Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, February 17, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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putsch
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| Article of the Day | |
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 GroupthinkIn order to minimize conflict and avoid embarrassment, group members often refrain from promoting viewpoints that deviate from the apparent group consensus. This mode of thinking is known as "groupthink" and is characterized by extensive self-censorship among group members who unquestioningly believe in the morality of the group. Striving for unanimity without appraising alternative courses of action can often have dire consequences. What fiasco inspired the study of the concept of "groupthink"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Issue of Newsweek Magazine Is Published (1933)Originally News-Week, the magazine debuted 10 years after Time, for which Newsweek founder Thomas J.C. Martyn had been an editor. It evolved into a full spectrum of news material, from breaking news and analysis to reviews and commentary. In 1961, it was purchased by Philip Graham, publisher of The Washington Post. In 2010, it was sold for $1 to American businessman Sidney Harman. Today, Newsweek is the second largest newsweekly in the US. What is the largest? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE (1930)Born in London, Rendell became an author of murder mysteries and psychological thrillers in the 1960s. She has since published dozens of award-winning novels—many featuring her Chief Inspector Wexford—and has been recognized for her sharp prose and psychological insight by both critics and audiences. Originally a journalist, Rendell was fired after writing about a society dinner she did not attend. What notable misfortune, which was absent from Rendell's article, befell the speaker of the event? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The land of literature is a fairy-land to those who view it at a distance, but, like all other landscapes, the charm fades on a nearer approach, and the thorns and briars become visible.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the half of it— A portion of something, typically implied to be the most important of signficant part. (Often used in the negative.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bonden Festival (2017)At the Bonden (or Bonten) Festival at Yokote in the Akita Prefecture of Japan, each district of the city has a team of young men to carry its bonden in a race to the Asahiokayama-jinja shrine. The bonden is a ten-foot bamboo pole, draped with heavy cloth and topped by a platform holding a figure of the Animal of the Year. Those carrying the bonden gradually increase their pace until they are running, often pushing members of competing teams to the ground to be the first to the top. The team that arrives first wins the privilege of offering its bonden to the kami, or god. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Photos show what crime looks like before it happensStopping criminal activity before it happens is usually the domain of science fiction – as in “Minority Report,” where police officers in 2054 use the ability to see into the future to catch murderers before they kill. But some security experts believe ... More... | |