She walked with an unstudied grace that the other models envied and imitated.
Article of the Day
Whistled Language
Whistled language is a form of communication that uses whistling to emulate speech, generally by imitating the intonation of a natural language. Though relatively rare, whistled language is found in cultures around the world and is especially common in parts of West Africa, where even French is whistled in some areas. Such languages enable communication over long ranges and are usually found in locations with rough terrain. What culture fines men whose whistle-speech skills are deemed subpar?More...Discuss
This Day in History
Cornerstone of Jefferson Memorial Is Laid (1939)
The construction of the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, was authorized by Congress in 1934. In 1939, US President Franklin Roosevelt presided over a ceremony during which the cornerstone of the monument was laid. Completed and dedicated in 1943, the white marble building, designed by John Russell Pope, is a circular structure with a domed ceiling, surrounded by 26 columns. Inside is a bronze statue of Jefferson. Why was a temporary plaster statue initially erected there?More...Discuss
Today's Holiday
St. Leopold's Day
St. Leopold (1073-1136), the patron saint of Austria, was buried in the abbey he had established in Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria. His feast day is observed there with the ceremony known as Fasselrutschen, or the Slide of the Great Cask, in the abbey's wine cellar. Participants climb the narrow staircase that leads to the top of the cask and then slide down its smooth surface to a padded platform at its base. The faster the trip down, according to tradition, the better luck the person will have in the coming year.More...Discuss
Today's Birthday
Felix Frankfurter (1882)
Frankfurter was a US Supreme Court justice and presidential adviser. He served as secretary of war under President William H. Taft, advised President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on many New Deal programs. In 1939, Roosevelt named him to the Supreme Court, where he served until 1962. In 1920, Frankfurter helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and argued in favor of what infamous pair of defendants?More...Discuss