Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, November 12, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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borderland
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Running the GauntletThe phrase "running the gauntlet" is used figuratively today to mean enduring a series of punishments or tests. It derives from the Roman form of military execution known as fustuarium, in which a soldier found guilty of laxity was cudgeled to death by his comrades. In some later traditions, the condemned was forced to pass between two rows of armed soldiers and pardoned if he managed to exit the other side. "The gauntlet" is also a type of athletic drill used in training for what sports? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Royal Air Force Sinks German Battleship Tirpitz (1944)The German Tirpitz, sister ship of the similarly ill-fated Bismarck, was the largest battleship ever built in Europe. Though she was sent to waters around German-occupied Norway and never really saw action in World War II, her mere presence threatened Allied convoys and tied up their naval resources. The Allies therefore launched numerous attacks on the Tirpitz in an effort to destroy her. What was the final Allied operation called? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jeanne Mance (1606)Mance was a member of a French association that planned a utopian colony at Montreal. With the support of the French queen, Anne of Austria, she sailed with the first settlers in 1641. Mance, who had cared for victims of the Thirty Years War and the plague while in France, opened Montreal's first hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, in 1644. In 1650, she visited France and returned with a large donation meant to fund the hospital. Rather than use it for its intended purpose, Mance did what with the money? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Annakut Festival (Govardhan Puja) (2018)This Hindu festival is observed on the day following Dewali in northern India. It celebrates an event in Krishna's life in which he lifted the Govardhan Mountain on his little finger for seven days, to protect the cows and people of Vrindavana against the deluge of rain sent by Indra, god of the heavens and rains. People come to the nearby town of Vrindavan from all over India to visit and worship at Mount Govardhan on this day. Hindus all over the world celebrate this day by preparing hundreds of different food dishes and taking them to temples to offer to the gods. More... | |