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From today's featured article

Caricature of the Berners Street hoax by William Heath

The Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by the writer Theodore Hook in London in 1810. He made a bet that he could transform any property into the most talked-about address in London. He spent six weeks sending between 1000 and 4000 letters to tradespeople and businesses ordering deliveries of their goods and services to 54 Berners Street, London, at various times on the same day. Several well-known people were also invited to call on the address, including the chairmen of the Bank of England and the East India Company, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Lord Mayor of London. Chimney sweeps began arriving at the address at 5:00 am on the day, followed by hundreds of traders and businessmen; goods deliveries included organs, furniture, coal and a coffin. The police were not able to clear the street until after the final influx of visitors at 5:00 pm. Hook was unidentified at the time, but admitted his involvement in a semi-autobiographical novel published twenty-five years later. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Miniature depiction of the siege of Shaizar

... that after an earthquake wiped out Shaizar's ruling family, crusaders tried to seize the city (pictured) but quarreled and left?
... that Anacaona was the subject of a popular salsa song centuries after her death?
... that the song "Michelle Pfeiffer" has been described as possessing "a cresting emotionality grand enough to fill the tallest IMAX screen"?
... that the printed edition of the Woodstock Letters runs almost 50,000 pages, covering nearly 13 feet (4 metres) of shelving?
... that some exoplanets are evaporating catastrophically?
... that 11 of the 27 Italian generals who died during the First World War perished during the last six months?
... that American football kicker Brian Hall used a prosthetic leg?
... that Jacqueline Wilson worked with Disability Rights UK when writing The Best Sleepover in the World?
... that Laila Friis-Salling took up skiing due to a bet?

In the news

Jim Lovell in 1969

American astronaut Jim Lovell (pictured) dies at the age of 97.
A helicopter crashes in Ashanti Region, Ghana, killing all on board, including two current ministers (Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed).
In cycling, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins the Tour de France Femmes.
In association football, the Copa América Femenina concludes with Brazil defeating Colombia in the final.

On this day

August 11

1975 Ford Pinto

106 – The region of Dacia, comprising parts of modern Romania, became a province of the Roman Empire.
1952 – King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and was succeeded by his eldest son Hussein.
1975 – The Timorese Democratic Union launches a coup in Portuguese Timor, starting the East Timorese civil war.
1977 – The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the alleged vulnerability of the Ford Pinto (example pictured) to fuel leakage and fire in a rear-end collision.
1999 – The Salt Lake City Tornado hit downtown Salt Lake City, damaging 120 homes and injuring over 100 people.

Guttorm of Norway (d. 1204)
Wanda Wesołowska (b. 1950)
Steve Wozniak (b. 1950)
Robin Williams (d. 2014)

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From today's featured list

Playing hall of the 80th Tata Steel Tournament, 2018

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in January in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Top grandmasters compete in the tournament, but regular club players are welcome to play in the lower groups. The Masters group pits fourteen of the world's best players against each other in a round-robin tournament, and has sometimes been described as the "Wimbledon of Chess". Of the fifteen undisputed World Chess Champions since the first tournament in 1938, only five have not won it. Magnus Carlsen holds the record for most wins at the tournament, with eight. Viswanathan Anand is the only other player to have won the event five or more times, with five titles to his name. R Praggnanandhaa is the defending champion after defeating Gukesh Dommaraju in tiebreaks in 2025. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The graceful pitta (Erythropitta venusta) is a species of bird in the family Pittidae. It occurs on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The graceful pitta has a length of around 18 cm (7.1 in) in length. It is a predominantly black bird with reddish undertones, the bottom of its wings featuring vivid blue stripes while the lower breast and abdomen are crimson. It has a call which has been described as resembling a high-pitched train whistle which remains at a consistent pitch. The graceful pitta is very rare and is at risk and vulnerable. Although it has been legally protected from hunting since 1931, it is threatened by habitat loss as a result of deforestation. This graceful pitta was photographed in tropical rainforest at Sumatra's Barisan Mountains.

Photograph credit: JJ Harrison

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