Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 February 7

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Today's featured article
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the pilot episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being abducted by aliens. At the time of the writing of the episode, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone did not yet have a series contract with Comedy Central. Short on money, the creators animated the episode using paper cutout stop motion technique, similar to the short films that were the precursors to the series. As such, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" remains the only South Park episode animated largely without the use of computer technology. Part of a reaction to the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, South Park is deliberately offensive. Much of the show's humor, and of "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", arises from the juxtaposition of the seeming innocence of childhood and the violent, crude behavior exhibited by the main characters. The episode also exemplifies the carnivalesque, which includes humor, bodily excess, linguistic games that challenge official discourse, and the inversion of social structures. Initial reviews of the episode were generally negative; critics singled out the gratuitous obscenity of the show for particular scorn. Regarding the amount of obscenity in the episode, Parker later commented that they felt "pressure" to live up to the earlier shorts which first made the duo popular. (more...) Recently featured: Prince Louis of Battenberg – Titania – Richard Barre Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that it is claimed that the Reiterdenkmal (pictured), an equestrian monument in the centre of Windhoek, Namibia, is the only monument in the world where an ordinary soldier is placed on horseback? ... that Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, was a member of the anti-Islam group Norwegian Defence League, a sister organization of the English Defence League? ... that Francis Arkwright was a Member of Parliament and Legislative Council in two different countries? ... that pediatric neurologist Paul M. Ellwood, Jr. coined the term "health maintenance organization" (HMO) in the American health care system? ... that Shackles was the first Indonesian novel to portray a prostitute sympathetically? ... that Canadian national Naser al-Raas was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for attending a rally of the 2011 Bahraini uprising? ... that after his victory in 1802, Tyrant was described by a contemporary sports writer as "one of the worst horses that ever won a Derby"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Russian scientists reach Lake Vostok, isolated under the Antarctic ice shield, after drilling a 3,768-meter (12,362-foot) borehole. Sauli Niinistö (pictured) of the National Coalition Party is elected President of Finland. In American football, the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI. Syrian opposition leaders report that at least 200 people were killed during a military operation in Homs. The passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea, leaving 100 people still missing. Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature, dies at the age of 88. More than 70 people are killed in crowd violence following a football match in Port Said, Egypt. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
February 7: 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens (1812) 1795 – The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia. 1904 – The Great Baltimore Fire in Maryland began, and would destroy over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. 1907 – More than 3,000 women in London participated in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, seeking women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. 1943 – World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from Guadalcanal. 1986 – President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country after a popular uprising, ending 28 years of one-family rule in the nation. 1995 – Ramzi Yousef (pictured), one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. More anniversaries: February 6 – February 7 – February 8 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now February 7, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Wave (1896) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, an example of an art nude, an art form where the naked human form is the dominant theme and is not intentionally erotic. It does not involve the subject interacting with anyone or the face of the nude as a prominent feature. The body presented is revealed as an object of art and not a person with reference to his or her social relationships and behavioral patterns.

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