Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 2, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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eye-popping
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Subject-Auxiliary InversionInversion refers to the reversal of the normal position of the subject and the auxiliary verb of a clause. Subject-auxiliary inversion is commonly used to create what kind of sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Iron PillarThe approximately 24-foot- (7-meter-) tall, 6-ton iron pillar located in the famous Qutb Minar complex of Delhi, India, is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities. A testament to the advanced skill of ancient Indian ironsmiths, it is the last remaining part of a Hindu temple erected by 5th-century ruler Chandra Gupta II. Although it is about 1,600 years old, the pillar has never corroded. What theories have scientists advanced to explain the pillar's resistance to corrosion? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Henry Hudson Discovers Hudson Bay (1610)After several failed attempts to find a northeast passage to Asia, Hudson, a veteran sea captain, sailed west and began probing N America to find a way through it by ship. In 1610, he discovered Hudson Bay but lingered too long and became trapped there by winter ice. When the weather warmed, Hudson wanted to continue exploring, but his starved and diseased crew refused. They mutinied and set Hudson, his son, and a few others adrift in a small boat without food or water. What happened to them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Myrna Loy (1905)Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp, film actress Myrna Loy soon earned praise for her witty sophistication in 1934's The Thin Man. By 1936, she was a top box-office draw. Offscreen, she was never associated with Hollywood glamour or scandal. Instead, she was one of the few actors to protest against the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the McCarthy era. Her outspokenness on another issue resulted in her inclusion on what world leader's personal blacklist? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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publicity hound— Someone who seeks to have the attention of the public constantly focused on him- or herself, typically by means of attracting media coverage. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of Porcingula (2019)On the Feast of Porcingula (named after the shrine in Portiuncula, Italy), Native Americans at the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico hold a celebration that combines both traditional Indian and Roman Catholic elements. On August 2, a mass is sung in honor of Santa Maria de los Angeles, after which the priest of Jemez accompanies her image to the shrine in the plaza. Throughout the festival, the Pecos "bull" (a dancer carrying a framework that resembles a bull) is prodded with sticks and tormented in mock bullfights. After that the corn dance is performed before Santa Maria's shrine. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: loudhappy-clappy - Refers to any Christian congregation that is extremely enthusiastic, loud, and musical. More... stentor - Homer introduced Stentor, a very loud herald, in the Iliad—which gives us stentor, "person with a loud voice," and stentorian, which originally meant "loud, booming." More... rodomontade - Meaning loud bragging, it got its name from Rodomonto, a loud bragging Moorish king of epics. More... thersitical, clamant - To be thersitical is to be loudmouthed or foulmouthed; clamant is loud and insistent. More... | |