Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 24, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 VacuumsExisting only in theory, a vacuum is space without matter in it. The most nearly perfect vacuum exists in intergalactic space, which is estimated to contain less than one molecule per cubic meter. By comparison, air at sea level contains about 30 billion billion molecules per cubic centimeter. Several kinds of pumps have been devised for removing the molecules from a space, but even the best man-made vacuums still contain matter. What eight-legged creature can survive for days in a vacuum? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 USSR Begins Drilling World's Deepest Hole (1970)The Kola Superdeep Borehole project was an attempt to dig as far as possible into the Earth's crust. It began when, in 1970, following setbacks in the Space Race, Soviet scientists looked downward. Digging on the remote Kola Peninsula for some 20 years, they reached a depth of 40,230 feet (12,262 m)—about a third of the way through the Earth's crust—before being forced to stop due to higher-than-expected temperatures of 350° F (180° C). Surprisingly, water was found at what depth? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Brodsky (1940)Soon after Brodsky began writing poetry in the USSR in the 1950s, he was accused by the government of "social parasitism" and sentenced to hard labor. Exiled in 1972, he settled in New York and began writing in English. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1987 and was poet laureate of the US for a time. His poetry, with its themes of loss and exile, is highly regarded for its intensity, depth, and wit. What was his retort when a Soviet judge once asked him, "Who enrolled you in the ranks of poets?" More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea—whether it is to sail or to watch it—we are going back from whence we came.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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memory lane— A set or series of memories of one's past life, likened to a roadway that one may visit or take a tour of. (Used primarily in the phrase "stroll/take a trip/walk etc. down memory lane.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bermuda Day (2024)Bermuda Day, formerly Commonwealth Day, is a public holiday and the highlight of Bermuda Heritage Month. Since 1979, a variety of cultural activities have been held every May, including historical exhibits, concerts, and thanksgiving services in churches. Festivities on May 24 include a parade that ends up in the middle of a festival at Bernard Park in Hamilton. It is also a popular day for Bermudians to hit the beaches. Runners participate in a marathon race, and there are races for cyclists and skaters. May 24 is also the beginning of dinghy-racing season in St. George's Harbor. More... | |