The fourth Sunday of Lent was traditionally a break from the austere rigors of the season, and on that day boys living away from home, such as apprentices or students, were allowed to return home to visit their mothers. It was customary for them to bring a simnel—a highly spiced fruitcake—as a present. The visit was termed “going a-mothering,” and on this occasion the mother bestowed a blessing upon her child.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, March 19, 2023
Question of the Day
How many cows make a herd? How many geese make a gaggle? How many lions make a pride?
We’re tempted to say two, but then it would be a small herd and a “giggle” instead of a gaggle! Actually, if you’re speaking of domestic cattle and geese, the only limit we can think of is the farmer’s ambitions.
As for the size of a pride of African lions, these family units may be as small as 2 lions to as many as 40; usually with 1 to 4 males (often related), about 12 related females, and their young cubs. The lionesses, which may include mothers, sisters, and cousins, usually stay together in the same pride for life, while the resident males may vary, staying for an average of about 2 years. Young males (often brothers and cousins) may be driven from their original pride, but stay together in separate groups (coalitions), until they are strong enough to seek to join a new pride, challenging the resident males in order to take their place. Lionesses do most of the hunting, while the males will guard the pride and hunt occasionally.
There are lots of little-known collectives, such as these bird groupings: a “chatter” of budgerigars, a “twittering” of magpies, a “murmuration” of starlings, and an “exaltation” of larks. Discover more interesting animal group names!
Advice of the Day
Expect good luck if a fly falls into your drinking glass.
Home Hint of the Day
To set a hinge more deeply, loosen the hinge from either the door or the jamb, chisel away the wood underneath and reinstall the hinge.
Word of the Day
Perihelion
The point in a planet’s orbit that is closest to the Sun.
Puzzle of the Day
Can a leopard change his spots?
Yes, when he is tired of one place, he can go to another.
Born
- David Livingstone (explorer) –
- Richard Francis Burton (explorer, scholar) –
- Albert Pinkham Ryder (painter) –
- Wyatt Earp (legendary marshal) –
- William Jennings Bryan (politician) –
- Earl Warren (Supreme Court justice) –
- Albert Speer (architect) –
- Adolf Eichmann (Nazi leader) –
- Leonidas Alaoglu (mathematician) –
- Jay Berwanger (football player) –
- Irving Wallace (novelist) –
- Phillip Roth (writer) –
- Phyllis Newman (actress) –
- Glenn Close (actress) –
- Bruce Willis (actor) –
- Connor Trinneer (actor) –
Died
- Edgar Rice Burroughs (author) –
- The Rev. Carl McIntire (right-wing radio preacher) –
- Brian Maxwell (Canadian world-ranked marathoner who created the PowerBar in his kitchen to improve his performance) –
- John DeLorean (automotive innovator who left General Motors Corp. to develop a radically futuristic sports car) –
- Gus Bernier (host of the children’s program The Uncle Gus Show) –
- Arthur C. Clarke (science fiction writer, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey) –
- Paul Scofield (actor) –
Events
- $245,000 stolen from City Bank of New York–
- Daylight Saving Time was first enacted in the United States–
- Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles by a vote of 49-35–
- Academy Awards were first televised–
- Senate confirmed the nominations of William Brennan and Charles Whittaker to the U.S. Supreme Court–
- Elvis Presley paid a $1,000 deposit to buy Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee–
- Great St. Bernard Tunnel, 3.6 miles long, between Italy and Switzerland in the Alps, officially opened to automobile traffic–
- Nicolae Ceausescu became head of the Romanian Communist Party and government–
- President Johnson signed into law a bill eliminating the requirement that U.S. currency be backed by gold–
- East German Premier Stoph and West German Chancellor Brandt met in Erfurt, East Germany, at the first meeting of the heads of the postwar German states–
- Rev. Jim Bakker resigned as head of his TV ministry, the PTL Club, after admitting to an affair with a church secretary–
- 1,383-square-foot omelet made, Yokohama, Japan–
Weather
- A tornado jumped from Ohio City to Landeck to Columbus Grove, Ohio–
- 17.6 inches of snow, Boston, Massachusetts–
- 5.38-inch-wide, 9.8-ounce hail fell in Walter, Alabama–