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Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn's career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned more than 60 years. She won a record four Academy Awards, and in 1999 was named as Hollywood's top female legend by the American Film Institute. Hepburn began acting in college, and spent four years in the theatre before entering films in 1932. She became an instant star, but after a series of unsuccessful films was named "box office poison". The Philadelphia Story revived her career, and she subsequently formed a popular alliance with Spencer Tracy that lasted 25 years. In middle age, Hepburn found a niche playing spinsters, such as in The African Queen, and became a Shakespearean stage actress. She continued to work into old age, making her final screen appearance in 1994 at the age of 87. Hepburn is remembered as an important cultural figure, as she came to epitomize the "modern woman" in 20th-century America and helped change perceptions of women. This publicity photograph of Hepburn was taken around 1941.Photograph credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, restored by Adam Cuerden

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Today's featured article

Methanol (left) looks and smells like ethanol (right).

More than 70 people died of methanol poisoning in the Russian city of Irkutsk in December 2016. Caused by the consumption of adulterated surrogate alcohol, it was the deadliest such incident in Russia's post-Soviet history. Russian consumption of surrogate alcohol rose rapidly in the early 2010s amid worsening economic conditions because they were commonly available and cost less than government-regulated vodka. In the Irkutsk incident, people drank hawthorn-scented bath oil which was typically made with and labeled as containing drinkable ethanol. At least one batch was made instead with a toxic amount of methanol (pictured with ethanol), causing injuries and deaths among residents of Novo-Lenino, a neighborhood in Irkutsk. An investigation found that the surrogate alcohol's producer sourced the methanol from an employee of a local windshield washer fluid production facility. The Russian government increased punishments for illegally producing and selling alcohol, and they made it more difficult to acquire surrogate alcohol. (Full article...)

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In The News...

Klaus Iohannis

President of Romania Klaus Iohannis (pictured) resigns from office, and is succeeded by Ilie Bolojan.
The Baltic states complete synchronization of their power grids with continental Europe's, disconnecting from Russia's.
The ruling Vetëvendosje party, led by Albin Kurti, wins the most seats in the Assembly of Kosovo.
The Patriotic Union, led by Brigitte Haas, wins the most seats in the Landtag of Liechtenstein.

About Me

Not much to say really other than my favourite music genre is rock (more specifically Post-Hardcore Rock or Metal), my favourite pet is the Mongolian gerbil, my favourite colour is red and my favourite food is fish.

My favourite bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down, Nightwish, Panic! at the Disco, Trivium, Enter Shikari and Sepultura.

My Favourite shade of the colour red is crimson.

My favourite type of fish is tuna.

Map sources for Starom at grid reference SE751030