Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
prolix Definition: (adjective) Tediously prolonged; tending to speak or write at excessive length. Synonyms: voluble, wordy Usage: She was engaged in editing a prolix manuscript, trying to cut the length by at least a third.

Article of the Day

eBay In 1995, computer programmer Pierre Omidyar founded AuctionWeb in San Jose, California. One of its first sales was a broken laser pointer. However, what began humbly as a hobby for Omidyar grew rapidly. In 1997, Omidyar changed the site's name to eBay—a contraction of Echo Bay Technology Group—and it has since become the premier online auction site, with millions of items listed, bought, and sold daily. Essentially unregulated at first, eBay now prohibits the sale of what items on its site? 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
Those whom the gods love grow young. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

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...