Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 10, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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scissure
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Shrine of the BookThe Shrine of the Book is the wing of Jerusalem's Israel Museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient documents found between 1947 and 1956 in caves on the Dead Sea's northwest shore, at Qumran. Funded by the family of David Samuel Gottesman, a philanthropist who purchased the scrolls as a gift to Israel, the shrine features an unusual white dome that covers an underground structure. How does the museum ensure that the fragile scrolls survive the rigors of being displayed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler Escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau (1944)By 1944, transports were arriving daily at Auschwitz, carrying thousands of Jews destined for the gas chambers and crematoria. Prisoners Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler knew that someone had to warn the Jews about what was happening to their deported brethren and alert the world to the atrocities being committed, so they mounted a daring escape and made their way to Slovakia, where they presented a detailed report on the concentration camp to Jewish officials. How did they break out of the camp? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Frances Perkins (1880)Though Perkins was already extraordinarily accomplished by the time she was appointed US Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, the decision to appoint a woman to the cabinet was bitterly criticized by business and political leaders. In her unusually long 12-year term, Perkins advocated reforms such as a minimum wage, a maximum workweek, and unemployment compensation. She helped develop the Social Security Act of 1935. What book did she write after leaving office? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Passover (2017)Passover is an eight-day celebration (seven days in Israel and by Reform Jews) of the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Jewish families today eat a ceremonial dinner called the Seder at which they retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and eat various symbolic foods—including meat of the Paschal Lamb, bitter herbs and wine (symbolizing the fruitfulness of the earth). The matzoh (unleavened bread) is meant to symbolize the haste with which the Jews left. In strictly religious Jewish homes today, all foods made with leavening are prohibited during this season. More... | |