Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, October 09, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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balladeer
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Old Summer PalaceKnown in China as the Gardens of Perfect Clarity, the Old Summer Palace was a complex of palaces and gardens built in the 18th and early 19th centuries near the walls of Beijing. Hundreds of invaluable Chinese art masterpieces and antiquities were stored in its halls, making the Imperial Gardens one of the largest museums in the world. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, British and French troops looted and destroyed the gardens. Why have the Chinese decided not to rebuild the complex? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Phantom of the Opera Premieres in London (1986)Based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London in 1986. In 2010, it celebrated its 10,000th performance at the same venue. It opened in New York in 1988, and went on to become the longest-running musical on Broadway. It is also the most financially successful entertainment project of all time, having earned billions of dollars. What is the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Dreyfus (1859)In 1894, French Army intelligence discovered that military secrets were being leaked to Germany. Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French Army, was blamed and convicted—twice—on insufficient and forged evidence. He was imprisoned on Devil's Island. The affair became a national scandal amid reports that the army, permeated by anti-Semitism, had covered up evidence of his innocence. He was pardoned by the president in 1899 and cleared by a civilian court in 1906. Who was probably the real traitor? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Though home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit answered to, in strongest conjuration.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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like a chicken with the pip— In low spirits; in a weak or sickened state or manner. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Denis's Day (2017)Also known as St. Dionysius, St. Denis is the patron saint of France. According to legend, Pope Clement sent him to what is now France to establish the Church there, during the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251), but the pagans who greeted him did not treat him well. The most widely repeated legend is that they beheaded him on Martyr's Hill—the place now known as Montmartre in Paris—but he miraculously picked up his head and carried it for two miles before expiring at the site where the Church of St. Denis was later built. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Apes Might Be Able to Tell What You're ThinkingOne of the things that defines humans most is our ability to read others' minds -- that is, to make inferences about what others are thinking. To build or maintain relationships, we offer gifts and services -- not arbitrarily, but with the recipient's ... More... | |