Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, January 9, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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wanderlust
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Dürer's RhinocerosBased on secondhand descriptions, German printmaker Albrecht Dürer—who never actually saw a rhinoceros himself—made a woodcut of the exotic beast gifted to the king of Portugal in 1515. The image became wildly popular in Europe despite its inaccuracies, which include a horn on the animal's back and rivets in its armor. The rhino that inspired the woodcut perished in a shipwreck while being sent to the pope, but not before the king arranged for it to battle an elephant. Which animal won? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters Executed for Murder (1923)Frederick Bywaters was convicted of murder after admitting to the brutal stabbing of Percy Thompson, the husband of his lover Edith Thompson. In an extremely controversial decision, Edith was also convicted of her husband's murder, even though Bywaters himself claimed that Edith had had nothing to do with it. Public sympathy for Edith could not prevent her execution, which was carried out at the same time as her former lover's. Who had witnessed the murder and fingered Bywaters as the culprit? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875)Born into immense wealth as a member of the Vanderbilt family, Whitney studied sculpture in the US and Europe. In addition to producing her own notable artwork, which included a Titanic memorial, Whitney became an influential patron and collector. After attempting to donate her vast art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and being turned away, Whitney founded her own museum—today one of the foremost museums of modern American art. What family dispute made headlines in 1934? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Black Nazarene Fiesta (2021)The largest festival in Manila, Philippines, held each year in honor of the Quiapo District's patron saint, the Black Nazarene, a life-sized statue of Jesus carved from blackwood, whose shrine is located in Quiapo's baroque church. The traditional nine-day fiesta begins on January 1, and features nightly cultural events, band concerts, and fireworks. On the last day of the festival, the statue's translación and enshrinement in the church is commemorated by a procession of barefoot men pulling a carriage that holds the 200-year-old statue on the way to Calvary. More... | |