pairs of jointed legs on most body segments. Most species have long
cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill
millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball. There are around 12,000
named species, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods. Despite
their name (from the Latin for "thousand feet"), no known species has
1,000 legs; the most recorded is 750. Most species are detritivores,
eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter. Millipedes are
generally harmless to humans, although some can become household or
garden pests. Most defend themselves with a variety of chemicals
secreted from pores along the body, while the tiny bristle millipedes
are covered with tufts of detachable bristles. First appearing in the
Silurian period, millipedes are some of the oldest known land animals.
While the largest modern species can reach lengths of 38 cm (15 in),
some prehistoric millipedes grew to over 2 m (6 ft 7 in).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millipede>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1202:
The first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first
attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders, the Siege of Zara,
began in Zadar, Croatia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Zara>
1766:
William Franklin, the last Royal Governor of New Jersey, signed
the charter establishing Queen's College, now known as Rutgers
University.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutgers_University>
1940:
A magnitude 7.7 ML earthquake struck the Vrancea region of
Romania, the country's strongest earthquake in the 20th century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Vrancea_earthquake>
1958:
Merchant Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond, the "most
famous diamond in the world", to the Smithsonian Institution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond>
2006:
Prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer
Nadarajah Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadarajah_Raviraj>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stemware:
Drinking glasses that have a stem, such as wine glasses or champagne
flutes.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stemware>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All your questions can be answered, if that is what you want. But
once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them.
--American Gods
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/American_Gods>
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