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From today's featured article

Thugs about to strangle a traveller

Thuggee was a phenomenon of highway robbery in the Indian subcontinent that saw gangs of Thugs murder and rob travellers, often by strangling. During the British colonial era, thuggee came to be represented and popularised as a secret pan-Indian fraternity of ritual stranglers with ancient origins, motivated by fanaticism and bloodlust. In the 1830s, colonial administrator William Henry Sleeman led a policing campaign against thuggee, supported by legal developments that facilitated convictions. The success of the 1839 novel Confessions of a Thug inspired a number of depictions in literature and film, among them Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Historians have since revised the 19th-century portrayal, generally viewing the Thugs as more or less ordinary criminals, or thuggee as a type of banditry. There is a general consensus among contemporary historians against the colonial-era representation. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Rancho San Rafael Regional Park

... that there were two elephants at the grand opening of Rancho San Rafael Regional Park (pictured)?
... that Jodie Foster walked off the set when Swiss director Nicolas Gessner called for a nude scene?
... that the music video for Thundercat and Mac Miller's "She Knows Too Much" consists of several animated mediums?
... that restaurateur Jeffrey Gildenhorn ran for mayor of Washington, D.C., on a platform of legalizing prostitution?
... that the 1985 Greek constitutional crisis "raised a potential danger to the balance of power in the Mediterranean"?
... that teacher Lucio Huaycho was elected to the parliament of Bolivia partly thanks to the high social standing of educators in rural areas?
... that Everett Transit has a licensed Matchbox toy bus?
... that Darfurian sultan Muhammad Tayrab cut off the beard of a rebellious chief whom he had defeated, and displayed it as a trophy in his house?
... that Taku, Taku, Taku, and Takou comprised the Taku-class destroyers?

Help us improve this article!

Two aircraft mechanics servicing a rotary aircraft engine

This week's article for improvement is mechanic, a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery.

You can improve this article by:

Finding reliable sources about the topic
Expanding the "Duties" section
Adding information about other types of mechanics

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In the news

Hôtel de Ville the day after the fire

Two high-impact security vulnerabilities in PHP cause disruptions to many online services.
The Hôtel de Ville in Limoges is partially destroyed by arson (damage pictured) as fuel and student protests escalate in France.
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures votes to effectively abolish the leap second over concerns about disruptions to computer systems.
The Houthis launch a series of attacks on Saudi Arabian airports, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 370 others.

On this day

October 23: Mole Day

Marco Simoncelli in 2011

1157 – The Battle of Grathe Heath ended the Danish Civil War.
1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flew his biplane 14-bis for 50 metres (160 ft) at an altitude of about four metres (13 ft).
1956 – The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration that attracted thousands while marching through central Budapest to the parliament building.
2011 – During the Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, Marco Simoncelli (pictured) collided with two other riders, resulting in his death due to serious trauma to the head, neck, and chest.

Stefano Franscini (b. 1796)
Emilia Clarke (b. 1986)
Bill Nicholson (d. 2004)
Otto Barch (d. 2025)

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From today's featured list

Ice dance medalists at the 2019 Internationaux de France

The Grand Prix de France is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the French Federation of Ice Sports. The first iteration of the Grand Prix de France was held in 1987 in Paris. When the ISU launched the Grand Prix Series in 1995, the Grand Prix de France was one of the five qualifying events. It has been a Grand Prix event every year since, except for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grand Prix de France has been held under several names: the Grand Prix International de Paris, the Trophée de France, the Trophée Lalique, the Trophée Éric Bompard, and the Internationaux de France. Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earn points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are invited to then compete at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The 2026 Grand Prix de France is scheduled to be held from 23 to 25 October in Angers. (Full list...)

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Today's featured video

Man with a Movie Camera is a 1929 Soviet experimental silent documentary film written and directed by Dziga Vertov. Filmed over around three years, the film depicts urban life in Moscow, Kyiv and Odesa, with some scenes also filmed in Kharkiv. Initially criticised for its experimentation and emphasis on form over content, the film is now highly regarded, ranking ninth in the 2022 Sight & Sound critics' poll of the greatest films ever made.

Film credit: Dziga Vertov

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