14 August 2014
wild fire
[wahyld-fahyuhr]
noun
1. a highly flammable composition, also known as Greek fire, difficult to extinguish when ignited, formerly used in warfare. (Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine empire from around 672AD. It was often used in naval battles because of its ability to continue burning while floating on water).
2. any large fire that spreads rapidly and is hard to extinguish.
3. sheet lightning, unaccompanied by thunder.
4. the ignis fatuus or a similar light.
5. Plant Pathology . a disease of tobacco and soybeans, characterized by brown, necrotic spots, each surrounded by a yellow band, on the leaves and caused by a bacterium, Pseudomonas tabaci.
6. Pathology Obsolete . erysipelas or some similar disease.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English wildefire, Old English wildfȳr.
Today’s aphorism
From the cradle to the coffin, underwear comes first.
– Bertolt Brecht
On this day
14 August 1248 – construction begins on the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.
14 August 1880 – construction of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany is finally completed … 632 years after commencement.
14 August 1947 – Pakistan Independence Day. At the stroke of midnight (14/15 August), India was partitioned and the nation of Pakistan created, independent of British and Indian rule.
14 August 1956 – death of Bertolt Brecht, German playwright, writer and theatre practitioner.
14 August 1963 – Considered to be the founding documents of Australia’s indigenous land rights (native title) movement, the first Bark Petition was presented to the Australian Government’s House of Representatives by Jock Nelson, Member for the Northern Territory on behalf of the Yolngu people of Yirrkala. The second Bark Petition was presented to the House of Representatives by then Opposition Leader, Arthur Calwell. The petitions were ochre paintings on bark and signed by 13 clan leaders of the Yolngu region (Gove peninsula), protesting the Commonwealth Government granting mining rights to Nabalco on Yolngu land . The petitions resulted in a parliamentary inquiry that recommended compensation be paid to the Yolngu people. It was the first recognition of native title in Australia.