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Today's featured article
Spoo is a valuable and highly desired food product in the fictional Babylon 5 universe. Originally created by J. Michael Straczynski in 1983, and since its introduction on the Babylon 5 television series, spoo has remained popular among fans of the science fiction saga with references found in areas as diverse as day trading jargon and computer programming. Within the Babylon 5 series, spoo is made from the extraterrestrial worm-like creatures of the same name, and is considered to be the most delicious food in the known galaxy, regardless of which species is asked. Despite its universal appeal as an exceptionally versatile food product, the creature itself is despised, and the cultivation of the herds can be a very depressing occupation. (more...) Recently featured: Saffron – Yom Kippur War – Voter turnout Archive By email More featured articles About
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Elizabeth II changing tires. Elizabeth II changing tires. ...that Queen Elizabeth II (pictured) once worked as a lorry driver? ...that General Butt-Naked, also known as Joshua Blahyi, was a Liberian warlord feared for his naked, drunken rampage? ...that British Rail had a design for a flying saucer? ...that consumers of casu marzu, a Sardinian cheese, are advised to wear eye protection while enjoying it, since the live maggots inhabiting the cheese can jump 15 cm? ...that in Sweden, a court ruled that the name Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 was unacceptable?

In the news

Because this describes current news, April Fool's Day activities, if any, are limited to finding unusual pieces of news and publishing them here. This section would be unchanged or largely unchanged from any other day, albeit with a couple of interesting or unusual events that may have occurred in the days leading up to 1 April, 2006.

On this day...

April 1:

1957 - Spaghetti trees: The BBC television programme Panorama ran a documentary showing the Swiss spaghetti harvest. A large number of people contacted the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees.
1997 - Comic strip switcheroo: Cartoonists of popularly syndicated comic strips swapped cartoons for the day.
2002 - The Netherlands legalized euthanasia, becoming the only nation in the world to do so.
2004 - Google launched Gmail, an email service.

Recent days: March 31 – March 30 – March 29

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Medieval Mickey Mouse
On November 14, 2002, this image was discovered during restoration of a church's outside wall in the town of Malta in Austria. It is part of a 14th century fresco depicting Saint Christopher of the Catholic Church, who is often shown accompanied by fabulous creatures. The image is dated to circa 1300 CE.

Photo credit: Eloquence
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