Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 7, 2018)Word of the Day | |||||||
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prehensile
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Article of the Day | |
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The Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916In the summer of 1916, thousands flocked to the New Jersey shore to seek relief from the polio epidemic and severe heat wave plaguing the northeastern US. As WWI raged in Europe, the vacationers watched for German U-boats that were reportedly maneuvering off the coast, but they were unaware of a different danger lurking beneath the water's surface—sharks. Between July 1 and July 12, sharks attacked 5 people along the Jersey coast, killing 4. What are some theories about why the attacks occurred? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Galileo Galilei Discovers Three of Jupiter's Four Largest Moons (1610)Jupiter has more than 60 moons. The four largest—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—were the first satellites of a planet other than Earth to be detected. They were discovered by Galileo in 1610, shortly after he invented the telescope, and are therefore known as the Galilean satellites. On January 7, 1610, Galileo observed near Jupiter what he described at the time as "three fixed stars, totally invisible by their smallness." How long did it take Galileo to realize they were not stars? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Joseph Bonaparte (1768)The older brother of Napoleon, Joseph Bonaparte served as French minister to Parma and Rome, and negotiated a treaty with the US in 1800. When Napoleon became emperor, Joseph bitterly protested being left out of the line of succession. In 1806, Napoleon made him king of Naples, and in 1808 he was made king of Spain instead. He reluctantly abdicated after failure in the Peninsular War. He then lived mainly in the US state of New Jersey, where he was reputed to have seen what legendary creature? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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See them clamber, these nimble apes! ... Towards the throne they all strive: it is their madness—as if happiness sat on the throne! Ofttimes sitteth filth on the throne—and ofttimes also the throne on filth. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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a feast for the eyes— An especially attractive, pleasing, and/or remarkable sight or visual experience. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Cambodia Victory Day (2023)This national holiday is also called Victory over Genocide Day and Nation Day. It marks the day in 1979 that Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia and began an assault that ended the bloody regime of the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that as many as two million Cambodians were killed during the nearly four years that Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge ruled the country. Victory Day is celebrated with patriotic speeches by government officials, remembrance services for the victims, as well as cultural displays of the era. More... |