Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 20, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cupidity
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Language: What Is It?Humans are the only creatures to use a form of communication that scholars consider "language"—a system of spoken sounds or conventional symbols that communicates thought. Although some animals display similar social behavior, linguists are reluctant to term it language, instead describing it as "animal communication." Still, some animals have been taught certain features of human language. Why are most animal languages considered "closed"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Saladin Begins Siege of Jerusalem (1187)Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in 1099 during the First Crusade and served as the capital of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem for most of the 12th century, but it was besieged and captured by Saladin, the Kurdish Muslim warrior and Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, after his decisive victory at Hattin in 1187. The Crusaders negotiated a surrender, and the two parties agreed to a peaceful handover of the city to Saladin, preventing the sort of massacre that had occurred when? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elizabeth Kenny (1880)After breaking her wrist as a young girl, Kenny developed an interest in medicine and eventually became a nurse. While treating polio victims in her native Australia, she devised a treatment using hot compresses and passive exercise that differed drastically from the usual approach of immobilization. Kenny later brought her controversial treatment to the US, where it was initially met with skepticism but was ultimately accepted. What actor attributes his recovery from polio to these treatments? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Paris Autumn Festival (Festival d'Automne) (2018)The Autumn Festival marks the start of the city's cultural season, encompassing film, photography and other contemporary arts on an international scale. Most of the theater presentations are experimental, and they have included productions from the United States, West Berlin, Denmark, Poland, and the former U.S.S.R. Composers whose works have been performed there include Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, John Cage and Iannis Zenakis, and it has featured the New York Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestre de Paris. Events are held in locations throughout Paris. More... | |