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Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the Kong family of simians. Donkey Kong games include the original arcade game trilogy by Nintendo R&D1, the Donkey Kong Country series by Rare and Retro Studios, and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series by Nintendo Software Technology. The main Donkey Kong games are platform games in which the player must reach the end of a level. Donkey Kong appears as the antagonist or protagonist; his role alternates between games. The original Donkey Kong, released in 1981, was Nintendo's first major international success. The franchise has pioneered or popularized concepts such as in-game storytelling and pre-rendered graphics, inspired other games (including clones), and influenced popular culture. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Recreated Gutenberg printing press

... that around 1473 a Dominican friar denounced the printing press (example pictured) as a "whore" set against the "virgin" pen?
... that Patricio Fontanet, Eduardo Vázquez, and other neighbourhood friends gave their first show as Callejeros in front of a barbershop?
... that Notharctus, one of the first fossil primates discovered in the Americas, was originally classified as a pachyderm?
... that many people attributed Andrew Tate's removal from social media to a diatribe by Daz Black?
... that an Australian newspaper is mainly written by people who are or have been in prison?
... that an endowed scholarship was established at Thomas Jefferson University in memory of transgender activist and fashion designer Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, who was murdered at the age of 27?
... that Rudolph Valentino was rumored to have used Roman Gardens for secret romances, even though he died before the building was completed?
... that an investigation into Motherless.com prompted claims on social media that 62 million men had enrolled in an "online rape academy"?
... that Steve Baumgartner had more than 1,200 beer cans lining the walls of a spare bedroom in his house?

In the news

Alan Greenspan

Two earthquakes strike Venezuela, leaving more than 230 people dead.
Former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan (pictured) dies at the age of 100.
Keir Starmer announces his intention to resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
An attack by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger kills 35 people, including 22 gunmen.

On this day

June 26

June Days uprising

1243 – Mongol conquest of Anatolia: Mongols achieved a decisive victory over the Seljuq Turks, leading to the decline and disintegration of the Seljuk state.
1848 – French authorities suppressed the June Days uprising (pictured), in which workers rioted in response to plans to close the National Workshops.
1918 – World War I: The 26-day Battle of Belleau Wood near the Marne River in France ended with American forces finally clearing that forest of German troops.
1997 – J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter fantasy novel series, was released.
2010 – A G20 summit, the largest and most expensive security operation in Canadian history, began in downtown Toronto.

Henrietta of England (b. 1644)
Daoud Corm (b. 1852)
Richie Powell (d. 1956)
Pommie Mbangwa (b. 1976)

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From today's featured list

Erskine Hawkins

In 1943, eighteen songs topped the Harlem Hit Parade, a Billboard chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem". Placings were based on a survey of record stores primarily in Harlem, a district of New York City that is noted for its African-American population and has been called the "black capital of America". Most of 1943's number ones were in the genres of jazz and swing, which were among the most popular styles of music in the early 1940s. The year's longest-running chart-topper was "Don't Cry Baby" by Erskine Hawkins (pictured) and his Orchestra, spending a total of 14 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart between August and December. Two acts each achieved the feat of topping the chart with three different songs. Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra topped the listing with "When the Lights Go On Again", "Apollo Jump" and "Sweet Slumber", which was the final number one of 1943. Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra reached the top spot with "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "A Slip of the Lip (Can Sink a Ship)" and "Sentimental Lady". (Full list...)

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The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a species of water bird in the grebe family, Podicipedidae, found across the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It breeds on shallow freshwater lakes, marshes and ponds, and winters mainly along sheltered coasts and other large bodies of water. In breeding plumage, adults have a black cap, pale grey face and throat, and a rusty-red neck, while winter birds are duller grey. The species is a strong swimmer and diver, feeding on fish, aquatic insects and other invertebrates. Red-necked grebes build floating nests among emergent vegetation, and newly hatched chicks often ride on their parents' backs. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This red-necked grebe of the subspecies P. g. grisegena in breeding plumage was photographed in Amager Common, a park and nature reserve in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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