John Hindmarsh read a proclamation establishing the British province of South Australia.
1879 – The Tay Rail Bridge, spanning the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the Wormit, collapsed during a violent storm while a train was passing over it, killing all on board.
1912 – The San Francisco Municipal Railway, operator of the city's famed cable car system, opened its first line.
1989 – In one of Australia's most serious natural disasters, a 5.6 M_L earthquake struck Newcastle, New South Wales, killing 13 people and injuring more than 160 others, and causing an estimated A$4 billion in damages.
2011 – Acting on information that PKK militants were crossing the border into Şırnak Province, two Turkish F-16 jets fired at a group of villagers, killing 34 people.

More anniversaries: December 27 – December 28 – December 29

Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries

It is now December 28, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The Winkel tripel projection is a modified azimuthal map projection proposed by Oswald Winkel in 1921. The arithmetic mean of the equirectangular projection and the Aitoff projection, it was intended as a compromise between minimizing three kinds of distortion: area, direction and distance.

The imagery used for the map is derived from NASA's Blue Marble summer months composite, with oceans lightened to enhance legibility and contrast.

Map: Strebe, using Geocart

Recently featured: Lesser sand plover – Blackness Castle – Christmas truce

Archive – More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.