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Space Invaders
Space Invaders

Space Invaders (arcade cabinet pictured) is a 1978 arcade video game developed and released by Taito in Japan and distributed by Midway Manufacturing overseas. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser. Designer Tomohiro Nishikado drew inspiration from North American games like Breakout (1976) and Gun Fight (1975). Space Invaders was an immediate commercial success; by 1982, it had grossed $3.8 billion (equivalent to about $13 billion in 2022), and it remains one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time. Considered one of the most influential video games ever, it ushered in the golden age of arcade video games. It was an inspiration for numerous game designers across different genres, and has been ported and re-released in various forms. The 1980 version for the Atari Video Computer System (VCS), which quadrupled VCS sales, became the first killer app for video game consoles. The game's pixelated enemy alien has become a pop culture icon. (Full article...)

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Matooskie
Matooskie

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Ingenuity on Mars in April 2021
Ingenuity on Mars

On this day

January 26: Australia Day (1788); Republic Day in India (1950)

The dome over the Hale Telescope
The dome over the Hale Telescope
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Richard Dawkins Award trophy
Richard Dawkins Award trophy

The Richard Dawkins Award is an annual prize awarded by the Center for Inquiry (CFI), an American nonprofit organization. Established in 2003, it was initially awarded by the Atheist Alliance of America in coordination with Richard Dawkins and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. The award was formally moved to CFI in 2019. The award was initially presented by the Atheist Alliance of America to honor an "outstanding atheist" who taught or advocated scientific knowledge and acceptance of nontheism, and raised public awareness. The award is currently presented by the Center for Inquiry to an individual associated with science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, and who "publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism, upholding scientific truth wherever it may lead". The recipient must be approved by Dawkins himself. The first Richard Dawkins Award was received by James Randi, a magician who investigated and debunked various paranormal claims. (Full list...)

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Kenje Ogata

Kenje Ogata (1919–2012) was a Japanese American who served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Born in Gary, Indiana, he grew up in Sterling, Illinois, and went on to earn his pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ogata applied to join the armed forces. Due to his Japanese heritage he was discouraged from joining, but he insisted, telling the recruitment office "I am here to serve". In 1943, Ogata was assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy, training as a ball turret gunner. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant, completed thirty-five missions, and survived two crashes. For his service and injuries sustained in combat, he received the Air Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart. This portrait of Ogata in uniform was taken in 1943.

Photograph credit: unknown photographer; restored by Adam Cuerden

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