Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 1, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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discernible
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary VerbsA modal auxiliary verb is used to change the meaning of other verbs by expressing possibility, likelihood, ability, permission, obligation, or future intention. How many "true" modal auxiliary verbs are there? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 QuinceañeraThe Quinceañera is, in many Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas, the celebration of a young woman's fifteenth birthday and marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. In this latter respect, the Quinceañera is similar to the "sweet sixteen" or debutante ball of the English-speaking world. Observed differently in different countries, Quinceañera festivities range from modest religious ceremonies to lavish, wedding-style celebrations. What is the origin of the tradition? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Founding of the Illuminati (1776)The Illuminati were members of a rationalistic society founded in Germany by Adam Weishaupt. Having close affinities with the Freemasons and seemingly organized on a Masonic plan, the group was briefly very popular among German rationalists but had limited influence. The Roman Catholic Church, which Weishaupt left in his youth and rejoined before his death, condemned the Illuminati. In 1785, the Bavarian government dissolved the organization. What conspiracy theories involve the Illuminati? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Calamity Jane (1852)Born Martha Jane Canary, Calamity Jane was a legendary American frontierswoman. She grew up in Montana and worked in mining camps, where she acquired riding and shooting skills. In 1876, she appeared in Deadwood, South Dakota, the site of new gold strikes, boasting of her marksmanship and her exploits as a pony-express rider and as a scout with Custer's forces. It was there that she likely met Wild Bill Hickok, who would become her companion. How did Jane claim to have acquired her nickname? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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curdle (one's) blood— To terrify someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Law Day (2019)It was the American Bar Association that persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 to set aside a day to commemorate the role of law in the United States. But it wasn't until 1961 that a joint resolution of Congress designated May 1 as Law Day, and President John F. Kennedy asked Americans to display the flag and observe the occasion with appropriate programs—typically mock trials, courthouse tours, and essay contests. Most Law Day exercises today are sponsored by the American Bar Association in cooperation with state and local bar associations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: roomspied-a-terre - A small town house or rooms used for short residences (1829), from French "foot on the ground." More... party wall - A wall common to two adjoining buildings or rooms. More... lobby - One of its early meanings was "monastic cloister," from Latin lobia, "covered way," before it came to mean the passage or waiting area between rooms in a building. More... enfilade - A suite of rooms with doorways in line with each other—or a vista between rows of trees. More... | |