Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 7, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ultramarine
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns - NumberGrammatical number in English simply means whether something or someone is singular or plural—i.e. whether there is one (singular) or more than one (plural). For nouns, we usually just add an "-s" to the end of the word to signify that it is plural. Why can't the same be done to pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ChlorophyllChlorophyll is a green pigment that gives most plants their color and enables them to carry out photosynthesis, the process through which plants get energy from light. Chlorophyll absorbs light in the red and blue-violet portions of the visible spectrum; the green portion is not absorbed and, reflected, gives chlorophyll its characteristic green color. Only one animal has been found to use the chlorophyll it has eaten to perform photosynthesis for itself. What is it? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 West German Chancellor Willy Brandt Resigns (1974)Brandt fled his native Germany for Norway after the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s. Returning after the war, he became involved in politics and, in 1969, was elected chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. As chancellor, he greatly improved relations with East Germany, the Soviet Union, and Poland, and in 1971 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1974, he was forced to resign after an embarrassing scandal in which one of his close aides was exposed as what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Robert Browning (1812)Browning was a leading Victorian poet known for his dramatic monologues. In 1846, he secretly married Elizabeth Barrett, whisking her away from her despotic father to Italy. Barrett was already a famous poet, but Browning's poems—such as "Fra Lippo Lippi" and "The Bishop Orders His Tomb"—gained recognition slowly. Long after his beloved wife's death, his novel in verse about a murder, The Ring and the Book, finally earned him wide acclaim. In 1890, he became the first dead man to do what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What's the use of making mysteries? It only makes people want to nose 'em out.Edith Wharton (1862-1937) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get this show on the road— To promptly begin or get something started. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Calendimaggio (2020)According to legend, St. Francis of Assisi used to walk through the streets of Assisi, Italy, at night, singing. In early May each year, long processions of messeri (gentlemen) and madonne (ladies), escorted by knights and esquires, compete with each other in singing and music at the Piazza del Comune. In addition to commemorating the town's patron saint, these singing contests serve as an official welcome to May, which is known as the month of love. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: messengerapostle - Comes from Greek apostolos, "messenger." More... bode - Boda is messenger in Germanic, hence "bode"; at first, a bode was a command—then an omen or premonition. More... enunciate - Derives from Latin nuntius, "messenger." More... angel - The word angel was one of the earliest Germanic adoptions from Latin; originally from Greek aggelos, "messenger," it first meant "hireling" or "messenger." More... | |