Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, September 19, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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feeder
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the EllipsisAn ellipsis is a series of three consecutive periods known as "ellipsis points" ( . . . ). What is the ellipsis used to indicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Tarring and FeatheringDating at least to the Crusades, tarring and feathering is a physical punishment that was used to enforce formal justice in feudal Europe and, later, vigilante justice in the American frontier. The practice involves stripping victims to the waist, covering them in hot tar and feathers, and often parading them around in public with the intent of causing enough harm and humiliation to drive them out of town. In 2007, a Belfast man was tarred and feathered for doing what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ötzi the Iceman Is Discovered by German Tourists (1991)In 1991, two hikers discovered a well-preserved corpse trapped in ice near the border between Austria and Italy. It proved to be that of a man who lived about 5,300 years ago—making it the oldest natural mummy ever found. He was nicknamed Ötzi, for the Ötztal Alps where he was found. Also recovered were clothes, shoes, tools, weapons, fire-starting materials, and medicine. Scientists have since determined that Ötzi ate about eight hours before his death. What did he eat, and how did he die? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lajos Kossuth (1802)Now considered a national hero, Kossuth was a Hungarian revolutionary who favored dissolving the union between the Hungarian and Austrian crowns. The fiery orator was a principal figure of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution. Appointed provisional governor, he soon became virtual dictator. In 1849, Russian armies intervened in favor of Austria, forcing him to resign. He fled to Turkey and later to Italy, where he watched as Hungary reconciled with the Austrian monarchy. What did he do while in exile? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have always a sacred veneration for any one I observe to be a little out of repair in his person, as supposing him either a poet or a philosopher; because the richest minerals are ever found under the most ragged and withered surface of the earth.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be losing it— To start becoming crazy, insane, or mentally unstable. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Samuel Johnson Commemoration (2020)Samuel Johnson, the English lexicographer, writer, critic, and conversationalist, was born on this day in 1709. His hometown of Lichfield commemorates its most famous citizen by laying a laurel wreath at the foot of his statue, after which the cathedral choir sings religious songs and intones Dr. Johnson's final prayer on the steps of his birth house. In the evening, there is a candlelight supper based on Dr. Johnson's favorite meal: steak-and-kidney pudding with mushrooms or mutton. The guests are served ale and hot punch by people dressed in costumes of the 18th century. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: micemurine - Means "pertaining to mice or rodents." More... muscle - Comes from Latin musculus, "little mouse," as the ancient Romans thought their muscles wriggled like mice. More... mussel - Also gets its name from Latin musculus. More... dormouse - A rodent but not a mouse, it may be a corrupted form of French dormeus, "sleepy." More... | |