Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 4, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
catchy
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Adverbs with Two FormsThere are a few adverbs that have two generally accepted forms. In these cases, they also have two commonly used comparative and superlative degrees. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 TitianBorn around 1490, Titian was a leading Venetian Renaissance painter whose technique, particularly his brushwork, composition, and use of color, influenced generations of artists after him. He is known for his psychologically penetrating portraits as well as his depictions of religious and mythological scenes. What politician's staff member once altered Titian's Wikipedia page in a misguided attempt to hide the fact that the politician may have been mistaken about the painter's age at death? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Bodies Found in Unsolved Hinterkaifeck Murders (1922)In 1922, Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead north of Munich, became the scene of one of the most puzzling unsolved crimes in German history. On the evening of March 31, the farm's six inhabitants, ranging in age from two to 72, were brutally murdered. The perpetrator likely remained at the farm for several days thereafter, but by the time the crime was discovered, he or she had disappeared without a trace. What unexplained events supposedly occurred there in the days leading up to the slaughter? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Dorothea Dix (1802)Dix left an unhappy home at age 10 to live with her grandmother in Boston. By age 14, the resourceful Dix was on her own and working as a schoolteacher. In 1841, while teaching in a Massachusetts prison, Dix saw firsthand the inhumane way that mentally ill prisoners were treated. Appalled, she became a pioneer in the movement for humane treatment of the insane. Her efforts brought about widespread reforms in both the US and Canada. What position did Dix hold during the US Civil War? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Let us not tire of a good work, hard though it be and wearisome; think of the many little hearts that in their sorrow look to us for help.Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
like cheese at four pence— In an idle, awkward, and/or out-of-place state; being ignored, abandoned, or left to wait awkwardly. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Feast of San Isidro of Seville (2021)St. Isidro, or Isidore, (c. 560-636) was born in Cartagena, Spain, and eventually became bishop of Seville. In Río Frío, Colombia, April occurs in autumn and is typically very dry. On San Isidro's feast day, April 4, townspeople process the saint's image around the streets in the hope that he will help bring rain. The procession takes two steps forward, then one step backward, and so on, with the idea that if it drags out long enough, some rain may fall before the festivities end. If no rain falls, those who had been singing praises to St. Isidro may begin to insult and swear at him. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: hornbugle - Originally the word for ox, whose horn was used to give signals, it came to mean such a musical instrument. More... tantara - Fanfare on a trumpet or horn. More... rhinoceros, rhinoceroses - Rhinoceros comes from Greek rhin-, "nose," and keras, "horn"; the correct plural is rhinoceroses. More... unicorn - From a Greek wild ox known as monokeros, "one horn," which, in Latin, became unicornis. More... | |