Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 3, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 A Sandwich for SandwichIt has been said of John Montagu, 4th earl of Sandwich, that "seldom has any man held so many offices and accomplished so little." An unpopular, corrupt politician, he was criticized for prosecuting a friend for obscenity, despite being notoriously dissolute himself. Today, he is known for a 1762 incident in which he asked to be served meat stuck between slices of bread so that he would not have to interrupt his gambling to eat. What alternate tale explains Sandwich's connection to the sandwich? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Curse of the Bambino (1920)According to baseball lore, the Boston Red Sox became cursed after Babe Ruth, the "Bambino," was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920. Before the sale, the Red Sox had won five World Series titles. After the sale, Ruth became a superstar, and the previously lackluster Yankees went on to win 27 World Series titles. The Red Sox, meanwhile, failed to win another series for more than eight decades, finally breaking the "curse" in 2004. How did some Red Sox fans attempt to "reverse the curse"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 J.R.R. Tolkien (1892)Though we know him today as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—the creator of the fantastic Middle Earth, the inventor of hobbits and orcs and Elvish, indeed the "father of modern fantasy literature"—Tolkien was also a respected medieval scholar and professor. He worked briefly for The Oxford English Dictionary, taught at Leeds University and then Oxford, and produced a landmark lecture on Beowulf. For whom did Tolkien write The Hobbit? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Captain Obvious— A person who makes a statement or statements of such obvious meaning or implication as to be entirely redundant, superfluous, or unnecessary. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ball-Catching Festival (2023)This 500-year-old tradition, said to have its roots in the legend of a dragon god (Ryujin) offering two balls to the Empress Jingu (170–269), takes place each year in Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka City, Japan. Two teams of Japanese men, wearing only loincloths (fundoshi), compete for a ball that weighs about 18 pounds; these teams consist of the Land Team, made up of farmers who work the fields, and the Sea team, composed of fishermen. A Shinto priest awaits the winner to hand him the ball—the size of the harvest or of the catch during the new year is determined by which team wins. More... | |