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February 16, 2026
Feb 16, 2026
Word
ephebic
adjective
Definition
of, relating to, or characteristic of a youth of ancient Greece or a young man
Example
"Ephebic training included athletic instruction in the events which were contested in the Olympics and in the hundreds of other athletic contests of the eastern Mediterranean." - From a post by Dr. Jason Koenig at his Ancient and Modern Olympics blog, May 31, 2013
Origin
An ephebus was a youth in ancient Greece who had reached the age of puberty. The name is from the Greek word "ephēbos," from "epi-" ("upon") and "hēbē" ("youth" or "puberty"). Ephebi (the plural of "ephebus") aged 18 or 19 were at one time required to undergo two years of stringent military training, but the requirement became less compulsory and the training less rigorous and militaristic over time. The youthfulness of the ephebi inspired both the adjective "ephebic" and the noun "ephebe." The latter can mean "a young man," as illustrated by John Walsh in the Independent Extra, March 23, 2010: "When you're 40, the sight of your one-time room-mate Philip, once a skinny ephebe with golden ringlets, now transmogrified into a burly renegade with a head like a Sumo bouncer and a body to match, is frightening."
Webster's Dictionary
Idiom
life is just a bowl of cherries
These are happy circumstances; life is wonderful. This phrase is often used ironically, as in My husband is about to get laid off--- life is just a bowl of cherries, right? Originating as the title of a song (1931) by Lew Brown (lyrics) and composer Ray Henderson, this term expressed the idea that everything was going very well. However, its ironical use was established by the 1970s.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Fun facts
  1. Hybrid cars produce up to 75% less pollution than other vehicles.
  2. A male cricket's ear is located on the tibia of its leg.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Mikhail Vrubel
Mar 17, 1856 - Apr 14, 1910

Mikhail Vrubel – a 19th-20th century Russian painter who worked in all genres of art, including painting, graphics, decorative sculpture, and theatrical art. In 1896, Vrubel married the famous singer Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel whom he regularly painted.

Soviet historian Nina Dmitrieva compared Vrubel’s artistic biography to a three-act drama with prologue and epilogue, while the transition between acts was rapid and unexpected. The “Prologue” refers to his earlier years of studying and choosing a career path. The “first act” peaked in the 1880s when Vrubel was studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts and then moved to Kiev to study Byzantine and Christian art. The “second act” corresponded to the so-called “Moscow period” that started in 1890 with the painting “The Demon Seated” and ended in 1902 with “The Demon Downcast” and the subsequent hospitalization of the artist. The “third act” lasted from 1903 to 1906 when Vrubel was suffering from his mental illness that gradually undermined his physical and intellectual capabilities. For the last four years of his life, already being blind, Vrubel lived only physically.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Carl Spaatz
Jun 28, 1891 - Jul 14, 1974

Carl Andrew Spaatz, nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil production facilities as a priority over other targets. He became Chief of Staff of the newly formed United States Air Force in 1947.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
Urartu–Assyria War

The Urartu–Assyria War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Urartu and the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The war began around 714 BC, with the invasion of Urartu by the Assyrian King Sargon II. Sargon led multiple offensives deep into Urartian territory, amassing numerous victories in the war. Following his death, however, Urartian Kings Argishti II and Rusa II launched many successful counterattacks, reclaiming Urartu's lost territory and gaining some from Assyria. However, their successors suffered multiple major defeats, resulting in Urartu becoming an Assyrian client state.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Quote
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
George Carlin