Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 28, 2017)Word of the Day | |||||||
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stammer
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Article of the Day | |
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Plasma LampsOriginally invented by Nikola Tesla to study high voltage phenomena, plasma lamps are now widely available novelty items. The lamps, generally gas-filled orbs, contain an electrode that ionizes the gas, producing beams of colored light. Placing one's hand near such an orb alters its high-frequency electric field, causing a single beam to migrate from the electrode to the point of contact. Do plasma lamps have any practical applications? More... |
This Day in History | |
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William Semple Files Chewing Gum Patent (1869)Existing in various forms since prehistoric times, chewing gum is one of the oldest types of candy still widely consumed today. Early chewing gums were made from plant resins. In 1869, dentist William Semple patented a rubber-based chewing gum that he envisioned as a tooth cleaning product. Around that time, confectioners discovered that chicle, a natural latex that was being explored as a possible rubber substitute, was an ideal gum base. What country banned chewing gum in 1992? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Woodrow Wilson (1856)Wilson served as US president from 1913 to 1921, a period that spanned the country's involvement in World War I. Following the war, Wilson hoped to achieve world peace through his "Fourteen Points," but his progressive vision suffered numerous setbacks, and he ended his term incapacitated by a stroke. While trying to implement his plan at the Paris Peace Conference, he became the first US president to travel to Europe while in office. On what rare unit of US currency is Wilson's image featured? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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I think you are wrong to want a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart. L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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from cover to cover— Thoroughly and/or in its entirety (referring to a book that has been read from front cover to back cover). More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Russian Winter Festival Moscow (2022)The Russian Winter Festival is a festival of arts and a time of holiday partying largely in Moscow, Russia, and somewhat less grandly in other cities of the former Soviet Union. In Moscow, there are circuses, performances of Russian fables for children, and other special theatrical presentations as well as traditional outdoor parties with troika (sled) rides, folk games, and dancing around fir trees. On New Year's Eve, children wait for gifts from "Grandfather Frost"—who wears a red robe and black boots and has a white beard—and his helper, Snow Girl. More... |