Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
downswing Definition: (noun) A worsening of business or economic activity. Synonyms: downturn Usage: Panicked investors scrambled to secure their assets as the market took a severe downswing for the third time in a month.

Article of the Day

Looted Art For millennia, artworks have been looted during times of war. By the time Alexander the Great invaded Egypt in 332 BCE, the tombs of almost all the Pharaohs had already been looted, and as recently as the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, thieves looted Baghdad's national museum. Much of the Louvre's collection was amassed through Napoleon's systematic plundering, an example the Nazis followed in WWII, looting an estimated 20% of the art in Europe. What happened to this art after Germany's defeat? More...

This Day in History

The Ku Klux Klan Is Formed (1865) The Ku Klux Klan is the name of two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history. The first Klan was an organization that thrived in the South during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The second was a nationwide organization that flourished after World War I. Subsequent groups calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan sprang up in much of the South after World War II and in response to civil-rights activity during the 1960s. How did the Ku Klux Klan gets its name? More...

Today's Birthday

Isidor Feinstein Stone (1907) Stone worked on several newspapers in his native Philadelphia and in New York before starting his own investigative newsletter, I. F. Stone's Weekly. It was believed to have an influence far greater than the size of its readership, which included some of the nation's most prominent politicians, academicians, and journalists. The sole author, Stone created a unique blend of wit and pointed political commentary. After his death, Stone was alleged to have been a secret agent for what nation? More...

Quotation of the Day
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

Idiom of the Day
green folding stuff/money — Paper money, especially in large amounts. Primarily heard in US. More...

Today's Holiday

Christmas Eve (Japan) (2020) In Buddhist Japan, Christmas Eve is for lovers. The day should be spent doing something extra special (expensive), and should end in a fine Tokyo hotel room, most of which have been booked since the previous January; even the cheapest rooms go for exorbitant prices. Youngsters may be treated to a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken—if their parents don't mind lining up for two hours—as many Japanese think Colonel Sanders resembles Santa Claus. Another culinary tradition is strawberry shortcake with a plastic fir tree on top. More...