Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, October 12, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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verrucose
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| Article of the Day | |
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 PetroglyphsPetroglyphs are images created in rock by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading the rock surface. These rock carvings are found across the world and are often associated with prehistoric communities. The oldest known petroglyphs have been dated to about 12,000 years ago, and are thought to have been an early form of symbolic communication or perhaps a sort of “pre-writing.” What is the one continent on which petroglyphs have not been discovered? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Margaret Thatcher Escapes Assassination Attempt (1984)In 1984, five people were killed and over 30 injured when a bomb tore through a hotel in Brighton, England, where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were staying for a conference. The bomb had been planted weeks earlier by a Provisional Irish Republican Army operative. Though Thatcher's suite was damaged, she was uninjured. She attended the conference that morning as scheduled, and her popularity soared. How did attendees replace their destroyed clothes in time for the conference? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. (1710)The only colonial governor to side with the colonists in the American Revolution, Trumbull made Connecticut a principal source of supplies for the Continental army. It is said that the name "Brother Jonathan," a humorous designation for the American people collectively, arose from an affectionate nickname George Washington gave to Trumbull during the war. How did Trumbull reply to a request for assistance from British General Thomas Gage after the Battles of Lexington and Concord? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If fun is good, truth is still better, and love best of all.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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like rats abandoning a sinking ship— With great haste and having only personal well-being in mind. (Typically said of people who begin abandoning something or someone that is failing or about to fail.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Shemini Atzeret (2017)Shemini Atzeret, or "eighth day of solemn assembly," is actually the eighth day of the festival of Sukkot, but it is celebrated as a separate holiday dedicated to the love of God. The second day of Shemini Atzeret is known as Simhat Torah and is also celebrated separately by Orthodox and Conservative Jews. Most Reform Jews celebrate Shemini Atzeret concurrently with Simhat Torah. It is also one of four Jewish holidays on which the Yizkor, or memorial rite for the dead, is observed. The other three are Yom Kippur, the second day of Shavuot, and the last day of Passover. More... | |
| In the News | |
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How an Underwater Heat Wave Is Bleaching Coral ReefsCoral reefs are suffering a severe underwater heat wave this year for the third time on record, including a mysterious warm patch in the Pacific known as "The Blob," scientists said on Thursday.The bout of record high temperatures in parts of the oceans, ... More... | |