Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
petulant Definition: (adjective) Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered. Synonyms: peevish, testy, cranky, fractious Usage: After their fight, her friend came to make amends, but she was feeling petulant and sulky and ignored him.

Article of the Day

Messier Objects In 1784, French astronomer Charles Messier compiled a list of non-stellar celestial objects. He had no understanding of what these items—now known to be galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters—actually were; he just wanted to further the search for comets by listing the indistinct objects that might be mistaken for them. Designations from his catalog are still used to refer to some nebulae and star clusters—for instance, M1 is the Crab Nebula and M45 is the Pleiades. What is a "Messier Marathon"? More...

This Day in History

First African American wins Academy Award (1940) Hattie McDaniel was an African-American singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer, and television star. She appeared in over 300 films and is best known for her role as Mammy in the iconic 1939 film Gone with the Wind, a performance that earned her the first Academy Award ever presented to an African American. McDaniel's Oscar was later lost. What are some theories about what became of it? More...

Today's Birthday

Dinah Shore (1916) Shore was an American singer, actress, and TV personality who enjoyed widespread popularity during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 50s. She was the first singer of the era to achieve success as a solo artist, producing over 80 hit songs, including "Baby It's Cold Outside," before beginning a four-decade career in television. Shore was a hit with TV audiences as well and went on to earn nine Emmys, a Peabody Award, and a Golden Globe. How did Shore, born Frances Rose, earn the stage name Dinah? More...

Quotation of the Day
All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire. Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

Idiom of the Day
miss the cut — In golf, to fail to match or better the score necessary to remain in the final two rounds of a four-round tournament, thus resulting in elimination. More...

Today's Holiday

Kalevala Day (2025) The Kalevala is Finland's national epic poem, researched and transcribed by Dr. Elias Lönnrot. Lönnrot and his assistants traveled throughout the country, asking people to tell them whatever they could remember about the folklore surrounding Kalevala, the "Land of Heroes." On February 28, 1835, after years of research, Lönnrot signed the preface to the first edition of the poem. This event marked a turning point in Finnish literature; up to this point, little had been written in the Finnish language. Lönnrot is honored with parades and concerts on this day. More...