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Today's featured article "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the pilot episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being abducted by aliens. At the time of the writing of the episode, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone did not yet have a series contract with Comedy Central. Short on money, the creators animated the episode using paper cutout stop motion technique, similar to the short films that were the precursors to the series. As such, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" remains the only South Park episode animated largely without the use of computer technology. Part of a reaction to the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, South Park is deliberately offensive. Much of the show's humor, and of "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", arises from the juxtaposition of the seeming innocence of childhood and the violent, crude behavior exhibited by the main characters. The episode also exemplifies the carnivalesque, which includes humor, bodily excess, linguistic games that challenge official discourse, and the inversion of social structures. Initial reviews of the episode were generally negative; critics singled out the gratuitous obscenity of the show for particular scorn. Regarding the amount of obscenity in the episode, Parker later commented that they felt "pressure" to live up to the earlier shorts which first made the duo popular. (more...) Recently featured: Prince Louis of Battenberg – Titania – Richard Barre Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the woodcuts of modernist printmaker Blanche Lazzell (pictured) were influenced by ukiyo-e? ... that the largest of the 67 Petit & Fritsen cast bells of the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon weighs 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg)? ... that Robert Runyon photographed significant events of the Mexican Revolution, discovered several new plant species, and was mayor of Brownsville, Texas? ... that by winning the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters became the first team in 27 years to successfully defend an All-Filipino Championship? ... that Jineth Bedoya Lima was abducted, tortured, and raped following her reporting on Colombian paramilitary groups? ... that members of the extinct bivalve genus Hemiconcavodonta are unique in the subfamily Concavodontinae in that their teeth point in two directions? ... that Christmas Gift Evans House was not a Christmas gift?

In the news Mohammed Waheed Hassan (pictured) is sworn in as President of the Maldives following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed due to weeks of protests. Russian scientists reach Lake Vostok, isolated under the Antarctic ice shield, after drilling a 3,768-meter (12,362-foot) borehole. Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador, who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, is stripped of his 2010 Tour de France and 2011 Giro d'Italia victories and banned from competition for two years. Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party is elected President of Finland. In American football, the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLVI. Syrian opposition leaders report that at least 200 people were killed during a military operation in Homs. On this day... February 7: 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens (1812) 1795 – The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia. 1904 – The Great Baltimore Fire in Maryland began, and would destroy over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. 1907 – More than 3,000 women in London participated in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, seeking women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. 1943 – World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from Guadalcanal. 1986 – President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country after a popular uprising, ending 28 years of one-family rule in the nation. 1995 – Ramzi Yousef (pictured), one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. More anniversaries: February 6 – February 7 – February 8 It is now February 7, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The Wave (1896) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, an example of an art nude, an art form where the naked human form is the dominant theme. It does not involve the subject interacting with anyone within the painting itself. The body presented is revealed as an object of art and not a person with reference to his or her social relationships and behavioral patterns. Recently featured: Butterfly magnification series – Aurora australis from space – Violet coral fungus

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