Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, August 6, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hail-fellow
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions of AgencyA preposition of agency describes a person or a thing that has caused or is causing something to occur. Sentences containing prepositions of agency are usually written in the passive voice and employ which two prepositions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Stanislav PetrovPetrov is a retired lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defense Forces. In September 1983, during a tense era in US-Soviet relations, Petrov deviated from standard Soviet protocol by correctly identifying a missile attack warning as a false alarm. His decision may have prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the US and its allies. Investigation of the satellite warning system later confirmed that the system had malfunctioned. What happened to Petrov after the incident? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Cosmonaut Gherman Titov Becomes First Man to Spend a Day in Space (1961)Titov was a Soviet cosmonaut and the second man to orbit the Earth, preceded just months earlier by Yuri Gagarin, with whom he had trained. At 25 years old, Titov was selected to fly the Vostok 2 mission and spent 25 hours in space, completing 17 Earth orbits. The mission brought him several impressive designations: youngest person to fly in space, first person to experience space sickness, and first person to sleep in space. Though he overslept, what strange occurrence initially kept him up? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nicolas Malebranche (1638)Malebranche was a French priest, theologian, and philosopher who developed a synthesis of Cartesian and Augustinian thought with the purpose of reconciling the new science with Christian theology. Beginning with Descartes's dualism between mind and body, Malebranche developed his doctrine of occasionalism, which denies any interaction between the two realms. He summarized his beliefs in his famous assertion that we see all things in God, which led to an extended controversy with what theologian? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The winged fairies of Grimm and Andersen have brought more happiness to childish hearts than all other human creations.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a cut above the rest— Better in quality than most others. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bolivia Independence Day (2019)Bolivians proclaimed their independence from Spain in 1809, but it took 16 years of struggle to actually gain it in 1825. Spain had ruled the area since the 16th century. The country was named for its revolutionary hero, Simón Bolívar, who, with José San Martín, led the Battle of Ayacucho in 1824 that resulted in the end of Spanish rule of Bolivia and Peru. Independence Day is a public holiday, celebrated over two days including August 6, with parades and dancing in the streets of La Paz and Sucre. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shrubsboscage - A mass of growing trees or shrubs—or a depiction of a wooded landscape. More... nature strip - An area of grass beside a roadway, possibly with a few trees or shrubs, lying between the footpath part and the roadway proper. More... balm, balsam - Greek balsamon is the source of both balm and balsam; it was an oily resin of various trees and shrubs. More... topiary - Describing shrubs and trees that are trimmed, it is derived from Latin topiarius, "ornamental gardener." More... | |