Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 5, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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fatuous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Independent ClausesAn independent clause (also known as a main clause) is a clause that forms a complete, independent thought. What is a simple sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Wilhelm SteinitzSteinitz was a pioneering modern chess player. After discovering a talent for chess while a student in Vienna, he devoted himself to the game and by 1866 was recognized as the world champion, although the title did not officially exist yet. His loss of the world championship in 1894 so disturbed him that he spent much of the rest of his life in mental institutions and died a pauper in 1900. Who took the title from Steinitz, and what did he say with regard to Steinitz and his unfortunate fate? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Peter Sutcliffe Charged in the "Yorkshire Ripper" Case (1981)From 1975 to 1981, the Yorkshire area of England was terrorized by a string of murders. Though hundreds of investigators worked to find the killer, they were hampered by false leads, and the case generated so much paperwork that real clues were buried. After Sutcliffe was arrested for having stolen license plates, police noticed his similarity to the killer. What item found in a victim's purse allowed investigators to narrow down the search to a group of 8,000 people—one that included Sutcliffe? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Constanze Mozart (1762)When famed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in 1791, he left his beloved 29-year-old wife, Constanze—herself a musician—with two young children and an uncertain financial outlook. Constanze went to work. She arranged for a pension from the emperor, organized memorial concerts, and collaborated on a biography of her late husband. Today, she is recognized as much for her business sense as for her influence on her husband's music. Which of her sisters did Wolfgang originally pursue? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Honest people don't hide their deeds.Emily Bronte (1818-1848) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Jersey justice— A punishment or act of justice that is or appears to be much more severe than the offence warrants. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Día de Negritos and Fiesta de los Blanquitos (2021)In Popayán, Colombia, the Christmas season ends with wild festivities that take place on January 5 and 6. On January 5, known as the Día de Negritos or Day of the Black Ones, boys with black shoe polish chase girls and try to smear them with their blackened hands. There are parades in the afternoon with people in costume and chirimíasi (roving groups of musicians who play traditional Columbian music). The following day, January 6, is known as the Fiesta de los Blanquitos (Festival of the White Ones). Instead of chasing the girls with shoe polish, the boys use talcum powder and flour. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: songsepisode - First a Greek dialogue between two songs, it is from eis, "into," and hodos, "way." More... lyric poetry - Characterized by an expression of the poet's personal feelings—and originally descriptive of songs accompanied by the lyre (examples are John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley). More... melodrama - Meaning "song play," it has a Greek origin—from melos, "music, song"—and it started out as a sensational play interspersed with songs. More... vaudeville - Comes from a French composer calling his songs "chanson du Vau de vire"—"song of the valley of Vire (in Normandy)"—later shortened to "vau de ville." More... | |