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Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. In 1996, he worked with childhood friend Robert Schneider to record the album On Avery Island. Mangum recruited musicians Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes, and Scott Spillane for the band's second album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998). While on tour, the band's popularity grew through Internet exposure. This negatively affected Mangum, whose mental health began to deteriorate, and the band went on hiatus shortly after. During their break, they gained a cult following and the critical standing of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea rose. Neutral Milk Hotel reunited in 2013 and undertook a reunion tour before another hiatus in 2015. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Cormocephalus rubriceps

... that the giant centipede Cormocephalus rubriceps (pictured) can grow up to 20 centimetres (8 inches) in length?
... that a Russian spy couple used comments on Cristiano Ronaldo YouTube videos to send coded messages to Moscow?
... that racing driver Neil Cunningham was also a stunt double in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace?
... that, during the 2012 Weezer Cruise, band members oversaw wedding vow renewals, a shuffleboard contest, a midnight movie screening, and a 1980s-themed prom?
... that in 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first in the Indian Premier League to win all away games in a season?
... that singer Tomoo was once unhappy with her performance in a singing contest, despite being chosen as one of its finalists?
... that more than 50 planned speakers boycotted the Bendigo Writers Festival over its code of conduct?
... that the personal website of an actor is used for benchmarking newly released gadgets?
... that Mikael Genberg has sent a house to the Moon?

In the news

Andry Rajoelina

Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina (pictured) flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.
Hamas and Israel commence a ceasefire and release hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza peace plan.
Flooding and landslides in Mexico leave more than 60 people dead.

On this day

October 17

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1660 – A series of executions of the commissioners who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England concluded; six were hanged, drawn and quartered for treason.
1771 – Ascanio in Alba, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pictured) at the age of 15, premiered in Milan.
1860 – The Open Championship, the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf, was first played at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland.
1992 – Having gone to the wrong house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihito Hattori was shot and killed by the homeowner.
2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, the Israeli minister of tourism, was assassinated in revenge for the killing of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa.

George Nicol (b. 1870)
Raffaele Bendandi (b. 1893)
Micheline Ostermeyer (d. 2001)
Elijah Cummings (d. 2019)

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From today's featured list

Sunil Chhetri

Twenty men and nine women have been named Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) from 1992 to 2025. I. M. Vijayan was the inaugural Men's Player of the Year in 1992. No winner was announced in 1998 and 1999; the award was re-introduced in 2000 and won for the third time by Vijayan, who was also the first player to win more than once. Sunil Chhetri (pictured) has won the Men's Player of the Year Award a record seven times. Jo Paul Ancheri, Bhaichung Bhutia and Lallianzuala Chhangte have each won the award twice. The AIFF Women's Player of the Year Award was introduced in 2001, with Bembem Devi as the first winner. No winner was announced from 2002 to 2012; the award was re-introduced in 2013 and won for the second time by Bembem Devi. The Women's Player of the Year Award has also been won multiple times by Bala Devi (thrice) and Manisha Kalyan (twice). The AIFF has also awarded Promising Player of the Year Awards for men since 2013 and for women since 2015. (Full list...)

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Parazoanthus axinellae, commonly known as the yellow cluster anemone, is a species of zoanthid coral in the family Parazoanthidae. It is found on rocky substrates around the southern Atlantic coasts of Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea, at depths between 23 and 45 metres (75 and 148 ft). Zoanthids differ from true sea anemones in having a different internal anatomy and in forming true colonies in which the individual animals (polyps) are connected by a common tissue, called the coenenchyme. Parazoanthus axinellae is yellow or orange in colour, each polyp featuring 24 to 36 tentacles and having a diameter of 5 millimetres (0.20 in) with a height of 20 millimetres (0.79 in). In the Mediterranean Sea, it frequently forms dense agglomerations, often in association with the soft coral Alcyonium acaule. This P. axinellae cluster was photographed in Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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