Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 29, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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peignoir
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| Article of the Day | |
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 LeaplingsSince, technically, a year consists of 365 days and approximately 6 hours, every four years these hours amount to a full day. In order to synchronize the Gregorian calendar with the astronomical year, a leap day, February 29, is added to the 28-day month once every four years. As such, leap years are always evenly divisible by four. Persons born on a leap day are called "leaplings," and, contrary to popular myth, they do age during non-leap years. What opera centers on a leapling and his aging? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First African American wins Academy Award (1940)Hattie McDaniel was an African-American singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer, and television star. She appeared in over 300 films and is best known for her role as Mammy in the iconic 1939 film Gone with the Wind, a performance that earned her the first Academy Award ever presented to an African American. McDaniel's Oscar was later lost. What are some theories about what became of it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dinah Shore (1916)Shore was an American singer, actress, and TV personality who enjoyed widespread popularity during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 50s. She was the first singer of the era to achieve success as a solo artist, producing over 80 hit songs, including "Baby It's Cold Outside," before beginning a four-decade career in television. Shore was a hit with TV audiences as well and went on to earn nine Emmys, a Peabody Award, and a Golden Globe. How did Shore, born Frances Rose, earn the stage name Dinah? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Be generous, be delicate, and always pursue the prize.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Leap Year Day (2016)The Earth actually takes longer than 365 days to complete its trip around the Sun—five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds longer, to be precise. To accommodate this discrepancy, an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar at the end of February every four years. The year in which this occurs is called Leap Year, probably because the English courts did not always recognize February 29, and the date was often "leaped over" in the records. There was an old tradition that women could propose marriage to men during Leap Year. The men had to pay a forfeit if they refused. More... | |