Wikipedia article of the day for January 29, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 29, 2021 is Pyramid of Nyuserre.
The Pyramid of Nyuserre is a pyramid complex built in the 25th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini of the Fifth Dynasty. It is in the Abusir necropolis south of modern-day Cairo between the complexes of Neferirkare and of Sahure. Nyuserre was the last king to be entombed in the necropolis. The main pyramid, nearly 52 m (171 ft) tall, had a stepped core built from roughly cut limestone encased in fine Tura limestone. The casing was stripped by stone thieves, leaving the core exposed to the elements and further human activity, reducing the pyramid to a ruined mound. Adjoining the pyramid's east face is the mortuary temple built in an L-shape rather than the usual T-shape plan. It introduced the antichambre carrée, an innovative type of room that became a standard feature of later monuments. The site has two structures which appear to have been pylon prototypes. These, too, became staple features of temples and palaces in a later period.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 28, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 28, 2021 is Guadeloupe amazon.
The Guadeloupe amazon (Amazona violacea) is a hypothetical extinct species of parrot that is thought to have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island region of Guadeloupe. Described by 17th- and 18th-century writers, it is thought to have been related to, or possibly the same as, the extant imperial amazon. A tibiotarsus and an ulna bone from the island of Marie-Galante may belong to the Guadeloupe amazon. According to contemporary descriptions, its head, neck and underparts were mainly violet or slate, mixed with green and black; the back was brownish green; and the wings were green, yellow and red. It had iridescent feathers, and was able to raise a "ruff" of feathers around its neck. It fed on fruits and nuts, and the male and female took turns sitting on the nest. French settlers ate the birds and destroyed their habitat. Rare by 1779, the species appears to have become extinct by the end of the 18th century.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 27, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 27, 2021 is The Holocaust in Slovakia.
The Holocaust in Slovakia was the systematic dispossession, deportation, and murder of Jews in the Slovak State, a client state of Nazi Germany. Out of 89,000 Jews in the country in 1940, 68,000 to 71,000 were murdered during the Holocaust. In 1939, the ruling ethnonationalist Slovak People's Party declared independence from Czechoslovakia with German protection. Jews were targeted for discrimination and harassment, including the confiscation of property and businesses. On 9 September 1941, the government passed the Jewish Code, which it claimed to be the strictest anti-Jewish law in Europe. In late 1941, the Slovak government negotiated with Nazi Germany for the mass deportation of Jews to German-occupied Poland. Between March and October 1942, 58,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp and the Lublin District; only a few hundred survived. The murder of Jews resumed after August 1944, when Germany invaded Slovakia and another 13,500 Jews were deported.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 26, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 26, 2021 is History of the British penny (1901–1970).
The history of the British penny (​1⁄240 of a pound sterling) from 1901 to 1970 saw it remain a large bronze coin throughout that time, with the obverse depicting the monarch and the reverse Britannia. The obverse from 1902 to 1910 featured George William de Saulles's depiction of Edward VII, followed by Bertram Mackennal's portrait of George V. No pennies were produced for commerce in 1933, as there were a sufficient number in circulation. At least seven were struck for placement beneath foundation stones and in museums. Edward VIII's short reign is represented only by a single pattern coin, dated 1937. That year, a new obverse design depicting George VI by Humphrey Paget went into use. From 1953, the penny bore Mary Gillick's portrait of Elizabeth II. The officials who planned decimalisation in the 1960s did not favour keeping the large bronze penny. It quickly went out of use after Decimal Day, 15 February 1971, and was demonetised on 31 August 1971.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 25, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 25, 2021 is Rastafari.
Rastafari is a religion that developed among impoverished and socially disenfranchised Afro-Jamaican communities in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is both a new religious movement and a social movement. There is no central authority and much diversity among practitioners. Rasta beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible; a belief in a single God, Jah, who partially resides within each individual, is integral. Rastas accord central importance to Haile Selassie (pictured), Emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 and 1974; many regard him as the Second Coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate; others see him as a human prophet. Rastafari is Afrocentric and focuses on the African diaspora. In the 1960s and 1970s, it gained increased respectability and greater visibility abroad through the popularity of Rasta-inspired reggae musicians, most notably Bob Marley. There are an estimated 700,000 to 1,000,000 Rastas across the world, the majority of whom are of black African descent.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 24, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 24, 2021 is Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship.
The Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships were a group of four battleships designed for the Royal Italian Navy in 1913 and ordered in 1914. The first ship of the class, Francesco Caracciolo, was laid down in late 1914; the other three ships followed in 1915. Armed with a main battery of eight 381 mm (15 in) guns and possessing a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), the four ships were intended to be the equivalent of fast battleships such as the British Queen Elizabeth class. The class was never completed due to material shortages and shifting construction priorities following the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Only the lead ship was launched, in 1920, and several proposals to convert her into an aircraft carrier were considered, but budgetary problems prevented any work being done. She was sold to an Italian shipping firm for conversion into a merchant vessel, but this also proved to be too expensive, and she was broken up for scrap, beginning in 1926.

Wikipedia article of the day for January 23, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 23, 2021 is Gigantorhynchus.
Gigantorhynchus is a genus of thorny-headed worms that parasitize marsupials, anteaters, and possibly baboons by attaching themselves to the intestines using their hook-covered proboscis. The life cycle includes a larval stage in an intermediate host such as termites. In addition to the proboscis, the body is characterized by pseudosegmentation, filiform lemnisci, and ellipsoid testes. The largest known specimen is a female G. ortizi (example pictured) with a length of around 240 millimetres (9.4 in) and a width of 2 millimetres (0.079 in). Genetic analysis on one species of Gigantorhynchus places it with the related Mediorhynchus genus in the Giganthorhynchidae family. There are six species in this genus distributed across Central and South America and possibly Zimbabwe. Infestation by a Gigantorhynchus species can cause potentially fatal partial obstructions of the intestines or severe lesions of the intestinal wall.