Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 18, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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languish
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| Article of the Day | |
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 FriggOne of the most important goddesses of Norse mythology and Germanic religion, Frigg is the patron of marriage, fertility, and the household. Though many stories depict her as a devoted mother, others stress her loose morals. Due to her resemblance to the Roman goddess Venus, the Latin day of Venus came to be known as Frigg's day—or Friday—in Germanic countries. According to legend, Frigg's son Baldr was killed after she inadvertently revealed the one thing that could harm him. What was it? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Twenty-One Demands (1915)Japan gained a large sphere of interest in northern China through its victories in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, thus joining the ranks of the European imperialist powers scrambling to establish control over China. Japan used its 1914 declaration of war against Germany as grounds for invading German holdings in China. Then, ignoring the Chinese request to withdraw, Japan secretly presented the Chinese president with an ultimatum. What were some of the demands? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Montesquieu (1689)Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French social and political philosopher whose ideas profoundly influenced European and American political thought, particularly that of America's founding fathers. He spent 15 years working on his masterpiece, De l'Esprit des lois—On the Spirit of the Laws—an immense comparative analysis of various forms of government comprising more than 600 chapters. What concept did he famously put forth in this work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bankers' hours— A working day that is shorter than usual or acceptable, especially one that begins late and ends early. It refers to the traditional opening times for banks, which formerly opened at 10 AM and closed at 3 PM. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (2023)In 1908, the Rev. Paul Watson proposed a week-long observance dedicated to Christian unity to be scheduled between the feasts of St. Peter's Chair (January 18) and St. Paul (January 25), the two great leaders of the first Christians. The World Council of Churches maintains these dates. Each year an inter-denominational committee selects a scriptural theme and prepares the outlines of a worship service for each day of the Week of Prayer. Individual congregations are free to use the material as is, or vary it to suit local practices and traditions. More... | |