Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 18, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tuneful
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| Article of the Day | |
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 ShamashOne of the great deities in Mesopotamian religion, Shamash was the god of the Sun, who, with his father, the Moon god Sin, and the goddess Ishtar, was part of an astral triad of divinities. As the solar god, Shamash was the heroic conqueror of night and death, and he became known as the god of justice and equity. He was said to have presented the Code of Hammurabi to the Babylonian king, and at night he served as judge of the underworld. In what Babylonian epic is Shamash mentioned? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Discovery of Piltdown Man Announced (1912)In the early 20th-century, amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson announced that a fossilized skull belonging to a previously unknown species of prehistoric man had been found in Piltdown, England. It took 40 years to definitively determine that the skull was not that of a primitive hominid but rather a fake constructed from a human cranium and the jawbone of an ape. The perpetrator of the hoax has never been identified, though many have fallen under suspicion, including what famous author? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson (1856)One of the founders of modern physics, Thomson helped revolutionize the knowledge of atomic structure. He is known primarily for his discovery of the electron and his investigation of its charge and mass, his development of the mathematical theory of electricity and magnetism, and his role in the discovery of isotopes and invention of mass spectrometry. His research into the electrical conductivity of gases earned him a Nobel Prize in 1906. What did Thomson originally call electrons? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta of Our Lady of Solitude (2018)The Virgen de la Soledad, or Our Lady of Solitude, is the patroness of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Preparations for her fiesta begin several days before December 18, when carnival rides and food booths are set up in the vicinity of the church. For several evenings there are calendas, processions of men and women carrying colored paper lanterns illuminated by candles. There are also floats and huge papier-mâché caricatures of well-known individuals. Thousands of pilgrims come from all over the state of Oaxaca to see the Virgin, who is dressed in velvet and satin gowns. More... | |