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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,457,709 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleGuitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game’s development was a result of collaboration between RedOctane and Harmonix to bring a GuitarFreaks-like game to North America. The game features a guitar-shaped controller (resembling a miniature Gibson SG) that the player uses to simulate the playing of rock music. The gameplay is similar to GuitarFreaks, in that the player presses buttons on the guitar controller in-time with musical notes that scroll on the game screen. The game features covers of 30 popular rock songs spanning five decades of rock, from the 1960s up through 2005, in addition to bonus tracks from independent artists. Guitar Hero became a surprise hit, earning critical acclaim and winning many awards from major video game publications. The game’s success launched the Guitar Hero franchise that has earned more than one billion dollars in sales, spawning several sequels, expansions, and other game-related products. (more…)Recently featured: FairTax – The Garden of Earthly Delights – PalpatineArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that Tookoolito (pictured) and her companion were advertised as “Esquimaux Indians… from the arctic regions” and exhibited at Barnum’s American Museum in 1862?… that the Croaking Tetra is a tropical fish that “chirps” when it comes to the surface to gulp air?… that the poem Płyniesz Olzo po dolinie, by Polish poet and educator Jan Kubisz, became the unofficial anthem of Cieszyn Silesia?… that the German Mine Sweeping Administration, a naval mine sweeping organisation made up of former members of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany, was under command of the Royal Navy?… that notable residents of Colonnade Row included John Jacob Astor IV, Washington Irving and Cornelius Vanderbilt?… that in 2003, Chinese scientists invented a way of producing yarn from bamboo fibre?… that Dr David Moor admitted in a press interview to having helped up to 300 ill patients to die?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsThe prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requests a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in connection to the conflict in Darfur.Belgian brewer InBev agrees to buy US-based Anheuser-Busch for over 50 billion dollars, in what would surpass SABMiller as the world’s largest brewing company.The International Astronomical Union classifies Makemake (artist’s depiction pictured) as a dwarf planet.The government of Belgium falls.European Union members and other nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea form the 43-member Union for the Mediterranean.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…July 16: Feast Day of Saint Helier (Roman Catholic Church)622 – The epoch of the Islamic calendar occurred, marking the year that Muhammad began his Hijra from Mecca to Medina.1769 – Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California region of New Spain.1945 – Manhattan Project: “Trinity” (pictured), the first nuclear test explosion, was detonated near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States.1979 – Saddam Hussein replaced the resigning Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as President of Iraq, after having gradually usurped power from his cousin.1994 – Fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet began hitting the planet Jupiter, with the first one causing a fireball which reached a peak temperature of about 24,000 K.More events: July 15 – July 16 – July 17Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 00:44, July 16, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureA portrait of American writer Samuel Clemens, best known by his pen name Mark Twain, in his later years. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Twain enjoyed immense public popularity, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. Fellow author William Faulkner called Twain “the father of American literature.”Photo credit: UnknownRecently featured: Beer Street – Lower Consolation Lake – Chandos portrait of ShakespeareArchive – More featured pictures…