Main Page

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Knuckles' Chaotix is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Sega for the 32X, first released on April 20, 1995. A spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game features Knuckles the Echidna and the four Chaotix, who try to prevent Doctor Robotnik and Metal Sonic from conquering a mysterious island. Development of the game can be traced to Sonic Crackers, a 1994 prototype for the Sega Genesis featuring Sonic and Tails. Development transitioned to the 32X under the working title Knuckles' Ringstar. Sonic and Tails were removed from the game and replaced by Knuckles and four other characters, including Mighty the Armadillo, who first appeared in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993). Critical reception to Knuckles' Chaotix has been mixed, and the physics of a new tethering system was faulted as cumbersome. Some characters and concepts introduced in the game were featured in later Sonic games and media. Despite interest from fans, the game has not been rereleased beyond a brief period through GameTap in the mid-2000s. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Metro bus and light rail passing in the tunnel

... that Central Link trains share a tunnel with buses (pictured) in Downtown Seattle?
... that John Fraser, a young Scottish surgeon, proved Nobel Prize winner Robert Koch wrong?
... that Russia's Law Against Rehabilitation of Nazism, compared by proponents to laws against Holocaust denial, was used to prosecute a blogger discussing German–Soviet cooperation?
... that in 1844, Thomas D. Keizur was elected captain of the Oregon Rangers, the first militia unit authorized and formed in the Oregon Country?
... that Koyunbaba Bridge is the longest stone arch bridge in Anatolia built during the Ottoman Empire?
... that Canadian association footballer Liam Millar scored a hat-trick in his debut for Liverpool U18s against Blackburn Rovers U18s?
... that singer Rihanna's Fenty Beauty cosmetics line was named one of Time magazine's best inventions of 2017?
... that the archaeologist Peter Addyman was awarded the right to drive three beasts across a bridge in York?

In the news

Miguel Díaz-Canel

Swaziland's King Mswati III officially renames the country the Kingdom of eSwatini.
Miguel Díaz-Canel (pictured) succeeds Raúl Castro as President of Cuba.
In horse racing, Tiger Roll wins the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in the United Kingdom.
The United States, United Kingdom and France strike multiple government targets in Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma.

On this day...

April 20: Ridván begins at sunset (Bahá'í Faith); 4/20 (cannabis culture)

Danica Patrick

1535 – The appearance of sun dogs over Stockholm, Sweden, inspired the painting Vädersolstavlan, the oldest colour depiction of the city.
1818 – Four days after the Court of King's Bench in England upheld a murder suspect's right to trial by battle in Ashford v Thornton, the plaintiff declined to fight, allowing the defendant to go free.
1968 – British Member of Parliament Enoch Powell made his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech in opposition to immigration and anti-discrimination legislation, resulting in his removal from the Shadow Cabinet.
1978 – Soviet fighters shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 902 after it violated Soviet airspace.
2008 – American Danica Patrick (pictured) won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar auto race.

John Clarke (d. 1676) · John Abernethy (d. 1831) · Nina Davuluri (b. 1989)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

William F. Durand

The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 after a trust fund was created in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of the NAA. It is awarded to a living American for "significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States." The presentation of the award is made annually at the Aero Club of Washington, as close as possible to December 17 each year, the day on which, in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first flight in an airplane. The inaugural recipient of the trophy was William F. Durand (pictured), "a pioneer in aeronautics, naval propulsion and engineering research methods". Until 2010, winners of the award received a trophy depicting the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer aircraft. From 2010 onwards, a redesigned trophy featuring a silver obelisk and bronze inscription has been awarded. The trophy has only been awarded to women on three occasions. The most recent winner of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, in 2017, was John R. Dailey. (Full list...)