Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, January 2, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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voluminous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Uncountable NounsNouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate parts are called uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or non-count nouns). Why is it incorrect to use third-person plural pronouns with uncountable nouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eruption ColumnsVisually similar to nuclear mushroom clouds, eruption columns are massive plumes of hot ash produced during explosive volcanic eruptions. In extreme cases, eruption columns may rise over 25 miles (40 km), penetrating the stratosphere and causing short-term climate change, like the drop in global temperature that followed the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. It is believed that the largest eruptions can cause up to several degrees of global cooling and may be responsible for what phenomena? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Second "Palmer Raid" Takes Place (1920)During the "Red Scare" that followed World War I, US Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer attempted to deport political radicals, dissidents, and aliens in the notorious "Palmer Raids." The first raid took place in late 1919. The second series of raids began in January 1920. In total, some 3,000 allegedly subversive aliens were rounded up for deportation. A few hundred were deported, but the vast majority were released. The raids were preceded by bombings targeting what officials? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ernst Barlach (1870)Barlach was an outstanding German expressionist sculptor, graphic artist, and writer. Through the power of his simple, angular, and compact forms, he communicated intense emotion and compassion. From clay modeling he turned to wood carving and woodcutting, which imbued his work with a rough-hewn quality. He achieved fame in the 1920s and 30s with the execution of several war memorials for the Weimar Republic. Why were many of Barlach's works destroyed or confiscated as "degenerate art"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The woods are never solitary—they are full of whispering, beckoning, friendly life. But the sea is a mighty soul, forever moaning of some great, unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity…The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only—a mighty voice that drowns our souls in its majestic music. The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of the archangels.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a rough patch— A period of trouble, difficulty, or hardship. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Haiti Ancestors' Day (2020)In Haiti, the Independence Day festivities that occur on the first day of the year continue into the second with Jour des Aieux (Ancestors' Day), an occasion for remembering the founders of Haiti and those who sacrificed their lives during the revolution of the early 19th century. A large meal often accompanies the day's festivities, and military processions may also take place on Ancestors' Day. In years past, particularly during the reign of President François Duvalier (1971-1986), the executive leader used this day to deliver radio and television speeches to the nation. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: listenear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached. More... scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy." More... hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic." More... listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More... | |