Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, March 27, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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phantasmagoric
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive AdverbsConjunctive adverbs (also called linking adverbs or connecting adverbs) are a specific type of conjunction specifically used to connect two independent clauses. What punctuation mark is traditionally used when we join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The History of WallpaperWallpaper was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th century as an inexpensive substitute for costly hangings. Outlines were block-printed, and the color was filled in with brush or stencil. The flock technique of printing designs with an adhesive and sprinkling with fine bits of wool or silk was probably first adapted to wallpaper around 1620 in France, but, by the 18th century, England had become principal wallpaper manufacturer. When did the wallpaper craze reach the American colonies? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Good Friday Earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska (1964)With a magnitude of 9.2, the earthquake that struck east of Anchorage at rush hour on Good Friday 1964 was one of the strongest ever recorded. About 130 people died, most in the subsequent tsunami, and much of downtown Anchorage was destroyed. The quake's effects were felt around the world—boats were sunk as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. Within a day, 11 aftershocks measuring 6.0 or higher were reported. In the months after, residents endured thousands of smaller ones. How long did they last? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nathaniel Currier (1813)Before photojournalism rendered illustrations of the news obsolete, Currier printed more than 7,000 lithographs—prints made using a stone block etched with grease to reproduce drawings—that greatly increased the public demand for graphic images. With his partner James Ives, he established outlets across the country, selling high-quality prints of disasters, landscapes, satirical subjects, and domestic scenes. Ives was neither a lithographer nor an artist, so why did Currier make him his partner? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The more thou stir it, the worse it will be.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the closet— To have (an) embarassing, unpleasant, damaging, or incriminating secret(s) from one's past. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ganguar (2020)Gangaur is one of the highlights of the festival year in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is observed in celebration of Gauri, another name for Parvati, Shiva's wife. This is largely a girls' and women's festival, but boys and men get to enjoy the elaborate processions that take place in cities around the state, such as Jaipur. The festival continues for 18 days, during which women fast, dress in their best clothes, adorn themselves with intricate henna designs, and pray. The festival culminates with feasting and processions of the goddess's image that celebrate the union of Gauri and Shiva. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sledbobber - A person who rides a bobsled or bobsleigh (meaning "short sled"). More... pung - Once the name for a one-horse sled or wagon. More... skate, ski, sled - The word skate was originally plural and comes from Dutch schaats, which derived from an Old French word for "stilt," but the connection is unclear. Skate appeared in English in the mid-17th century. Ski, in English by 1755, was borrowed from Norwegian, and ultimately from Old Norse for "snowshoe." Sled came from Flemish and Germanic sledde, between 1325 and 1388, for a "vehicle for transporting heavy goods," and is related to sledge and sleigh. More... toboggan - Comes from Canadian French from Micmac tobakun or Abnaki udabagan, "sled, sleigh." More... | |