Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 26, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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befuddled
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Cargo CultsFirst appearing in the late 19th c. but particularly prevalent after WWII, when many Pacific Islanders witnessed airdrops of supplies, cargo cults are the unorthodox religious movements that appeared in tribal societies after interaction with Westerners. Believing fallen cargo came from divine spirits who would send more upon seeing rituals based on the foreigners' behavior, the tribes built straw airplanes, radios made of coconuts, and other pseudo-Western items. Do any cargo cults exist today? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Short Creek Raid (1953)Before dawn on July 26, 1953, more than 100 Arizona state police officers and National Guard soldiers entered Short Creek, home to about 400 Mormon fundamentalists, many of whom illegally practiced polygamy. Almost the whole community was arrested, and 263 children were seized from their parents. Arizona's governor described it as a "police action against insurrection," but the raid drew widespread criticism. Community members knew the raid was coming. What were they doing when officers arrived? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Aldous Huxley (1894)Huxley was a British writer known for his works of witty and pessimistic satire, like Antic Hay (1923), which established his reputation as a novelist. In his acclaimed Brave New World, he envisions a nightmarish, scientifically controlled future society that underscores the dehumanizing aspects of technological progress. His later works reveal an interest in philosophy and mysticism. Though he spent much of his life in the US, he was repeatedly denied citizenship for what reason? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Esala Perahera (Arrival of the Tooth Relic) (2020)Esala Perahera is a celebration in Kandy, Sri Lanka, that lasts 10 nights and pays homage to the sacred relic believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. Processions are held each night, and the tooth is paraded in an elaborate howdah (platform) on the back of an ornately decorated elephant. Dozens of richly caparisoned elephants follow, and there are also drummers beating big bass drums and small tom-toms, horn blowers, the famous Kandyan dancers, acrobats, and torch bearers holding aloft baskets of blazing copra (coconut meat). More... | |