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November 13, 2026
Nov 13, 2026
Word
simulacrum
noun
Definition
  1. image, representation
  2. an insubstantial form or semblance of something : trace
Example
The magazine is still in publication, but, since the change in ownership, it is but a simulacrum of its former self.
Origin
It's not a figment of your imagination; there is a similarity between "simulacrum" and "simulate." Both of those English words derive from "simulare," a Latin verb meaning "to copy, represent, or feign." In its earliest English uses, "simulacrum" named something that provided an image or representation (as, for instance, a portrait, marble statue, or wax figure representing a person). Perhaps because a simulacrum, no matter how skillfully done, is not the real thing, the word gained an extended sense emphasizing the superficiality or insubstantiality of a thing.
Webster's Dictionary
Fun facts
  1. In only 7.6 billion years, the sun will reach its maximum size and will shine 3,000 times brighter.
  2. Two trees can create enough oxygen for a family of four.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Jang Seung-eop
1843 - 1897

Jang Seung-eop was a painter of the late Joseon Dynasty in Korea. His life was dramatized in the award-winning 2002 film Chi-hwa-seon directed by Im Kwon-taek. He was one of the few painters to hold a position of rank in the Joseon court.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Manuel L. Quezon
Aug 19, 1878 - Aug 1, 1944

Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina was a Filipino statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the entire Philippines, and is considered to have been the second president of the Philippines, after Emilio Aguinaldo.

During his presidency, Quezon tackled the problem of landless peasants in the countryside. His other major decisions include the reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of a recommendation for government reorganization, the promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established a government-in-exile in the U.S. with the outbreak of the war and the threat of Japanese invasion.

It was during his exile in the U.S. that he died of tuberculosis at Saranac Lake, New York. He was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery until the end of World War II, when his remains were moved to Manila. His final resting place is the Quezon Memorial Circle.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
Neapolitan War
Mar 15, 1815 - May 20, 1815

The Neapolitan War was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815 when King Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 with the signing of the Treaty of Casalanza. The war occurred during the Hundred Days between Napoleon's return from exile and before he left Paris to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. The war was triggered by a pro-Napoleon uprising in Naples, and ended with a decisive Austrian victory at the Battle of Tolentino after which Bourbon monarch Ferdinand IV was reinstated as King of Naples and Sicily. However, the intervention by Austria caused resentment in Italy, which further spurred on the drive towards Italian unification.

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