Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
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Article of the Day

Polychaetes About 5,400 species of often brightly colored marine worms are included in the annelid class Polychaeta. Worms of this class have a head with short sensory projections and tentacles and a segmented body covered with many setae, or bristles. They range in length from less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) to approximately 10 ft (3 m) long. Found worldwide, polychaetes perform the important function of turning over sediment on the ocean floor. What is the deepest point at which polychaetes have been observed? More...

This Day in History

Abraham Lincoln Delivers His "House Divided" Speech (1858) In 1858, Lincoln was nominated to challenge incumbent Illinois senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. At the state Republican convention, he accepted the nomination with a now-famous speech explaining his view that the US could not exist with both slave and free states—as "a house divided against itself cannot stand." He lost the race but won the presidency two years later. When and by whom had the same biblical reference previously been used to describe the national rift over slavery? More...

Today's Birthday

Joyce Carol Oates (1938) Oates is an American author of over 50 novels and numerous volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. She has won the National Book Award and the O. Henry Award and has been thrice nominated for a Pulitzer. She writes about modern American life and the connection between violence and love. Her characters are mainly ordinary, inarticulate people to whom terrible things happen. Her most famous short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is based on what real-life serial killer? More...

Quotation of the Day
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Idiom of the Day
nose into (something) — To investigate something; to try to find information about something, especially private, secret, or sensitive matters. More...

Today's Holiday

South Africa Youth Day (2024) Throughout the history of South Africa, black citizens have suffered from segregation and oppression by white leaders. On June 16, 1976, more than 20,000 students from Soweto began a protest march. Police were called to the scene, and violent riots broke out. Approximately 700 people, many of them youths, were killed. June 16 has been set aside as Youth Day across the Republic of South Africa, to commemorate the day the protests began and to honor the youth who lost their lives during the riots. Ceremonies, parades, and historic exhibitions are part of the celebrations across South Africa. More...