Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 27, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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splendiferous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Interrogative PronounsInterrogative pronouns are used in interrogative sentences to ask questions, functioning either as the subject or object of such sentences. There are five primary interrogative pronouns. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AssassinAssassin is a real-life role-playing game that is particularly popular on college campuses. Though rules vary, the game usually begins when a host assigns targets to the players. The goal is for players to track down and eliminate their targets—acquiring the eliminated victim's target each time—until only one player remains. Targets are pursued around the clock, so to be successful, players must remain vigilant at all times. What are some of the "weapons" used to eliminate targets? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 IRA Bomb Kills British Statesman and Naval Commander Louis Mountbatten (1979)A British statesman and former naval commander, Mountbatten often spent his summers in Mullaghmore, Ireland, an area also frequented by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). In the summer of 1979, IRA member Thomas McMahon planted a bomb in Mountbatten's boat, and it exploded as Mountbatten and some family members left on a fishing trip. Mountbatten was killed along with his grandson and another boy working on the boat. What other IRA incident happened the same day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770)Hegel was an influential German philosopher who developed the Hegelian dialectic, according to which a thesis, such as "being," inevitably generates its antithesis, "not-being." The interaction of the two forms a synthesis, "becoming," which, in turn, becomes a new thesis that generates an antithesis, and so on. He used the dialectic to explain everything from nature to history, interpreting the French Revolution as a thesis that generated its antithesis, known as what period in French history? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Who has not remarked the readiness with which the closest of friends and honestest of men suspect and accuse each other of cheating when they fall out on money matters?William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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ball the jack— Speed up. Go fast. This phrase came from the American rail industry, in which a train was nicknamed a "jack," while "highball" meant to proceed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Moldova Independence Day (2022)On August 27, 1991, the Republic of Moldova became an independent and sovereign state. To commemorate this momentous occasion, the country celebrates Independence Day every year on August 27. As part of the celebrations, the Moldovan President addresses the people of the country with a festive speech. Public concerts, fairs, and outdoor activities are held in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, as well as in other cities around the country. On August 27, 2001, the first military parade was held in Chisinau to celebrate the first 10 years of the country's independence. 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... | |