Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 14, 2020)Word of the Day | |||||||
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dulcet
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Article of the Day | |
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"…and Bob's Your Uncle.""Bob's your uncle" is an expression used in British English. It typically concludes a simple set of instructions and is equivalent to "you're all set." The phrase first appeared in print in the 1930s, and its origins are unclear. It may have been derived from the saying "all is bob," which means "all is well." Some theories point to specific "Bobs" who may have inspired the phrase. One such candidate, British Prime Minister Robert Cecil, appointed his nephew to what prestigious post in 1887? 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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George VI, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1895)The subject of the Academy Award-winning 2010 film The King's Speech, George VI became king of the United Kingdom following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. George was an important symbolic leader of the British people during World War II, supporting the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill and visiting his armies on the battlefield. He earned the respect of his people by scrupulously observing the responsibilities of a constitutional monarch and by overcoming what handicap? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of the soul. She becomes all outer show and inward emptiness; dull, callous, and indifferent. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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catch the sun— To get sunburned. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Halcyon Days (2022)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... |