Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 04, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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inveigh
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The XYZ AffairThe XYZ Affair was a 1797 diplomatic episode that worsened relations between France and the US and led to the undeclared Quasi-War of 1798. When the US signed a treaty with Great Britain in 1795, France perceived it as evidence of an Anglo-American alliance. The French responded by seizing hundreds of US ships bound for British ports. US President John Adams sent a delegation to negotiate peace, but communication stalled when the French agents demanded bribes. Who were X, Y, and Z? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The "Flying Tailor" Dies after Failed Parachute Jump from Eiffel Tower (1912)Parachutes at the dawn of the aviation age were bulky and, inconveniently, had to be pre-opened. Among those trying to improve upon their design was French tailor Franz Reichelt. He had some success testing his designs on dummies, but he had no evidence that his parachute would work with a real person when he jumped from the Eiffel Tower before a crowd of spectators and reporters. The chute failed to open, and he plummeted to his death. How had he convinced the authorities to allow the jump? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles Lindbergh (1902)In 1927, Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in 33.5 hours, landing in Paris to a hero's welcome. He returned to the US a celebrity but moved to England in 1932 to escape the media frenzy surrounding the kidnapping and murder of his son. Returning to the US in 1940, he faced criticism for opposing US entry into WWII. Still, he flew combat missions for the US during the war. He helped invent what device that made open-heart surgery possible? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I'll give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell...their heart's in the right place, but their head is a thoroughly inefficient organ.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be a roaring success— To be extremely or triumphantly successful. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ice Worm Festival (2017)This zany mid-winter festival celebrates the emergence of the ice worm in Cordova, Alaska. The highlight of the three-day festival is the procession of a 150-foot-long ice worm followed by 500 or so paraders. Other events include variety shows, ski events, a survival-suit race, a beauty pageant, music, and dances. The celebration began in 1961, and the legend was born then that an ice worm hibernates during the winter in the Cordova Glacier but starts to hatch or wake up in early February. The worm has gained international fame, and the festival draws great crowds of people. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Did Humans' Appetite for Eggs Drive this Giant Bird to Extinction?The daily ritual of preparing eggs for breakfast may date back almost 50,000 years. New research out of Australia lead by University of Colorado Boulder geology professor Gifford Miller may provide some of the first direct evidence that humans in Australia ... More... | |