Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 22, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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verbiage
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Constructed WorldsA constructed world is an imaginary world, usually created for a novel, video game, or role-playing game, that possesses a unique geography and climate and is often home to sapient creatures with their own cultures and histories. Detailed maps and languages of their creators’ invention help make these worlds seem more realistic. J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is one example of a constructed world. There are two major approaches to world-building: top-down and bottom-up. How do they differ? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pablo Escobar Escapes from His Luxury Prison (1992)By 1989, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was one of the world's richest men. At the height of his success, his Medellín cartel controlled 80% of the global cocaine market. Even after he was incarcerated, he continued to conduct business from the resort-like Colombian prison that had been built to his specifications. In 1992, in an effort to avoid extradition to the US, Escobar escaped. He was killed by police 16 months later. His intimidation tactic of plata o plomo translates to what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edward Hopper (1882)Hopper was an American painter who supported himself as a commercial illustrator until he gained recognition in the mid-1920s with his now-iconic scenes of American life. His dramatically lit works often feature still, anonymous figures inside geometric buildings and evoke a haunting sense of isolation that was his hallmark. His famous Nighthawks depicts a mostly empty, brightly lit diner on an otherwise dark, desolate street at night. What was said to be Hopper's favorite thing to paint? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fête de la Madeleine (2020)The Magdalene Festival is observed in St. Baume, a forested region of Provence, France, on the anniversary of the death of Mary Magdalene. Legend has it that, wandering eastward from Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, she came to la fôret de la Baume, "the forest of the cave," a grotto where she spent 33 years living on wild roots and berries doing penance for her sins. Thousands of pilgrims have visited la Sainte Baume, the holy cave, since the 13th century. Although July 22 is the most popular pilgrimage date, the shrine is visited throughout the year. More... | |