Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
pokey Definition: (noun) A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence). Synonyms: jail, slammer, clink Usage: The burglar was caught red-handed and thrown in the pokey.

Article of the Day

The Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau At the outbreak of WWI, Germany ordered its two ships in the Mediterranean—the Goeben and Breslau—to head for Turkey in an attempt to draw the Ottoman Empire into the war. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill ordered British ships to find and intercept them. The British accidentally stumbled across the Germans near Algeria and gave chase. Why did Churchill later describe the outcome of the chase as more ruinous than any that "has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship"? More...

This Day in History

George Westinghouse Patents the Automatic Air Brake (1872) Prior to the advent of trucking in the early 1900s, rail was the only efficient way to transport goods over land. However, before the 1870s, there was no easy way to quickly stop the extremely heavy freight trains. Brakemen scrambled over the tops of moving cars to activate hand brakes on each one. The system was unreliable, resulting in frequent derailments, and many brakemen were killed or maimed after falling from trains. The air brake solved all of those problems. How did it work? More...

Today's Birthday

Howard Pyle (1853) Pyle was an American illustrator and writer who specialized in tales of chivalry and adventure for children. He rewrote and realistically illustrated classic tales about figures like Robin Hood and King Arthur, adapting the stories to suit a younger audience. In 1900, he founded an art school, and many of his students went on to become famous illustrators themselves. Today, he is considered the father of American illustration. Which noted Post-Impressionist painter was an admirer of Pyle's work? More...

Quotation of the Day
An American monkey,…after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus was wiser than many men. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Idiom of the Day
a woman of her word — A woman who can be expected to keep or follow through with her promises or intentions; a truthful, trustworthy, or reliable person. (Masculine: "man of his word.") More...

Today's Holiday

Tlacaxipehualiztli (Festival of Xipe Totec) (2024) Among the Aztec Indians of Mexico, Xipe Totec was a god of war. The observance of his festival took place in March according to the Gregorian calendar. Xipe Totec was often referred to as "Our Lord the Flayed One" (or, "the Flayer"), and images of him show the god wearing a human skin. The Festival was an occasion for Aztec warriors to mimic the god. They killed their prisoners of war and removed their skins from their bodies. They would then wear these skins for the entire 20-day month and hold mock battles, after which they would discard the now-rotting skins into caves or bury them. More...