Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 28, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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furuncle
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| Article of the Day | |
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 RhytaRhyta are ancient, hornlike drinking vessels that often feature a wide mouth and a pierced, pointed bottom. This design allows a rhyton to function as both a scoop for liquids contained in a larger storage vessel and, when the hole at its base is unstoppered, as a pouring device. Rhyta are often shaped like animal heads or horns and can be simple ceramic constructions or ornate showpieces decorated with precious metals and stones. What animal was frequently depicted on the rhyta of Minoan Crete? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Charles de Gaulle Resigns as President of France (1969)A celebrated general and statesman, de Gaulle was elected first president of France's Fifth Republic—a system of government with broad executive powers—in 1959. He helped write the constitution and pushed for direct popular election of the president. The mass civil unrest of May 1968 by students and workers almost toppled his government, and in 1969 de Gaulle was defeated in a referendum on constitutional amendments and resigned. He died just a year later. Whom did he bar from his funeral? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nelle Harper Lee (1926)The daughter of an Alabama lawyer, Lee studied law before publishing her first novel in 1960. To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a white lawyer who defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl, immediately found national acclaim. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was adapted for film the next year, but Lee largely stayed out of the spotlight. What did she once write in response to a school board's decision to ban her novel? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hocktide (2020)Also known as Hock Days, the second Monday and Tuesday after Easter in England were in medieval times—and in Hungerford, Berkshire, till the present day—associated with collecting dues or rents and money for the church. Two "Tutti men" in top hats and morning coats (a "tutti" being a small bouquet of flowers) go from house to house carrying a "tutti pole" decorated with flowers and ribbons. There is also an orange scatterer who throws oranges to the men, old women, and children to keep them busy while the Tutti men go to houses demanding money. More... | |