Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 29, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 PostcardsPostcards are a way to send message-bearing cards through the mail without an envelope. The earliest known picture postcard was sent in London to the writer Theodore Hook in 1840. Hook most likely created the hand-painted card and sent it to himself as a practical joke on the postal service, since the image on the card is a caricature of post office workers. Today, stamp collectors and deltiologists—collectors of postcards—distinguish between postcards and postal cards. What is the difference? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Black Tuesday (1929)In the 1920s, the US stock market expanded rapidly and reached a peak in August 1929, when prices began to decline while speculation increased. On October 24, "Black Thursday," a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Banks and investment companies bought large blocks of stock to stem the panic, but on October 29, "Black Tuesday," 16 million shares were traded and prices collapsed. Why do some scholars contend that the stock market crash was not the cause of the Great Depression? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Bill Mauldin (1921)After joining the US Army as an infantryman in 1940, Mauldin began sketching cartoons about enlisted life. In 1944, he began producing his cartoons full time for the US military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. His portrayal of two cynical and unkempt American soldiers, Willie and Joe, made Mauldin a hero to American soldiers in World War II. Later, Mauldin became a political cartoonist for civilian papers. What fate had Mauldin intended for Willie and Joe at the end of the war? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Punky Night (2020)In the English village of Hinton St. George, Somerset, it is traditional for both children and adults to walk through town carrying "punkies," or lanterns made from carved-out mangel-wurzels, or mangolds (a variety of beet), with candles in them. Although this custom is observed in other English towns, the celebration at Hinton St. George is by far the best established. There is a procession of children carrying punkies through the streets, begging for money, and singing the "punky song." A prize is given out for the best carved punky. More... | |