Connor Barth, a placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, prepares to kick a field goal during the first quarter of the Bucs v. New York Giants National Football League military appreciation game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 8, 2015.
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from July 26 through August 22. For nominations and nominators, see the featured contents' talk pages.
An Orangutan
A clay tessera bearing a possible depiction of
Odaenathus wearing a
diadem
Orangutans(
nominated by
LittleJerry) are
great apes native to Indonesia and Malaysia. They are found in the
rainforests of
Borneo and
Sumatra, but during the
Pleistocene they ranged throughout
Southeast Asia and
South China. The most
arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. They have proportionally long arms and short legs and their hair is reddish-brown. Orangutans are among the most intelligent
primates. All three orangutan species are considered
critically endangered. Human activities have caused severe declines in populations and ranges. Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching,
habitat destruction because of
palm oil cultivation, and the illegal
pet trade. Several conservation and rehabilitation organisations are dedicated to the survival of orangutans in the wild.
Horseshoe bats(
nominated by
Enwebb) are
bats in the family 'Rhinolophidae'. In addition to the single living
genus, Rhinolophus, which has about 106 species, the extinct genus Palaeonycteris has also been recognized. Horseshoe bats are considered small or medium-sized
microbats, weighing 4–28 g (0.14–0.99 oz), with forearm lengths of 30–75 mm (1.2–3.0 in) and combined lengths of head and body of 35–110 mm (1.4–4.3 in). Horseshoe bats are relevant to humans in some regions as a source of disease, as food, and
traditional medicine. Several species are the natural reservoirs of
SARS coronavirus, though
masked palm civets were the intermediate hosts through which humans became infected. Some evidence suggests that some species could be the natural reservoir of
SARS-CoV-2, which causes
coronavirus disease 2019. They are hunted for food in several regions, particularly
sub-Saharan Africa, but also
Southeast Asia. Some species or their
guano are used in traditional medicine in Nepal, India, Vietnam, and Senegal.
Siamosaurus(
nominated by
PaleoGeekSquared) is a
genus of
spinosauriddinosaur that lived in what is now
Thailand during the
Early Cretaceousperiod (
Barremian to
Aptian) and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth
fossils; the first were found in the
Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger
Khok Kruat Formation. Like in all spinosaurids, Siamosaurus' teeth were conical, with reduced or absent
serrations. This made them suitable for impaling rather than tearing flesh, a trait typically seen in largely
piscivorous (fish-eating) animals. Spinosaurids are also known to have consumed
pterosaurs and small dinosaurs, and there is fossil evidence of Siamosaurus itself feeding on
sauropod dinosaurs, either via
scavenging or active hunting. Siamosaurus' role as a partially piscivorous predator may have reduced the prominence of some contemporaneous crocodilians competing for the same food sources.
Isotope analysis of the teeth of Siamosaurus and other spinosaurids indicates
semiaquatic habits. Siamosaurus lived in a
semi-arid habitat of
floodplains and meandering rivers, where it coexisted with other dinosaurs, as well as pterosaurs, fishes, turtles, and
crocodyliforms.
The Treaty of Lutatius(
nominated by
Gog the Mild) was the agreement of 241 BC between
Carthage and
Rome which ended the
First Punic War after 23 years. Accepting defeat, the Carthaginian
Senate ordered their commander on Sicily to negotiate a
peace treaty. A treaty was agreed by which Carthage would hand over what it still held of Sicily, relinquish several groups of islands nearby, release all Roman prisoners without ransom, and pay large
reparations over 10 years. In 237 BC Carthage prepared an expedition to recover the island of
Sardinia, which had been lost to rebels. Cynically, the Romans announced that this an act of war and that their peace terms were the ceding of Sardinia and
Corsica and the payment of an additional indemnity; these were added to the treaty as a codicil.
Al-Hafiz(
nominated by
Cplakidas) was the eleventh
caliph of the
Fatimids from 1132 to his death in 1149. Many
Isma'ili followers abroad refused to recognize him and even in Egypt there were uprisings throughout his reign. He tried to restrain his over-mighty
viziers, with mixed success. He was repeatedly forced to give way to the demands of various military factions, and ultimately was unable to halt the evolution of the vizierate into a de factosultanate, independent of the caliph. His successors would be reduced to puppets at the hands of powerful viziers, until the end of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171.
Infinity Science Fiction(
nominated by
Mike Christie) was an American
science fiction magazine, edited by
Larry T. Shaw, and published by Royal Publications. The first issue, which appeared in November 1955, included
Arthur C. Clarke's "
The Star", a story about a planet destroyed by a
nova (an exploding star) that turns out to have been the
Star of Bethlehem; it won the
Hugo Award for that year. Shaw obtained stories from some of the leading writers of the day, including
Brian Aldiss,
Isaac Asimov, and
Robert Sheckley, but the material was of variable quality. In 1958
Irwin Stein, the owner of Royal Publications, decided to shut down Infinity; the last issue was dated November 1958. The title was revived a decade later by Stein's publishing house,
Lancer Books, as a paperback anthology series. Five volumes were published between 1970 and 1973, edited by
Robert Hoskins; a sixth was prepared but withdrawn after Lancer ran into financial problems at the end of 1973.
The qibla(
nominated by
HaEr48) is the direction towards the
Kaaba in the
Sacred Mosque,
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, such as serving as the including the
direction of the
salah or ritual prayer.
The Roman withdrawal from Africa in 255 BC(
nominated by
Gog the Mild) was the attempt by the Roman Republic to rescue the survivors of their defeated expeditionary force to Carthaginian Africa (in what is now northeastern Tunisia) during the First Punic War. A force of 390 warships fought and defeated 200 Carthaginian vessels and the Roman survivors of the previous year's invasion were evacuated. While returning to Italy the Roman fleet encountered a storm off the south-east corner of Sicily: 384 ships were sunk and more than 100,000 men were lost.
Featured lists
Sigourney Weaver at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Vilnius Historic Centre, a World Heritage Site in Lithuania.
Ernst van Dyk has won the Boston Marathon ten times, more than any other athlete.
In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when he hits a fair ball and reaches home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error. One hundred and twenty-seven players(
nominated by
Bloom6132) have hit a home run in their first at bat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Keibert Ruiz of the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 16, 2020. George Tebeau and Mike Griffin both hit home runs in their first at bats on April 16, 1887. Both players are recognized as the first player to homer in his first major league at bat because the exact time when each home run was hit is unclear.
Since July 2009, Israeli broadcast monitoring service
Media Forest has been publishing four rankings which list the top ten most-broadcast Romanian and foreign songs on Romanian radio stations and television channels separately on a weekly basis. In 2009, eight and eleven singles(
nominated by
Cartoon network freak) were listed by Media Forest as the most-broadcast tracks on radio and television respectively.
Sigourney Weaver is an American actor, playwright, and producer who first began acting in plays in the early 1970s. Throughout her career she has acted in nearly 40 stage productions(
nominated by
HAL333). She made her film debut with a minor role in the
Woody Allen-directed Annie Hall (1977). Her breakthrough role was as
Ellen Ripley in the
Ridley Scott-directed Alien (1979). She reprised the role in Aliens (1986), this time helmed by director
James Cameron. Her performance netted her a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actress. She would reprise the role in two more sequels: Alien 3 (1992) and Alien: Resurrection (1997), both of which were not as well-received. Although originally written as a man, Ripley is now regarded as one of the most significant female protagonists in cinema history, and consequently, Weaver is considered to be a pioneer of action heroines in
science fiction films
The
Boston Marathon, one of the six
World Marathon Majors, is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) race which has been held in the
Greater Boston area in
Massachusetts since 1897. It is the oldest annual
marathon in the world. The event is held on
Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Various factors meant that until 1957 the course varied in length, due to which the marathon recognizes several course records that are slower than previous records due to being run on longer courses. The first Boston Marathon included only 15 runners, all of whom were men, and was won by
John McDermott. The race was cancelled for the first time in its history in 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The winners(
nominated by
Harrias) have represented 27 different countries: Americans have won the marathon the most, doing so on 108 occasions; Kenyans have won 34 times; and Canadians 21 times.
Ernst van Dyk is the most successful individual athlete, having won the men's wheelchair division ten times. The current course records are held by
Geoffrey Mutai,
Buzunesh Deba,
Marcel Hug and
Manuela Schär.
The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship(
nominated by
Grapple X) was a
professional wrestling championship that was contested in
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimination tournament; its subsequent lineage ended when the final champion
Brad Armstrong was stripped of the title due to injury. A second tournament to decide Armstrong's successor was announced, but never took place. The title was held by four different champions; the inaugural champion
Brian Pillman was the only wrestler to win it on more than one occasion. The light heavyweight division which contested the championship had proved popular with fans, but its viability suffered as a result of WCW's creative decisions; in 1992,
Bill Watts became the head
booker, and implemented storyline changes in WCW's product which stymied the division's style. WCW would later introduce a similar title as the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship; the two titles are now considered one and the same by the wrestling promotion
WWE, which purchased WCW's assets in 2001.
Clark Gable (1901–1960) was an American actor and producer who appeared in over 70 feature films and several short films(
nominated by
HAL333). Gable first began acting in stage productions, before his film debut in 1924. After many minor roles, Gable landed a leading role in 1931, subsequently becoming one of the most dominant
leading men in Hollywood. He often acted alongside reoccurring
leading ladies: six films with
Jean Harlow, six with
Myrna Loy, eight with
Joan Crawford, and four with
Lana Turner, among many others. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in cinematic history.
The DHL Fastest Lap Award(
nominated by
MWright96) is given annually by the courier,
Formula One global partner and logistics provider
DHL "to recognise the driver who most consistently demonstrates pure speed, with the fastest lap at the highest number of races each season", and to reward the winning driver for "characteristics such as excellent performance, passion, can-do attitude, reliability and precision". First awarded in
2007 by DHL, the trophy's official naming patron, it is presented to the driver with the highest number of
fastest laps over the course of the season, with one point awarded to the fastest lap holder of a
Grand Prix.
The
Hennepin County Library, which serves
Hennepin County, Minnesota, including the city of
Minneapolis, consists of 41 branches(
nominated by
Bobamnertiopsis) in 24 cities and towns. Of these, 15 are in Minneapolis; collectively they made up the Minneapolis Public Library until they were absorbed by the Hennepin system in the merger. Four branches (Central, Franklin, Hosmer, and Sumner) were originally founded as
Carnegie libraries. Several other libraries, separate from the system, also operate within the county's boundaries.
The John Arlott Cup for the PCA Young Player of the Year(
nominated by
Harrias) is an annual
cricket award presented to the player who is adjudged to be the most promising young player in English
county cricket. Only players that are aged under 24 on 1 April of the awarding year are eligible for the prize.
Michael Atherton was the first winner of the award in 1990. Two players,
Kabir Ali and
Alastair Cook, have won the award twice, both doing so in successive years; Ali in 2002 and 2003, and Cook in 2005 and 2006. Representatives of thirteen of the eighteen first-class counties have won the award.
Yorkshire players have collected the most awards, doing so on six occasions.
Connor Barth, a placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, prepares to kick a field goal during the first quarter of the Bucs v. New York Giants National Football League military appreciation game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 8, 2015. (created by U.S. Air Force, photographer Ned T. Johnston;
nominated by
Bammesk)
"George Kleine presents the Cines photo drama Quo Vadis: Lygia Bound to the Wild Bull." Chromolithograph poster for 1913 film. (restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
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