appeared in the Late Cretaceous, and include true crocodiles,
alligators, caimans, and gharials. Solidly built animals, they have long
flattened snouts, eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head and
laterally compressed tails. Their skin is thick and covered in scales;
they have conical teeth and a powerful bite. They swim well and can move
quite rapidly on land. They are found mainly in lowlands in the tropics,
but alligators are also found in the United States (American alligator
pictured) and China. They are largely carnivorous; some specialise on
fish while others have generalised diets. They are typically solitary
and territorial. In some species, females care for their young. Eight
species have attacked humans, the largest number of attacks being by the
Nile crocodile. Crocodilian populations are threatened by habitat
destruction and being hunted by humans, but farming the reptiles has
reduced the unlawful trade in wild skins. They have appeared in art
since at least Ancient Egypt. Tales of crocodile tears date to the 9th
century, repeated by Sir John Mandeville in 1400 and William
Shakespeare.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1343:
Pope Clement VI (cameo pictured) issued the papal bull
Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VI>
1785:
The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, one of the oldest
public universities in the United States, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia>
1944:
World War II: The Soviet Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
successfully lifted the Siege of Leningrad, 872 days after it began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad>
1967:
The Apollo 1 spacecraft was destroyed by fire at the Kennedy
Space Center, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger
Chaffee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1>
1974:
The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of Brisbane,
broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Brisbane_flood>
2011:
Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution began as over 16,000
protestors demonstrated in Sana'a to demand governmental changes.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Revolution>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cop on:
(Ireland, informal, idiomatic) Common sense.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cop_on>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Customs and convictions change; respectable people are the
last to know, or to admit, the change, and the ones most offended by
fresh reflections of the facts in the mirror of art.
--John Updike
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike>
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