Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 28, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker, a celebrated ballet by Tchaikovsky, tells the story of a young girl whose Christmas gift of a nutcracker turns into a prince and leads her to a magical land. In 1954, George Balanchine choreographed and premiered his New York City Ballet version, which was later made into a feature film. Mikhail Baryshnikov choreographed another enormously popular version for the American Ballet Theatre. What novel instrument did Tchaikovsky use in the Nutcracker score? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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_-_The_Last_Supper_(1495-1498).jpg) The Last Supper Back on Display after Two-Decade Restoration (1999)By the 1970s, Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century mural masterpiece, The Last Supper, was badly deteriorated. Italian officials then undertook a major restoration project to permanently stabilize the painting and reverse the damage. The painting's original form was determined using original sketches and scientific tests, including infrared reflectoscopy and microscopic core-samples. The restoration took 21 years, and the painting was put back on display in 1999. Where is it located? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807)Agassiz was a Swiss-born naturalist and geologist. Noticing the presence of huge alpine boulders in areas of Switzerland where there are no glaciers, he hypothesized that glaciers had, at one time, been widespread in the area and had dragged the boulders there. This lent credence to his theory of a recent ice age. He was also a renowned teacher and did notable work with fossils. Agassiz was a lifelong opponent, on religious grounds, of what now-accepted scientific theory? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Oberammergau Passion Play (2020)The Oberammergau Passion Play has been held since the 17th century in the small woodcarving village of Oberammergau, Germany, in the Bavarian Alps. The play, depicting the story of Christ's suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection, is presented in six hours by a cast of about 2,000. All performers are villagers, and the 600 with speaking parts are required to have been born in Oberammergau. Legend says that the play was first performed in 1634 in fulfillment of a vow to God that they would reenact the Passion if he would spare the villagers from the plague. More... | |