Wimbledon began in 1877 as a five-day event with 22 entrants and a silver cup

sportsWikipedia1877 · Wimbledon, London, England

Wimbledon began in 1877 as a five-day event with 22 entrants and a silver cup

the gist

Wimbledon grew out of the All England Croquet Club, founded in 1868, which added lawn tennis in 1876 after Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised the game as an outdoor version of real tennis. The club held its first lawn tennis championship in July 1877, with 22 men paying a guinea each to enter. Rain delayed the event by four days, and Spencer Gore beat William Marshall in the final, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4. The club later added women's singles in 1884 and the open era of professional play arrived only in 1968.

so what

Wimbledon is now the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, and its amateur origins explain the long tradition of strict rules and grass courts. The 1940 bombing of Centre Court, followed by a rapid return in 1946, shows how the event survived wartime.

fun fact

Wimbledon was held in 1946 and 1947 before the French Championships, making it the second Grand Slam event of those years.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Illustrative photo · Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗