Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 4, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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analgesic
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Spark GapA spark gap consists of two electrodes that are separated—usually by air—to allow a spark to form between them. Small spark gaps are used to ignite combustion in engines, and huge spark gaps are used in high-voltage switches at electrical substations. Spark gaps can also be used in novelty devices such as the "Jacob's ladder," in which electric arcs continuously stream upward between two wires. How are such toys dangerous to houseplants? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Karen Carpenter Dies of Anorexia-Related Heart Failure (1983)Anorexia nervosa was a little-known disorder during Carpenter's life, but her death brought it lasting media attention. Performing alongside her brother Richard as half of the Carpenters duo, she had become a successful pop singer in the 1970s. Behind the scenes, however, her obsessive dieting and extreme weight fluctuations took a toll on her health, straining her heart. She succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 32. What is her husband said to have thrown into the casket at her funeral? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rosa Parks (1913)An icon of the US civil rights movement, Parks is often portrayed as a tired, elderly African-American seamstress who was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, after deciding on the spur of the moment not to give up her bus seat to a white man. In reality, she was a fairly young woman who had been a civil rights activist long before her arrest, which sparked an unprecedented, successful boycott of the city's segregated bus system. How did Parks know the bus driver who had her arrested in 1955? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To be different from your fellow creatures is always a misfortune.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Agatha Festival (2021)Sant' Agata (St. Agatha) is especially revered in Catania, Sicily, where her relics are preserved in a silver casket. On February 3, 4, and 5 each year, a silver bust of St. Agatha wearing a jewel-encrusted crown is carried in procession from the cathedral to Catania's various churches. Included in the procession are the ceri, huge wooden replicas of candlesticks that are carved with episodes from the saint's martyrdom. The streets are lined with streamers and flowers, and illuminated by strings of colored lights after dark. The festival ends with a fireworks display in the piazza. More... | |