Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 2, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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fanfare
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Legend of Fionn mac CumhaillAccording to legend, Ireland's mythical hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill was imbued with universal wisdom after inadvertently eating the Salmon of Knowledge. This boundless knowledge ultimately led Fionn to become leader of the Fianna, the famed heroes of Irish myth. Many geographical features in Ireland are attributed to the legendary giant, including the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway. What land mass was supposedly formed in the Irish Sea when Fionn flung a chunk of earth at a rival? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 New Amsterdam Incorporated as a City (1653)In 1625, the Dutch West India Company decided to build a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, in close proximity to the fur-rich forests bordering the Hudson River. Named Fort Amsterdam, it became the capital of New Netherland and was incorporated as the city of New Amsterdam a few decades later. In 1664, it was captured by the British and renamed New York. The Dutch retook the city in 1673, and before the British claimed it yet again, it was briefly known by what third name? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ayn Rand (1905)1926, Rand fled post-revolution Russia for the US, which she considered the "country of the individual." She worked for many years as a screenwriter before winning a cult following with two influential novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her works present her belief in rational self-interest, a philosophy she called "objectivism," and made her an icon of radical libertarianism. What unusual floral arrangement was placed near the casket at Rand's funeral? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 God's creature is one. He makes man, not men. His true creature is unitary and infinite, revealing himself, indeed, in every finite form, but compromised by none.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Yemanjá Festival (2021)Yemanjá is a major festival of the Candomblé religion in the Rio Vermelho district of Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil. Maes-de-santo and filhas-de-santo (men and women mediums, or followers of the saints) sing and dance from daybreak on, summoning Yemanjá, or Iemanjá (the goddess of the ocean), to the festival. Offerings are placed in boats and carried down to the sea, where they are set afloat. Thousands of people flock to the coast for the festivities. More... | |