Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from
ballroom dancing. A team consists of one woman and one man. Ice dance
originated as recreational social skating: couples and friends would
skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances. By the early 1900s it
was popular in this form around the world. The first international ice
dance competition took place as a special event at the World Figure
Skating Championships in 1950 in London. Ice dance was formally added
to the World Championships in 1952 and became an Olympic medal sport in
1976. Dominated by British teams in the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet teams
until the 1990s, and North American teams in the 2000s, the discipline
lost much of its integrity as a sport in the late 1990s and early 2000s
after a series of judging scandals. Ice dance has certain elements that
competitors are required to perform in specific ways, including the
dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and
choreographic elements.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dance>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1855:
The precursor of Michigan State University in East Lansing was
founded as the United States' first agricultural college.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University>
1947:
The French fashion company Dior unveiled its New Look
collection (suit pictured), which revolutionized women's dress and re-
established Paris as the centre of the fashion world after World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dior>
1968:
Vietnam War: Unarmed citizens in the villages of Phong Nhị
and Phong Nhất were massacred, allegedly by South Korean Marines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phong_Nh%E1%BB%8B_and_Phong_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_massacre>
2016:
In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church
and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of
Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International
Airport in Cuba.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_of_Pope_Francis_and_Patriarch_Kirill>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Darwinian:
1. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
2. Of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English
biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his
theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of
inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete,
survive, and reproduce.
3. (by extension) Of or pertaining to Darwinism, which includes the
theories of Charles Darwin and other scientists.
4. (by extension) Competitive, especially in a ruthless manner.
5. (by extension) Exhibiting an ability to adapt or develop in order to
survive; adaptable.
6. (chiefly historical) Of or pertaining to the philosophical and
scientific views, or poetic style, of the natural philosopher,
physiologist, and poet Erasmus Darwin.
7. Of or pertaining to Darwin, the capital city of the Northern
Territory, Australia.
8. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin.
9. An adherent of Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of species, or
of Darwinism.
10. (obsolete, rare) An adherent of the philosophical and scientific
views, or poetic style, of Erasmus Darwin.
11. A native or resident of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Darwinian>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
More brain, O Lord, more brain! or we shall mar Utterly this
fair garden we might win.
--George Meredith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Meredith>
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