Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 2, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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overabundance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Irregular VerbsIrregular verbs, by their very definition, do not have spelling rules that we can follow to create the past simple tense and past participles. This means that the only way of knowing how to spell these forms is to memorize them for each irregular verb individually. What are some examples of irregular verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Smeed's LawFirst proposed in 1949, Smeed's Law is an empirical rule relating traffic fatalities to motor vehicle registration and country population. According to this law, annually increasing traffic volume ironically leads to a decrease in accidents per vehicle. Though the law was revisited in the 1980s and 90s with data from more than 60 countries supporting its validity, it has been disputed by several scholars. What supposed truth about human psychology did Smeed say the law reveals? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick" (1901)While speaking at the 1901 Minnesota State Fair, US Vice President Theodore Roosevelt used the proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Four days later, President McKinley was shot, and, after McKinley died on the 14th, Roosevelt became president. The statement he made in Minnesota became forever associated with his foreign policy of backing up negotiations with implicit military might, and political cartoons often portrayed him toting the proverbial stick. What is the rest of the saying? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.png) Frederick Soddy (1877)Working with Ernest Rutherford, Soddy developed a theory of the disintegration of radioactive elements. In 1912, the British chemist was among the first to conclude that elements might exist in chemically indistinguishable forms—now known as isotopes—of different atomic weights. In his 1920 book Science and Life, he described the use of isotopes in determining geologic age. He later applied his scientific background to economic theories. What H.G. Wells novel was inspired by his work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 My last page is always latent in my first; but the intervening windings of the way become clear only as I write.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (one's) last resort— To be the only remaining thing or person that may help one or be of any use after all other options have been exhausted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Cherokee National Holiday (2017)The Cherokee National Holiday has been held since 1953 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to commemorate the signing of the 1839 Cherokee Constitution and the establishment of the Cherokee Nation. There is a rodeo, a native dance competition, a powwow, and a parade with colorful floats and Cherokees in ceremonial dress. Native American arts and crafts are on display, and visitors can sample Native American foods. Games and sports at the festival include a golf tournament, a horseshoe tournament, a cornstalk shoot, a blowgun shoot, and a traditional Indian marble game. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: puzzlerebus - A puzzle in which one must decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words. More... puzzle - Comes from Old French opposaile, "thing set before one," "bewildering thing"; as a verb, it first meant "be beset by difficulties." More... cabobble - To mystify, puzzle, or confuse. More... word search - A puzzle consisting of letters arranged in a grid which contains a number of hidden words written in various directions. More... | |
| In the News | |
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'Sea dragon' fossil is 'largest on record'The fossil of a marine reptile ''re-discovered'' in a museum is the largest of its kind on record, say scientists. The ''sea dragon'' belongs to a group that swam the world's oceans 200 million years ago, while dinosaurs walked the land. The specimen ... More... | |