Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 25, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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miry
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| Article of the Day | |
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 ValkyriesIn Norse mythology, the valkyries are maidens sent by Odin to select worthy warriors slain in battle. Valkyries, whose name is derived from an Old Norse word meaning "choosers of the slain," are said to have the power to cause the death of warriors they dislike or guard the lives of those they favor. According to various myths, they are either deities or mortals with supernatural powers. Where do the valkyries bring the warriors they deem worthy? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nellie Bly Goes Around the World (1890)Elizabeth Jane Cochran—better known by her pen name, Nellie Bly—was a pioneering investigative reporter. She feigned insanity in order to be committed to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on New York City's Blackwell's Island and expose the institution's horrific and abusive treatment methods. In 1889, she embarked on a 24,899-mile (40,071-km) journey around the world inspired by the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Her trip, however, was somewhat shorter. How long did it take? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Virginia Woolf (1882)A successful innovator in the form of the novel, Woolf was a significant force in 20th-century fiction. As a novelist, her chief concern was to represent the flow of ordinary experience, and she accomplished this by placing greatest emphasis not on plot or characterization but on her characters' consciousness. Her books include Mrs. Dalloway, Jacob's Room, and To the Lighthouse. Woolf struggled with bouts of depression and, fearing the onset of a breakdown, did what in 1941? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If a man's character is to be abused ... there's nobody like a relation to do the business.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a cut below— Of lower quality than or inferior to someone or something else, especially that of the expected norm. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (2023)Saul of Tarsus, a highly educated, devout Jew, was converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus not long after the death of Jesus Christ. Later, he was known as Paul and became the most influential leader in the history of the church. At St. Paul's Chapel in New York City, the path through the graveyard is closed for 48 hours, beginning on the eve of the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. At one time, the weather on this day was linked to predictions about the coming year. Fair weather on St. Paul's Day was said to presage a prosperous year; snow or rain an unproductive one. More... | |