Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 28, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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camion
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Dry QuicksandConsidered a mythic substance until recently, dry quicksand is loose sand that behaves like ordinary quicksand but contains no water and operates in a different manner. Though accounts of whole caravans being swallowed up by the substance have been discounted as folklore, researchers have demonstrated that aerating fine sand reduces its bulk density and creates a dry quicksand that could envelop an entire vehicle. How did fear of dry quicksand affect the planning of the Apollo moon missions? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Statue of Liberty Is Dedicated (1886)The Statue of Liberty, originally known as Liberty Enlightening the World, was proposed by French historian Édouard Laboulaye in 1865 to commemorate the alliance of France with the American colonies during the American Revolution. Designed by French sculptor F. A. Bartholdi, the statue is 152 ft (46 m) high and is possibly the tallest metal statue ever made. It was shipped to New York in 1885, assembled, and dedicated in 1886. What New York tradition originated during the dedication? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837)Tokugawa was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The Tokugawa family held the shogunate and controlled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Beginning at the time of Yoshinobu's birth, there were numerous peasant uprisings and samurai unrest. Undermined by increasing foreign incursions, the Tokugawa were overthrown by an attack of provincial forces from Choshu, Satsuma, and Tosa, who restored the Meiji emperor to power. Yoshinobu resigned in 1867. How did he spend his retirement? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Affection is the broadest basis of good in life.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (someone's) blood on (one's) head— To be the cause of (someone's) death; to bear the guilt or responsibility of (someone's) death or injury. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Czechoslovak Independence Day (2016)The Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded on October 28, 1918, when the National Committee in Prague proclaimed independence from the Austrian Hapsburg emperors and took over the administration of an independent Czechoslovak state. Independence Day was widely celebrated in Czechoslovakia until the Communists seized power there in 1948, but the day continued to be recognized in the US with special banquets, addresses, religious services, and cultural programs. Communities with large Czech or Slovak populations may also mark the occasion. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Cave-Dwelling Millipede Has 414 Legs and an Unusual Number of Other Appendages, TooMillipedes, the little blunt-headed invertebrates with a habit of coiling up like baby ferns, rarely live up their name. In Latin, millipede means “thousand feet,” though the majority of the arthropods do not surpass the hundred-leg mark. That is not ... More... | |