Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Its appearance in life is evidenced only
by 17th-century paintings and written accounts that vary considerably,
so its exact appearance is a mystery. Little is certain about its
habitat and behaviour. Subfossil remains show the Dodo was about one
1 metre (3.3 feet) tall and may have weighed 10–18 kg (22–40 lb).
It is presumed that the Dodo became flightless because of the ready
availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of
predators on Mauritius. The first recorded mention of the Dodo was by
Dutch sailors in 1598. In the following years, the bird was preyed upon
by hungry sailors, their domesticated animals, and invasive species
introduced during that time. The last widely accepted sighting of a Dodo
was in 1662. Its extinction within only about a century of its discovery
called attention to the previously unrecognised problem of human
involvement in the disappearance of entire species. The Dodo achieved
widespread recognition from its role in Alice in Wonderland, and it has
become a fixture in popular culture, often as a symbol of extinction and
obsolescence.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1253:
Mindaugas, the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania, was crowned
as King of Lithuania, the only person to ever hold that title.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindaugas>
1411:
Ming Dynasty Admiral Zheng He returned to Nanjing after his
second voyage and presented the Sinhalese king, captured during the
Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming%E2%80%93Kotte_War>
1809:
Napoleon's French forces defeated Archduke Charles' Austrian
army at the Battle of Wagram, the decisive confrontation of the War of
the Fifth Coalition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wagram>
1885:
French chemists Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux successfully
tested their vaccine against rabies on nine-year-old Joseph Meister
after he was bitten by an infected dog.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies_vaccine>
1978:
A sleeping car train at Taunton, England, caught fire, killing
12 people and causing British Rail to install state-of-the art fire
prevention measures.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taunton_sleeping_car_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Higgs boson:
(physics) A hypothetical elementary particle predicted by the Standard
Model; a boson with zero spin, it is thought to give mass to other
particles.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Higgs_boson>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I feel that the essence of spiritual practice is your attitude
toward others. When you have a pure, sincere motivation, then you have
right attitude toward others based on kindness, compassion, love and
respect. Practice brings the clear realisation of the oneness of all
human beings and the importance of others benefiting by your actions.
--Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tenzin_Gyatso,_14th_Dalai_Lama>
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