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From today's featured article

Shigeru Miyamoto, Donkey Kong's creator

Donkey Kong is a character created by Shigeru Miyamoto (pictured) for the Japanese video game company Nintendo. He stars in the Donkey Kong franchise while also appearing in the Mario franchise. Donkey Kong is a large, powerful gorilla who leads the Kong family of simians. Stubborn and buffoonish, he attacks using barrels. Donkey Kong debuted as the antagonist in Donkey Kong (1981), characterized as Mario's rebellious pet. Since Donkey Kong Country (1994), he has appeared as a player character protecting his stash of bananas. Donkey Kong has also appeared in animation, comics, children's books, theme park attractions, and merchandise such as Lego toys. Journalists regard Donkey Kong as one of the greatest video game characters. The Donkey Kong franchise was Nintendo's first major international success and remains one of its bestselling franchises. Donkey Kong has been the subject of analysis regarding his gender role and his transition from villain to hero. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Candle salad

... that a candle salad (example pictured) was once described as "probably the only arts and crafts project on TV to ever run the risk of being blurred out by the network censors"?
... that the video-game adaptation of Little Nicky allows the player to print their results using the Game Boy Printer?
... that during the Siege of Auximus, a bodyguard saved Belisarius's life by blocking an arrow with his hand?
... that Lamarr Wilson was known for his unorthodox reviews, once testing a "spill-proof" mug by hitting it with a baseball bat?
... that Cathy Cassidy wrote her debut novel Dizzy in three months?
... that the Master of the Cité des dames workshop made illustrations for the works of Christine de Pizan that would serve as models for other illustrators?
... that the Legends of Tomorrow episode "Phone Home" was inspired by the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
... that submerging a dog in motor oil was a pseudoscientific method used to treat infestations of Demodex injai?
... that a splinter denomination of the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith taught that all humans pre-existed in Adam's "seed"?

In the news

José Jerí

José Jerí (pictured) is removed as the president of Peru by Congress, and replaced by José María Balcázar.
American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson dies at the age of 84.
The Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, wins the Bangladeshi general election.
In the Barbadian general election, the Labour Party wins a third term and every seat in the House of Assembly.

On this day

February 22

Daytona International Speedway

1371 – Robert II became King of Scots as the first monarch of the House of Stewart.
1959 – Lee Petty won the first edition of the Daytona 500, a NASCAR auto race at the Daytona International Speedway (pictured) in Florida.
1974 – Samuel Byck attempted to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate U.S. president Richard Nixon, but he was stopped by police.
2006 – Seven men staged the largest cash robbery in Britain at a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom.
2019 – A group broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spain, and stole several mobile telephones and digital storage devices.

Peder Syv (b. 1631)
James Russell Lowell (b. 1819)
Clarence 13X (b. 1928)
Bronwyn Oliver (b. 1959)

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Today's featured picture

Shapur II (309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings, the monarch of the Sasanian Empire in what is now Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the longest-reigning monarch in Sasanian history. The son of Hormizd II, who reigned from 302 to 309, Shapur's reign saw the military resurgence of the Sasanian Empire and the expansion of its territory. This included, at the age of 16, successful military campaigns against Arab insurrections and tribes, and later campaigns against the Roman Empire, the invasion of Armenia, and expansion into India. This photograph shows a 4th-century silver bust of the head of a Sasanian king, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is not known with certainty which king is depicted, but it may be Shapur II.

Sculpture credit: unknown

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