Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 20, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sectionalism
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Avoiding Unnecessary PrepositionsWhile it is perfectly correct to end a sentence with a preposition, we must be careful that we do not include extraneous prepositions that do not serve a grammatical function. What is the very common error in the following sentence? "Where are you at?" More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Great Boston Fire of 1872The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was Boston's largest urban fire and remains one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history, causing $73.5 million in damages. Numerous factors contributed to the fire, not the least of which was the lax enforcement of Boston's building regulations which, coupled with the practice of over-insuring buildings, left no real incentive to build fire-safe structures. How many years did it take to rebuild the burnt district? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Big Burn (1910)The Great Fire of 1910 was a wildfire that burned approximately three million acres (12,000 sq km) in Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Spurred by hurricane-force winds, it destroyed parts of several national forests. Since known as the Big Burn, the firestorm burned over two days and killed more than 80 people, including 78 firefighters. It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, fire in US history. How did the Great Fire of 1910 shape future US Forest Service policy? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779)Regarded as one of the founders of modern chemistry, Berzelius was a Swedish professor who achieved an immensely important series of innovations and discoveries. He developed chemistry's modern system of symbols and formulas, prepared a remarkably precise table of atomic weights, analyzed numerous chemical compounds, and discovered the elements selenium, thorium, and cerium. He also introduced basic laboratory equipment that remains in use today. What common scientific terms did Berzelius coin? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Although a skillful flatterer is a most delightful companion if you can keep him all to yourself, his taste becomes very doubtful when he takes to complimenting other people.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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arm candy— An especially attractive person who acts as a romantic escort or date to social events, but who is not romantically attached to or involved with the person he or she is accompanying. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Stephen's Day (Hungary) (2019)The founding of Hungary is commemorated on August 20, which is also the feast day of the founder of the country, St. Stephen of Hungary (c. 975-1038). He assumed the kingship in 1000 and worked to unite the various clans into a single Christian state. In 1950, the day was changed to Constitution Day by the communist regime, but since 1990 it has again celebrated St. Stephen. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: rushexigent - A good word to write on letters or packages, since everyone else writes "urgent" or "rush." More... rush candle, rush light - A rush candle or rush light is a candle of feeble power made by dipping the pith of a rush in tallow or other grease. More... spate - A sudden flood or rush, an outpouring. More... debacle - Comes from French debacler, "to unbar, free," with the root sense being "to shatter with one's rod"; its original meaning was "a breaking-up of ice in a river" or a "sudden flood or rush of water carrying debris." More... | |