Friday, September 5, 2008

Spotlight: Beards. They come long and short, bushy and trimmed. They have been dictated by fashion, religion and politics. In ancient Egypt, a beard was a sign of power and privilege and false beards were worn by queens, as well as kings. Over the centuries, facial hair went in and out of fashion. While beards were left to grow exceedingly long in 15th-century Europe, by the 17th century they had lost favor in the west. On this date in 1698, Peter the Great began to show official opposition to facial hair on Russian men in a process that eventually ended in a tax being levied on beards. All men except priests and peasants paid a yearly tax of one hundred rubles; commoners paid one kopek each.

Quote: "Tradition wears a snowy beard, romance is always young." — John Greenleaf Whittier

Question of the Day: Why did Peter the Great oppose beards on Russian men and what other steps did he take to change their outward appearance?
Tsar Peter I (or Peter the Great) wanted Russian men to look more like others in western society. At that time, in the 17th-18th century, men in Western Europe and the Americas were removing their beards and mustaches and opting for a different style of dress. First the tsar insisted that men wear European dress at court events; then, he began to order court subjects and townspeople to dress in European style.

Word of the day: cram school

Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities. The English name is derived from the slang term "cramming," meaning to study hard or to study a large amount of material in a short period of time. Cram schools are more common in non-English speaking countries, especially in Asian countries.... (© Wikipedia)

Today's History:

Jack Kerouac

• Continental Congress: delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia did not attend) convened in Philadelphia to seek repeal of the British Intolerable Acts (1774)
• On the Road: Jack Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness novel, considered a defining work of the Beat Generation, was published (1957)
• Munich Massacre: Palestinian terrorists of the Black September group murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics (1972)

Today's Birthdays:

Bob Newhart

• Louis XIV (1638-1715): king of France and Navarre
• Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979): one of Hollywood's most influential producers; filmmakers Werner Herzog (66) and Dennis Dugan (62) were also born on this date
• John Cage (1912-1992): avant garde composer; other musicians born on this date include Loudon Wainwright III (62) and Dweezil Zappa (39)
• Bob Newhart (79): actor and comedian; also, actors William Devane and George Lazenby (both 69), Raquel Welch (68), Michael Keaton (57) and Rose McGowan (34)