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Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. In its historical boundaries, on the north side are shops centred on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials; the south side holds the Royal Opera House (also called Covent Garden), the Drury Lane theatre, the London Transport Museum, and other cultural and entertainment venues. Its central square (pictured) is a popular shopping and tourist site. The area was originally the "garden of the Abbey and Convent", with orchards for Westminster Abbey, around 1200. In 1630 the 4th Earl of Bedford commissioned Inigo Jones to design the Italianate arcaded square, which served as a prototype for other estates as London grew. A small open-air market and its neighbourhood fell into disrepute as taverns, theatres and brothels opened up; the gentry moved away, and rakes, wits and playwrights moved in. Charles Fowler's neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and organise the market. Further buildings were added: the Floral Hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market. The central building reopened as a shopping centre in 1980 with cafes, pubs, small shops and a craft market. (Full article...)
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On this day...
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June 30: Independence Day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1960)
- 1559 – During a jousting match, Gabriel Montgomery of the Garde Écossaise mortally wounded King Henry II of France (pictured), piercing him in the eye with his lance.
- 1860 – Seven months after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, several prominent British scientists and philosophers participated in an evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum in Oxford, England.
- 1908 – A massive explosion occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, knocking over 80 million trees over 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi).
- 1966 – The National Organization for Women, one of the United States' leading feminist organizations, was founded in Washington, D.C.
- 2009 – Schoolgirl Bahia Bakari was the sole survivor when Yemenia Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean killing 152 people.
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Today's featured picture
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| Dustforce
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Dustforce is a 2012 platform video game developed by Hitbox Team. In it, the player controls one of four janitors who are using acrobatic skills in an attempt to sweep away the dust and filth corrupting the world. The player's performance is ranked based on time and completion, and access to certain levels requires near-perfect runs of earlier levels. Dustforce was generally well received by critics, who praised its demanding gameplay, online leaderboard features, graphics, and soundtrack.
Video: Hitbox Team, with music by Lifeformed
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