Secretariat was bred through a coin toss that decided which foal the horse owners would receive

pop & funWikipedia1970 · Meadow Stud, Virginia, USA

Secretariat was bred through a coin toss that decided which foal the horse owners would receive

the gist

Secretariat, the chestnut colt born on March 30, 1970, at Meadow Stud in Virginia, came from a foal-sharing deal with the Phipps family over the stallion Bold Ruler. The arrangement meant the owners would split foals from several matings, and a coin toss decided who picked first. Ogden Phipps won the 1969 toss and took a filly, while Christopher Chenery received the colt that became Secretariat, the 1970 foal. Chenery's daughter Penny, who ran the stable, arranged the breeding. The horse was named by Chenery and secretary Elizabeth Ham, and the name was suggested from her earlier job at the League of Nations secretariat. Secretariat later won the Triple Crown in 1973.

so what

Secretariat's story shows how a small coin toss between two owners set in motion one of the most famous careers in American sport. The horse is still remembered as one of the greatest racehorses ever.

fun fact

The horse's name was suggested by Elizabeth Ham, who had once worked for the secretariat of the League of Nations.

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 ↗