Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, January 4, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
hypnopedia
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Inca Road SystemOne of the most remarkable examples of Inca engineering was their elaborate network of roads, parts of which survive today. Log, stone, pontoon, and suspension bridges were built to span streams, rivers, and chasms, and shelters and storehouses were spaced a day's travel apart. These were maintained by nearby villages, which also supplied messengers for their sectors. Messages or parcels could thus be carried throughout the empire quite quickly, with runners able to cover what distance in a day? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Donald Campbell Dies in Water Speed Record Attempt (1967)Following in the footsteps of his father—record-breaking English racing enthusiast Malcolm Campbell—Donald Campbell set the world speed record on water at 276 mph (445 km/h) in 1964. In 1967, during an attempt to set a new record, Donald's jet-powered boat violently disintegrated over Coniston Water, killing him instantly. Though his teddy bear mascot was found floating among the debris, Donald's body was not recovered until nearly 35 years later. Did he at least succeed in breaking his record? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Louis Braille (1809)Having lost his sight at the age of three following an accident, Braille went on to attend the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. While there, he began developing a system of raised dots representing letters to facilitate reading and writing among the visually impaired. This evolved into Braille, a writing system for the blind, which was later extended to include notations for mathematics and music. Braille's invention was inspired by another writing system designed for what purpose? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Where words fail, music speaks.Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
false friend— A phrase, word, or letter that sounds or looks similar to one in another language or dialect but has a significantly different meaning. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
.gif) Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (2023)The first native-born American to be declared a saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) was canonized in 1975. She was the founder of the first religious community for women in the US, the American Sisters of Charity, and was responsible for laying the foundations of the American Catholic school system. Special services commemorating Elizabeth Ann Seton's death on January 4, 1821, are held at the Chapel of St. Joseph's Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the headquarters for her order of nuns. More... | |