Main Page
Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,393,710 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleD. B. Cooper is the name commonly used to refer to a hijacker who, on November 24, 1971, after receiving a ransom payout of US$200,000, jumped from the back of a Boeing 727 as it was flying over the Pacific Northwest of the United States possibly over Woodland, Washington. Despite hundreds of suspects through the years, no conclusive evidence has surfaced regarding Cooper’s identity or whereabouts. The FBI believes he did not survive the jump. Several theories offer competing explanations of what happened after his famed jump. The nature of Cooper’s escape and the uncertainty of his fate continue to intrigue people. The Cooper case remains an unsolved mystery. It has baffled both government and private investigators for decades, with countless leads turning into dead ends. In March 2008, the FBI thought it might have had one of the biggest breakthroughs in the case when children unearthed a parachute within the bounds of Cooper’s probable jump site near the town of Amboy, Washington. Experts later determined that it did not belong to the hijacker. Still, despite the case’s infamy for its enduring lack of evidence, a few significant clues have arisen. (more…)Recently featured: Oil shale – Troy McClure – F-4 Phantom IIArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that inflatable and wooden dummy tanks (pictured) were used in Operation Fortitude to confuse German intelligence?… that in 1866, French chessplayer Napoleon Marache published one of the first chess books in the United States, which also discussed strategy for backgammon and dominoes?… that Fountains Fell, a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England, is named after Fountains Abbey whose monks grazed sheep there in the 13th century?… that Mark Goffeney, nicknamed “Big Toe”, is a professional guitarist who plays with his feet because he was born without hands?… that the Gibraltar Football Association had their UEFA membership application blocked by Spain due to their claim on the territory?… that North 24th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, considered the heart of the city’s African American community, has not fully recovered since several riots destroyed businesses along the strip in the 1960s?… that 1999 book Gone with the Wind in the Vatican narrated alleged scandals in Vatican City using pseudonyms from Gone with the Wind?… that Mary Augusta Dickerson found it inspirational to write her children’s books inside a Pickle Barrel House?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsIn Dublin, over 100 countries adopt the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning cluster bombs (pictured).Nepal is declared a republic by its newly elected government, and King Gyanendra ends his reign as the last of a 240-year-old monarchy.In the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, the People’s Republic of China evacuates 100,000 people from Mianyang as engineers prepare to drain the landslide dam-created Tangjiashan Lake.The State Peace and Development Council of Burma extends opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest by one year.The BJP will lead the government by itself after elections in the Indian state of Karnataka, a first in South Indian political history.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…May 30: Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago; Lod Massacre Remembrance Day in Puerto Rico1431 – Hundred Years’ War: Joan of Arc (pictured) was burned at the stake in Rouen, France after being convicted of heresy in a politically motivated trial.1536 – Henry VIII of England married Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two queens consort.1913 – The Treaty of London was signed to deal with territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War, declaring, among other things, an independent Albania.1972 – Members of the Japanese Red Army carried out the Lod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, killing over 20 people and injuring almost 80 others.1989 – Goddess of Democracy, a ten meter (33 ft) high statue made mostly of polystyrene foam and papier-mâché, was erected by student protestors in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.More events: May 29 – May 30 – May 31Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureA Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) in first-year plumage, taken in southeastern Australia at Wingan Inlet in the Croajingolong National Park. This tern breeds in tropical and subtropical coastal parts of the Old World from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific and Australia.Photo credit: Benjamint444Recently featured: Human respiratory system – Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir – Lawn mower racingArchive – More featured pictures…