Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 17, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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arcadian
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Curse of the NinthThe Curse of the Ninth is the superstition that a composer will die after writing a ninth symphony. Belief in the curse arose after Beethoven, Dvorák, and Schubert—among others—all died after composing their ninth symphonies. Mahler, perhaps the first prominent composer to fear the curse, attempted to elude it by naming his ninth symphony "The Song of the Earth," but he died after writing "Symphony No. 9"—which was technically his 10th. Who are the other supposed victims of the curse? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Matt Drudge Breaks the Lewinsky Scandal (1998)Matt Drudge is the proprietor of the popular Drudge Report website that gained notoriety for breaking a series of news reports ahead of the mainstream media. He won fame for his coverage of the Monica Lewinsky affair, a scandal that led to the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton. He was inspired to start his news site after becoming privy to insider gossip at CBS studios while working as its gift shop manager. What other odd jobs did Drudge hold before his breakthrough in journalism? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Muhammad Ali (1942)The self-proclaimed "greatest of all time," Ali is celebrated as much for his flamboyant manner, colorful boasts, and doggerel verse—"float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"—as for his boxing prowess. He beat the best fighters of his day and won the world heavyweight title a record three times, once after being stripped of it for refusing induction into the US Army during the Vietnam War on religious grounds. After his retirement, Ali began to fight a battle of a different sort, against what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 She might hate me, and revile me, and heap indignity after indignity upon me, as she already had, until I should have hated her; but the pitiful fact remained that I loved her.Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bald-faced lie— A blatantly obvious and/or impudent untruth, one in which the liar does not attempt to disguise their mendacity. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Australian Open (2023)The Australian Open is the year's first event in the Grand Slam of tennis. It is played on synthetic hard courts in Melbourne, Australia, and known officially as the Australian Championships. The championship for men began in 1905, and the women's championship in 1922. The matches became an "open" (to both amateurs and professionals) in 1969. Margaret Smith Court, an Australian known for her powerful serve and volley, is the all-time champion in the women's division of the open; she won the title 11 times between 1960 and 1973. More... | |