Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, October 27, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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variola
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Roof, the Roof, the Roof (of My Mouth) Is on Fire!The burning sensation that engulfs your mouth when you eat a chili pepper is caused by the extremely pungent compound capsaicin. In 1912, Wilber Lincoln Scoville devised a system for ranking the relative spiciness of different peppers based on the degree of dilution necessary for a panel of taste testers to no longer feel the "heat" when sipping a pepper extract. The higher a pepper's measurement in Scoville units, the hotter it is. What are some of the world's hottest peppers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Treaty of Madrid Signed (1795)The Treaty of Madrid—also called Pinckney's Treaty or the Treaty of San Lorenzo—was an agreement between the fledgling nation of the United States and colonial Spain. It defined the boundaries between the US and Spanish colonies to the south and west, and it secured the US rights to navigate the Mississippi River, which was a critical waterway for trade. The signatories also agreed not to incite native tribes to warfare. The borders defined by this treaty correspond to what boundaries today? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Theodore Roosevelt (1858)A hero of the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt served as governor of New York and, later, as vice president under William McKinley. After McKinley's assassination, he became the 26th president of the US. His administration was marked by the regulation of trusts, the building of the Panama Canal, and a foreign policy based on the motto "Speak softly and carry a big stick." In 1906, he became the first sitting American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in mediating what conflict? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A jest's prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it, Never in the tongue of him that makes it.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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enough (something) to choke Caligula's horse— A lot of something. The phrase likely mentions Caligula because the Roman emperor was known for his penchant for excess. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Independence and Thanksgiving Day (2022)A group of islands in the West Indies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence from Britain on October 27, 1979, and its citizens celebrate their freedom with this national holiday. More... | |