Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 August 17

Alison Goldfrapp

Supernature is the third studio album by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp, released on 17 August 2005 by Mute Records. Its blend of pop and electronic dance music was complimented by most critics. Supernature debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 52,976 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 2006, and had sold one million copies worldwide as of February 2008. The album spawned four singles: "Number 1", "Ride a White Horse", "Fly Me Away", and its lead single, "Ooh La La", which reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's highest-peaking single to date. In North America, where "Number 1" was promoted as the first single, the album was released in 2006 and did not perform well on the charts. Supernature received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2007. (Full article...)

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Tattooed prisoner

• ... that wearing an "unearned" criminal tattoo (pictured) in a Russian prison could lead to beatings or murder by other inmates?
• ... that the 2009 Spinoza Prize winners, physicist Albert van den Berg, neurologist Michel Ferrari, and mathematical biologist Marten Scheffer, wrote a joint paper on migraine after winning?
• ... that the introduction of the brown quail into New Zealand may have contributed to the extinction of that country's native quail?
• ... that the Chaturbhuj Temple has a complex multi-storied structural view which is a blend of architectural features of a temple, fort and palace?
• ... that Surf Snowdonia is the world's first commercial artificial surfing lake?
• ... that there is no fencing on Coal Run?
• ... that "Drag Me Down" marks the first single released by One Direction without Zayn Malik?
• ... that the Dutch letter is traditionally eaten in the Netherlands on Christmas Eve?

Pentagon tiling

• Trigana Air Service Flight 267 crashes with 54 passengers and crew on board in Papua, Indonesia.
• Mathematicians at the University of Washington Bothell discover a new type of pentagon tiling (pictured), the first new type of "tiling the plane" with a single polygon since 1985.
• A truck bomb attack at a market in Baghdad kills at least 80 people and injures more than 200 others.
• Multiple explosions in Tianjin, China, kill more than 100 people and injure at least 700.
• In cricket, England regain the Ashes with a victory against Australia in the fourth Test of the series.

• Ongoing events
• Recent deaths:
  • Julian Bond
  • Frank Gifford

August 17: Independence Day in Gabon (1960) and Indonesia (1945)

Sukarno proclaiming Indonesian independence

• 1560 – The Scottish Parliament adopted a Protestant confession of faith to initiate the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion.
• 1676 – The Battle of Halmstad was fought at Fyllebro and was the last battle in Halland between Denmark and Sweden.
• 1915 – American Jew Leo Frank was lynched by a mob of prominent citizens in Marietta, Georgia, for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl.
• 1945 – Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia, igniting the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch Empire.
• 1998 – U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

• More anniversaries:
  • August 16
  • August 17
  • August 18

Ben Affleck

The 2012 film Argo received awards and nominations in a variety of categories. Argo is a political thriller directed by Ben Affleck, and produced by Affleck, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov. The film stars Affleck as Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez, who attempts to rescue six United States diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979–81 Iran hostage crisis by pretending that they are part of a film crew scouting the country for the filming of a fictitious science-fiction film, Argo. At the 85th Academy Awards, the film received seven nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin. It won three awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Chris Terrio, and Best Film Editing for William Goldenberg. Argo became only the fourth film in Oscar history to win Best Picture without a directing nomination. The film earned five nominations at the 70th Golden Globes, winning for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Affleck. At the 66th British Academy Film Awards, the film received seven nominations, and won for Best Film and Best Direction. (Full list...)

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