Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, December 6, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vaporing
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Ganzfeld ExperimentsA ganzfeld experiment is a technique used in the field of parapsychology to test individuals for extrasensory perception (ESP). It uses homogeneous and unpatterned sensory stimulation, achieved through the use of translucent, monochromatic goggles that create a uniform visual field and headphones that play white noise, to produce an effect similar to sensory deprivation, which is thought to help people reach a state of consciousness conducive to ESP. What have experiments shown about ESP? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 13th Amendment to US Constitution is Ratified (1865)The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution completed the process of abolishing slavery, which had begun with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Between February 1 and December 6 of 1865, the required three-fourths of the existing states—then 27 of 36—ratified the proposed amendment, making it law. Slavery offenses were still being prosecuted as recently as 1947. Which of the states that initially rejected the amendment finally ratified it in 2013, 147 years after it was adopted? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805)Considered the father of modern conjuring, Houdin was a French magician after whom Harry Houdini named himself. Trained as a watchmaker, he was mechanically savvy and used this to his advantage in his act, employing mechanical devices and the newly discovered phenomenon of electromagnetism to create his illusions. Unlike magicians who relied on supernatural explanations for their feats, he openly attributed his magic to natural means. Why did the French government send him to Algeria in 1856? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Humor is the spiciest condiment in the feast of existence. Laugh at your mistakes but learn from them, joke over your troubles but gather strength from them, make a jest of your difficulties but overcome them.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get knocked out cold— To be rendered unconscious, as by a physical blow, medication, or other means. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Finland Independence Day (2022)The Finnish people lived under Russian control beginning in 1809. The Finnish nationalist movement grew in the 1800s, and when the Bolsheviks took over Russia on November 7, 1917, the Finns saw a time to declare their independence. They did so on December 6 of that same year. This day is a national holiday celebrated with military parades in Helsinki and performances at the National Theater. It is traditionally a solemn occasion that begins with a parade of students carrying torches and one flag for each year of independence. More... | |