Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
somatic Definition: (adjective) Affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit. Synonyms: corporeal, bodily Usage: Though anxiety attacks are psychological in nature, they have numerous somatic effects, including palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness.

Article of the Day

Fort Gadsden Florida's Fort Gadsden was the site of two successive forts. The first was built by the British during the War of 1812, when the area was under Spanish control. When the British left in 1815, they handed control of the fort over to the local population of Seminoles and escaped slaves, and it became known as "Negro Fort." The next year, US forces attacked the fort, hitting an ammunition stockpile and killing more than 250 of the 300 there. Who joined the US forces in the attack? More...

This Day in History

Victoria Woodhull Is Nominated for President of the US (1872) Woodhull was a prominent US women's rights advocate, suffragist, and owner of a weekly publication known for printing the first English translation of The Communist Manifesto. In May of 1872, she became the first female candidate for president when a group of suffragists formed a political party and nominated her, but because she was a woman many disputed the legality of her candidacy. What famous African-American was nominated to be her vice-president—possibly without his knowledge? More...

Today's Birthday

John Wilkes Booth (1838) Born into a family of famous actors, Booth made his acting debut at the age of 17. Touring widely, he soon became a wealthy celebrity, earning acclaim for his Shakespearean roles. However, he harbored deep Confederate sympathies and viewed President Abraham Lincoln as a tyrant. In April of 1865, he assassinated Lincoln at Ford's Theater, where Lincoln had previously watched him perform. Twelve days later, Booth was shot and killed by a Union soldier. Who else had Booth conspired to have killed? More...

Quotation of the Day
We are never half so interesting when we have learned that language is given us to enable us to conceal our thoughts. Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)

Idiom of the Day
now (someone) has gone and done it — Someone has just done something very grave, foolish, and/or irreparable. More...

Today's Holiday

Golden Spike Anniversary (2025) This reenactment of the completion of America's transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, has been held since 1952. Reproductions of the Central Pacific's "Jupiter" and Union Pacific's "119" meet at the site of the ceremony. Then, the Golden Spike and three other spikes are tapped into a special railroad tie; at 12:47 PM, an ordinary iron "last spike" is driven into the last tie, and the message "D-O-N-E" is sent by ham radio to the California State Railway Museum in Sacramento. More...