Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 24, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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guile
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Causative VerbsCausative verbs indicate that a person, place, or thing is causing an action or an event to happen. What are some examples of causative verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Pirate Mary ReadRead, an Englishwoman who was born in the late 17th century, spent much of her life disguised as a man and working in industries generally reserved for men. She was on a ship bound for the West Indies when it was captured by pirate captain Calico Jack Rackham. Read joined his crew and became one of the most notorious female pirates of the time. When Rackham's ship was captured and the crew sentenced to death, Read received a stay of execution after she “pled her belly,” a reference to what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 California Gold Rush Begins (1848)In 1848, the same year California became a part of the US, another major event in the state's history occurred. While establishing a sawmill for John Sutter, James W. Marshall discovered gold and touched off the California gold rush. The gold-rush miners, known as forty-niners, came in droves, spurred by the promise of fabulous riches from the so-called Mother Lode, and San Francisco became a boom town. Why was Sutter disappointed when he discovered that gold had been found on his property? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Belushi (1949)Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician. He started out with the Second City comedy troop in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, in 1971, achieved national recognition in National Lampoon's Lemmings in 1973, and joined Saturday Night Live as an original cast member in 1975. He also starred in several films, including Animal House and The Blues Brothers, before dying of a drug overdose in 1982. Who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Commend a fool for his wit, or a rogue for his honesty and he will receive you into his favor.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hard done-by— Mistreated or abused; cheated; dejected. Often preceded by "feel." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Coloma Gold Discovery Day (2020)The anniversary of James W. Marshall's discovery of gold in 1848 while overseeing the construction of a sawmill near Coloma, California, is commemorated with an annual celebration at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park on the weekend nearest January 24. An employee of John A. Sutter, a wealthy entrepreneur, Marshall noticed flakes of gold in the streambed as he was inspecting work on the mill. Marshall's cabin is now part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, and Sutter's home is part of a museum and park in Sacramento. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: teacherfescue - A pointer, such as that used by a teacher, having originally meant "a straw or twig." More... docent, docible, docile - Docent comes from Latin docere, "to teach"; docible is "capable of learning" and docile first meant "teachable." More... Socratic method - A teaching technique in which a teacher does not give information directly but instead asks a series of questions, with the result that the student comes either to the desired knowledge by answering the questions or to a deeper awareness of the limits of knowledge. More... tuition - First meant taking care of something, then teaching or instruction, especially for a fee. More... | |