Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, October 25, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 KapparosKapparos is a traditional Jewish ritual that takes place shortly before Yom Kippur, the most sacred Jewish holy day. The ritual is performed by holding a live chicken and swinging it around one's head three times, symbolically transferring one's sins to the chicken. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor, or the value of the chicken is given to charity. Supported by some rabbis but condemned by others, the practice remains controversial. What is recited when holding the chicken? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Cedar Fire Spreads in Southern California (2003)One of 15 fires to ravage Southern California during October 2003, the Cedar Fire was the largest wildfire in the state's history. Fanned by the Santa Ana Winds, the fire burned 280,278 acres (1,134 sq km), destroyed 2,820 buildings, and killed 15 people. It was not until November 3 that firefighters achieved full containment. The devastation caused by the fire led to criticism of the emergency response and calls for changes in the regulations for firefighting aircraft. What started the fire? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Johann Strauss II (1825)Strauss was a world-renowned Austrian composer best known for his waltzes, among them the popular Blue Danube. The son of a composer, he formed an orchestra in 1844 that was immediately successful and rivaled that of his father. Composing more than 400 waltzes, Strauss revolutionized the Viennese waltz, endowing it with new melodic, rhythmic, and orchestral richness. Why did Strauss's brother Eduard destroy a large portion of the family's original orchestral archives, including Johann's? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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down in the mouth— Visibly sad or depressed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Crispin's Day (2022)According to legend, Crispin and his brother Crispinian traveled from Rome to the French town of Soissons, where they preached and earned a living as shoemakers. The people of Soissons built a church in their honor in the sixth century, and since that time they have been known as the patron saints of shoemakers and other workers in leather. This is also the day on which the French and English armies fought the battle of Agincourt in the middle period of the Hundred Years War (1415). More... | |