Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 December 27

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From today's featured article

The CPRR's "Lilly Belle" locomotive and caboose

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad was a 7 ¹⁄₄-inch (184 mm) gauge ridable miniature railroad run by the American animator and producer Walt Disney at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It featured the Lilly Belle, a 1:8-scale live steam locomotive named after his wife Lillian and built by the Walt Disney Studios' machine shop. It pulled a set of freight cars, as well as a caboose that was built almost entirely by Disney himself. The railroad, which became operational in 1950, was 2,615 feet (797 m) long and encircled his house. It attracted visitors who rode and occasionally drove the miniature train. It inspired Disney to include an encircling railroad in the design for Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Railroad attractions in Disney theme parks around the world are now commonplace. In 1953, after a guest was injured in an accident, the railroad was closed to the public. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Thai Ministry of Defence

... that the Phaya Tani cannon in front of Thailand's Ministry of Defence headquarters (pictured) was turned around in 2004, in a rumoured attempt to fix bad luck from its pointing at the Grand Palace?
... that Dorothée Munyaneza, who moved to London as a girl because of the Rwandan genocide, has choreographed two works about her experiences?
... that the worms Dipolydora commensalis and Neanthes fucata have a commensal relationship with their hermit crab hosts and are not attacked by them?
... that Mary Jane Odell was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1979, the year before her appointment as Secretary of State of Iowa?
... that prior to a Red Cross inspection of Theresienstadt ghetto, a "beautification" program there included the transfer of 7,500 prisoners to Auschwitz?
... that after initially committing to Stanford, David Long agreed to play for Michigan Wolverines football after Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh climbed a tree on a recruiting visit?
... that the cantata Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis was written by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel for the Third Day of Christmas at the court of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen?
... that a woman once threw a dead cat at James Comyn while he was cross-examining her in court?

In the news

Damage from the Sunda Strait tsunami

A tsunami hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia, killing at least 429 people and injuring more than 1,400 others (aftermath pictured).
In field hockey, the World Cup concludes with Belgium defeating the Netherlands in the final.
The Balangiga bells, taken by US Army soldiers from the Philippines in 1901 as war trophies, are repatriated.
Nine people are killed when a high-speed train collides with a locomotive in Ankara, Turkey.

On this day

December 27

Radio City Music Hall

1521 – A period of unrest in Wittenberg, Saxony, following the arrival of the Zwickau prophets, was quelled after the release of Martin Luther from custody.
1831 – Charles Darwin left Plymouth, England, aboard HMS Beagle on the expedition to South America that would make his name as a naturalist.
1932 – New York City's Radio City Music Hall (pictured) opened with the world's largest auditorium at the time.
1985 - The body of murdered American primatologist Dian Fossey was discovered inside her cabin in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
2008 – Citing rocket attacks from Palestinian armed groups, Israel launched a surprise attack against the Gaza Strip, opening the three-week Gaza War.

Louis Pasteur (b. 1822) · Agda Meyerson (d. 1924) · Chyna (b. 1969)

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Today's featured picture

Hayley Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. She serves as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and occasional keyboardist of the rock band Paramore. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Williams moved to Franklin, Tennessee, at the age of fifteen after her parents divorced. In 2004, she formed Paramore alongside Josh Farro, Zac Farro, and Jeremy Davis. The band currently consists of Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York. They have released five studio albums: All We Know Is Falling (2005), Riot! (2007), Brand New Eyes (2009), Paramore (2013) and After Laughter (2017).

Photograph: Sven-Sebastian Sajak

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