Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 27, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hard-bitten
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| Article of the Day | |
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 SatiSati is an Indian funerary practice in which a widow immolates herself on her husband's funeral pyre. Though its stated purpose is to purge the sins of the couple and ensure their reunion in the afterlife, the practice has been encouraged by the low status of widowhood. Practiced since the 4th century BCE, sati became widespread in India in the 17th and 18th centuries, and not all instances were voluntary. Today, it occurs rarely, and mostly in remote areas. When was the practice outlawed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Great Storm of 1703: First Eddystone Lighthouse Is Destroyed (1703)For five years, the Eddystone Lighthouse guided mariners safely past the treacherous Eddystone Rocks off the southwestern coast of the UK. Then, a catastrophic hurricane struck. The Great Storm claimed hundreds of ships, thousands of lives, and the Eddystone Lighthouse—along with its builder, Henry Winstanley, who was inside at the time. Fire destroyed the second lighthouse on the site, and erosion led to the dismantling of the third. How did operators mark the 100th anniversary of the fourth? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Agee (1909)Agee was an American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic who wrote for several magazines, including Fortune, Time, and The Nation. His first major book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a commentary on the lives of Southern tenant farmers in the 1930s with accompanying photographs by Walker Evans, was a commercial flop at the time of its original publication but has won high praise over the years. Which book earned Agee a posthumous Pulitzer Prize? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Poverty doesn't bring unhappiness; it brings degradation.George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a holy terror— A very troublesome, aggressive, or aggravating person; a person who is exasperatingly difficult in their manner or behavior. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Native American Heritage Month (2022)The first general American Indian Day was observed on the second Saturday in May 1916; since 1995, the month of November has been observed as American Indian Heritage Month. Although the largest Native American populations can be found in Oklahoma, Arizona, California, New Mexico, and North Carolina, many other states have come up with ways to draw attention to their unique contribution to American culture. Most celebrations focus on educational and promotional events, displays of Native American art and dance, and agricultural fairs. More... | |