Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 17, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pettifogger
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The UkuleleThe ukulele is a Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. A similar instrument is the banjolele, which has a banjo body. The ukulele became popular in the US through a 1915 exposition held in San Francisco, at which the Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble. Vaudeville performers took it up, and its popularity spread. "Ukulele" is Hawaiian for what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Miles Davis's Kind of Blue Is Released (1959)Recorded in just two sessions in the spring of 1959, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue is widely considered to be one of the most important jazz albums ever produced. Davis assembled a group of talented musicians—including saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist Bill Evans—and gave them minimal instructions before recording. Possibly the best-selling jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue is notable for having left out something considered to be the backbone of earlier jazz composition—what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mae West (1893)West was an American stage and movie comedienne who started her career in burlesque and vaudeville. In 1926, she began to write, produce, and star in her own Broadway plays, which were often replete with sexual innuendo. A master of the double entendre, she treated sex with broad humor in popular films such as I'm No Angel. As a result, she constantly battled the censorship of the motion picture Production Code. Many of her one-liners have become classics. What are some examples? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Liberty, as well as honor, man ought to preserve at the hazard of his life, for without it life is insupportable.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 San Martín Day (Argentina) (2020)This national holiday in Argentina honors José Francisco de San Martín, who died on this day in 1850. Born in 1778 in a town called Yapeyú, San Martín, formerly a soldier in the Spanish army in Europe, came home in 1812 to fight in the revolution against Spain. He led forces across the Andes to defeat the Spanish in Chile and Peru. The victories he led assured independence from Spain for much of the region. After passing the torch to Simón Bolívar, San Martín resigned in 1822. He left Argentina in 1824, and lived out his life in exile in France. More... | |