Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 4, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dispassionate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Structures of Declarative SentencesA declarative sentence makes a statement or argument about what is, was, or will be the case. Which of the four of types of sentence structures—simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences—can be made into declarative sentences? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Thieves' CantDating to the early 16th century, thieves' cant was a secret language used in the criminal underworld of Great Britain by thieves, beggars, vagrants, and supposedly Gypsies. Beginning in the mid-1500s, numerous "canting dictionaries" were published, and the code words of the thieves' language came to be widely known. Though the argot is almost totally obsolete today, what small group of people was reported in 2009 to have revived thieves' cant for everyday use? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Donald Campbell Dies in Water Speed Record Attempt (1967)Following in the footsteps of his father—record-breaking English racing enthusiast Malcolm Campbell—Donald Campbell set the world speed record on water at 276 mph (445 km/h) in 1964. In 1967, during an attempt to set a new record, Donald's jet-powered boat violently disintegrated over Coniston Water, killing him instantly. Though his teddy bear mascot was found floating among the debris, Donald's body was not recovered until nearly 35 years later. Did he at least succeed in breaking his record? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Isaac Pitman (1813)Shorthand writing systems have existed since ancient times, but the one favored by court stenographers is relatively new, introduced by Pitman in 1837. In his phonetic shorthand method, words are written as they sound—"deal," "may," and "knife" are spelled "del," "ma," and "nif." Adapted to more than 12 languages, it is one of the most used systems in the world. Phonetics became the family business—Pitman's grandson invented the initial teaching alphabet. What is Stenographic Soundhand? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Quotation, n.: the act of repeating erroneously the words of another.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not your father's— Very modern or updated; no longer what an older generation would expect or be used to. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Carnival of Blacks and Whites (2022)The Carnival of Blacks and Whites, held each year in Pasto, Colombia, is one of the oldest Carnival celebrations in South America. The Carnival officially opens on January 4 with a parade commemorating the arrival in Pasto of the Castañeda family, who are presented as a zany group overburdened with luggage, mattresses, and cooking equipment. The following day is the Day of the Blacks. Using special paints and cosmetics, revelers paint themselves and their friends black. Festivities continue on January 6 with the Day of the Whites, in which white paints and cosmetics are used. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: usefulalpha version, preview version, beta version - Alpha version describes a development status that usually means the first complete version of a program or application, which is most likely unstable, but is useful to show what the product will do to, usually, a selected group—and is also called preview version; the beta version is usually the last version before wide release, often tested by users under real-world conditions. More... index fossil - One useful for dating and demonstrating the relation between strata in which it is found. More... putti - Cupids that make themselves useful, as in old paintings; the singular is putto. More... decorative arts - Any of the arts that create entities that are both useful and beautiful. More... | |