Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 21, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
extempore
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Faraday CagesIn 1836, scientist Michael Faraday observed that a charge on a conductor resides only on its surface and does not impact anything enclosed within. To demonstrate this, he coated a room with metal foil, had high-voltage discharges strike its exterior, and showed with an electroscope that no electric charge reached the interior. Today, any container made of a conductor that shields its interior from electric fields is called a Faraday cage. What common modes of transportation act as Faraday cages? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Marie and Pierre Curie Discover Radium (1898)Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie were working with pitchblende, a heavy mineral known to contain the radioactive element uranium, when they noticed something unusual. Somehow, the pitchblende was more radioactive than the uranium it contained. The culprit was radium, a previously unknown element present in pitchblende only in trace amounts—yet more than a million times more radioactive than uranium. What common household products contained radium until it was discovered to be dangerous? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Benjamin Disraeli (1804)Disraeli, a Conservative politician and novelist, succeeded the earl of Derby as prime minister of Great Britain in 1868 but lost the office to political rival William Gladstone that same year. During his second term as prime minister, from 1874 to 1880, Disraeli's ministry enacted a number of domestic reforms. He was a staunch imperialist and, under his leadership, Britain gained a controlling interest in the Suez Canal. Why was Disraeli's first book, Vivian Grey, strongly criticized? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The latter part of a wise man's life is taken up in curing the follies, prejudices, and false opinions he had contracted in the former.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
cool customer— Someone who remains even-tempered, especially in stressful situations. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Doleing Day (2022)It was customary at one time in England on St. Thomas's Day for the poorer inhabitants of the parish to call on their wealthier neighbors and receive a gift or "dole" of food or money. In return, they would give their benefactors a sprig of holly or mistletoe. The custom of "going a-gooding," as it was called, gave rise to the name Gooding Day in parts of Sussex; in other areas, it was referred to as Mumping (Begging) Day, since those who had to beg were said to be "on the mump." Children would often spend St. Thomas's Day begging for apples. More... | |