Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 01, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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netherworld
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Lou Gehrig's DiseaseAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a degenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, preventing them from sending impulses to the muscles. Though the intellect remains intact, the muscles soon atrophy, causing weakness, paralysis, and eventual death. National attention was brought to the disease when Lou Gehrig died of it in 1941. What percentage of ALS cases is hereditary? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Germany Invades Poland (1939)After staging Polish attacks on German forces to create the appearance of Polish aggression, Germany invaded Poland, beginning WWII. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, and all the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, with the exception of Ireland, rapidly followed suit. The German blitzkrieg crushed the Polish defenses. Within a month all of Poland was occupied by German forces as well as the forces of what state with whom Germany had just signed a non-aggression pact? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rocky Marciano (1923)Marciano turned to professional boxing in 1947, after failing to become a professional baseball player. On his climb to the heavyweight title, he became the second boxer ever to knock out Joe Louis. He won the title in 1952 and defended it 6 times before retiring. The only heavyweight champion with a perfect professional record, he was undefeated in 49 fights—43 won by knockout. A test of the force of his punch found that it carried enough energy to lift how much weight one foot off the ground? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A toddling little girl is a center of common feeling which makes the most dissimilar people understand each other.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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go at it hammer and tongs— To do something or perform some task with tremendous fervor, determination, energy, or forcefulness. An allusion to the force with which a blacksmith strikes metal using his or her hammer and tongs. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Famadihana (2016)The Malagasy people of Madagascar believe that their deceased ancestors have become intermediaries between the living and God. Because they will spend eternity in their new existence, tombs are built to be much sturdier than houses. The Famadihana is a celebration in which people exhume the remains of their ancestors, treat them to a grand feast and party, replace their burial clothes, and then reintern them. The specific date of a family's Famidihana is determined by a spiritual leader, but, for hygenic reasons, it always takes place during the winter months, when the weather is dry. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Scientists Help Chicago's Stinky "Corpse Flower" BlossomA rare foul-smelling flower expected to bloom this week had to get an assist from scientists when it didn't open at the Chicago Botanic Garden. More than 50,000 people visited the corpse flower in suburban Glencoe this month. The garden also live-streamed ... More... | |