Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, August 19, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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button-down
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Comma SplicesA comma splice occurs when we join two independent clauses with a comma. Why can't we use a comma in this situation? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 K2Standing 28,251 ft (8,611 m) high on the border of China and Pakistan, K2 is the second highest mountain in the world. Although the summit of Mt. Everest is at a higher altitude, K2 is considered a more difficult climb, due in part to its severe weather. Part of the Karakorum segment of the Himalayas, the peak was first scaled in 1954, but only a few hundred climbers have ever reached the summit—compared to the thousands who have ascended Everest. Why is the mountain called "K2"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Leonard Bernstein Conducts His Final Concert (1990)Less than two months before he died, Bernstein, a highly regarded American composer and conductor, conducted what would be his final concert. He had suffered from smoking-related lung problems for years, and his coughing fit partway through the Boston Symphony appearance that night nearly ended the performance. With his health declining, he officially retired in early October, and he died just five days later. What feat in 1943 made him an overnight sensation and set his career in motion? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Orville Wright (1871)Born and raised in Ohio, Orville was four years younger than his brother Wilbur. They were in the bicycle business when they began the aeronautic experiments that led to the first controlled, powered airplane flight in 1903. Wilbur died in 1912, and Orville sold his interest in their company three years later. He later served for 28 years on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a precursor to NASA, before his death in 1948. What toy sparked Orville's interest in flying as a boy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 So much does friendship triumph over misfortune, that sorrows and sufferings vanish at the meeting not only of real friends, but of the most distant acquaintances, and substitutes happiness in their room.John Filson (1747-1788) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be like herding cats— To be very unwieldy or unmanageable; to be nearly impossible to organize. Usually said of a group of people. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lucerne International Festival of Music (2020)The first Lucerne Festival was held in 1938, conducted by Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) at the former home of Richard Wagner. The Swiss Festival Orchestra, the festival's mainstay since 1943, is comprised of the best musicians in Switzerland. It is joined by other national groups—among them the Lucerne Festival Strings—as well as internationally known orchestras from other countries. The program offers symphonic and chamber music as well as master classes, young artists' matinees, and a concert for seniors and persons with disabilities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tiredlanguescent - If you are becoming tired, you are languescent. More... irk - Originally meant "grow tired"; a possible source is Old Norse yrkja, "work." More... lassate - Means tired or weary. More... late - Comes from Indo-European lad-, "slow, weary," which begat Latin lassus, "tired," before English late, meaning "slow." More... | |