Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 July 27b

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Chincoteague pony swim in 2007
Chincoteague pony swim in 2007

The human history of Chinco­teague, an island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, begins with Native Americans gathering shellfish there. By one popular legend, the name meant "Beautiful land across the water" in their language. The feral population of Chincoteague ponies likely originated from European settlers using the island in the 17th century to graze livestock. Seafood resources were systematically exploited in the early 19th century, and oysters became a major industry after the Civil War. Chincoteague's relative isolation ended in 1876 when the railroad arrived at Franklin City, across Chincoteague Bay, and a steamboat service was introduced; a road causeway was completed in 1922. The Chincoteague Fire Department was established in 1925 and took over the traditional pony penning to raise funds. The 1947 book Misty of Chincoteague and its 1961 film helped publicize the island. The annual carnival, pony swim (pictured) and subsequent auction now attract tens of thousands of visitors. (Full article...)

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A 1920s group of the Cotton Blossom Singers
A 1920s group of the Cotton Blossom Singers

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On this day

July 27:

Battle of Bouvines
Battle of Bouvines
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Ice speedway

Ice speedway is a form of motorcycle-speedway racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses specialised bikes that race anticlockwise around oval tracks between 260 and 425 metres (853 and 1,394 ft) in length, with a race structure and scoring similar to that of speedway racing. This photograph depicts the German speedway racer Max Niedermaier practising in Inzell, Germany, for the finals of the 2018 Individual Ice Racing World Championship, organised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme.

Photograph credit: Walter Isack

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