Nassak Diamond

... that the Nassak Diamond (replica pictured), pillaged in the 1800s from a Hindu temple where it had resided for 300 years, was later used as a gimmick to attract partygoers to a 1976 benefit?
... that Australian politician John Robertson worked as a construction worker for the New South Wales Parliament to which he was later elected?
... that Anita Bryant's participation in Save Our Children, a coalition working to overturn gay rights ordinances in Miami and other cities in 1977 and 1978, destroyed her career?
... that Major League Baseball pitchers Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina each made six Opening Day starts for the Baltimore Orioles?
... that the rare skin disorder ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens may be caused by a spontaneous mutation in the keratin 2e gene on chromosome 12?
... that actor Jesse Plemons had to get 11 stitches in his chin after offering to do his own stunts on Friday Night Lights?
... that Begonia boliviensis, one of the species used the production of the first hybrid tuberous begonia raised in England, was introduced from Bolivia by the Victorian plant collector Richard Pearce?
... that the M115 anti-crop bomb was known as the "feather bomb" because it dropped feathers laced with fungal spores in order to spread wheat stem rust?

seabird

The Greater Crested Tern is a seabird in the tern family, which nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. The Greater Crested Tern has grey upperparts, white underparts, a yellow bill, and a shaggy black crest which recedes in winter. Its young have a distinctive appearance, with strongly patterned grey, brown and white plumage, and rely on their parents for food for several months after they have fledged. Like all members of the genus Thalasseus, the Greater Crested Tern feeds by plunge diving for fish, usually in marine environments; the male offers fish to the female as part of the courtship ritual. This is an adaptable species which has learned to follow fishing boats for jettisoned bycatch, and to utilise unusual nest sites such as the roofs of buildings and artificial islands in salt pans and sewage works. Its eggs and young are taken by gulls and ibises, and human activities such as fishing, shooting and egg harvesting have caused local population declines. There are no global conservation concerns for this bird, which has a stable total population of more than 500,000 individuals. (more...)