Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 13, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bombast
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Abu DhabiLocated on the Persian Gulf, Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its capital, also named Abu Dhabi, is the second largest city in the UAE and became the provisional capital when the UAE was formed in 1971. Oil was discovered there in the late 1960s, and the abundant oil revenues have since been used for the country's development and modernization. What was one of Abu Dhabi's major industries before it was eclipsed by oil? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Thomas Edison Observes the Edison Effect (1880)Known as "the Edison Effect," thermionic emission is the emission of electrons or ions by substances that are highly heated. The charged particles that are emitted are called thermions, and their number rapidly increases with the temperature of the substance. If the heated substance that emits thermions carries a charge, the thermions will carry the same charge. The effect was observed by Edison in 1883 when he was working on what invention? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Joseph Banks (1743)Banks was a British naturalist, botanist, and patron of the sciences. After inheriting a large fortune in his early 20s, he began traveling extensively, collecting plant and natural history specimens. He outfitted and accompanied James Cook's voyage around the world, during which time he collected many biological specimens that had never before been classified. His herbarium, one of the most important in existence, and library are now at the British Museum. What plant genus was named after him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is, “Who in the world am I?” Ah, that's the great puzzle!Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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crushing blow— A major defeat or setback that is devastating to the goals of a person, group, or organization. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Washington's Birthday CelebrationEvery year, Alexandria, Virginia, hosts an array of activities devoted to George Washington, including the nation's largest parade honoring the father of the country. The first parade to honor him was in 1798, when he came from his Mt. Vernon home to review the troops in front of Gadsby's Tavern. The present-day festivities get off to an elegant start over the weekend with a banquet followed by the George Washington Birthnight Ball in Gadsby's Tavern, a duplication of the birthday-eve parties held in Washington's lifetime. On Monday is the big parade. More... | |
| In the News | |
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 One Giant Keep for MankindWhen Neil Armstrong returned from his famous moon walk in 1969, he brought back some souvenirs of the trip—and apparently kept them in a closet in his home until his death in 2012. That’s where his wife discovered the camera that recorded the landing and two waist tethers, objects that Armstrong called "just a bunch of trash" in the Apollo 11 mission transcripts. This "trash," which was supposed to stay in space, is now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. More... | |