The front page of Wikipedia changes each day, sometimes twice a day.
This one from the “On this Day” made me chuckle at the quintessential Englishness (although a personal tragedy for King Edmund, of course):
Keeping track of the number of kings murdered at Pucklechurch on particular feast days must have kept the chroniclers busy.
And the British theme continues with the featured article:
Pure Victoriana. Not interested in French fishes, of course, or (shudder) American fishes. Just British fishes, thank you very much.
And then, in the Did You Know section:
“Mon colonel, are these pantalons rouge not perhaps a bit bright for the battlefield?”
“We are soldiers of France, lieutenant! We fight with élan and style!”
“But the Germans seem to be wearing grey. It’s hard to tell because I can’t see them very well …”
“L’élan, lieutenant ! Toujours l’élan! Les Boches, they have it not!”
“Oui, mon colonel!”
The equivalent military “can see you for miles” Englishness was of course the
And also, if you get shot in the ass, you’re the only one to know it.
Old Joke: that’s sort of why your uniforms should have brown pants.
That’s pretty close to actual exchanges in France prior to the Great War. The British had adopted khaki and the Germans were shifting to field gray, but the French resisted. From The Guns of August:
"To clothe the French soldier in some muddy, inglorious color, declared the army’s champions, would be to realize the fondest hopes of Dreyfusards and Freemasons. To banish “all that is colorful, all that gives the soldier his vivid aspect,” wrote the Echo de Paris, “is to go contrary both to French taste and military function.”
*Messimy pointed out that the two might no longer be synonymous, but his opponents proved immovable. At a parliamentary hearing, a former War Minister, M. Etienne, spoke for France. “Eliminate the red trousers?” he cried. “Never! Le pantalon rouge c’est la France!”
It took a lot of bodies piling up for change to be instituted.
This explains a lot of French 20th Century military history.
Two interesting ones today, both with a Canada connection.
First an uplifting one:
From the “Did you Know?” section:
… that as a teenager in a B’nai B’rith camp in Canada, Holocaust survivor and future Canadian ambassador Fred Bild learned English from his camp counselor, future actor William Shatner?
Second, a sad one:
From “On this Day”:
RIP Stan Rogers and 22 others.
I’m sorry for the songs you never got to share with us.
(Oh, and it was also the 70th anniversary of a young English lady getting a fancy hat.)
Another anniversary today, again Canada. In the « On This Day » section, a reminder of Charles de Gaulle proclaiming « Vive le Québec libre! » from the balcony of the Montreal City Hall.
President de Gaulle’s state visit was unexpectedly cut short.
The decision to end the 100 Years War was regrettable. though of course they’d be a German protectorate now.
I take it the Queen was not amused.
Neither was the Governor General nor the Premier.
Her Majesty would have kept her thoughts to herself (and possibly Phillip).
Premier Johnson, being a staunch autonomist, was probably quietly amused.
Prime Minister Pearson was definitely not amused, and advised the French Embassy that the President of France would not be welcome in Ottawa. De Gaulle cut his trip short and returned to Paris.
Not from the front page, but from the User Talk page of a WP editor:
You have been blocked from editing for a period of 2 weeks for edit warring and violating the three-revert rule, as you did at Foreskin. Once the block has expired, you are welcome to make useful contributions.
Why don’t we get that kind of ban notice here on the SDMB? 
Interesting two second clip on today’s Main page, of the earliest known moving picture, from 1888:
Riveting! They don’t make movies like they used to.
Sarah Whitley from Roundhay was the first actress of any film to die.
À Calgary statue is on the front page of Wikipedia tonight. The Featured Article is « Communication » and the « statue of two men speaking » is from a pedestrian mall in Calgary. Walked past it many a time.
I’ve certainly walked past that statue many times also!