Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
penchant Definition: (noun) A definite liking; a strong inclination. Synonyms: preference, taste, predilection Usage: Our boss humored Bobby's penchant for playing jokes on people until he found himself on the receiving end of one such prank.

Article of the Day

The Middletown Studies In the 1920s, husband-and-wife sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd arrived in Muncie, Indiana, with the goal of identifying the town's cultural norms and determining what social changes had taken place since 1890. In their published report, they kept the location anonymous, identifying Muncie as "Middletown." They returned during the Great Depression to study its impact and found that the town's values had changed little. What did the Lynds find to be the ultimate status symbol during the 20s? More...

This Day in History

Thomas Edison Patents Kinetoscope in the US (1897) Developed by Edison's assistant, W.K.L. Dickson, the kinetoscope was a precursor to the modern motion-picture projector. It works through a phenomenon known as "persistence of vision," in which a sequence of images creates the illusion of motion. Initially, Edison hoped to synchronize the images with sound, but he was unable to achieve this. The kinetoscope was designed to be viewed by one person at a time. Why did Edison supposedly balk at the idea of projecting films before larger audiences? More...

Today's Birthday

Commodus (161 CE) The son of Marcus Aurelius, Commodus was a Roman emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 CE—a period some historians consider the beginning of the empire's decline. Though his reign was fairly peaceful, Commodus was a tyrant who spent lavishly on gladiatorial combats, persecuted the Senate, and tried to rename Rome after himself. He fancied himself a gladiator, frequently killing exotic animals. His mistress and advisors had him strangled. He considered himself the reincarnation of what mythical hero? More...

Quotation of the Day
Every revolution was first a thought in one man's mind, and when the same thought occurs to another man, it is the key to that era. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Idiom of the Day
rip-snorting mad — Extremely angry and agitated; infuriated. More...

Today's Holiday

Kyrgyz Republic Independence Day (2025) Kyrgyztan declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 31, 1991, along with other central Asian republics as the Soviet empire crumbled. Located along the famed Silk Road, the trade route connecting the eastern and western parts of Eurasia, the country is mostly mountainous, part of the Tien-Shan, or Celestial Mountains. Independence Day is a national public holiday in the Kyrgyz Republic. More...