The Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times.
Diamonds Are Forever is the fourth novel by the English author Ian Fleming to feature his fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. Fleming wrote the story at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, inspired by a Sunday Times article on diamond smuggling. The book was first published on 26 March 1956. The story centres on Bond's investigation of a diamond-smuggling operation that originates in the mines of Sierra Leone and runs to Las Vegas. Along the way Bond meets and falls in love with one of the members of the smuggling gang, Tiffany Case. Fleming's background research formed the basis for his non-fiction 1957 book The Diamond Smugglers. The Bond novel received broadly positive reviews at the time of publication. It was serialised in the Daily Express newspaper, first in an abridged, multi-part form and then as a comic strip. In 1971 it was adapted into the seventh film in the Bond series, and the sixth one to star Sean Connery as Bond.

Project E.

Project E.
Project E was a Cold War arrangement under which the United States provided the United Kingdom with nuclear weapons for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was later expanded to provide warheads to the British Army, and there was a maritime version known as Project N that provided nuclear depth bombs. US personnel retained custody of the weapons, and handled their storage, maintenance and readiness. The first bombers equipped with Project E weapons were Canberras (example pictured). Due to the operational restrictions, and the loss of independence of the British nuclear deterrent, Project E bombs were phased out in the strategic role in 1962, although they still equipped tactical bombers, and were used on the Thor missiles operated by the RAF from 1959 to 1963 under Project Emily. The British Army acquired Project E warheads for its Corporal, Honest John and Lance missiles, and its artillery pieces. The last Project E weapons were withdrawn from service in 1992.

Hydnum repandum.

Hydnum repandum.
Hydnum repandum, the hedgehog mushroom, is a fungus of the family Hydnaceae. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, it is the type species of its genus. The cap is dry, colored yellow to light orange to brown, and often develops an irregular shape, especially when crowded. The mushrooms are characterized by spore-bearing structures—in the form of spines rather than gills—which hang down from the underside of the cap. The mushroom tissue is white with a pleasant odor and a spicy or bitter taste. All parts of the mushroom stain orange with age or when bruised. A mycorrhizal fungus, H. repandum is broadly distributed in Europe, Asia and western North America, where it fruits singly or in close groups in coniferous or deciduous woodland. This is a choice edible species, although mature specimens can develop a bitter taste. The mushrooms are sold in local markets of Europe and Canada.

Emesa helmet.

Emesa helmet.
The Emesa helmet is an iron Roman cavalry helmet from the early first century AD. Its face mask, covered in a thin sheet of silver, presents the individualised portrait of a face, likely that of its owner. Decorations, some gilded, adorn the head piece. Ornately designed yet highly functional, the helmet was probably intended for both parades and battle. Its delicate covering is too fragile to have been put to use during cavalry tournaments, but the thick iron core would have defended against blows and arrows. It bears acanthus scroll ornamentation, indicating that the helmet may have come from the luxury workshops of Antioch. Confiscated by Syrian police in 1936 soon after looters discovered it amidst a complex of tombs in the modern-day city of Homs, the helmet was eventually restored at the British Museum. It has been exhibited internationally, and is now in the collection of the National Museum of Damascus.

Xixiasaurus.

Xixiasaurus.
Xixiasaurus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous. The only known specimen (a partial skull, jaw with teeth, and forelimb) was discovered in Xixia County, Henan Province, in central China, and was given a species description in 2010. Xixiasaurus is estimated to have been 1.5 metres (5 ft) long and to have weighed 8 kilograms (18 lb). As a troodontid with some similarities to Byronosaurus, the genus would have been bird-like and lightly built, with grasping hands and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. Its skull was long, with a long, low snout that formed a tapering U-shape when seen from below. The frontal bone of the forehead was dome-like in side view, indicating an enlarged braincase. Troodontids had keen senses and were probably agile. The lack of serrated teeth indicates that Xixiasaurus and some other troodontids were herbivorous, as they had lost the ability to slice meat.

Fôrça Bruta.

Fôrça Bruta.
Fôrça Bruta (Brute Force) is the seventh studio album by Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Jorge Ben, recorded with the Trio Mocotó band (pictured) and released by Philips Records in September 1970. It introduced an acoustic samba-based music that was mellower, moodier, and less ornate than Ben's preceding work. In a largely unrehearsed nighttime recording session, the singer improvised and experimented with unconventional rhythmic arrangements, musical techniques, and elements of soul, funk, and rock. Ben's lyrics explored themes of romantic passion, melancholy, sensuality, and—in a departure from the carefree sensibility of past releases—identity politics and elements of postmodernism. A commercial and critical success, Fôrça Bruta established Ben as a leading artist in Brazil's Tropicália movement and pioneered a sound later known as samba rock. The album's first American release came in 2007, the same year that Rolling Stone Brasil named it the 61st greatest Brazilian music record.

1896 Cedar Keys hurricane.

1896 Cedar Keys hurricane.
The 1896 Cedar Keys hurricane was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated much of the East Coast of the United States, starting with Florida's Cedar Keys, near the end of September. The storm's rapid movement allowed it to maintain much of its intensity after landfall, becoming one of the costliest United States hurricanes at the time. The fourth tropical cyclone of the 1896 Atlantic hurricane season, it washed out the railroad connecting the Cedar Keys to the mainland with a 10.5 ft (3.2 m) storm surge, and submerged the smaller, outlying islands (mainland flooding pictured). The hurricane killed at least 70 people in mainland Florida, and razed 5,000 sq mi (13,000 km2) of dense pine forests in the northern part of the state. In Savannah, Georgia, fierce winds unroofed thousands of structures. In Washington, D.C., the White House grounds were left in disarray. Monuments at the Gettysburg Battlefield were damaged. Along the storm's path, it caused at least 202 deaths.