Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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superfluity
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Russkaya PravdaThe Russkaya Pravda was the legal code that grew out of common law and the feudal regulations of the medieval state known as Kievean Rus, the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Codified by Yaroslav the Wise in the 11th century, it bears a resemblance to contemporary German law but is unique in its omission of capital punishment. It originally allowed the avenging of a murder, but the penalty was later limited to a hefty fine. How was guilt established in the absence of witnesses? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Group of Explorers Reaches South Pole (1911)Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had been planning for a trip to the North Pole until he heard that someone had beaten him to it. Instead, he and his team set sail for Antarctica. There, they spent nearly a year preparing for the final two-month trek that made them the first people to reach the South Pole. With good equipment and plenty of sled dogs, the team was extremely well prepared compared to other polar expeditions of the day, some of which ended badly. How was their clothing better? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Margaret Chase Smith (1897)Smith served as her husband's secretary following his election as a US representative. After he died in 1940, she was elected to finish his unexpired term, becoming Maine's first congresswoman. Noted for her integrity and independence, she joined the Senate in 1948 and continued to be reelected until 1972. In 1950, she gave her famed "Declaration of Conscience" speech opposing the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The speech earned her what derisive nickname from McCarthy's staff? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I don't like compliments, and I don't see why a man should think he is pleasing a woman enormously when he says to her a whole heap of things that he doesn't mean.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Halcyon Days (2020)The ancient Greeks called the seven days preceding and the seven days following the Winter Solstice the "Halcyon Days." Greek mythology has it that Halcyone (or Alcyone), Ceyx's wife and one of Aeolus's daughters, drowned herself when she learned her husband had drowned. The gods took pity on her and transformed them both into kingfishers. Zeus commanded the seas to be still during these days, and it was considered a period when sailors could navigate in safety. Today, the expression "halcyon days" has come to mean a period of tranquility, often used as a nostalgic reference to times past. More... | |