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December 1
A total of 41 counties in Romania, along with the municipality of Bucharest, constitute the official administrative divisions of Romania. For most of the time since modern Romania was formed in 1859, the administrative division system has been similar to the French departments one. The system has been changed several times since then, and the number of counties has varied over time. The current format has largely been in place since 1968 as only small changes have been made since then, the last of which was in 1997. According to 2011 census data from the National Institute of Statistics, the average population of Romania's 41 counties is about 445,000, with Iași County (coat of arms pictured) as the most populous and Covasna County the least. The average county's land area is 5,809 square kilometres (2,243 sq mi), with Timiș County the largest and Ilfov County the smallest. The municipality of Bucharest, which has the same administrative level as that of a county, is both more populous and much smaller than any county, with 1,883,425 people and 228 square kilometres (88 sq mi). (Full list...)
December 5
The Global Peace Index (GPI) is an attempt to measure the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. It is the product of the Institute for Economics and Peace (logo pictured) and developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected and collated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The list was launched in May 2007 and updates have been made on an annual basis since then. It ranks 162 countries. The study is the brainchild of Australian technology entrepreneur Steve Killelea, founder of Integrated Research, and is endorsed by individuals such as the Dalai Lama, archbishop Desmond Tutu, and economist Jeffrey Sachs. Factors examined by the authors include internal factors such as levels of violence and crime within the country and factors in a country's external relations such as military expenditure and wars. The GPI has been criticised for not including indicators specifically relating to violence against women and children. The GPI currently indicates Iceland, Denmark, and Austria to be the most peaceful countries and Syria, Afghanistan, and South Sudan to be the least peaceful. (Full list...)
December 8
National Tourist Routes are eighteen highways in Norway designated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for their picturesque scenery and tourist-friendly infrastructure, such as rest stops and viewpoints. The routes cover 1,850 kilometers (1,150 mi) and are located along the West Coast, in Northern Norway and in the mountains of Southern Norway. The authorities have coordinated the establishment of accommodation, cultural activities, dining, sale of local arts and crafts, and natural experiences along the tourist roads. The overall goal of the project is to increase tourism in the rural areas through which the roads run. The project started in 1994 and was initially limited to Sognefjellsvegen (pictured), Gamle Strynefjellsveg, Hardanger and the Helgeland Coast Route. These were officially designated National Tourist Routes in 1997, and, the following year, the Storting decided to expand the project. Eighteen routes were selected in 2004, with the goal of completing the necessary upgrades and officially opening them as National Tourist Routes by 2015. All routes were signposted and officially designated by 2012. (Full list...)
December 12
Shah Rukh Khan's acting career has spanned over two decades. Khan made his screen debut with the Doordarshan television series Fauji (1988), which led to roles in other television shows and offers to act in film. A supporting role in Deewana (1992) marked his film debut, and he established a career in Bollywood by playing the antagonist of the 1993 thrillers Darr and Baazigar. Khan achieved success as the male lead in several top-grossing romantic dramas, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Veer-Zaara (2004), Om Shanti Om (2007), and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012). He also played against type as a NASA scientist in the drama Swades (2004), a hockey coach in the sports film Chak De! India (2007), and an autistic man in the drama My Name Is Khan (2010). Fourteen of Khan's films have grossed over ₹1 billion (US$12 million) in global ticket sales. With eight Filmfare Awards for Best Actor, he shares the record for the most wins in the category with Dilip Kumar. (Full list...)
December 15
Many of the wettest tropical cyclones in the United States have moved into the contiguous United States from the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The highest rainfall totals in the country have been measured across the Gulf Coast and lower portions of the Eastern Seaboard. Tropical Storm Amelia's total rainfall is the most recorded within the contiguous United States. Tropical Storm Claudette (pictured) holds the national 24-hour rainfall record, with 42 inches (1,100 mm) falling within a day. Taking place only one year apart, in 1978 and 1979, Amelia and Claudette are also the two wettest tropical cyclones to have occurred in Texas. Hurricane Hiki in 1950 led to significant rainfall in the mountains of Hawaii; with 52 inches (1,300 mm) of rainfall reported, this is the most rainfall reported to have been produced by a tropical cyclone within the entirety of the United States. (Full list...)
December 19
Video games developed by Key, a Japanese visual novel video game development studio and brand under the publisher VisualArt's, are initially published by VisualArt's and released for Microsoft Windows personal computers; consumer ports are published by Interchannel and Prototype. Key released their debut title, Kanon, in 1999, followed by their second title, Air, in 2000. Both Kanon and Air were initially released as adult games, but Key released their third game, Clannad, in 2004 with a rating of approval for all ages. Seven more games have been released since then. Thirty-eight versions of Key's 10 released visual novels have been published by VisualArt's. Of the 38, 11 were released with an adult rating, and the remaining 27 had a rating for all ages. VisualArt's has ceased manufacturing 21 versions of Key's 10 games. Key released a box set called "Key 10th Memorial Box" in July 2009 containing six of Key's visual novels with a rating for all ages. (Full list...)
December 22
Plantations that operated within the present-day boundaries of West Virginia initially carried over the practice of slavery from other plantations of the Piedmont and Tidewater regions of Virginia. Harewood (pictured), which was designed by John Ariss for George Washington's brother Samuel Washington, is an early instance of a plantation in present-day West Virginia that had a grand home. The West Virginia Legislature passed an act abolishing slavery in West Virginia on February 3, 1865, thus ending the institution of the plantation in West Virginia. Since the 1960s, many of West Virginia's plantation houses have acquired places on the National Register of Historic Places, the United States government's official list of sites, buildings, and structures deemed worthy of preservation. The house at Traveller's Rest is West Virginia's sole plantation house designated as a National Historic Landmark for its national-level historical significance. (Full list...)
December 26
There are 67 confirmed moons of Jupiter (partial montage pictured). This gives it the largest retinue of moons with reasonably secure orbits of any planet in the Solar System. The most massive of them, the four Galilean moons, were discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and were the first objects found to orbit a body that was neither Earth nor the Sun. From the end of the 19th century, dozens of much smaller Jovian moons have been discovered and have received the names of lovers, conquests, or daughters of the Roman god Jupiter, or his Greek equivalent, Zeus. The Galilean moons are by far the largest and most massive objects in orbit around Jupiter, with the remaining 63 moons and the rings together comprising just 0.003 percent of the total orbiting mass. Eight of Jupiter's moons are regular satellites. The Galilean satellites would be considered dwarf planets if they were in direct orbit about the Sun. There are 17 recently discovered irregular satellites of Jupiter that have not yet been named. (This list is part of a featured topic: Jupiter.)
December 29
The discography of MercyMe, an American Christian rock band, includes eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one video album, eighteen singles and one guest appearance. MercyMe, formed in 1994, released six independent albums from 1995–2000 before signing with INO Records through Curb Records and releasing their major label debut album, Almost There, in 2001. The album's second single, "I Can Only Imagine", spent two weeks at number one on the Radio & Records Christian adult contemporary chart. The band released Spoken For, their second studio album, in 2002. Its second single, "Word of God Speak", spent a record twenty-three weeks atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart. MercyMe released a Christmas album, The Christmas Sessions, in 2005. Their fifth studio album, All That Is Within Me, was released in 2007 and marked their first album under Columbia Records. Their latest album, Welcome to the New, debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 26,000 copies in its first week. (Full list...)