Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, March 27, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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taproom
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Converting the Active Voice into the Passive VoiceThe passive voice is a type of grammatical voice in which the subject is acted upon by the verb. What must be present for a sentence to be converted from the active voice into the passive voice? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Lost-Wax CastingThe lost-wax method of casting metal sculptures was developed thousands of years ago and is still used by metalworkers today. In this labor-intensive process, a clay or plaster model is coated with wax and then covered with a perforated plaster or clay mold. When the cast dries, the wax is melted and drained and replaced with molten metal. Archeological evidence suggests that metalworkers in India and Mesopotamia were using this method as early as 3500 BCE to make what sorts of objects? 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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 Whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline.Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) | |
| 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... | |