Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 2, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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overabundance
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Smeed's LawFirst proposed in 1949, Smeed's Law is an empirical rule relating traffic fatalities to motor vehicle registration and country population. According to this law, annually increasing traffic volume ironically leads to a decrease in accidents per vehicle. Though the law was revisited in the 1980s and 90s with data from more than 60 countries supporting its validity, it has been disputed by several scholars. What supposed truth about human psychology did Smeed say the law reveals? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Paddy Roy Bates Founds His Own Nation (1967)The Principality of Sealand is a purported micronation located on Roughs Tower, a World War II-era British sea fort located in the North Sea six miles (10 km) off the coast of Suffolk, England. Since 1966, the installation has been occupied by the associates and family of Paddy Roy Bates, a former British Army major and pirate radio broadcaster who claimed it as a sovereign and independent state in 1967. What is the international community's position on the fort's status as a sovereign nation? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christa McAuliffe (1948)McAuliffe, a high school history teacher, was among the seven crew members killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded soon after its launch in 1986. She had been selected to be the first civilian in space from a field of more than 11,000 applicants to NASA's Teacher in Space program, and she was slated to teach two lessons during the flight. In 2004, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. What happened to the teacher chosen as McAuliffe's backup? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 My last page is always latent in my first; but the intervening windings of the way become clear only as I write.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bumbershoot (2018)Bumbershoot is the premier festival of Seattle, Washington, held since 1971 and now a wide-ranging round-up of many arts. Bumbershoot is slang for umbrella, and the festival is supposed to be an umbrella for the arts; the word also calls to mind Seattle's rainy climate. In recent years, Bumbershoot attractions have included Japanese Kabuki theater, Russian rock, robot art, flamenco dancing, and readings by contemporary writers. It is a gallimaufry of music, dance, theater, visual and literary arts, children's activities, food, and crafts. More... | |