Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 13, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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regnant
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Henry Percy, 9th Earl of NorthumberlandPercy was an English aristocrat who inherited his title from his father when he was in his early 20s. Under James I, Percy was imprisoned in the Tower of London for suspicion of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, which was undertaken in part by his relative Thomas Percy. While in prison, he made the acquaintance of Sir Walter Raleigh, who was also confined there, and earned the sobriquet "The Wizard Earl" for his scientific experiments. What luxurious amenities did Percy have while imprisoned? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Successful Escape from an Aircraft Using the Ejection Seat (1942)Ejection seats are used in aircraft to quickly propel occupants out in an emergency. Today, they are fired by an explosive charge, but the first ejection seats were powered by compressed air. One of the first aircrafts to be fitted with such a system was the German Heinkel He 280 prototype jet fighter. While testing the He 280 during WWII, pilot Helmut Schenk became the first person to use an ejection seat to make an emergency escape from an aircraft. What went wrong during his test flight? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Wilhelm Wien (1864)German physicist Wilhelm Wien is noted for his work on hydrodynamics, X-rays, and the radiation of light, but it was his work on blackbody radiation that set him apart in the field. In 1893, he derived a law that relates the maximum emission of a blackbody to its temperature. In 1911, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in recognition of his "discoveries regarding the laws governing the radiation of heat." His work contributed significantly to the development of what branch of physics? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All the learnin' my father ever paid for was a bit o' birch at one end and the alphabet at th' other.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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15 minutes of fame— A brief period of celebrity or notoriety. The term was coined by artist Andy Warhol. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Togo National Liberation Day (2023)On January 13, 1967, Togo president Nicolas Grunitzky was overthrown by Gnassingbé Eyadema, who remained president of Togo until 2005. He was succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. To celebrate National Liberation Day, the Togo military joins with civilian bands to mount several colorful parades in the city of Lomé. Dissident groups have long opposed the celebrations, noting that January 13, 1963, saw the assassination of the nation's first president, Sylvanus Olympio. In 2008, President Gnassingbé called for an end to the public celebrations on National Liberation Day. More... | |