Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, April 12, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pasquinade
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Mystery of Skeleton LakeAn uninhabited area located high in the Indian Himalayas, Roopkund is best known as the home of Skeleton Lake, where in 1942 a park ranger made a startling discovery—a mass grave containing the remains of some 300 to 600 people. Using radiocarbon dating, scientists traced the skeletons to the 9th century. Though people initially believed the dead were victims of landslides, an epidemic, or a blizzard, further examination of the skulls revealed that the people died in what unusual way? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Liberian President William R. Tolbert Is Killed in Military Coup (1980)Liberia was founded in the 1820s by former slaves from the US, and tensions between the Americo-Liberian minority and the indigenous majority have persisted since that time. On April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers led by Samuel Kanyon Doe stormed the executive mansion, killing Americo-Liberian President William R. Tolbert and 27 other government leaders. Doe, a member of the ethnic Krahn tribe, then declared himself president. How had a rice scandal seriously undermined Tolbert? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (1940)Hancock is a jazz and funk pianist, composer, and bandleader who emerged as part of Miles Davis's group in the mid-1960s. An early adopter of electronic instruments, he became involved with funk and disco in the 70s, while continuing to tour with jazz groups, such as that of Wynton Marsalis. He won an Academy Award for his original score of the 1986 film 'Round Midnight and has won 14 Grammys, including "Album of the Year" for a work that paid tribute to what fellow musician? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 A fearful man is always hearing things.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
when pigs can fly— At a time that will never come to pass. (Used to show skepticism or cynicism over someone's hypothetical remark.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Cosmonauts Day (2017)On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel in outer space. April 12th was declared Cosmonauts Day in Gagarin's honor. Official ceremonies on this day begin in the Moscow suburb of Korolyov, well known as the center of Russian rocket production, where officials and former cosmonauts lay flowers at a statue of Gagarin. The general public celebrates the day in a less formal manner: some place flowers at statues of Gagarin in various cities, while others attend space-themed art and film exhibitions. More... | |
| In the News | |
|---|---|
Man Searches for Caribbean Treasure Using a Secret Map Left by NASA AstronautHe's hunting for sunken treasure in the Caribbean, using a secret map created from outer space by one of NASA's first astronauts. Darrell Miklos, who is documenting the experience as part of a new Discovery Channel series, told ABC News that he obtained the ... More... | |