Edith Roosevelt (1861–1948; née Carow) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the first lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She grew up alongside the Roosevelt family, and married Theodore Roosevelt in 1886, having five children. She became a public figure when her husband became a war hero in the Spanish–American War and was elected governor of New York. Theodore became vice president in March 1901, and president after the assassination of William McKinley in September. Edith controlled when and how the press reported on the Roosevelts, and regulated Washington social life, organizing weekly meetings of the cabinet members' wives, and becoming the gatekeeper of who could attend formal events. Her oversight of the 1902 White House renovations and her hiring the first social secretary for a first lady, Belle Hagner, are considered enduring legacies. She remained politically active, despite poor health from the 1910s. (Full article...)
Fomitopsis quercina is a species of mushroom in the order Polyporales. Commonly known as the oak mazegill, among other names, its specific epithet refers to the oak genus Quercus, upon which it frequently grows, causing a brown rot. It is found in most of Europe, following the pattern of oak distribution, and has also been reported in northern Africa, North America, Asia and Australia. The mushroom features pores which form a maze-like appearance. Though inedible, it can be used as a natural comb and has been the subject of chemical research. This F. quercina mushroom was photographed growing on a tree branch at De Famberhorst, a nature reserve in the town of Joure in Friesland, Netherlands. The photograph was focus-stacked from 21 separate images.
The Apennine Colossus is a stone statue, approximately 11 metres (36 feet) tall, in the estate of Villa Demidoff (originally Villa di Pratolino) in Vaglia in Tuscany, Italy. A personification of the Apennine Mountains, the colossal figure was created by Giambologna, a Flemish-born Italian sculptor, in the late 1580s. The statue has the appearance of an elderly man crouched at the shore of a lake, squeezing the head of a sea monster through whose open mouth water originally emanated into the pond in front of the statue. The colossus is depicted naked, with stalactites in the thick beard and long hair to show the metamorphosis of man and mountain, blending his body with the surrounding nature. It is made of stone and plaster and the interior houses a series of chambers and caves on three levels. Initially, the back of the statue was protected by a structure resembling a cave, which was demolished around 1690 by the sculptor Giovanni Battista Foggini, who built a statue of a dragon to adorn the back of the colossus. The Italian sculptor Rinaldo Barbetti renovated the statue in 1876.
The European bison (Bison bonasus), also known as the wisent, is a mammal in the family Bovidae. It is one of two extant species of bison. Having been hunted to extinction in the wild by the early 20th century, the European bison was reintroduced to the wild in various European countries by the 2010s, following captive breeding programmes. It is the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. The largest bulls of the species have a mass of up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). The European bison is a herd animal, which lives in both mixed and solely male groups. Mixed groups consist of adult females, calves, young aged two to three years, and young adult bulls. A typical herd numbers around eight to thirteen animals on average. This male European bison was photographed in the Białowieża Forest, Poland.
Artemis I was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched on November 16, 2022. It was the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program and marked the agency's return to lunar exploration since the Apollo program after five decades. It was the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and the mission's main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft in preparation for future Artemis missions. Artemis I was launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. After reaching orbit, the upper stage separated and performed a trans-lunar injection before releasing Orion and ten CubeSat satellites. Orion completed one flyby of the Moon on November 21 and completed a second flyby on December 5. This picture shows Artemis I launching from Launch Complex 39B.
There is a great disconnect between how athiests and religionist view the proper place for religion in the public square. Briefly, atheists (usually) want no religion in the public square, and religionists want equal access (non-denominational) to the public square and view athiesm as just one other "religion" that needs access.
Wikipedia's Reputation
I've been thinking about this key principle: "[What] reliable sources ... have in common is process and approval between document creation and publication." This is also the key to Wikipedia's reliability and reputation. The core principles of neutrality and verifiability along with the standards for articles (featured/good/etc) and the implicit approval of every person who reads an article and makes no changes to it.
Intellectual Property
We (Americans) often "borrow" other people's intellectual property because the transaction method (i.e. limited use permission) does not exist and can not be created without the transaction cost exceeding the value of the permission (which is close to $0.00 in most cases) so we keep using other's work, and they don't sue us.