Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
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Article of the Day

Hephaestion Hephaestion was a Macedonian general who supervised the foundation of cities and colonies in Bactria, central Asia, and India. He was a close friend of Alexander the Great, who called him "my Patroclus"—in reference to the friend of the Greek hero Achilles. In 324 BCE, Hephaestion married Alexander's sister-in-law, Drypetis, but died suddenly in the same year at Ecbatana, the capital of ancient Media, in what is now northwestern Iran. How did Alexander mark Hephaestion's death? More...

This Day in History

Skylab Returns to Earth (1979) Five years after it was abandoned in orbit, the US space laboratory Skylab began to fall back toward Earth. The impending re-entry and breakup became an international media event, as it was unclear exactly when or where the debris would land. News organizations went so far as to offer rewards for surviving pieces of the spacecraft. The debris finally crashed to Earth in Western Australia, earning NASA a $400 fine for littering from the Shire of Esperance. When was the fine paid? More...

Today's Birthday

John Quincy Adams (1767) The son of a US president, Adams accompanied his father on diplomatic missions as a child and began his own political career at 14. A talented ambassador, he became secretary of state under President James Monroe. In 1824, he defeated Andrew Jackson in the presidential race, but he was unpopular in this role and lost to Jackson in the next election. He was then elected to Congress, where he served until his death. An outspoken opponent of slavery, he defended what famous mutineers in 1841? More...

Quotation of the Day
As the viper, though it kills with it, does not deserve to be blamed for the poison it carries, as it is a gift of nature, neither do I deserve reproach for being beautiful. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)

Idiom of the Day
one card shy of a (full) deck — A pejorative phrase meaning not very intelligent or of questionable mental capacity. This expression can appear in many different forms and variations (e.g., "a few sandwiches short of a picnic," "one brick short of a load.," etc.). More...

Today's Holiday

St. Placidus Festival (2022) Sankt Placidusfest is a religious procession held on July 11 at Disentis, Switzerland, in honor of St. Placidus, who was murdered near the Benedictine abbey that he and St. Sigisbert helped establish there in 614. Every year, the relics of St. Placidus and St. Sigisbert are carried in a solemn procession from the abbey to the parish church and back through the village to the abbey. Traditionally, during the ceremonies, parishioners in colorful folk costumes chant the old, and very long, "Song of St. Placidus." More...