Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 2, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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.svg.png) The Achaemenid EmpireAt its height, the Achaemenid Empire reached from Macedonia to northern India and from the Caucasus Mountains to the Persian Gulf. It derives its name from Achaemenes, who is thought to have lived in the early 7th century BCE. Its greatest rulers were Cyrus II, who established the Persian Empire and from whose reign it is dated; Darius I, who secured the borders from external threats; and Xerxes I, who completed many of Darius's public works. What event brought an end to the empire? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Benazir Bhutto Becomes First Female Leader of a Muslim Nation (1988)The daughter of a Pakistani prime minister executed following a coup, Bhutto was keenly aware of the risks of political life. Nevertheless, she chose to follow in her father's footsteps and in 1988 became prime minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to lead a Muslim nation. Dogged by allegations of corruption, she fled the country in 1999. She returned in late 2007 and, after escaping one attempt on her life, was assassinated. Who stood accused of the 1996 murder of her brother? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Peter Carl Goldmark (1906)A Hungarian engineer and inventor, Goldmark immigrated to the US in 1933 and went to work in the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) laboratories. There he developed the first commercial color television system, but it was not compatible with existing black-and-white television sets and was soon superseded by one that was. Later, he developed the system that would allow the US Lunar Orbiter to relay photographs from the Moon to Earth. What did he invent that revolutionized the recording industry? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When I look out on such a night as this, I feel as if there could be neither wickedness nor sorrow in the world; and there certainly would be less of both if the sublimity of Nature were more attended to, and people were carried more out of themselves by contemplating such a scene.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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I'll be hanged if I (do something)— I am determined not to do something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ngondo Festival (2022)For the majority of the Sawa, a coastal ethnic group in Cameroon, guidance comes from the Jengu water spirits. The annual Ngondo Festival is a special occasion for Sawa chiefs to petition these spirits for prophecies and warnings and to communicate those messages to a gathered assembly. The event, which lasts a few weeks, takes place on the banks of the Wouri River in the country's most populous city, Douala. Various cultural activities accompany the discernment process of the festival. Activities preceding the water feast include traditional wrestling competitions, a canoe race, and a Miss Ngondo pageant. More... | |