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Millipedes are a class (Diplopoda) of arthropods, characterised by two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments. Most species have long cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball. There are around 12,000 named species, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods. Despite their name (from the Latin for "thousand feet"), no known species has 1,000 legs; the most recorded is 750. Most species are detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter. Millipedes are generally harmless to humans, although some can become household or garden pests. Most defend themselves with a variety of chemicals secreted from pores along the body, except for the tiny bristle millipedes, which are covered with tufts of detachable bristles. First appearing in the Silurian period, millipedes are some of the oldest known land animals. While the largest modern species can reach lengths of 38 cm (15 in), some prehistoric millipedes grew to over 2 m (6 ft 7 in). (Full article...)

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Mausoleum of four Shi'a Imams

... that al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi'a Imams (pictured), was leveled to the ground by Wahhabis in 1806 and in the mid-1920s?
... that Ralph Nader was nominated by the Ecology Party of Florida as a presidential candidate in 2008?
... that SMS Custoza was the first Austro-Hungarian major warship to have an iron hull?
... that the British long-distance runner Andy Vernon's best result is a gold medal in the 5,000 metres at the 2011 Summer Universiade?
... that tunnel nests of the rosy bee-eater become submerged in the rainy season?
... that Kentucky family court judge Timothy N. Philpot says he does not "mention Jesus inside the courthouse very much, even when I know he is absolutely the only answer to the problem in front of me"?
... that the award-winning Bulgarian film Glory was inspired by a newspaper clipping about a railway worker who discovered a huge pile of banknotes on the tracks?

In the news

Donald Trump

A derailment on the Tramlink in Croydon, London, kills seven people and injures more than 50 others.
Donald Trump (pictured) wins the United States presidential election, while Republicans retain control of the House and the Senate.
India demonetises 500 and 1000 rupee bank notes to fight black money issues.
In baseball, the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.
In baseball, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp to win the Japan Series.

On this day...

November 10: Remembrance of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey (09:05 TRT/06:05 UTC)

The Hope Diamond

1202 – The first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders, the Siege of Zara, began in Zadar, Croatia.
1766 – William Franklin, the last Royal Governor of New Jersey, signed the charter establishing Queen's College, now known as Rutgers University.
1940 – A magnitude 7.7 M_L earthquake struck the Vrancea region of Romania, the country's strongest earthquake in the 20th century.
1958 – Merchant Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond (pictured), the "most famous diamond in the world", to the Smithsonian Institution.
2006 – Prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer Nadarajah Raviraj was assassinated in Colombo.

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Today's featured picture

Leotia lubrica is a species of fungus in the family Leotiaceae. The species produces small fruit bodies up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in height, featuring a "head" and a stalk. Ochre in colour, tinted with olive-green, the heads are irregularly shaped, while the stalk, of a similar colour, attaches them to the ground.

Photograph: Holger Krisp

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