Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 8, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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horologist
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Parts of SpeechThe parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a sentence. English has seven main parts of speech. Can you name all seven? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 White ElephantsA "white elephant" is an expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain. The expression derives from Southeast Asian monarchs' practice of making gifts of rare albino elephants, which, although sacred in South Asia and a sign of the ruler’s favor, were very expensive to keep and could not be sold or used for work. White elephants were thus both a blessing and a curse. According to tradition, what role did a white elephant play in the birth of the Buddha? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Raytheon Patents Percy Spencer's Microwave (1945)Self-taught engineer Percy Spencer discovered the cooking potential of microwaves in the 1940s. While working on magnetrons for the Raytheon Company, he noticed that a peanut butter chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He determined that microwaves emitted from his magnetrons had cooked the candy bar and confirmed this theory by testing it on popcorn. Raytheon patented Spencer's microwave oven in 1945 and put it on the market in 1947. What was the first food to explode in a microwave? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edward "Eddie" Rickenbacker (1890)A skilled American racecar driver, Rickenbacker entered World War I as a driver but soon became a fighter pilot. He shot down 26 enemy aircraft, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor and the moniker "Ace of Aces." After a failed foray into automobile manufacturing, he ran several airlines for General Motors and eventually acquired one of them. In 1942, his plane was lost while on a tour of military bases in the Pacific, and he was presumed dead, but he was rescued after how many days adrift? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be more trouble than it's worth— To not be important, useful, or beneficial enough to justify the effort or difficulty that something requires. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Peru Battle of Angamos (2021)The War of the Pacific (1879-1883) began when Chile and Bolivia fought for control of a portion of the Atacama Desert. On October 8, 1879, the Chilean Navy captured Peru's ironclad warship, the Huáscar, and killed the captain, Admiral Miguel Grau. Chile gained control over the seas and was thus able to invade Peru and Bolivia. October 8 is a national holiday in Peru to remember the lost Battle of Angamos. On this day, military and civil parades are held, and celebrations are held to honor the heroic deeds of Admiral Miguel Grau and his role in the battle. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: monthsfetus - A human embryo starts to be called a fetus at nine weeks. More... Catholic twins - Siblings born within 12 months of each other. More... half-birthday - One's half-birthday is the day exactly six months before or after one's real birth date. More... semester - First meant six months, as it comes from Latin semestris, "of six months." More... | |