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Today's featured article

San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1

The Olmec colossal heads are at least 17 monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads date from at least before 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature men with fleshy cheeks, flat noses and slightly crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, a mountain range in Veracruz. It is thought that the finished monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each is given a distinctive headdress. The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres. Dating the monuments remains difficult due to the movement of many from their original context prior to archaeological investigation. Most have been dated to the Early Preclassic period (1500–1000 BC) with some to the Middle Preclassic period (1000–400 BC). (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Battle of Lodi, part of the Italian Campaign

... that the Italian Campaign of 1796–1797 (battle pictured) demonstrated that Napoleon was a "great strategist"?
... that Muhammad Khaznadar's museum was said to have "surpassed every other museum in the world" in Phoenician and Carthaginian antiquities?
... that William, Prince of Wales, inspired the character of Prince Wheeliam in Cars 2?
... that Hurry Up Tomorrow is planned to be the Weeknd's final album under his stage name?
... that Columbus Airport saw commercial air service before being certified for public use by the Civil Aeronautics Authority?
... that Lisa Blatt, the first woman to argue 50 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, "elicits laughs and the occasional sharp response from the justices"?
... that Oxford is the first city in the United Kingdom to adopt a zero emission zone?
... that although Pachyballus ornatus is named for its bright pattern, the female is dark and plain while young?
... that retired model Leticia Sardá had no idea that she was the subject of a four-year global search?

In the news

Iranian missiles being intercepted

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Israel invades Lebanon, and Iran launches missiles (pictured) against Israel.
Shigeru Ishiba becomes Prime Minister of Japan after winning the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
Flooding in Nepal leaves more than 200 people dead, including 37 in the nation's capital, Kathmandu.
In Australian rules football, the Brisbane Lions defeat the Sydney Swans to win the AFL Grand Final.
Hurricane Helene leaves more than 100 people dead across the southeastern United States.

Today's featured picture

A pastoral scene of a lone house, composed using Blender, an open source 3D computer graphics software. Blender can be used for a number of applications and is available for a wide variety of operating systems.

Image credit: Michael Otto

Recently featured: American Robin – Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima – Stonemasonry

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On this day...

October 4: Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden and Finland

Seal of Otto IV

1209 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (seal pictured), was crowned.
1363 – Red Turban Rebellions: The rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang won the Battle of Lake Poyang by deploying ships intentionally set aflame when the emperor tried to escape.
1918 – An ammunition plant in Sayreville, New Jersey, U.S., exploded, killing around 100 people and destroying more than 300 buildings.
1957 – The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
2003 – A suicide bomber killed 21 people, including a two-month-old baby, and injured 60 others inside a restaurant in Haifa, Israel.

Charles Pearson (b. 1793)
Maurice Wilder-Neligan (b. 1882)
Henrietta Lacks (d. 1951)
Gunpei Yokoi (d. 1997)

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