Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
haggle Definition: (verb) To bargain, as over the price of something; dicker. Synonyms: chaffer, higgle, huckster Usage: He preferred to be overcharged than to haggle over such a trivial item.

Article of the Day

Shell Shock During World War I, shell shock was considered a psychiatric illness resulting from injury to the nerves during combat. The condition is now known as combat stress reaction, a military term used to categorize a range of behaviors resulting from the stresses of battle. Symptoms include fatigue, slowed reaction time, indecision, disconnection from one's surroundings, and the inability to prioritize. Why did some argue during the Vietnam War that distressed soldiers should be sent back to combat? More...

This Day in History

Samantha Smith Visits the Soviet Union (1983) In 1982, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old American girl, wrote a letter to the newly elected leader of the USSR, Yuri Andropov, asking if he intended to start a war. Andropov replied personally. Expressing a desire for lasting peace with the US, he invited Smith to visit. The following July, she and her parents spent two weeks in the USSR amidst a media frenzy that hailed her as a goodwill ambassador. After her death in a plane crash two years later, she was honored by both nations in what ways? More...

Today's Birthday

Gustav Mahler (1860) Mahler was an Austrian composer and conductor. After studying in Vienna, he conducted at numerous prominent opera houses where his high standards became legendary, but his refusal to compromise aroused intense personal opposition. He composed in his free time, mostly during the summer, and completed nine symphonies in his lifetime. The biggest success of his career—the 1910 premiere of his eighth symphony—was overshadowed by Mahler's discovery of his wife's affair with what famous architect? More...

Quotation of the Day
Churchmen in peace and quiet pray to Heaven for the welfare of the world, but we soldiers and knights carry into effect what they pray for...Thus are we God's ministers on earth and the arms by which his justice is done therein. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)

Idiom of the Day
on the gravy train — In a state, position, or job where one makes an excessive amount of money without expending much or any effort. More...

Today's Holiday
Solomon Islands Independence Day (2024) The Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific gained independence from Britain on this day in 1978. They had been under British control since 1900. Independence Day is a national holiday throughout the islands. More...