User:Brian0918

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This user is a former administrator on the English Wikipedia.

This user has been on Wikipedia for 20 years, 3 months and 10 days.

This editor is a Master Editor
and is entitled to display this
Platinum Editor Star.

This user is a former administrator on Commons. (removed for inactivity)

This user has an account on the Wikimedia Foundation's website.

SbOCl

This user purges violently both upwards and downwards.

en	This user is a native speaker of English.

es-1

Este usuario puede contribuir con un nivel básico de español.

Current Boschmeter Wikistress level:

Feelin' earthly

Contributions

First started editing at 17:03, 1 Aug 2004.
Articles created (1200 as of 2007/11)
- Complete list of pages created on en
Images uploaded (1100 as of 2006/03)
- View the free images thumbnail gallery at Free images
Video uploaded
Audio uploaded

Featured articles

Atheism – front page on June 8, 2007
Arrested Development – front page on December 5, 2005
Norman Borlaug – front page on July 27, 2005
Great Lakes Storm of 1913 – front page on February 27, 2005
Battle of Hampton Roads – front page on January 26, 2005

Featured pictures

See also: Gallery

Did you know...

Here are facts that were used on DYK from articles I created or expanded beyond stubs, ordered from oldest (top) to newest (bottom).

...that the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 was the deadliest natural disaster to hit the Great Lakes basin region, killing over 250 people?
...that the Italian scholar Girolamo Maggi wrote and illustrated two detailed treatises, from memory, while chained in a dungeon in Istanbul?
...that Corinthian brass was a priceless metal alloy allegedly created as the city's hoard of precious metals melted together during the burning of Corinth in 146 BC?
...that Aristotle believed that a vital heat was produced in the heart, causing blood to boil and expand outward into the arteries with each pulsation?
...that the Callippic cycle was a 76-year cycle used to align the lunar calendar with the solar year more accurately than the famous Metonic cycle?
...that the Capitoline Games of Ancient Rome became so popular that the Romans counted periods of time by them, rather than their previous unit of lustrum?
...that camelot is a woven fabric that might have originally incorporated camel or goat hair?
...that the highest distinction among the Caloyers, a Greek monastic order, involves spending one's entire life alone, confined in a cave on top of a mountain?
...that a carcass was a kind of artillery shell fired from a mortar or cannon to burn down enemy defences?
...that a carmen was a spell or incantation among the Ancient Romans, of which the oldest surviving examples are the Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare?
...that the Caroline Books were a harsh argument against the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, commissioned by Charlemagne and sent to Pope Adrian I?
...that casting is the regurgitation of fur, feathers, and other undigestible material by hawks, to clean and empty their crops?
...that the catastrophe was the final resolution of Ancient Greek tragedies, in which one or more main characters usually died?
...that a catoptric theatre (pictured) was an ancient optical illusion in which a single elaborate scene appeared to be larger than the box that contained it?
Catoptric Theatre box
...that the Magdeburg Centuries is a 1300-year history of the Catholic Church, written particularly as a criticism of the papacy?
...that a catholicon was a purported universal remedy taken orally or rectally?
...that a cento is a poetic work composed entirely of verses taken from other authors?
...that the Grand Chartophylax was considered the right arm of the Patriarch of Constantinople?
...that the chrysargyron tax forced some Byzantine families to sell their children into slavery and prostitution?
...that a circumferentor was an important tool to surveyors for mapping the North American frontier?
...that cledonism was an ancient form of divination by listening to the chance words of passers-by, an example of which appears in the Odyssey?
...that a client was an Ancient Roman who traded his vote for protection, in a similar way to the activities of modern organized crime?
...that climacteric years, occuring septennially, were considered critical and dangerous moments in an Ancient Greek's life?
...that Britain's regulations on bread sales, as originated from the Assize of Bread and Ale (1266), were enforced for six centuries?
...that the Christian sect of Collegiants was formed in 1619 to defy the Synod of Dort, which had forced Holland to dismiss liberal ministers?
...that the fruit of the colocynth is such a violent laxative that it was even used by pregnant women to induce abortion?
...that Epiphanius's most important work, the Panarion, is ironically the only surviving source of information on several early Christian sects that he sought to eliminate with his writing?
...that the British Levant Company avoided a fatal mistake of other chartered companies by paying their consuls and ambassadors a pension, so that they would not impose taxes on merchants for personal gain?
...that the French West India Company was so successful at recovering commerce from the Dutch in the West Indies, that the company became obsolete after only 9 years in operation?
...that Tarquin the Proud modified the Roman festival of Compitalia to include the sacrifice of children's heads, but upon his expulsion, Brutus substituted heads of garlic and poppies instead?
...that Roman Emperor Trajan was heavily criticized for giving extravagant donations, called congiaria, to every citizen?
...that a Roman man once received the surname of "Tricongius" for his ability to drink three congii of wine (9.8 litres; 2.6 gallons) in one sitting in a feat that he once performed before Emperor Tiberius?
...that the Roman festival of hilaria, which allowed anyone to masquerade as any rank, was used in a plot to assassinate Emperor Commodus, by conspirators planning to disguise themselves as members of the Praetorian Guard?
...that at the Roman festival of Quinquatria in 59, Emperor Nero invited his mother Agrippina to his villa, as part of his plan to assassinate her?
...that the invention of the tone variator (pictured) in 1897 marked the advance beyond classical psychophysics, as it allowed the study of the perception of continuous changes in stimuli?
Tone variator
...that the 1672 treatise Loimologia is a rare first-hand account of the Great Plague of London, written by one of the few physicians to remain in the city during the plague?
...that Portugal's leading satirical poet of the 18th century, Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida, made the first literary reference to the "Brazilian modinha"?
...that Dutch polymath Theodoor Jansson compiled a list of authors who plagiarized expressions from other writers?
...that St. Nilus reportedly foretold to princess Aloara of Capua, for her part in the murder of her husband's nephew, that none of her offspring should reign in Capua—a prophecy that came true in 999?
...that Mexican scientist José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez (pictured) published work showing that the hallucinogenic effects of the pipiltzintzintli plant are due to natural causes, not the work of the devil?
...that the sole surviving portion of the work of 4th-century musical writer Alypius is the chief source of modern knowledge of Greek musical notation?
...that the 1870 poem The Heathen Chinee, written by Bret Harte as a satire of racial prejudice, was publicly embraced as a mockery of Chinese immigrants, and shaped anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. more than any other work at the time?
...that the Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses, located on the eastern slope of Mount Etna, holds the world record for the "greatest tree girth ever", and is also the largest and oldest known chestnut tree?
Bodélé Depression
...that dust supplied by the Bodélé Depression (pictured) in the Sahara Desert not only feeds some of the world's largest dust storms, but also supports the continued existence of the Amazon Rainforest?
...that in one type of Anglo-Saxon trial, the accused tried to prove their innocence by swallowing a piece of bread and cheese, called "corsned", without choking?
...that in Greek mythology, Heracles chased off the man-eating birds of Lake Stymphalia by playing castanet-like clappers called "crotala"?
Nero
...that at the age of 21, Roman Emperor Nero (pictured) instituted the games of Juvenalia in recognition of the first shaving of his beard?
...that in the Roman Empire, ten year celebrations called "decennalia" originated after Augustus refused the lifetime supremacy offered to him?
...that according to Greek mythology, the festival of Delia was instituted by Theseus after slaying the Minotaur?
...that in Ancient Roman entertainment, a desultor was a performer who led several horses in full gallop—as many as six or eight at once—and leaped from one to another?
...that the distinct resemblance of a certain silver mixture, known as Diana's Tree, to a forest of trees led alchemists to theorize the existence of life in the realm of minerals?
...that it was common for the Roman Emperor to be elected to one of two offices of the highest judicial magistrates known as duumviri, and the other position was left up to the emperor for the appointment of a praefectus?

Current or recent work

Creating articles with content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, with {{1728}}
Maintaing Template:Did you know.
Creating articles with content from the John Aikin's General Biography (saved on my computer), with {{genbio}}, {{newgenbio}}
Cleanup with bot0918

Odd 1728 entries

Here are some odd, humorous, obsolete, shocking, or generally interesting entries I've found while reading through the 1728 Cyclopaedia:

Algarot: ... This is also called Emetic Pouder—It purges violently both upwards and downwards.

Burning: in our antient Customs, was an infectious Disease, got in the Stews, by conversing with leud Women.

Camus: a Person with a low, flat Nose, hollow'd or sunk in the Middle ... The wife of the great Cinghis Kam (Genghis Khan), a celebrated Beauty, had only two Holes for a Nose.

Cells: in Anatomy, are little Bags, or Bladders, where Fluids or other Matters are lodg'd. [yes, that's it]

Clitoris: ... In many respects it represents the Penis of a Man; whence some call it the Woman's Yard.

Cloud:

The manner wherein Vapours are rais'd into Clouds may be conceiv'd thus:

Fire, being of a light, agil Nature, easily breaks loose from Bodies wherein 'tis detain'd.

Now, by reason of the exceeding smallness of the Particles of Fire, their attractive Force must be exceeding great: hence, in their Ascent thro' fluid Bodies, part of the Fluid will cling around them, and mount up together with them, in form of Vesicles of Water replete with Particles of Fire; which Vesicles are what we call Vapour... etc.

Decollation:

A French Embassador at Constantinople, shewing the Grand Seignior a [painting of the] Decollation of St. John, admirably represented, except that the Painter had not observed, that when a Man is beheaded, the Skin shrinks back a little; The Emperor immediately spied the Fault in that exquisite Performance; and to convince the Embassador thereof, sent Orders for a Man to be immediately beheaded, and his Head to be brought for a Proof.

Deicide:

a Term only us'd in speaking of the Condemnation, and Execution of the Saviour of the World, by Pontius Pilate, and the Jews; which was an horrible Deicide.

The Jews, an ingenious Author observes, were never more remote from Idolatry than at present; Never more inviolably attach'd to the Law of Moses, than at present : Whence then that Load of Evils and Misfortunes they have so many Ages groan'd under, Evils incomparably greater and more lasting than all the Chastisements wherewith God anciently avenged their most heinous Idolatries? Whence do they arise, but from the Deicide they committed in the Person of Jesus Christ. [just... wow]

Disease:

The entire article on "disease" is a pretty interesting read. They were basically stuck with subcategorizing health problems according to vague predetermined categories. So, for example, the body is composed of "solids" and "liquids", and diseases either affect solids, or they affect liquids, or they affect both (basically, nothing is being said). They believed that every disease could be attributed to worms, or to the "molecules" of the blood being too big or small, for example.

Future contributions

Possible future work:

Writing random articles:
- Hundred Horses Chestnut Tree (or some other title, from it:Castagno dei Cento Cavalli)

Writing more featured articles:

Links

Awards and recognition

The Signpost did a story (02/2005) on my work bringing an article from nothing to featured status in 2 weeks.
Impostors so far: Brian09I8, BrianO918, Brain8190, Brain1890, Brain1980, Brain1809, Brian0918 on wheels!, Brian 0918, Brian0918 AKA Redwolf24 AKA Mickey, Brian0918 in a bikini

This page has been vandalized seven times (at least).

For your constant and tireless work, always high-quality, I award you this silly animated GIF. I mean, this beautiful barnstar! Ashibaka talk 21:33, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)

In recognition of your persistent dedication to the community on Wikipedia_talk:Barnstars_on_Wikipedia, I hereby award you with the **The Barnstar of Diligence** – Clockwork **Soul** 21:01, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC) (KC)

For all the wonderful images you've bnrought to featured status, I hereby award you **The Photographer's Barnstar** – Clockwork **Soul** 03:16, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC) (KC)

For the huge improvements you made to Norman Borlaug where the AID failed, and your countless other great contributions, I award you this barnstar. -- the wub (talk) 09:16, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

For having the most welcome welcome message a newcomer could wish to receive, I hereby award you this WikiCookie. Don't lose the great sense of humor! Sango 123 23:16, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

I, Thelb4, award you this Barnstar for welcoming me and other people very kindly – Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar

I've been seeing your work around here, so I decided to give you a barnstar. Take care, **File:Smilie.gifMolotov (talk)**
23:42, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

I, Hall Monitor, award you this Barnstar of Reversion for your tireless contributions to Wikipedia. 19:03, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Since you created the 800,000th article, History of Sudan (Transitional Military Council), I hereby award you this barnstar for your efforts. Tito xd^(?!?) 05:59, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

For tirelessly defending the template {{maintained}}, which was the first good idea I've seen come down the Wikipedia pipe in a while that didn't get shot down. **I'm No Parking and I approved this message** 05:40, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I, Reflex Reaction award this barnstar to Brian0918 for his excellent work at WP:MEA developing new lists and pruning those list

I award this Award to Brian0918 for their great efforts one the awards pages that promotes good cheer for alll wikipedians. --evrik 17:24, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

Indigenous American Barnstar awarded for American Indian photographic contributions. --Aaron Walden 08:44, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

In recognition of your meritorious service to DYK, both as a prolific article contributor and keeping it running. -- **Blnguyen** 06:01, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

		An Award
		I award this award to Brian0918 for very fast and efficient counter-vandalism Sceptre 23:04, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		For your help with the fair use rational and other stuff Tawker 08:16, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

		The Working Man's Barnstar
		For your continuing supervision of the DYKs, I, Piotrus, hearby award you with The Working Man's Barnstar. Wear it proudly and keep up the good job! Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus ^Talk 17:11, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

		The Resilient Barnstar
		I, Pecher, hereby award you this Resilient Barnstar for staunchly holding out against emotional attacks on Talk:Banu Nadir. 19:30, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		Brian, I see you everywhere on Wikipedia, and you deserve this: The Tireless Contributor Barnstar! Viva La V i e Boheme 23:15, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		For tireless, endless, and exceptionally annoying reverts on Down Syndrome when it was on the main page: OUR THANKS! Scoutersig 03:08, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

		The RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar
		Your efforts fighting vandals and reverting vandalism (especially tonight with the Down Syndrome article) is quite worthy of this Barnstar. Good job! Sharkface217 03:40, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

		The Editor's Barnstar
		For the hard work in bringing atheism to featured article quality, boldly cutting out unnecessary complexities, rewriting massive weasel-sections, and most importantly, being very kind to me :) Even if this is a bit premature: congratulations on yet another featured article! Merzul 19:16, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

		The 25 DYK Medal
		I, Smee, hereby award you with The 25 DYK Medal, in recognition of your over 25 contributions to the Did you know? section, as featured on the Main Page. Great job, you're on your way to 100! Thank you for your contributions to the project. Yours, Smee 04:39, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

		The 50 DYK Medal
		Excellent job! I see that you have exceeded 50!!. Do keep up the good work ... such a range of subjects. Congratulations on fifty plus DYKs Victuallers (talk) 09:12, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

		The Inverted Barnstar
		For your wonderful css skin. --omtay 38 01:24, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

		The Oddball Barnstar
		Awarded to you for your many serious accomplishments, and for providing a reason for pursuing the Master Editor Award. Thanks!--Jakkinx (talk) 00:00, 23 October 2009 (UTC)\|} Sign / View my Guestbook!