Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 28, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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baleful
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Cyclo-CrossPerformed on short courses featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills, and obstacles, cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing that requires riders to dismount, carry their bikes while maneuvering around obstructions, and remount without losing speed. Some trace the origins of the sport to the early 1900s, when European road racers would race to the next town by cutting through fields, over fences, and taking various other shortcuts. Why did the sport gain popularity in 1910? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Stonewall Riots Begin (1969)In 1969, gay rights in the US were virtually nonexistent, and discrimination was routine. On June 28, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular Mob-run gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, and began arresting patrons for cross-dressing. A crowd gathered outside, taunting police and throwing debris. The police responded with violence. Protest rallies and further riots followed, marking the awakening of the US gay rights movement. At one point during the riot, where did police officers hide? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Melvin Kaminsky, AKA Mel Brooks (1926)Brooks is an American film director, writer, actor, and producer best known for his wild parodies that mix satire with slapstick. He started out as a television comedy writer but soon turned to film. He won an Oscar for his first feature film, The Producers (1968), a comic masterpiece of bad taste, and followed it with such films as the Western-inspired Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, a parody of the horror genre. Who speaks the only word in his Silent Movie? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Custom may lead a man into many errors; but it justifies none.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lily Festival (Festa dei Giglio) (2020)The week-long Lily Festival in Nola, Napoli, Italy, honors San Paolino (St. Paulinus), the town's patron saint, with eight giant sticks covered in lilies. Over the years the lily sticks (gigli in Italian) grew longer and more ornate; today they are from 75 feet to nearly 100 feet high. After a traditional blessing is given, the crowd throws flowers into the air and begins a costumed procession that meanders through the narrow streets of the town, led by a boat carrying a statue of San Paolino and featuring the eight huge gigli, each of which is surrounded by its own symphony orchestra. More... | |