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"Chinese character" written in traditional (left) and simplified (right) forms

Chinese characters arelogographs usedto write the Chinese languages and others from regions influenced byChinese culture. The function, style, and means of writing characters have changed greatly over the past three millennia. Unlike letters in alphabets that directly reflect the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally representmorphemes—the units of meaning in a language—often encoding aspects of pronunciation as well as meaning. Writing all of a language's frequently used vocabulary requires 2000–3000 characters; as of 2024, nearly 100,000 have been identified and included inThe Unicode Standard. Characters are composed ofstrokes written in a fixed order. Historically, methods of writing them include inscribing stone, bone, or bronze; brushing ink onto silk, bamboo, or paper; and printing withwoodblocks ormoveable type. More recent technologies using Chinese characters includetelegraph codes andtypewriters, as well asinput methods andtext encodings on computers. (Full article...)

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Fanciful illustration of Donus II

... thatPope Donus II(pictured) never existed, despite being praised for his honorable conduct by later historians?
... thatTopsy was the longest-surviving member of theUnited States Camel Corps?
... thatMisato Haga began her career as agrid girl before she led her own motor racing team?
... thata science fiction short story from 1939 has been called an "eerie prediction" and "an uncanny, horrifyingly vivid prophecy" ofThe Holocaust?
... thatLiechtenstein competed only in athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics?
... thatSin and Flesh Brook gets its name from the murder and mutilation of a colonist during King Philip's War?
... thatIsabel Garcés provided a comical counterpoint to "child prodigy" protagonists in many 1960s musical comedy films?
... that the steamcorvetteGefle was the first ship of the Swedish Navy to be equipped with a propeller?
... thatGreg Jensen went from world cow dung throwing champion to playing in the NFL?

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Nicușor Dan

AuthorBanu Mushtaq and translatorDeepa Bhasthi win theInternational Booker Prize forHeart Lamp: Selected Stories.
Nicușor Dan(pictured)is elected aspresident of Romania.
Inthe Portuguese legislative election, theDemocratic Alliance wins the most seats inparliament.
Austria, represented byJJ with the song "Wasted Love", winsthe Eurovision Song Contest.
In the Philippines, theAlyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas wins the most seats inthe Senate election, whileLakas–CMD, one of its component parties, wins the most seats inthe House elections.

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May 24:Aldersgate Day (Methodism)

Eric XIV of Sweden

1567 – The mentally ill KingErik XIV of Sweden(pictured) and his guardsmurdered five incarcerated nobles, including some members of the influentialSture family.
1689 – TheAct of Toleration became law, grantingfreedom of worship to Englishnonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately excluding Catholics.
1798 – TheIrish Rebellion of 1798 began, with battles beginning inCounty Kildare and fighting later spreading across the country.
1963 – United States Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedymet with African American authorJames Baldwin in an unsuccessful attempt to improve race relations.
2014 – A gunman involved inIslamic extremismopened fire at theJewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people.

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Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was anancient Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns againstArminius inGermania. The son ofNero Claudius Drusus andAntonia Minor, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of thepatriciangens Claudia. TheagnomenGermanicus was added to his full name in 9 BC when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honor of his victories in Germania. In AD 4 he was adopted by his paternal uncleTiberius, himself the stepson and heir of Germanicus' great-uncleAugustus; ten years later, Tiberius succeeded Augustus asRoman emperor. As a result of his adoption, Germanicus became an official member of thegens Julia, another prominent family, to which he was related on his mother's side. His connection to theJulii Caesares was further consolidated through a marriage between him andAgrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus. He was also the father ofCaligula, the maternal grandfather ofNero, and the older brother ofClaudius. Thisbust, depicting Germanicus in AD 4, is in the collection of theJ. Paul Getty Museum.

Sculpture credit: unknown; photographed byJ. Paul Getty Museum

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