Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
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Article of the Day

Hobble Skirts From 1909 to 1914, Paris high fashion was dominated by French designer Paul Poiret, who put an end to wasp waists and constricting corsets and revived a simple, Empire-waisted silhouette. He is best known for the hobble skirt, to which he later added draped and belted knee-length tunics. Popular between 1910 and 1914, hobble skirts were long skirts cut so narrow at the ankles that they hindered walking. According to one account, Poiret's design may have been inspired by what aviation event? More...

This Day in History

Louis Pasteur Successfully Tests His Rabies Vaccine (1885) Pasteur was a pioneer in the field of germ theory. In 1881, the inventor of pasteurization perfected a way to isolate and weaken germs, and he went on to develop a vaccine against anthrax in sheep. He soon turned his attention to researching rabies. In 1885, he inoculated a 9-year-old boy who had been badly mauled by a rabid dog. The vaccine likely prevented the boy from contracting rabies, which then meant certain death. How did Pasteur's chickens accidentally get vaccinated against cholera? More...

Today's Birthday

Merv Griffin (1925) Originally a singer and nightclub performer, Griffin first achieved wider fame in the early 1950s with the hit song I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts. He then shifted his focus to television, hosting The Merv Griffin Show from 1965 to 1986. He created the popular game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! and wrote the latter's famous theme song. Later, he invested in casinos, resorts, and hotels. What humorous epitaph was inscribed on his gravestone? More...

Quotation of the Day
Ambition is like choler, which is a humor that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped; but if it be stopped, and cannot have its way, it becometh adust, and thereby malign and venomous. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Idiom of the Day
through the grapevine — Through or via an informal means of communication or information, especially gossip. More...

Today's Holiday

Birthday of the Dalai Lama (2021) This celebration is held on July 6 for the birthday of the current Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political head of Tibet. The present Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), is the latest in the line that began in the 14th century. Each Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation of the preceding one, and when a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan lamas search throughout the country for a child who is his reincarnation. The birthday is observed today by exiles in India with family picnics, traditional dances and singing, and incense-burning ceremonies to appease the local spirits. More...