Did you know? articles
2024 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 176 2024 DYK blurbs
2023 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 559 2023 DYK blurbs
2022 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Vivian Smith (pictured) was the first black student to earn a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Northern Iowa? (2022-12-30)
- ... that Turkish world- and European-champion armwrestler Esra Kiraz used to carry cement bags at construction sites where her father worked? (2022-12-30)
- ... that the poetry collection of Guyanese radio presenter Shana Yardan was described as "accomplished, tough-minded and well-crafted"? (2022-12-28)
- ... that the attendance record for a women's club football game that was set on Boxing Day 1920 would not be exceeded for 99 years? (2022-12-27)
- ... that author Ann Howard interviewed more than 100 Australians about their experiences as child evacuees sent inland during World War II when a Japanese invasion seemed imminent? (2022-12-27)
- ... that Talia Or (pictured), who sang as the Voice of a Falcon at La Scala, was born in Israel and is based in Germany? (2022-12-26)
- ... that the Brooklyn Nine-Nine storyline about Rosa Diaz's bisexuality was heavily influenced by the bisexuality of her portrayer? (2022-12-26)
- ... that after winning a discrimination lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department, Lucile Abreu became its first female detective? (2022-12-26)
- ... that after amputating the same limb six years earlier, Elizabeth Mary Wells fitted a girl with a prosthetic arm for Christmas? (2022-12-25)
- ... that American author Marilyn Gayle Hoff was honored by a Fourth of July parade float as an unsung hero? (2022-12-23)
Transcluding 10 of 661 2022 DYK blurbs
2021 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 888 2021 DYK blurbs
2020 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 675 2020 DYK blurbs
2019 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Miley Cyrus gained over 2.3 million likes on the video-sharing platform TikTok when she danced and lip-synced with Cody Simpson to "Stupid" by Ashnikko? (2019-12-31)
- ... that neuroengineer Maryam Shanechi and her research team developed a method to determine a person's mood from their brain activity? (2019-12-31)
- ... that Korean-Chinese missile expert Li Xianyu is the only female general in the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force? (2019-12-31)
- ... that Queen Kapiʻolani (pictured) founded the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home for the care of Hawaiian mothers and newborns, and a school for the daughters of leprosy patients? (2019-12-31)
- ... that due to Spanish singer Melody's three-year disappearance from the public eye, she was rumoured to be dead? (2019-12-30)
- ... that Mexican drug lord María Antonieta Rodríguez Mata controlled a drug trafficking ring that extended across Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.? (2019-12-30)
- ... that Sally Milgrim designed the dress that Eleanor Roosevelt wore to her husband's first inaugural ball? (2019-12-29)
- ... that to maintain personal privacy, manga artist Paru Itagaki wears a large chicken mask that obscures her face for all public appearances? (2019-12-29)
- ... that British actress Naomi Watts' roles include CIA officer Valerie Plame, journalist Gretchen Carlson, and Princess Diana? (2019-12-28)
- ... that Kiuchi Kyō, believed to be the first Japanese woman to be a school principal, worked to improve the status of women teachers? (2019-12-28)
Transcluding 10 of 630 2019 DYK blurbs
2018 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 521 2018 DYK blurbs
2017 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Itunu Hotonu, the first female admiral in Africa, joined the Nigerian Navy only because she was rejected by the army? (2017-12-31)
- ... that Antoinette Montaigne left her position as city councillor in France to become a minister in the government of the Central African Republic? (2017-12-30)
- ... that Chief Suah Koko fought several battles against the Liberian government before granting them her land? (2017-12-28)
- ... that Ana Lucía Armijos, president of the Ecuadorian Monetary Board, went into hiding for a year after the Supreme Court of Ecuador called for her arrest in the case of a $200 million bank bailout? (2017-12-28)
- ... that Mollie McGeown set up the first dialysis unit in Northern Ireland? (2017-12-27)
- ... that Mozambican politician Ivone Soares escaped death in September 2016 when her would-be assassin's weapon jammed? (2017-12-27)
- ... that Zambian writer Samba Yonga chose a career in journalism after she won a short story prize as a child? (2017-12-26)
- ... that former international Ruth O'Reilly wrote an article criticising the IRFU for a lack of support during the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup held in Ireland? (2017-12-26)
- ... that the children's book Wombat Divine was written in response to the publisher's request for "a typically Australian Christmas story"? (2017-12-25)
- ... that Rosemary Biggs and her colleagues discovered the Christmas factor? (2017-12-25)
Transcluding 10 of 582 2017 DYK blurbs
2016 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 825 2016 DYK blurbs
2015 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that serial killer Hilda Nilsson committed suicide by hanging the same day the courts commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment? (2015-12-31)
- ... that Natalia Lafourcade sought inspiration for her album Hasta la Raíz in Agustín Lara's repertoire and her native country, Mexico? (2015-12-31)
- ... that drummer, singer, and songwriter Emily Estefan was born in 1994 after her mother, Gloria Estefan, had been told she would never give birth following a 1990 tour-bus crash? (2015-12-31)
- ... that Agnes Okoh, an illiterate Nigerian, founded Christ Holy Church International? (2015-12-31)
- ... that the suicide of Chinese silent film actress Ai Xia inspired a film starring Ruan Lingyu, who also committed suicide soon after the film's release? (2015-12-31)
- ... that at the age of 10, Zuriel Oduwole became the world's youngest person to appear in Forbes? (2015-12-30)
- ... that 13 years after Lydia Emelie Gruchy graduated her theological studies with honors, she was finally ordained in 1936 as the first female minister of the United Church of Canada? (2015-12-30)
- ... that Etta Federn received Nazi death threats because of her Walther Rathenau biography? (2015-12-30)
- ... that Temerl Bergson, a wealthy businesswoman and patroness of Hasidic Jews in 19th-century Poland, "distributed money like ashes"? (2015-12-29)
- ... that Rachel Davis Harris was an influential African American library director in the Jim Crow South? (2015-12-29)
Transcluding 10 of 807 2015 DYK blurbs
2014 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 608 2014 DYK blurbs
2013 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Mary Barra was named the next CEO of General Motors, which will make her the first female leader of a major automaker? (2013-12-31)
- ... that Judith Pipher has been referred to as the "mother of infrared astronomy"? (2013-12-31)
- ... that fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni has become a model for Guess? (2013-12-30)
- ... that Ann Thwaytes paid for the Clock Tower (pictured) in Herne Bay, Kent, England, to be built in 1837? (2013-12-30)
- ... that although Maya Angelou is best known for her autobiographies, she has also been successful as a poet? (2013-12-29)
- ... that 2012 Spanish wheelchair tennis Paralympian Lola Ochoa Ribes first played the sport using her everyday wheelchair? (2013-12-27)
- ... that Dorle Soria, a founder of Angel Records, helped promote Leonard Bernstein's 1943 debut with the New York Philharmonic? (2013-12-27)
- ... that The X Factor winner Sam Bailey, who got the 2013 UK Christmas number one with a cover version of "Skyscraper", has the nickname "screwbo", a portmanteau of "screw" and "SuBo"? (2013-12-26)
- ... that Leona Lewis recorded her first Christmas album, Christmas, with Love, on the recommendation of Simon Cowell? (2013-12-25)
- ... that Leyla Güngör scored a goal against Spain in her first game as a member of the Turkey women's national football team? (2013-12-23)
Transcluding 10 of 575 2013 DYK blurbs
2012 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Sandra Eisert was the first White House picture editor, and later designed the cover photo for the 1988 Monsters of Rock Tour? (2012-12-31)
- ... that Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Oxford, was abducted by the half-brother of her intended bridegroom? (2012-12-31)
- ... that in 2011, geneticist Riin Tamm (pictured) was chosen as one of 26 scientists to travel around Estonia and take part in events at schools and academic institutions? (2012-12-29)
- ... that though Japanese girl group Momoiro Clover Z member Momoka Ariyasu (pictured) claims to be stupid, other members say she is very studious, even studying backstage? (2012-12-28)
- ... that María Isabella Cordero, a former Mexican anchorwoman on Televisa, was killed in Mexico's most violent state in 2010? (2012-12-28)
- ... that Amala Shankar, the Indian danseuse, is the wife of Uday Shankar and sister-in-law of Ravi Shankar? (2012-12-28)
- ... that Edda Goering played in a fifty-metre-long replica of Frederick the Great's Sanssouci palace, built for her by the Luftwaffe in an orchard at Carinhall? (2012-12-27)
- ... that the second single from Leona Lewis' third studio album Glassheart was originally going to be "Fireflies", but "Lovebird" was released instead? (2012-12-26)
- ... that when Oprah Winfrey saw American model Jasmine Tookes perform on the runway at Lincoln Center, she extolled Tookes' "butter" soft skin and requested that Tookes "rub your face against mine"? (2012-12-22)
- ... that philosopher Bertrand Russell feared the ridicule of his grandmother, Lady Stanley of Alderley (pictured), best known for defending the "right of women to the highest culture hitherto reserved to men"? (2012-12-22)
Transcluding 10 of 728 2012 DYK blurbs
2011 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Indonesian actress Titi Sjuman agreed to make her film debut only after being cajoled by her brother and sister-in-law (the film's director)? (2011-12-29)
- ... that Rachel Feinstein, whose latest art work is inspired by The Snow Queen, is half of what the New York Times called the American art world's "power couple"? (2011-12-29)
- ... that the murder of Sadia Sheikh has been called Belgium's first honour killing trial? (2011-12-28)
- ... that a documentary film by Ucu Agustin led to a prostitution district in Tulungagung, East Java, being shut down? (2011-12-27)
- ... that Tsukasa Fujimoto (pictured) and Hikaru Shida, two actresses on the Japanese television series Muscle Venus, later became professional wrestling champions as a tag team also named Muscle Venus? (2011-12-26)
- ... that Maya Angelou's sixth and final autobiography A Song Flung Up to Heaven is framed by the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.? (2011-12-26)
- ... that Georges Bizet dedicated his song "Rêve de la bien-aimée" ("Dream of the beloved") to the Belgian coloratura soprano Léontine de Maësen? (2011-12-25)
- ... that Kyra Markham, whose images were used as propaganda against the Nazis, briefly had Frank Lloyd Wright as a father-in-law? (2011-12-24)
- ... that Ania Bien's 1986 photographic installation on the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam, which was destroyed in a fire that killed 33 people, included images alluding to the Holocaust? (2011-12-21)
- ... that the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki contains an illustration of the regent extorting poems from two ladies? (2011-12-20)
Transcluding 10 of 452 2011 DYK blurbs
2010 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that the help of Cyrus Eaton, Jerome Wiesner and Nikita Khrushchev was needed so that Frederick and Milena Jelinek could marry? (2010-12-31)
- ... that in the lyrics of the 2010 song "Coming Home", Diddy makes references to the classic 1979 song "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" by McFadden & Whitehead, as well as events in his own life? (2010-12-30)
- ... that Maxim model and reality television contestant Gia Allemand has been selected to play the role of Ava Gardner in an upcoming film about the life of Gianni Russo? (2010-12-29)
- ... that Whitney Houston's 1985 single "How Will I Know" was originally written for Janet Jackson? (2010-12-27)
- ... that Teresa Teng's "The Moon Represents My Heart" was one of the first love songs to become popular in mainland China under the Open Door Policy? (2010-12-26)
- ... that the drama series Huge, created by Savannah Dooley and her mother, Winnie Holzman, employed Dooley's father as an actor and her uncle as the cinematographer? (2010-12-26)
- ... that Isuzu Yamada was the first actress to receive the Order of Culture, Japan's top cultural award, from the Emperor of Japan? (2010-12-26)
- ... that the stained glass windows at Anykščiai Church (pictured), the tallest church in Lithuania, were made by Anortė Mackelaitė? (2010-12-26)
- ... that Jason Aldean's duet with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay", is the first duet of his career? (2010-12-24)
- ... that in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Satyavati (pictured) – who initially stank of fish – was blessed with the musk fragrance by a sage, with whom she had premarital sex? (2010-12-23)
Transcluding 10 of 603 2010 DYK blurbs
2009 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 522 2009 DYK blurbs
2008 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that South African ANC activist Kate Molale organised a pioneer movement in the struggle against the 1953 Bantu Education Act? (2008-12-31)
- ... that Republican Joan Huffman, a former Houston judge who won a special election to the Texas State Senate on December 16, 2008, became the sixth woman in the 31-member chamber, a legislative record? (2008-12-29)
- ... that Lisa Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University, is the first female geologist to become a university president? (2008-12-28)
- ... that Katrina Mumaw became the youngest person to break the sound barrier when she piloted a MIG-29 fighter jet at Mach 1.3 on July 12, 1994 at the age of eleven? (2008-12-28)
- ... that an impacted shoulder presentation during childbirth (pictured) can lead to both the death of the baby and of the mother? (2008-12-27)
- ... that Flora Drummond was known as "The General" for her habit of leading Women's Suffrage processions (lapel pin pictured) wearing an officer's cap and epaulettes whilst riding a large horse? (2008-12-27)
- ... that in Doris Lessing's 1983 novel, The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire, language becomes so distorted that some of the characters succumb to a condition called "undulant rhetoric"? (2008-12-26)
- ... that it took the publisher's lawyers 14 months to approve the publication of You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, Julia Phillips' scandalous autobiography? (2008-12-24)
- ... that Trina Belamide, who has written songs for most of the Philippines' top recording artists, also writes custom theme songs for weddings? (2008-12-24)
- ... that Irish writer Edna O'Brien made her screen debut as an extra in an adaptation of her novel, Wild Decembers? (2008-12-23)
Transcluding 10 of 444 2008 DYK blurbs
2007 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Empress Dowager Wu of Tang China had Wu Youji’s wife secretly killed in 690 CE so that he could marry her widowed daughter, the Princess Taiping? (2007-12-31)
- ... that in March 2007, Agnes Devanadera ' became the 41st and first woman Solicitor General of the Philippines? (2007-12-30)
- ... that American artist Sybil Gibson started painting in 1963, aged 55, using the medium of powdered tempera paints on brown paper grocery bags? (2007-12-29)
- ... that Shruti Haasan, the daughter of Indian actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, is a singer turned model who is now also venturing into acting? (2007-12-28)
- ... that besides utility poles (example pictured), anonymous knitters from Knitta have also left their tags on the Great Wall of China and the Notre Dame de Paris? (2007-12-28)
- ... that Tom Collen resigned over a discrepancy about his résumé a day after becoming Vanderbilt University's women's basketball head coach, but his résumé was correct? (2007-12-27)
- ... that netball in New Zealand is the most popular women's sport in the country, led by its high-profile national team, the Silver Ferns? (2007-12-27)
- ... that, with Christine Scanlan's appointment to the Colorado House of Representatives, the state house's Democratic caucus became majority-female? (2007-12-25)
- ... that Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story about a group of World War I soldiers who were committed Janeites, that is, fans of Jane Austen novels? (2007-12-21)
- ... that in 1289, when the Mamluks led by Qalawun captured Tripoli (depicted in artwork) in present-day Lebanon from the Franks, they ended 180 years of uninterrupted Christian rule, the longest of any of the major Frankish conquests in the Levant? (2007-12-21)
Transcluding 10 of 318 2007 DYK blurbs
2006 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that Gregoria de Jesus was the founder and vice-president of the woman chapter of the Katipunan partisan society during the Philippine Revolution? (2006-12-31)
- ... that, after having spent much of her 8 years in Communist prisons in complete solitude, and willing herself to memorize events in daily succession, the Romanian artist Lena Constante published her recollections in a diary? (2006-12-30)
- ... that Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Guy Bush gave up Babe Ruth's last two career home runs on May 25, 1935, just five days before Ruth retired? (2006-12-28)
- ... that Erin Bode performed with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for three seasons before starting her recording career as a singer? (2006-12-28)
- ... that American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich was the first woman to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts in composition and to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music? (2006-12-24)
- ... that Portuguese Josefa de Óbidos was one of the few women dedicated to painting (pictured: still life by her) in the Baroque era? (2006-12-23)
- ... that Emily Helen Butterfield was Michigan's first licensed female architect, and designed many college fraternity and sorority crests thanks to her interest in heraldry? (2006-12-22)
- ... that American composer Alla Pavlova lived close to ground zero and dedicated her first symphonic work to the memory of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks? (2006-12-21)
- ... that Spanish government minister and European Commissioner Loyola de Palacio deflected speculation that she was an Opus Dei member, noting that she was named after Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus? (2006-12-20)
- ... that Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter each wrote a chapter of the short story "A House to Let"? (2006-12-20)
Transcluding 10 of 163 2006 DYK blurbs
2005 DYK Blurbs:
Transcluding 10 of 88 2005 DYK blurbs
2004 DYK Blurbs:
- ... that the actress Viviane Romance rejected the offer of a Hollywood contract in the 1930s preferring to work in French cinema? (2004-12-29)
- ... that Bridgett Riley lost her contact lenses in the fifth round of a boxing match against Theresa Arnold on September 19, 1996, leading to her first ever defeat? (2004-12-27)
- ... that Agathokleia was an Indo-Greek queen who ruled parts of Northern India from 135 to 125 BC? (2004-12-27)
- ... that Rumaisa Rahman, born prematurely in Chicago on September 19, 2004, was 8 inches (20 cm) long and weighed 8½ oz. (244 g) at birth? (2004-12-24)
- ... that Les Horribles Cernettes, a humorous rock band based in the CERN, supplied the first image on the web, posted in 1992 by Silvano de Gennaro and Tim Berners-Lee? (2004-12-24)
- ... that Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski was a policy analyst at the Pentagon for four and a half years before retiring and becoming a vocal critic of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq? (2004-12-23)
- ... that Mildred Dunnock played the role of Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman in three mediums — on Broadway, and for both film and television? (2004-12-22)
- ... that Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka learned to read at the age of four and was able to read nine languages in addition to her native Ukrainian? (2004-12-22)
- ... that television presenter Lynda Lopez is a sister of Jennifer Lopez? (2004-12-20)
- ... that Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" is credited as achieving the highest combined sales, airplay and downloads in the world, since Cher's single "Believe" in 1998? (2004-12-14)
Transcluding 10 of 69 2004 DYK blurbs