Knowledge
/ArcaMax
Landfill study shows flawed detection methods, higher methane emissions in Illinois, other states
CHICAGO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s method of detecting methane leaks at landfills is flawed, and ... Read More
Featured Stories
This Day in History, May 20
On May 20th, 1916, the Saturday Evening Post published its first cover drawn by Norman Rockwell.
Bezos' Blue Origin resumes space tourism with latest launch
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC resumed sending tourists to space on Sunday, launching six private passengers on a short flight more than 60 miles above the Earth.
The passengers included Ed Dwight, a former Air Force ...Read more
Colorado's demand for water is slated to surpass supplies by 2050. Did lawmakers do enough to address the crisis?
DENVER — As Colorado’s rivers shrink and its soils dry out, state lawmakers this year passed a slew of water bills that advocates say will help reduce water use and protect the critical natural resource.
Nine major ...Read more
This Day in History, May 19
On May 19th, 1897, Oscar Wilde was released after serving his sentence in Reading Gaol.
A thought for the day
A thought for the day: The efforts you make will surely be rewarded. If not, then you are simply not ready to call them efforts. -- Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh
Other Notable Events for May 20
On this date in history:
In 526, up to 300,000 people were killed in an earthquake in Syria and Antioch.
In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis were granted a patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.<...Read more
Notable Birthdays for May 20
Those born on this date include:
- William Thornton, architect of the Capitol in Washington, in 1759
- Dolley Madison, wife of the fourth U.S. president, James Madison, in 1768
- French novelist ...Read more
Astronomy
Today is Monday, May 20, the 141st day of 2024 with 225 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening star is Jupiter.
Today's Word "caesura"
caesura \sih-ZHUR-uh; -ZUR-\ (noun) plural caesuras or caesurae \sih-ZHUR-ee; -ZUR-ee\ - 1 : A break or pause in a line of verse, usually occurring in the middle of a line, and indicated in scanning by a double vertical ...Read more
The Antisocial Club
The Antisocial Club meets every week at Jim's Bar. Since they are so antisocial, however, everyone always sits as far as possible from the other members, and no one ever sits right next to another member. Because of this, the 25-stool bar is almost always less than half full and unfortunately for Jim the members that don't sit at the bar don't order any drinks. Jim, however, is pretty smart and makes up a new rule: The first person to sit at ...
View full teaser and answerOther Notable Events for May 19
On this date in history:
In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second of King Henry VIII's six wives and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was beheaded.
In 1588, the Spanish Armada, assembled to invade England, set ...Read more
Notable Birthdays for May 19
Those born on this date include:
- Pope Innocent XI in 1611
- philanthropist Johns Hopkins in 1795
- American-born Nancy Astor, the first female member of the British Parliament, in 1879
- ...Read more
Today's Word "misnomer"
misnomer \mis-NO-muhr\ (noun) - 1 : The misnaming of a person in a legal instrument, as in a complaint or indictment. 2 : Any misnaming of a person or thing; also, a wrong or inapplicable name or designation.
"Deep Canyon...Read more
Breaking the Billiard Ball
It is your task to determine how high you can drop a billiard ball without it breaking. There is a 100 story building and you must determine which is the highest floor you can drop a ball from without it breaking. You have only two billiard balls to use as test objects. If both of them break before you determine the answer then you have failed at your task. What is the order of floors that you should drop the balls from to minimize the number ...
View full teaser and answer
After a 17-year wait, cicadas emerge a little early in Chicago area: 'It's a milestone'
CHICAGO — It’s official, Chicagoland. Periodical cicadas have arrived.
The large insects, which last emerged in the area 17 years ago, have been spotted in droves in pockets of the city and suburbs. On certain streets...Read more
Weather like the deadly Houston windstorm is being fueled in part by climate change
The winds that roared out of a supercell thunderstorm Thursday night leaving a deadly trail across Houston are on the rise in a warming climate, though researchers are still teasing out the exact relationship between a ...Read more
Artificial light lures migrating birds into cities, where they face a gauntlet of threats
Light pollution has steadily intensified and expanded from urban areas, and with the advent of LED lighting, it is growing in North America by up to 10% per year, as measured by the visibility of stars in the night sky....Read more
Mobs of tuna crabs descend on Southern California waters. What's going on?
Little red crustaceans pepper the shallow depths by the San Diego shoreline. The tuna crabs are back.
Tuna crabs, named after their most common predator — the tuna fish — have been seen by the thousands in Southern ...Read more
Other Notable Events for May 18
On this date in history:
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that determined separate but equal racial policies are constitutional.
In 1917, President Wilson ...Read more
Notable Birthdays for May 18
Those born on this date include:
- Persian poet Omar Khayyam in 1048
- Russian Czar Nicholas II in 1868
- English philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell in 1872
- film director Frank Capra ...Read more
Inside Knowledge
Popular Stories
- Bezos' Blue Origin resumes space tourism with latest launch
- After a 17-year wait, cicadas emerge a little early in Chicago area: 'It's a milestone'
- Colorado's demand for water is slated to surpass supplies by 2050. Did lawmakers do enough to address the crisis?
- Landfill study shows flawed detection methods, higher methane emissions in Illinois, other states
Comics
