Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
raring Definition: (adjective) Full of eagerness; enthusiastic. Synonyms: impatient Usage: Standing at the starting line of the race, he shifted from foot to foot and was raring to go.

Article of the Day

Clogs Clogs are shoes or sandals that are made entirely of wood or have wooden soles and leather uppers. They are associated with the Netherlands and Sweden, where they are considered part of the national dress. In England, clogs were traditionally made of alder and were commonly worn by all classes throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Lancashire cotton mill workers habitually wore clogs to avoid slipping on the wet floors in the cotton mills. How are clogs used in some styles of dance? More...

This Day in History

US Secretary of State George Marshall Announces the Marshall Plan (1947) World War II left the finances and industry of Europe crippled. In 1947, Marshall proposed a plan for the US to finance the European recovery. From 1948 to 1952, it provided almost $13 billion in grants and loans to 17 countries and was a key factor in reviving their economies and stabilizing their political structures. While most of Europe embraced the plan, it was strongly opposed by the Soviet Union and some Eastern European nations. How, according to Marshall, would this plan benefit the US? More...

Today's Birthday

John Couch Adams (1819) Before the planet Neptune was discovered, Adams—an English astronomer and mathematician—correctly predicted its existence and position based on irregularities in the motion of Uranus. However, the credit for the discovery went to Urbain Leverrier, who had come to the same conclusion later but published his findings earlier. In 1846, the planet was first observed by a German astronomer using Leverrier's calculations. A modest man, Adams also declined to publish what other findings? More...

Quotation of the Day
Misfortune had made Lily supple instead of hardening her, and a pliable substance is less easy to break than a stiff one. Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

Idiom of the Day
(one's) moment in the sun — A brief period of time in which one is or has been particularly successful, popular, famous, etc., especially when set against an otherwise moderate or unremarkable life. More...

Today's Holiday

Seychelles Liberation Day (2024) Less than a year after gaining independence, a coup overthrew the government in Seychelles. Two major political parties had developed, the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) and the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP). James Mancham, the leader of the SDP party, which won the majority vote, became president, and France Albert René became prime minister. René's supporters led the overthrow and ousted Mancham on June 5, 1977, an event commemorated as a public holiday on Liberation Day. More...