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Gwen Stefani

"Shine" is a song written and recorded by American singer Gwen Stefani (pictured) featuring Pharrell Williams, who also produced the song. Originally intended for Stefani's band No Doubt, it is a reggae pop and ska song that is featured in the 2014 live-action/animated film Paddington in the United States and Canada. The lyrics revolve around the lead character Paddington Bear's journey to London and his identity crisis. Stefani initially disagreed with Williams' choice to use direct references to Paddington in the lyrics, but praised this decision after watching the film with her children. She reported that her involvement with the recording was inspired by her then-husband Gavin Rossdale and her children's connection to England. Critical response to "Shine" was mixed; some praised Stefani and Williams's chemistry, while others compared it negatively to their previous collaborations. Commentators frequently likened it to Williams's 2013 single "Happy" and Stefani's 2014 song "Spark the Fire". (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Chandigarh chair

... that the Chandigarh chair (example pictured) gained recognition in the West after European dealers displayed discarded chairs bought from the local government "for peanuts"?
... that Hajime Kawakami once donated all of his belongings in accordance with his interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount?
... that teams of college students have competed in the World Geography Bowl at the American Association of Geographers' annual meeting since 1993?
... that Yepi Pauu was "the greatest Tongan ever to play arena football"?
... that the Epson MX-80 was the best-selling dot-matrix printer during its market lifespan?
... that Mamadali Kurbanov rose from being a miner to a head of government within seven years?
... that Willemstad pupfish seemingly do not run out of food regardless of how many of them there are?
... that the officer who led a mutiny aboard HMS Chesterfield in 1748 later admitted that he had been "lunatick" with alcohol the entire time?

In the news

Faustin-Archange Touadéra

Following a Saudi-led offensive, Yemeni government forces take control of Aden, the capital of the Southern Transitional Council.
Faustin-Archange Touadéra (pictured) is re-elected as the president of the Central African Republic.
Delcy Rodríguez is sworn in as the interim president of Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro during United States strikes on the capital.
Luke Littler wins the PDC World Darts Championship.

On this day

January 13: Saint Knut's Day in Finland and Sweden

Delegates at the first Feminist Congress of Yucatán

1815 – British troops captured Fort Peter in St. Marys, in the only battle of the War of 1812 to take place in the state of Georgia.
1916 – The first Feminist Congress of Yucatán (delegates pictured) began in Mérida, Mexico, to propose reforms for women's social, educational, and legal rights.
1949 – In the first recorded instance of strike action by Catholic laity against the clergy, gravediggers at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City, went on strike.
2001 – The first of two large earthquakes in the span of a month struck El Salvador, killing at least 944 people and destroying over 100,000 homes.
2003 – The trans-Neptunian object 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory, California.

Æthelwulf, King of Wessex (d. 858)
Brynhild Olivier (d. 1935)
Maon Kurosaki (b. 1988)
Guido Dessauer (d. 2012)

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Today's featured picture

Paxillus involutus, the common roll-rim, is a fungus that is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and has also been unintentionally introduced to Australia, New Zealand, and South America. The brownish fruit body grows up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) high. It has a funnel-shaped cap up to 12 centimetres (5 in) wide, with a distinctive in-rolled rim and decurrent gills close to the stalk. Genetic testing suggests that the fungus may be a species complex rather than a single species. A common mushroom of deciduous and coniferous woods and grassy areas in late summer and autumn, P. involutus is symbiotic with the roots of many tree species, reducing the trees' intake of heavy metals and increasing their resistance to pathogens. Previously considered to be edible and eaten widely in Eastern and Central Europe, the mushroom has been found to be dangerously poisonous; the German mycologist Julius Schäffer died from ingesting it in 1944. It can trigger the immune system to attack red blood cells with potentially fatal complications, including acute renal and respiratory failure. This P. involutus mushroom was photographed on Golovec, a hill near Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Photograph credit: Petar Milošević

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