Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 13, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tryst
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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IntensifiersIntensifiers are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and other adverbs to increase their strength, power, or intensity. What are some examples of intensifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Amazon.comAmazon.com is the largest and one of the most widely known e-commerce shopping sites on the Web. The company was founded as an online bookstore by Jeff Bezos in 1995. It soon diversified its product lines, adding DVDs, electronics, furniture, and more. Its initial "slow growth" business plan was effective: when the Internet "bubble" burst and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered. Why was the company sued by Barnes & Noble and Walmart in the late 1990s? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sidney Poitier Becomes the First African American to Win Best Actor Oscar (1964)The first African American to achieve leading man status in Hollywood, Poitier began acting with the American Negro Theatre in New York City and made his film debut soon after. He won acclaim on Broadway for his role in 1959's A Raisin in the Sun and, in 1964, became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. Many of his films address issues of race, yet some have criticized his choice of film roles for what reason? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lanford Wilson (1937)One of the founders of the "off-off-Broadway" theater movement, Wilson began writing plays in 1962 and helped found the Circle Repertory Company in New York City in 1969. His plays frequently address themes of decay, solitude, and loss and are known for their realistic dialogue in which monologue, conversation, and direct audience address overlap. His Pulitzer Prize-winning Talley's Folly (1979) depicts a man and woman falling in love, but some critics believe it is really about what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge.H.G. Wells (1866-1946) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (one's) head in the sand— To refuse to acknowledge or deal with problems, danger, or difficulty, especially in the hopes that they will resolve themselves. The phrase is a reference to ostriches, which were believed (incorrectly) to hide their heads in the ground at the sight of approaching danger. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Songkran (Thailand) (2015)Songkran is the traditional New Year in Thailand and a public holiday. The celebration actually lasts for three days in mid-April, and takes the form of religious ceremonies, as well as public festivities. Merit-making ceremonies are held at Buddhist temples, water is sprinkled on Buddhist images, and captive birds and fish are freed. Water splashing on the streets is also a part of the festivities, especially among young people. The celebration is held with special élan in Chiang Mai with beauty contests, parades, dancing, and, of course, water splashing. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: polessedan chair - An enclosed chair carried on poles. More... oblate, prolate - Oblate means "flattened at the poles," and the opposite is prolate; the Earth is an oblate spheroid. More... tent - Comes from a Latin word for "stretch," as early tents were made from cloth or skins stretched on poles. More... running boards - Originally extended from bow to stern on canal boats—which men walked along, propelling the boats with poles. More... | |