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The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. It includes a wide range of body types because of the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. The color pattern of the Appaloosa is of great interest to those who study equine coat color genetics, as it and several other physical characteristics are linked to the leopard complex mutation (LP). Artwork depicting prehistoric horses with leopard spotting existed in cave paintings. The Nez Perce people of the United States Pacific Northwest developed the original American breed. It is best known as a stock horse used in a number of western riding disciplines, but is also a versatile breed with representatives seen in many other types of equestrian activity. The Nez Perce lost most of their horses after the Nez Perce War in 1877. A small number of dedicated breeders preserved the Appaloosa as a distinct breed until the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was formed as the breed registry in 1938. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Jesse L. Douglas

... that African-American civil rights activist Jesse L. Douglas (pictured) was called an "unidentified white man" during protests in 1965?
... that 133 notable Viennese personalities are in Gustav Klimt's Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater?
... that the family of a man charged with murdering a police officer ten years ago today were surprised when the jury acquitted him?
... that diplomat Tess Johnston wrote more than two dozen books about Shanghai's Western-style architecture?
... that a search-and-rescue otter, on his first mission, recovered a weapon in a 25-year-old murder case?
... that the court jester Bernard de Bluet d'Arbères recounted being forced to recite a sermon from a tree which was being chopped down?
... that a Connecticut TV station offered $100 to the first viewer who called in, twenty times—but nobody called?
... that more than 63,000 border deaths were documented between 2014 and 2024?
... that a maintenance tram in Prague has a Facebook group?

In the news

Tai Po apartment complex fire

An apartment complex fire (pictured) in Hong Kong leaves at least 128 people dead.
In Guinea-Bissau, armed forces seize power in a military coup, arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and proclaiming Horta Inta-A Na Man as head of a transitional government.
Cyclone Senyar leaves more than 100 people dead across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

On this day

November 28: Black Friday in the United States (2025); Bukovina Day in Romania

Coat of arms of the Royal Society

1470 – Đại Việt emperor Lê Thánh Tông launched a military expedition against Champa, beginning the Champa–Đại Việt War.
1660 – Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Christopher Wren and other leading scientists met at Gresham College in London to found a learned society, now known as the Royal Society (coat of arms pictured).
1811 – Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 premiered at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
1912 – At the All-Albanian Congress, the Assembly of Vlorë was constituted, which declared the independence of the Albanian Vilayet from the Ottoman Empire.
1925 – Grand Ole Opry, the longest-running radio broadcast in the United States, first aired on WSM in Nashville, Tennessee.

Esther Wheelwright (d. 1780)
Henry Hazlitt (b. 1894)
Richard Osman (b. 1970)
Leslie Nielsen (d. 2010)

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From today's featured list

Congressional districts in Arkansas since 2023

Arkansas has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives since it became a state in 1836, except during the Civil War and Reconstruction between 1861 and 1868. Each U.S. state, including Arkansas, periodically elects two senators to serve for six years at a time, and at least one House member, with the count being proportional to population, to serve for two years at a time. Arkansas's voting representation in the House began with one representative in the 25th United States Congress, and peaked from 1903 to 1953, when it had seven seats in the House. Arkansas has sent four members to the House (map of congressional districts pictured) since 1963. While Arkansas politics was dominated by the Democratic Party from the 1870s to the 1960s, Arkansas's current delegation consists entirely of Republicans. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), also known as the dassie, is one of four living species of the hyrax order, Hyracoidea, and the only living species in its genus. Like all hyraxes, it is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal between 4 kg (9 lb) and 5 kg (11 lb) in mass, with short ears and tail. The rock hyrax is found across Africa and the Middle East, at elevations up to 4,200 metres (13,800 ft). It resides in habitats with rock crevices which it uses to escape from predators. Along with the other hyrax species and the manatees, these are the living animals most closely related to the elephant. This rock hyrax was photographed near Omaruru, Erongo, Namibia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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