Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 21, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pastille
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Papyrus of the Nile DeltaPapyrus was an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, a wetland sedge that once flourished in the Nile Delta. Though its earliest use has been traced to Ancient Egypt, it was also widely used throughout the Mediterranean region, inland parts of Europe, and southwest Asia. Making a sheet of papyrus involves a complex process of layering the inner piths of the stems, then hammering, drying, and polishing them. What unlikely article of clothing was made from papyrus? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mona Lisa Stolen by a Louvre Employee (1911)In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre and was believed to be lost forever. Two years later, former Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia was caught trying to sell the masterpiece to a gallery owner in his native Italy. It turned out that Peruggia had stolen the painting by hiding in a closet, waiting until the museum had closed, taking it down, and simply walking out with it hidden under his coat. How much time did Peruggia serve in jail for his crime? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christopher Robin Milne (1920)Christopher Robin Milne was the son of author A.A. Milne. When Christopher was a young child, his father wrote poetry for him, which grew into the collections When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six. Later, Christopher and his toy animals were incorporated into stories about the adventures of the now-classic characters Christopher Robin, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore in Winnie-the-Pooh. How did Christopher feel about his name being used in his father's stories? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 'Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakably meant for his ear.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the gray dollar— The economic purchasing power of elderly people as a group. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Crow Fair (2016)The Crow Fair is one of the biggest powwows in the US, held since 1918 at Crow Agency, Montana, about 65 miles southeast of Billings. The fair is hosted by the Crow tribe but attracts thousands of other Native Americans, who set up more than 1,000 tepees on the camp grounds. Dancing at the fair includes not only traditional Plains Indian dances but also the Crow Hop, which is similar to a war dance and is unique to the Crows. There are also rodeos with cash prizes, horse races, art exhibits, and demonstrations of such crafts as pipe carving and jewelry designing. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Scientists Create Vomiting Machine to Study How Norovirus is TransmittedResearchers have used animal models, stem cells, and 3-D printing to solve some of science’s greatest mysteries. But now, students and professors at North Carolina State University are using a custom-made barfing machine and artificial vomit to study ... More... | |