Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 21, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rejuvenate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Parts of SpeechThe parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a sentence. English has seven main parts of speech. Can you name all seven? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Bucket ArgumentIn addition to establishing the foundations of classical mechanics and introducing his law of universal gravitation, Isaac Newton's 1687 text The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy explored his rotating bucket argument, which has been studied by scientists for centuries. In it, he opposed the dominant view of motion—devised by Rene Descartes—that space is actually the extension of matter. How did Newton use a hypothetical bucket to try to make his point? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US Captures Guam from Spain (1898)Visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, Guam was formally claimed by Spain in 1565 and remained under Spanish control until 1898, when it was taken by the US in the Spanish-American War. Because the Spanish garrison on the island had no knowledge of the war, the US sent a single Navy cruiser, the USS Charleston, and was able to capture Guam without a fight. At the end of the war, Guam was officially ceded to the US under the Treaty of Paris. How many Spanish soldiers were captured on Guam? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Al Hirschfeld (1903)Hirschfeld was an American graphic artist and caricaturist who was famous for his witty, perceptive, and joyful caricatures of theater celebrities and other public personalities. After becoming a theater correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, he worked for The New York Times, where many of his caricatures appeared. Hirschfeld also wrote and illustrated several books. Beginning in 1945, Hirschfeld concealed what in almost every drawing that he made? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 More helpful than all wisdom is one draught of simple human pity that will not forsake us.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(the) man/woman of the hour— A person currently being celebrated, honored, or admired by others, especially for a recent victory, accomplishment, or other cause for celebration. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ysyakh (2019)This is a celebration of the midnight sun, observed in the Yakut region in the northeastern part of Russia on and around the Summer Solstice. In 1992 the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Republic became the Republic of Sakha (the Yakut people's name for themselves) within the Russian Federation. The festivities during Ysyakh include foot races, horse races, and often sled dog and reindeer races. Folk dancing and feasting—primarily on boiled beef and kumiss, or fermented mare's milk—complete the celebration, which often goes on all night. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sproutratoon crop - One that grows from the remains of one already harvested, from Spanish retono, "sprout." More... clan - Ultimately from Latin planta, "plant, sprout." More... germ, germinate - From Latin germen, "seed, sprout." More... acrospire - The first leaf that sprouts from a germinating seed. More... | |