Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, January 18, 2022)Word of the Day | |||||||
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Article of the Day | |
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The Clouded LeopardThe clouded leopard prowls the Himalayan foothills. It is only distantly related to its namesake but does share the leopard's dark spots. As the smallest of the big cats, the clouded leopard is considered an evolutionary link between big cats and small cats. It is known for its excellent climbing ability—the clouded leopard can climb down trees headfirst—and frightening canine teeth—the largest of any cat in proportion to body size. What nickname has it been given due to this latter feature? 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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The desire to know whether or not a woman is cursed with curiosity is one of the most active and insatiable passions of the masculine soul. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) |
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... |