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Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed "The Bean" because of its legume-like shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It is 33 feet by 66 feet by 42 feet (10 m × 20 m × 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (99.8 t; 98.2 long tons). Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the omphalos, a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, although many tourists simply view the sculpture and its unique reflective properties as a photo-taking opportunity. (more...)

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From Wikipedia's newest texts:

• ... that the World War II bombing of Canterbury on 1 June 1942 revealed a mosaic pavement (photod) which is now a scheduled monument, sheltered by the Roman Museum?
• ... that The Land of Green Plums by Nobel Prize winner Herta Müller, depicting life in a totalitarian state, became a favorite of Iranian activist Mohammad-Ali Abtahi soon after he was released from jail?
• ... that during the German invasion of Norway, Minister of Justice Terje Wold told Police Chief of Oslo Kristian Welhaven to arrest fascist leader Vidkun Quisling if he got the opportunity?
• ... that Cystoderma carcharias is considered an inedible fungus because of an unpleasant odor attributable to the presence of geosmin?
• ... that the career of pianist Lincoln Mayorga has ranged from hit rock and roll instrumentals to Gershwin recitals in Moscow, by way of Lumpy Gravy and Pete's Dragon?
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• ... that the town of Lille, Alberta, was named as such because its coal mine's financial backers resided in Lille, France?
• ... that Warrington Colescott created the etching Christmas with Ziggy (1964), a social satire of businessmen entertaining their mistresses at a posh London restaurant?
• ... that GameDaily named Uncharted character Elena Fisher the 49th hottest video game babe of all time?
  
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• NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour (photod) on a mission carrying the Tranquility and Cupola modules to the International Space Station.
• Laura Chinchilla of the centre-left National Liberation Party is elected the first female President of Costa Rica.
• In American football, the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV to win the National Football League Championship for the first time in the team's 43-year history.
• A blizzard strikes the Eastern USA, producing 2–3 feet (60–90 cm) of snow in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
• In sumo, the controversial Mongolian yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori announces his retirement.
• The Iranian Space Agency announces that it launched a rocket with living animals on board and returned them to Earth unharmed.
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February 9

• 474 – As the seven-year old Leo II was deemed too young to rule, his father Zeno was crowned as the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• 1825 – After no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes, the USA House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams President of the USA.
• 1895 – William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts, US, invented a game called Mintonette, which evolved into volleyball (photod).
• 1920 – The Spitsbergen Treaty was signed, recognizing Norwegian sovereignty over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, but all signatories were also given equal rights to engage in commercial activities on the islands.
• 1943 – World War II: Allied forces declared Guadalcanal secure, ending the Guadalcanal Campaign as a significant strategic victory for Allied forces fighting Japan in the Pacific War.

More anniversaries: February 8 – February 9 – February 10