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The Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park is an urban linear park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park is 19 acres (7.7 hectares) in size and adjoins the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol. It is modeled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and incorporates Classical Greek, Baroque, and Beaux-Arts architecture. It uses symbolism to showcase the history, geography, culture, and musical heritage of Tennessee through a series of monuments, walkways, and interpretive displays. Receiving more than 2.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited of the 57 state parks in Tennessee. The park was designed by Tuck Hinton Architects in 1992 and 1993, groundbreaking occurred on June 27, 1994, and the park was dedicated on June 1, 1996, the 200th anniversary of Tennessee's statehood. Since then, the Tennessee State Museum and the Tennessee State Library and Archives have moved to the park, which is now recognized as a cultural and historical landmark. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Élisabeth Le Bas

... that French revolutionary Élisabeth Le Bas (pictured) declared that she would never accept a pension from her husband's "assassins", signing the statement with her own blood?
... that the construction of Tennessee State Route 155 in Nashville facilitated the development of an entertainment district anchored by the relocated Grand Ole Opry in the 1970s?
... that a narrative element in The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady was described as "explicitly [...] about class conflict"?
... that female Sirex obesus insert fungal spores and a toxic mucous secretion, alongside their eggs, into their pine tree host?
... that Elon Musk's daughter appeared in the music video for "Pinky Up"?
... that a Polish street was named after a Nazi concentration camp survivor who walked down it every day to get to the church in which he worked?
... that AI agents built the initial structure of a Taiwanese open knowledge base in 24 hours?
... that Arnold Korff worked as a mechanical engineer and a cowboy before becoming an actor?
... that the "man to beat" was beaten in the men's 102 kg weightlifting competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics?

In the news

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV (pictured) issues his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which expresses concerns about artificial intelligence.
The Democratic Rally, led by Annita Demetriou, wins the most seats in the Cypriot legislative election.
American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins dies at the age of 95.
In auto racing, Felix Rosenqvist wins the Indianapolis 500.
A suicide bombing targeting a shuttle train in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, kills at least 47 people.

On this day

May 31: World No Tobacco Day

Jaffna Public Library

1215 — A Mongol army under Genghis Khan captured Zhongdu (modern Beijing), the capital of the Jin dynasty of China.
1775 – American Revolution: The Committee of Safety of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves, which annulled and vacated all laws originating from the authority of the king or the Parliament of Great Britain.
1890 – Ulm Minster, the world's tallest church building, was completed in Ulm, Germany.
1981 – An organized mob of police and government-sponsored Sinhalese paramilitary forces began three days of attacks that led to the burning of the Jaffna Public Library (renovated building pictured) in Sri Lanka, destroying more than 97,000 items in one of the most violent 20th-century examples of ethnic biblioclasm.
2009 – American physician George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.

Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (d. 1326)
Jang Sel-gi (b. 1994)
Raymond Davis Jr. (d. 2006)
Derek Hodge (d. 2011)

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Today's featured picture

Trisopterus luscus, commonly known as pouting, is a small marine fish in the family Gadidae, which includes the cods and near relatives. The species occurs mainly in European waters, particularly around the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean Sea, and the coast of North Africa. They live over rocky and sandy seabeds at depths of up to 300 metres (980 ft), with smaller specimens being found closer to the shore. With a typical adult length of around 30 centimetres (12 in), they mature quickly and generally live for about four years. They are scavengers which feed on the seabed, with marine worms, shellfish and dead fish typically making up their diet. Once regarded as low-value bycatch, they have become increasingly important as a relatively sustainable commercial fish. This T. luscus fish was photographed in Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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