Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-05-07/Featured content

Wikipedia at the Rijksmuseum

Four

• Eurasian Nuthatch (nominated by Jimfbleak
  ) "The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Asia and in Europe, where it is often referred to just as the nuthatch. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-grey upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the Far East have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat."
• Silverplate (nominated by Reedmalloy and Hawkeye7) "Silverplate was the code reference for the United States Army Air Forces' participation in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Originally the name for the aircraft modification project for the B-29 Superfortress bomber to enable it to drop an atomic weapon, Silverplate eventually came to identify the training and operational aspects of the program as well. The original directive for the project had as its subject line "Silver Plated Project" but continued usage of the term shortened it to "Silverplate"."
• Thomas F. Bayard (nominated by Coemgenus) "Thomas Francis Bayard (October 29, 1828 – September 28, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from Wilmington, Delaware. A Democrat, he served three terms as United States Senator from Delaware and made three unsuccessful bids for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed him Secretary of State. After four years in private life, he returned to the diplomatic arena as Ambassador to the United Kingdom."
• Enid Blyton (nominated by Dr. Blofeld and Eric Corbett) Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) "was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular, and have been translated into almost 90 languages; her first book, Child Whispers, a 24-page collection of poems, was published in 1922. She wrote on a wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery stories and biblical narratives, but is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, and Secret Seven series."

Two

• List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Fred Trueman (nominated by SGGH) "Fred Trueman was an English cricketer, an "aggressive" fast bowler widely known as "Fiery Fred". He is generally acknowledged to have been one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history. He represented England in 67 Test matches, and was the first bowler to take 300 wickets in a Test career, taking twelve years and 65 Tests to reach the landmark."
• World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story (nominated by PresN
  ) "The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described as one of the three most prestigious speculative fiction awards, along with the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story is given each year for fantasy short stories published in English. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short story if it is 10,000 words or less in length; awards are also given out for longer pieces in the novel and novella categories. The World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story has been awarded annually since 1975, though before 1982—when the novella category was instated—the category was named "Best Short Fiction" and covered works of up to 40,000 words."

• Burchell's zebra (created by Yathin S Krishnappa, nominated by Bellus Delphina) "Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell."
• A Polish Nobleman (created by Rembrandt, nominated by Editør) "A Polish Nobleman is a 1637 painting by Rembrandt depicting a man in a costume of either Polish szlachta or Russian boyar nobility. The identity of the subject of the painting is unclear, and has given rise to several different interpretations. The painting has changed owners several times, and its past owners have included Catherine II of Russia and Andrew Mellon. It is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C."
• ArionEstar) "The Lagoon Nebula
  (cataloged as Messier 8 or M8, and as NGC 6523) is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as a H II region. The Lagoon Nebula was discovered by Giovanni Hodierna before 1654 and is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes. Seen with binoculars, it appears as a distinct oval cloud-like patch with a definite core. A fragile star cluster appears superimposed on it." The picture had to go for three nominations (none with an oppose !vote) before reaching featured status.
• Aqueduct of Segovia (created and nominated by Bernard Gagnon) "The Aqueduct of Segovia (or more precisely, the aqueduct bridge) is a Roman aqueduct and one of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula. It is located in Spain and is the foremost symbol of Segovia, as evidenced by its presence on the city's coat of arms."
• The Milkmaid (created by Johannes Vermeer, nominated by Editør) "The Milkmaid (Dutch: De Melkmeid or Het Melkmeisje), sometimes called The Kitchen Maid, is an oil-on-canvas painting of a "milkmaid", in fact a domestic kitchen maid, by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. It is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which regards it as "unquestionably one of the museum's finest attractions"."

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I was fortunate enough to visit this museum many years ago. It is fantastic that we can now share its treasures with the world. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 18:05, 10 May 2014 (UTC).

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