Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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conversant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Superlative AdverbsSuperlative adverbs, like superlative adjectives, are used to describe differences among three or more people or things. What ending is added to the base adverb to form a superlative adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Gaston PlantéIn 1859, French physicist Gaston Planté invented the lead acid battery, the world's first rechargeable electric battery and the forerunner of the modern automobile battery. His early model consisted of two sheets of coiled lead soaked in sulfuric acid, but he soon revised this design, and just a year later, he presented a nine-cell version to the Academy of Sciences. What mechanical device did Planté invent as part of his investigation into the differences between static and dynamic electricity? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 William and Mary Proclaimed Co-Rulers of England (1689)King William III and Queen Mary II were joint monarchs of England. Married in 1677, they were called to the throne by Parliament after King James II—Mary's father—fled the country during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. To end the revolution, William and Mary signed the English Bill of Rights, which barred any future Catholic succession to the throne and began a new cooperation between Parliament and monarchs, leading to greater democracy. What effect did this have on the colonies in America? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Grant Wood (1891)Wood was an American artist famous for painting scenes from the rural Midwest that feature austere people and stylized landscapes. Born in Iowa, Wood traveled to Europe in the 1920s and was exposed to the late medieval primitive painting style that would later influence his own art. One of the best-known icons of American art, his American Gothic features a stern Midwestern farmer holding a pitchfork and a woman who is often assumed to be the farmer's wife but is not. Who is she? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must do something.Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a ground ball with eyes— In baseball, a ball that is hit onto the ground and narrowly eludes two or more infielders, allowing the batter to take a base. It is said to have "eyes" because it seems to "see" its way between the two defensive players. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Parentalia (2020)This was an ancient Roman festival held in honor of the manes, or souls of the dead—in particular, deceased relatives. It began a season for remembering the dead, which ended with the Feralia on February 21. This week was a quiet, serious occasion, without the rowdiness that characterized other Roman festivals. Everything, including the temples, closed down, and people decorated graves with flowers and left food—sometimes elaborate banquets—in the cemeteries in the belief that it would be eaten by the spirits of the deceased. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: polishedfacetious - Originally meant "having polished or urbane manners," and, along with sequoia, uses all five vowels. More... nitid - A word for "bright, shining, polished, glossy." More... polite - Actually meant "polished" or "burnished" when it came into English. More... urban, urbane - Urban refers to a city; urbane means polished and smooth, as in a person's demeanor. More... | |