Wikipedia article of the day for May 15, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 15, 2021 is Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar.
The Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar is a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936 as a commemorative coin. Designed by Abraham Wolfe Davidson, it marks the 150th anniversary of the designation of Columbia as South Carolina's state capital. The obverse design (pictured) depicts Lady Justice holding a sword and scales, standing between South Carolina's Old State House, built in 1790, and the New State House, completed in 1903. The reverse shows the palmetto tree, South Carolina's state symbol, with 13 stars representing the original Thirteen Colonies, though they may also be intended to represent the Confederate States. The coins were struck in September 1936, but they were slow to be distributed. Once they were, they were sold to the public in small quantities, frustrating coin dealers who hoped to accumulate more to resell to their customers. They generally sell in the range of hundreds of dollars today, depending on condition.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 14, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 14, 2021 is Union of Bulgaria and Romania.
Several attempts and proposals were made to unify Bulgaria and Romania in the 19th and early 20th centuries, under a federation, a personal union or a confederation. Earlier, Bulgarians and Romanians had lived together under the First Bulgarian, Second Bulgarian and Ottoman empires for centuries. After the establishment in 1878 of an autonomous Bulgarian principality, there were several unsuccessful Romanian nominees for its throne. In 1886, Bulgarian leader Stefan Stambolov tried again to establish a personal union with Romania, and negotiations were conducted. All such proposals ultimately failed because of cultural and political differences and opposition from Austria-Hungary and especially Russia, which even threatened to invade both countries. Approaches to effect a union were attempted again during the communist era, but the Soviet Union strongly rejected them. The accession of both countries into the European Union has led to speculation about a new future revitalization of the idea.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2021 is Die Hard.
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It stars Bruce Willis (pictured), Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia. Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Filming took place in 1987 and 1988, on a $25–35 million budget. Reviews were mixed, but Die Hard became the year's highest-grossing action film. It received four Academy Award nominations, elevated Willis to leading-man status and made Rickman a celebrity. It is now considered one of the greatest action films. It revitalized the genre, largely due to its depiction of McClane as a vulnerable and fallible protagonist. "Die Hard" became a shorthand for plots in which a hero battles in a restricted environment. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2021 is Boeing 747.
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range, wide-body airliner and cargo aircraft manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the largest building in the world by volume. The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified that December. Entering service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970, it was the first airplane dubbed a "Jumbo Jet". The 747 is a quadjet, with ten-abreast economy seating typically accommodating 366 passengers. It has a pronounced 37.5° wing sweep, allowing a Mach 0.85 (490 kn; 560 mph; 900 km/h) cruise speed. Boeing introduced the -200 in 1971, with more powerful engines for a heavier maximum takeoff weight and a longer range. The heavier 747-400 was introduced in 1989 and is the most common variant. By June 2020, 1,556 aircraft had been built. As of 2020, 61 Boeing 747s have been lost in accidents, in which 3,722 people have died.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 11, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 11, 2021 is Ted Kaczynski.
Ted Kaczynski (born 1942), also known as the Unabomber, is an American domestic terrorist, primitivist and former mathematics professor. He was accepted to Harvard College at the age of 16 and, after graduating and earning his PhD, he taught at UC Berkeley for three years. He then moved to a small cabin in Montana to pursue a simple life. Kaczynski began sending mail bombs to people associated with universities, airlines, and the advancement of modern technology in 1978. He mailed a total of sixteen bombs, killing 3 people and injuring 23 others. Kaczynski's bombing campaign came under investigation by the FBI, who employed over 150 people in the most expensive FBI investigation ever conducted at the time. Kaczynski's manifesto, an anarcho-primitivist essay, was published in The Washington Post on the condition that he would desist from terrorism. He was eventually arrested in 1996 (mug shot pictured) and later imprisoned at ADX Florence in Colorado.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 10, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 10, 2021 is A Crow Looked at Me.
A Crow Looked at Me is the eighth studio album by Mount Eerie, a solo project of the American musician Phil Elverum. Released in 2017, it was composed in the aftermath of his 35-year-old wife, Geneviève Castrée's, diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2015 and her death in July 2016. Elverum wrote and recorded the songs over a six-week period in the room where she died, mostly using her instruments. The lyrics are presented in a diary-like form and sung in a raw, intimate style. They bluntly detail Castrée's illness and death, Elverum's grief, and his relationship with their infant child. It is soundtracked by sparse folk instrumentation. It was widely praised for its emotional potency. The album went on to be one of the most acclaimed albums of 2017 and of Elverum's career. His following albums, Now Only (2018) and Lost Wisdom pt. 2 (2019), further detail and examine Castrée's illness and early death.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 9, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 9, 2021 is Rugrats.
"Mother's Day" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Rugrats, first broadcast on May 6, 1997, on Nickelodeon. In this Mother's Day special, Tommy Pickles and Phil and Lil Deville attempt to find the perfect mother for Chuckie Finster, who is being raised by his father Chas. They discover that Chuckie's mother, voiced by Kim Cattrall (pictured), died of a terminal illness. Norton Virgien and Toni Vian directed the episode. "Mother's Day" was praised by critics for its storyline and its representation of breastfeeding, and has been the subject of several retrospective reviews for its treatment of the death of a parent. It won a CableACE Award and was nominated for the Humanitas Prize in the Children's Animation Category. Rugrats received a nomination for the 1997 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program after Nickelodeon submitted "Mother's Day" for consideration.