Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 9, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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contagion
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Viewpoint Adverbs and Sentence PlacementViewpoint adverbs are used to indicate whose point of view is being expressed, or to specify what aspect of something one is talking about. Where do viewpoint adverbs usually appear in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Trigeminal NeuralgiaTrigeminal neuralgia is a disorder of the trigeminal nerve—the fifth cranial nerve—which is divided into three branches and is responsible for chewing, producing saliva and tears, and sending facial sensations to the brain. The disorder causes episodes of sharp, stabbing pain in the cheek, lips, gums, or chin on one side of the face. The pain, while brief, is so severe that the sufferer often cannot do anything else while the attack lasts. How is trigeminal neuralgia treated? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Barbie Doll Debuts (1959)When Ruth Handler realized that there were no adult-bodied dolls on the toy market, she suggested to her husband—with whom she co-founded the Mattel toy company—that Mattel begin producing one. In 1959, Barbie made her debut. She was based on a German doll called Bild Lilli and was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model." According to estimates, more than a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide, and many have become collector's items. Who is the "Barbie" after whom the doll was named? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Yuri Gagarin (1934)Gagarin was a Russian cosmonaut who, in 1961, became the first human being to successfully travel into space. Gagarin circled the Earth once during his 1-hour-and-48-minute flight aboard the Vostok 1. His success is believed to have ushered in the modern era of man in space, and Gagarin toured widely to promote the Soviet achievement. Ironically, he died in a plane crash seven years later. What factors did Soviet officials consider when choosing Gagarin for the historic space flight? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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with reckless abandon— With rash, unrestrained impulsiveness, enthusiasm, or zeal. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Forty Martyrs' Day (2022)The "Forty Martyrs of Sebaste" were Roman soldiers quartered in Armenia in 320 CE; they are greatly revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In Greece, special foods are prepared, such as cake with 40 layers of pastry and stew with 40 herbs. In Romania, little cakes called sfintisori ("little mints") are baked and given to and received from every passerby. Coliva is also traditional. Farm tools are readied for work, and hearth ashes are spread around the cottage to keep the serpent from entering. (Each home is said to have a serpent protecting it). More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wickedfacinorous - Extremely wicked. More... flagitious - Criminally wicked. More... scelestious, scelestic - Other terms for wicked are scelestious and scelestic. More... wicked - Probably based on Old English wicca, "witch." More... | |