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The Littlehampton libels were a series of letters sent to numerous residents of Littlehampton, in southern England, over a three-year period between 1920 and 1923. The letters, which contained obscenities and false accusations, were written by Edith Swan, a thirty-year-old laundress; she tried to incriminate her neighbour, Rose Gooding, a thirty-year-old married woman.

Swan and Gooding had once been friends, but after Swan made a false report to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children accusing Gooding of maltreating one of her sister's children, the letters started arriving. Many of them were signed as if from Gooding. Swan brought a private prosecution against Gooding for libel; in December 1920 Gooding was found guilty and imprisoned for two weeks. On her release the letters started again, and Swan brought a second private prosecution against Gooding. In February 1921 Gooding was again found guilty and imprisoned for twelve months.

While Gooding was in prison, two notebooks were found in Littlehampton. They contained further obscenities and falsehoods and were in the same handwriting as the letters. As a result, Gooding's case came to the attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Archibald Bodkin, who thought that there had been a miscarriage of justice. An investigation by the Metropolitan Police cleared Gooding of involvement in sending the letters and she was released from prison. When the letters started up again, the focus of police attention moved to Swan and she was put under surveillance. She was seen to drop a libellous letter and prosecuted in December 1921. Despite the evidence against her, the judge intervened in the prosecution's questioning and the case collapsed.

In early 1922 the letters began arriving again. By October the police and detectives from the General Post Office (GPO) were involved, all targeting Swan. GPO detectives caught Swan sending another libellous letter in June 1923. She was arrested, found guilty and imprisoned for a year. In 2023 a film about the events, Wicked Little Letters, was released; it stars Olivia Colman as Swan and Jessie Buckley as Gooding. A similar case of libellous letters being sent over several years was reported in 2024, in the village of Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire; parallels were observed with the events at Littlehampton.

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Around June 1447, the abbot of Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, Northern England, John Greenwell, was poisoned by a monk, William Downom (also Downam[1]). By the 15th century, Fountains was the richest abbey in England, and its abbot was an important figure in local political society. The first half of the century saw it wracked with internal strife, including a disputed election which had violent repercussions and, possibly, embezzlement. Greenwell appears to have brought a degree of peace to the abbey upon his election, but he does not seem to have been popular.

Downom poisoned a dish of pottage, which he then attempted to feed the abbot while the latter was sick. Greenwell survived, and the case became notorious. Although it took over a year and discussions with Fountains' motherhouse of Cîteaux Abbey, Downom—who may already have been an apostate—was eventually expelled. Greenwell himself remained controversial and was both accused and accuser in local lawsuits, and later incurred the distrust of King Edward IV for his political leanings. Greenwell eventually resigned in 1471; Downom stayed a monk after being expelled from Fountains and may have joined Kirkstead Abbey in Lincolnshire, following which he disappears from the record.

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A Caesar cipher[a] is one of the simplest and most widely known encryption techniques used in cryptography. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. For example, with a left shift of 3, D would be replaced by A, E would become B, and so on.[1] The method is named after Julius Caesar, who used it in his private correspondence.

The encryption step performed by a Caesar cipher is often incorporated as part of more complex schemes, such as the Vigenère cipher, and still has modern application in the ROT13 system. As with all single-alphabet substitution ciphers, the Caesar cipher is easily broken and in modern practice offers essentially no communications security.

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The Getaway is a 1972 American action thriller film based on the 1958 novel by Jim Thompson. The film was directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Walter Hill, and stars Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Al Lettieri, and Sally Struthers. The plot follows imprisoned mastermind robber Carter "Doc" McCoy, whose wife Carol conspires for his release on the condition they rob a bank in Texas. A double-cross follows the crime, and the McCoys are forced to flee for Mexico with the police and criminals in hot pursuit.

Peter Bogdanovich, whose The Last Picture Show impressed McQueen and producer David Foster, was originally hired as the director of The Getaway. Thompson came on board to write the screenplay, but creative differences ensued between him and McQueen, and Thompson was subsequently fired, along with Bogdanovich. Writing and directing duties eventually went to Hill and Peckinpah, respectively. Principal photography commenced February 7, 1972, on location in Texas. The film reunited McQueen and Peckinpah, who had worked together on the relatively unprofitable Junior Bonner, released the same year.

The Getaway premiered December 19, 1972. Despite the negative reviews it received upon release, numerous retrospective critics have reevaluated the film positively. A box-office hit earning over $36 million, it was the eighth highest-grossing film of 1972, and one of the most financially successful productions of Peckinpah's and McQueen's careers. A film remake of the same name starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger was released in 1994.

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The battle of Bronkhorstspruit was the first major engagement of the First Boer War. It took place by the Bronkhorstspruit river, near the town of Bronkhorstspruit, Transvaal, on 20 December 1880. Threatened by the growing numbers of militant Boers in the Pretoria region, the British recalled the 94th Regiment of Foot, which had several companies garrisoned in towns and villages across the wider area. The regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Philip Robert Anstruther, led a 34-wagon column consisting of roughly 250 men on a 188-mile (303 km) journey from Lydenburg back to Pretoria. A similar-sized Boer commando force, led by Francois Gerhardus Joubert, was ordered to intercept and stop the British.

Despite several warnings of the threat of attack, the British travelled largely unprepared for combat, and the many wagons they travelled with slowed their progress significantly. On 20 December, 24 days after receiving the order to return, Anstruther's column was confronted by the Boers, who demanded under truce that the British stop their march. Anstruther refused, and the Boers attacked while the British soldiers were still preparing. The British took heavy casualties and surrendered after about 15 minutes; their surviving men were captured. Anstruther was badly wounded and died of his injuries a few days later.

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The Rhodesian government actively recruited white personnel from other countries from the mid-1970s until 1980 to address manpower shortages in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. It is estimated that between 800 and 2,000 foreign volunteers enlisted. The issue attracted a degree of controversy as Rhodesia was the subject of international sanctions that banned military assistance due to its illegal declaration of independence and the control that the small white minority exerted over the country. The volunteers were often labelled as mercenaries by opponents of the Rhodesian regime, though the Rhodesian government did not regard or pay them as such.

The volunteers had a range of motivations for enlisting. These included opposition to governments led by black people, anti-communism, a desire for adventure, racism, and economic hardship. The volunteers generally joined the Rhodesian Security Forces after seeing advertisements or being contacted by recruiters. Many were from the United Kingdom and United States, some being combat veterans. They generally served alongside Rhodesian personnel, though a separate unit made up of Frenchmen was formed. The Rhodesian government regarded the volunteers as unreliable, and they often received a hostile response from members of the units to which they were posted. This contributed to high desertion rates. The remaining volunteers were dismissed from the security forces in 1980 following the end of the war and Rhodesia's transition to Zimbabwe.

It was illegal for the citizens of many countries to serve with the Rhodesian Security Forces due to the international sanctions that had been imposed on Rhodesia following its illegal declaration of independence, or broader prohibitions against mercenary activity. The governments of the United Kingdom, United States and several other countries were unable to prevent their citizens fighting for Rhodesia owing to difficulties enforcing their relevant laws. The African nationalist groups who opposed the Rhodesian government believed the presence of volunteers indicated that Western governments supported the regime. Historians have published little on the volunteers, coverage largely forming part of works on broader issues. The volunteers are celebrated by some modern far-right and white supremacist groups that admire Rhodesia.

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The Algemeyne Entsiklopedye (Yiddish: אלגעמיינע ענציקלאפעדיע, lit. 'General Encyclopedia') is a Yiddish-language encyclopedia published in twelve volumes from 1934 to 1966. It is divided into two subseries: five volumes of the Normale series, covering general knowledge, and six volumes of the Yidn series (initially planned as a single supplementary volume) covering Jewish history and culture through a series of essays. The encyclopedia's early volumes emphasize leftist history and politics, although the project shifted in tone in response to Nazi persecution, and became increasingly focused on covering Jewish topics. After the destruction of Jewish communities throughout Europe—the encyclopedia's main audience—in the Holocaust, it transformed from a general-purpose resource into an effort to commemorate what was lost.

After decades of failed attempts to compile a Yiddish general encyclopedia, the Vilna-based Jewish cultural organization YIVO formed the Dubnov Fund (Dubnov-fond, named for historian Simon Dubnow) in 1930, which organized and fundraised for the encyclopedia. A large group of Jewish scholars centered in Berlin contributed to the project, often part-time alongside other jobs. The socialist politician Raphael Abramovitch served as the project's chief editor for most of its history. A small sample volume (the probeheft) was released in 1932. Its editors fled to Paris due to the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, delaying the release of the first volume until 1934. There, they published four volumes of the Normale series and two of Yidn. The outbreak of World War II again forced the editors to flee, and the project regrouped in New York City. Financed by the postwar Claims Conference, work on the encyclopedia continued into the 1960s; the final volume, Yidn Zayen, was released three years after Abramovitch's death in 1963. Two additional volumes (one of each series) were planned, but never finished. In the years following the war, a four-volume English-language encyclopedia titled The Jewish People: Past and Present was compiled, largely based on the early volumes of the Yidn series.

Press coverage of the probeheft and the first volumes of the encyclopedia was very supportive, although it faced some ideological opposition due to its largely anti-Zionist leaning in its early years. The encyclopedia has received limited academic attention, although a book detailing the history of the project by Barry Trachtenberg entitled The Holocaust and the Exile of Yiddish was published in 2022.

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Melaka Fray is a fictional character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics published by Dark Horse Comics. She debuts in the first issue of Fray (2001), a limited series in a shared universe with the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Living in the 23rd century, Melaka is a professional thief who learns that she is a Slayer destined to fight supernatural foes. She has a Slayer's physical powers, while her twin brother Harth inherited their prophetic dreams. Melaka discovers that Harth, whom she believed was dead, has become a vampire intent on bringing demons back to Earth's dimension. After stopping his plan, she remains a thief, but chooses to protect others as well. In Tales of the Slayers, she connects with her heritage by reading journals about past Slayers. Melaka reappears in the canonical comic book continuation of the television series, meeting the 21st century Slayer Buffy Summers in Season Eight and helping her defeat Harth in Season Twelve.

Melaka was developed by Buffy's creator Joss Whedon and artist Karl Moline. Whedon originally planned to write a comic about a different Slayer, Faith, but instead opted for a new character in a futuristic setting to avoid interfering with Faith's potential storylines. Fray was Whedon's first time writing a comic, although Dark Horse Comics had previously published Buffy comics without his involvement. His only request was that Melaka should not be drawn in the sexualized manner common with female characters in superhero comics. Although Melaka is initially characterized as tough, she is also shown as caring and protective of others. Her relationships with Harth and her older sister Erin are key parts of Fray.

Critics have had mixed reactions to Melaka in Fray. Some have praised her as a good protagonist, while others have criticized her relationships with other characters and capabilities as a strong female character. Moline's art has been the subject of critical discussion, as despite Whedon's intentions, some reviewers believed that the comic sexually objectifies Melaka. Academics have analyzed Melaka's character arc in Fray as an example of the hero's journey, with her last name also being examined based on its potential meanings. A fan film with Melaka was released in 2017.

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The tufted jay (Cyanocorax dickeyi), also known as the painted jay and Dickey's jay, is a species of bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is endemic to a small area of the Sierra Madre Occidental in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Nayarit. A distinctive large jay, it has a prominent dark crest on its head; purplish blue back, wings, and face; a white spot above the eye and on the cheek; white undersides; and a partially white tail. Its typical call is a quick, four-note vocalization.

The relationship between the tufted jay and other members of the genus Cyanocorax has been a subject of interest since the species was first described in 1935. Because of the visual similarities between the tufted jay and the white-tailed jay, the two were thought by some to be closely related. A 2010 mitochondrial DNA study has shown that the tufted jay is most closely related to a group of South American jays, despite their ranges being separated by over 2,000 km (1,200 mi). They are likely descended from an ancestral jay which ranged throughout Central and South America.

The tufted jay lives in pine-oak forests, often remaining high in the canopy. Its diet consists primarily of berries and fruit, and to a lesser extent insects such as katydids. It forms social flocks centred around a single breeding pair, with some flocks remaining together over several generations. The tufted jay's breeding season starts in late March, with a clutch of two to five eggs being laid in a nest that is cooperatively built by members of the flock. The tufted jay is considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its population is decreasing, with an estimated 10,000–20,000 mature individuals in the wild. The primary threat to its survival is habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and deforestation due to logging and narcotic cultivation.

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A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as cards and Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London's street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this is a fully secular story or a Christian allegory.

Published on 19 December, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella favourably. The story was illicitly copied in January 1844; Dickens took legal action against the publishers, who went bankrupt, further reducing Dickens's small profits from the publication. He subsequently wrote four other Christmas stories. In 1849 he began public readings of the story, which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870, the year of his death. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages; the story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera and other media.

A Christmas Carol captured the zeitgeist of the early Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens acknowledged the influence of the modern Western observance of Christmas and later inspired several aspects of Christmas, including family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.