Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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embitter
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Ishtar GateThe Ishtar Gate was a massive entryway built in the ancient city of Babylon around 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. Named for the goddess Ishtar—an ancient fertility deity and the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylon—the gate was more than 38 feet (12 m) high and adorned with images of 575 dragons and bulls in 13 rows. Through the gate ran the stone- and brick-paved Processional Way, lined with 120 brick lions. Where is there a reproduction of the Ishtar Gate? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Steve Biko Dies in Police Custody (1977)A former medical student, Biko founded the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in 1968 to combat racism and apartheid. He was officially "banned" by the South African government in 1973 and was arrested several times in the years that followed. Arrested for the last time in 1977, he was tortured and beaten to death in police custody, prompting international protests and a UN arms embargo. Twenty years later, five former policemen admitted killing him. Why were they never prosecuted? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henry Louis "H.L." Mencken (1880)Often regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century, Mencken was a journalist, satirist, social critic, and cynic known as the "Sage of Baltimore," for the city where he lived his entire life. Perhaps best remembered for his satirical reporting on the Scopes evolution trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey trial," Mencken was frequently critical of myriad institutions. Why did the Arkansas legislature pass a motion in 1931 to pray for Mencken's soul? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dally in the Alley (2020)Dally in the Alley is a one-day arts fair that takes place on the Saturday after Labor Day in the North Cass neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. The Dally began as a community block party and art fair in 1977. It expanded into a performing arts festival and moved to its current location in 1982, when it became known as the "Dally in the Alley," the name of an English pub song. Each year more than 30,000 visitors attend the festival, which includes music, a curated art show, poetry and writing workshops, children's activities, food, and refreshments—particularly beer. More... | |