Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 3, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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coagulate
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Golden Age of WhodunitBeginning in the 1920s, the complex, plot-driven, whodunit genre of detective fiction experienced a 30-year Golden Age. In these stories, the puzzle takes center stage, and readers, who are provided with clues throughout the book, are challenged to deduce the perpetrator's identity before it is revealed in the mystery's final pages. Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone (1868) is widely regarded as one of the first true whodunits. What famed children's author also penned a whodunit in 1922? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Former Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega Surrenders to US (1990)The reign of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega had been rife with turmoil, corruption, and diplomatic tension with the US, and his decision to void the results of the 1989 Panamanian presidential election, which had been won by a US-backed candidate, brought matters to a head. That December, US President George H.W. Bush sent troops to depose him. Noriega initially went into hiding, but he surrendered days later and was taken to Miami to face drug trafficking charges. Where had he been hiding? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Anna May Wong (1905)One of the first Chinese-American movie stars, Wong played her first leading role, at age 17, in The Toll of the Sea. At that time, most Asian character roles were played by white actors in "yellowface." As a result, Wong was frequently passed over for leading roles due to the anti-miscegenation laws that prevented her from sharing an on-screen kiss with a white actor. Nevertheless, her acting skills and impeccable fashion sense made her a star. How was she received in China? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ball-Catching Festival (2021)This 500-year-old tradition, said to have its roots in the legend of a dragon god (Ryujin) offering two balls to the Empress Jingu (170–269), takes place each year in Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka City, Japan. Two teams of Japanese men, wearing only loincloths (fundoshi), compete for a ball that weighs about 18 pounds; these teams consist of the Land Team, made up of farmers who work the fields, and the Sea team, composed of fishermen. A Shinto priest awaits the winner to hand him the ball—the size of the harvest or of the catch during the new year is determined by which team wins. More... | |