Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 25, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 TianTian is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the cosmos and the supreme power over humans and lesser gods in indigenous Chinese religion. As a god, Tian is an impersonal power, in contrast to the supreme ruler Shangdi, with whom Tian is nevertheless closely identified. Scholars have long debated whether Tian rewarded and punished human actions or whether events merely followed Tian's order and principles. The word Tian has how many meanings? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Svetlana Savitskaya Becomes the First Woman to Perform a Spacewalk (1984)Savitskaya is a former Soviet female aviator and cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space some 19 years after Valentina Tereshkova. She logged nearly 20 days in space during her career, including three and a half hours spent outside the Salyut 7 space station in 1984, when she became the first woman to perform a spacewalk. Before becoming a cosmonaut, she was a test and sport pilot and a parachutist. What world records did she set? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Thomas Eakins (1844)Perhaps the greatest American artist of the 19th century, Eakins lived, worked, and taught in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for most of his life. There, he painted The Gross Clinic in 1875. Depicting a surgical operation, it was initially criticized for being too realistic, but it is now seen as his masterpiece. Eakins was an influential art teacher, but his decision to use nude models of both sexes in mixed-gender classes caused an uproar. What incident led to his resignation in 1886? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The man who is aware of himself is henceforward independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet temperate happiness.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Costa Rica Annexation of Guanacaste Day (2020)Annexation of Guanacaste Day is a Costa Rican national holiday, also known as Guanacaste Day. It marks the annexation of Guanacaste, the northern part of the Nicoya peninsula, from Nicaragua. The inhabitants of Guanacaste voted to join the state of Costa Rica on July 25, 1824. The holiday is celebrated with street fiestas, folk dancing, horse parades, and cattle shows. There are organized activities in major parks, and bullfights are a traditional part of the celebration in the Nicoya peninsula, where the holiday festivities typically last for several days. More... | |