Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, August 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lampoon
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Elizabeth of BohemiaThe daughter of James I of England, Elizabeth was married to elector palatine Frederick V in 1613 to cement an alliance between English and German Protestantism. She became queen of Bohemia when her husband accepted the crown in 1619, but after his defeat by the Catholic League the next year, they went into exile. Her descendents founded the House of Hanover, which ruled England for nearly 200 years. What failed plot would have put nine-year-old Elizabeth on the English throne had it succeeded? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.svg.png) The Swiss Confederation Is Formed (1291)Despite its ethnic and religious diversity, Switzerland has maintained one of the world's oldest democracies for more than 700 years. Concerned about the encroaching Habsburg Empire, the three mountain communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed a defensive league in 1291, laying the foundations of the Swiss Confederation. Today, Switzerland is well known for its neutrality and reluctance to join the European Union. In 2002, it became one of the last nations to do what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BCE)The nephew of Tiberius, Claudius became the Roman emperor unexpectedly, after Caligula was murdered. Sickly, unattractive, and scholarly, he tended to disfavor the upper classes and cater to the freedmen. He expanded the frontiers, invading Britain in 43 CE. He spent lavishly on public works and extended Roman citizenship throughout the empire. Having executed his scheming third wife, he married his niece, who then likely poisoned him. What modern diagnoses might explain his lifelong ill health? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A man in debt is so far a slave.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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poetry in motion— Something that is very elegant, graceful, and/or beautiful to observe, especially dance or the performing arts. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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Swiss National Day (2025)This nationwide celebration of the Swiss Confederation is observed with torchlight processions, fireworks, shooting contests, and folkloric events. The day commemorates the occasion in 1291 when representatives of the three original cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden met on the Rutli meadow and swore an oath of alliance and mutual defense to lay the foundations of the Confederation. More... | |