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From today's featured article

Valley Parade, currently known as Mbanq Valley Parade, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club, but in 1903 the club changed code from rugby league to association football, and became Bradford City A.F.C. In 1908, the architect Archibald Leitch was commissioned to redevelop Valley Parade when Bradford City were promoted to the First Division. Few changes were made until a fatal fire on 11 May 1985 in which 56 supporters were killed and at least 265 were injured. Oliver Popplewell published an inquiry into the fire that led to the introduction of new safety legislation for sports grounds across England. Following the fire, Valley Parade underwent a £2.6-million redevelopment and re-opened in December 1986. It underwent significant changes in the 1990s and the early 2000s, and now has a capacity of 24,840. The attendance record of 39,146 was set in 1911 at an FA Cup tie against Burnley. (Full article...)

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Manor in which The Troubles of a Gnome is set

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In the news

Shai Bolton

In Australian rules football, the Brisbane Lions win their third premiership in a row, defeating the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL Grand Final (Norm Smith Medal winner Shai Bolton pictured).
An attack on a police complex in Kohat, Pakistan, leaves at least 31 people dead.
The tilcayo, a new species of tiger cat, is formally identified.
Former leader of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi is sentenced to 25 years in prison for war crimes during his leadership of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

On this day

September 27: Gold Star Mother's Day in the United States (2026); Meskel (Orthodox Tewahedo)

Flag of China

1422 – The Treaty of Melno was signed, establishing the Prussian–Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for about 500 years.
1875 – The merchant ship Ellen Southard was wrecked in a storm at Liverpool, England; the U.S. Congress subsequently awarded 27 Gold Lifesaving Medals to the men who rescued her crew.
1940 – World War II: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin, officially forming a military alliance known as the Axis.
1949 – Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference unanimously selected Zeng Liansong's design for the flag of China (pictured).
2014 – Mount Ontake in central Japan unexpectedly erupted, killing 63 people in the nation's deadliest eruption in more than 100 years.

Guillaume Rondelet (b. 1507)
Ivan Goncharov (d. 1891)
Joel Shapiro (b. 1941)
Madeleine Tchicaya (d. 2021)

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Today's featured pictures

The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. The mechanism has ancient origins in Mesopotamia, while the modern form was developed in the 19th century by Linus Yale Sr. and Linus Yale Jr.

Without a key in the lock, the driver pins (blue) are pushed downwards, preventing the plug (yellow) from rotating.
When an incorrect key is inserted into the lock, the key pins (red) and driver pins do not align with the boundary between the plug and the bible, preventing the plug from rotating.
When the correct key is inserted, the gaps between the key pins and driver pins align with the boundary between the plug and the bible.
With the gaps between the pins aligned with the boundary between the plug and the bible, the plug can rotate freely.

Diagram credit: Wapcaplet and Pbrks

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