Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2021 is Shoom.
Shoom was a weekly all-nighter dance music event held at nightclubs in London, England, between December 1987 and early 1990. It is widely credited with initiating the acid house movement in the UK. Shoom was founded by Danny Rampling and managed by his wife Jenni. It began at a 300-capacity basement gym on Southwark Street in South London. By May 1988 its growing popularity necessitated a move to the larger Raw venue on Tottenham Court Road, Central London, and a switch from Saturday to Thursday nights. Later relocations were to The Park nightclub in Kensington and Busby's venue on Charing Cross Road. The early nights featured Chicago house and Detroit techno, mixed with contemporary pop and post-punk. Its musical and visual culture evolved around the classical hallucinogenic drug LSD and the psychoactive drug MDMA, the latter commonly known in the UK as ecstasy or "E". Shoom closed shortly after open drug use at the club began to attract police attention. By this time, electronic music had crossed into the mainstream as the heavier sounding rave style became popular.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2021 is Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
Henry IV (11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105. After his father's death in 1056, Henry was placed under his mother's guardianship. Archbishop Anno II of Cologne kidnapped him in 1062 and administered Germany until he came of age in 1065. Ignoring the ideas of the Gregorian Reform, Henry insisted on the royal prerogative to appoint bishops in his German and Italian realms. The Investiture Controversy culminated when Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry in response to Henry's attempt to dethrone him. Henry carried out his penitential Walk to Canossa in 1077 and Gregory absolved him. Henry's German opponents ignored this absolution and elected an anti-king. Most German and northern Italian bishops remained loyal to Henry and elected the antipope, Clement III, who crowned Henry emperor in Rome in 1084. His son, Henry V, forced him to abdicate on 31 December 1105.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2021 is South Park: The Stick of Truth.
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a 2014 role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios, and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Based on the American adult animated television series South Park, the game features whimsical fantasy role-playing. As the New Kid, the player can freely explore the town of South Park with a supporting party of characters, fighting aliens, Nazi zombies, and gnomes. The visuals replicate the aesthetic of the television series. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (both pictured) wrote the game's script, consulted on the design and voiced many of the characters, as in the television program. Reviewers praised the comedic script and authentic visual style, but some faulted the game over technical issues and a lack of challenging combat. A sequel, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, was released in 2017.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2021 is York County, Maine, Tercentenary half dollar.
The York County, Maine, Tercentenary half dollar is a fifty-cent piece minted in 1936 as a commemorative coin to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of York County, the southernmost county in Maine and the first to be organized. The obverse shows Brown's Garrison, a fort around which York County developed, while the reverse depicts the county's arms. A commemorative coin craze in 1936 saw some coins authorized by the United States Congress that were of mainly local significance; the York County issue was one of these, passing Congress without opposition in the first half of 1936. Maine artist Walter H. Rich designed the issue; his work has garnered mixed praise and dislike from numismatic authors. The Philadelphia Mint struck 25,000 for public sale. Less than 19,000 sold by 1937, more than half to Mainers; the rest were sold in the 1950s. As of 2021, the York County half dollar catalogs for around $200, depending on condition.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2021 is Cai Lun.
Cai Lun (b. c. 50 – c. 62 CE; d. 121) was a Chinese eunuch court official traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the modern papermaking process, as he created paper in its modern form. Born in modern-day Leiyang, Cai served as chamberlain for Emperor Ming, and as imperial messenger for Emperor Zhang. To assist Lady Dou in securing her adopted son as designated heir, he interrogated Consort Song, who then killed herself. After Emperor He's ascension in 88 CE, Dou rewarded Cai with high office, where he remained despite He's purge of the Dou family in 92 CE. In 105 CE, Cai greatly improved the papermaking process with tree bark, hemp waste, old rags, and fishnets. After Lady Deng, the empress dowager, died in 121 CE, Cai was ordered to the Ministry of Justice because of his involvement in Song's death. Expecting execution, he killed himself instead. Cai's papermaking efforts are considered enormously impactful on human history. He is deified as the god of papermaking, and appears in Chinese folklore.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2021 is Moorgate tube crash.
The Moorgate tube crash occurred on 28 February 1975 on the London Underground's Northern City Line; 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at the line's southern terminus, Moorgate station, and crashed into its end wall. It is the worst peacetime accident on the London Underground. The crash forced the first carriage into the roof of the tunnel; the second carriage collapsed at the front as it collided with the first, and the third rode over the rear of the second. The brakes were not applied and the dead man's handle was still depressed when the train crashed. The inquiry by the Department of the Environment found no fault with the train and concluded that the accident was caused by Leslie Newson, the 56-year-old driver. The post-mortem on Newson showed no medical reason to explain the crash, and a cause has never been established. After the crash, London Underground introduced a new safety system that automatically stops a train that is travelling too fast.

Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2021 is The Sirens and Ulysses.
The Sirens and Ulysses is a very large oil painting by the English artist William Etty, first exhibited in 1837. It depicts the scene from Homer's Odyssey in which Ulysses (Odysseus) resists the bewitching song of the Sirens by having his ship's crew tie him up, while they are ordered to block their own ears to prevent themselves from hearing the song. Traditionally Sirens had been depicted as human–animal chimeras, but Etty portrayed them as naked young women on an island strewn with decaying corpses. The painting divided opinion, with some critics greatly admiring it while others derided it as tasteless and unpleasant. Following the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition, it was removed from display for about 150 years. In 2010 the painting went on permanent display in the Manchester Art Gallery.