Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 14, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
tirade
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 ParaglidingParagliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport that has its roots in parachuting. Unlike parasailing, in which a water-skier wearing a parachute becomes airborne while being towed by a speedboat, paragliding uses a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. Paragliding took off in the 1970s, and today, the world's best paragliding pilots compete in the Paragliding World Cup and other competitions. What do pilots do to reduce their chances of injury in this extreme sport? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Max Planck's Quantum Theory Is Born (1900)Considered the inventor of quantum theory, Max Planck shocked the science world by showing that atoms emit or absorb energy in bundles, or quanta, not in a continuous stream as taught by Newtonian physics. This insight, along with subsequent developments by Einstein, Bohr, and others, established the revolutionary quantum theory of modern physics and earned Planck the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1945, Planck's son was executed following a failed attempt to assassinate what political figure? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Nostradamus (1503)Nostradamus was a French astrologer and physician reputed to have effected remarkable cures during outbreaks of the Black Plague. His book of prophecies, Les Propheties, consists of vaguely phrased, rhymed quatrains grouped into sets of 100, called "Centuries." Enthusiasts credit Nostradamus with foreseeing the rise of Hitler, the French Revolution, the atomic bomb, and the destruction of the World Trade Center. What reason do skeptics give for dismissing these claims? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not but that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed?James Madison (1751-1836) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
catch the sun— To get sunburned. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Halcyon Days (2022)The ancient Greeks called the seven days preceding and the seven days following the Winter Solstice the "Halcyon Days." Greek mythology has it that Halcyone (or Alcyone), Ceyx's wife and one of Aeolus's daughters, drowned herself when she learned her husband had drowned. The gods took pity on her and transformed them both into kingfishers. Zeus commanded the seas to be still during these days, and it was considered a period when sailors could navigate in safety. Today, the expression "halcyon days" has come to mean a period of tranquility often used as a nostalgic reference to times past. More... | |