Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, October 21, 2019)Word of the Day | |||||||
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rapturous
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Article of the Day | |
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The Singapore FlyerAt 541 feet (165 m)—or 42 stories—high, the Singapore Flyer is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Described by its operators as an observation wheel, it was opened to the public in 2008. The wheel contains 28 enclosed capsules, each of which is capable of holding 28 passengers. A complete rotation of the wheel takes approximately 30 minutes. The wheel originally rotated in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from the nearby Marina Centre, but its direction was later changed. Why? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Florence Nightingale Sent to Treat War Wounded (1854)Though Nightingale's parents opposed their daughter's pursuit of a career in nursing, she persevered and is now considered the founder of modern nursing. During the Crimean War, she traveled to Turkey to treat the British wounded, earning the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp" for her devotion to the troops' care. Upon her return, she wrote Notes on Nursing, the first nursing textbook, and founded the Nightingale Training School. In 1907, she became the first woman to receive what award? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Ronald McNair (1950)A nationally recognized US physicist, accomplished saxophonist, and black belt in karate, McNair was selected to join NASA's astronaut training program in 1978. Six years later, aboard the space shuttle Challenger, he became the second African American in space. His next trip into orbit was to take place on the same shuttle on January 28, 1986, and McNair brought his sax along for the ride, intending to be the first to record an original piece of music in space. Why did this never happen? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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It is a maxim among these lawyers that whatever has been done before, may legally be done again: and therefore they take special care to record all the decisions formerly made against common justice, and the general reason of mankind. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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curl (one's) hair— To shock or terrify someone. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Festival of the Black Christ (2022)One legend associated with the observance of this festival in Portobelo, Panama, says that, during a cholera epidemic on the Isthmus, the people discovered a statue of a black Christ and brought it into the church. Within a few days, cholera had completely disappeared from Portobelo, even though it continued to rage elsewhere. The people of Portobelo honor El Jesús Nazarene by carrying the statue in procession on a decorated platform through the city. Pilgrims come from all over Panama, as they have for more than 300 years, to celebrate with folk dancing, music, and songs. More... |