Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
querulous Definition: (adjective) Given to complaining; peevish. Synonyms: fretful, whiny Usage: The teacher's patience was wearing thin, but the querulous student nevertheless continued to whine about how much homework she was assigning.

Article of the Day

The Mirror Test This test is used to determine whether an animal recognizes itself in a mirror—an indicator of self-awareness. It was developed in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup, Jr., who was inspired by Darwin's account of an encounter with a captive orangutan that saw itself in a mirror and seemed to show recognition. Gallup refined the test by placing marks on his subjects and then observing their responses to the marks upon seeing their reflections. Which animals typically pass the test, and which fail? More...

This Day in History

Boston Red Sox Sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees (1919) Between 1914 and 1919, Ruth compiled an outstanding pitching record, but because pitchers do not play in every game, he was shifted to the outfield so that his powerful hitting could be used consistently. The following season, he was sold to the New York Yankees, and his batting feats and public personality helped salvage baseball's popularity, which had been damaged by the Black Sox scandal. According to legend, Ruth was sold by the owner of the Red Sox in order to finance what? More...

Today's Birthday

George Dewey (1837) Dewey was an American admiral and a hero of the Battle of Manila. He graduated from the US Naval Academy and served with Union naval forces in the American Civil War. In the Spanish-American War (1898), his Asiatic Squadron sailed to the Philippines and defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay, destroying eight Spanish ships in six hours and suffering only one American fatality. His victory led to the US acquisition of the Philippines. What rank did Congress create for him in 1899? More...

Quotation of the Day
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Idiom of the Day
long pig — obsolete Human flesh when eaten as food by cannibals. More...

Today's Holiday

St. Stephen's Day (Ireland) (2024) On this day in c. 35, St. Stephen became the first Christian martyr. He was denounced as a blasphemer by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council in ancient Palestine, and stoned to death. In many countries, St. Stephen's Day is celebrated as an extra Christmas holiday. In Ireland, boys with blackened faces carrying a paper wren go about begging and "hunting the wren." The hunting of the wren is most likely a carryover from an old belief that the robin, symbolizing the New Year, killed the wren, symbolizing the Old, at the turning of the year. More...