Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, September 20, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ebullition
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Abstract Uncountable NounsA large number of abstract nouns are uncountable. These are usually ideas or attributes, such as "love," "knowledge," and "beauty." Can abstract uncountable nouns take indefinite articles or be made plural? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Mauthausen-GusenA complex of Nazi concentration camps in northern Austria, Mauthausen-Gusen was the scene of terrible atrocities during World War II. Originally affiliated with the Dachau camp, it acquired dozens of its own satellite camps by the end of the war. Though the death toll at Mauthausen-Gusen is unknown, it is estimated that more than 100,000 died there. Many prisoners were used for slave labor in local industries. One quarry was home to the "Stairs of Death," where prisoners were forced to do what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 James Meredith Is Barred from the University of Mississippi (1962)After a US federal court ruled that colleges could not deny admission to qualified students on the basis of race, civil rights activist James Meredith prepared to enter the segregated University of Mississippi. On the day of Meredith's enrollment, Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett stood in the doorway of the admissions office, physically blocking Meredith's entry, and informed him that his application was denied. Ten days later, Meredith returned—with 500 federal marshals. What happened then? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Maxwell Perkins (1884)After joining the publishing firm of Charles Scribner's Sons, Perkins became an enormously well-regarded editor with a genius for recognizing and fostering new talent. Though best known for the intensive editorial work that shaped Thomas Wolfe's sprawling manuscripts into publishable form, he also edited and published early works by then-unknown writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Erskine Caldwell. How many words did Perkins persuade Wolfe to cut from his first novel? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 My argument is that War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading.Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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I see what you did there— An expression used to acknowledge that one understands a joke made by someone else, and to either show appreciation or a lack thereof for the wit employed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Mothman Festival (2020)In 1966, the first sightings of a creature that came to be known as Mothman were first reported in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Since 2001, the Mothman Museum of Point Pleasant has sponsored the Mothman Festival. Those interested in the Mothman phenomena and in such paranormal topics as ghosts and UFOs gather in the town. Merchandise booths are set up along the town's main streets, and posters, books, T-shirts, and a host of other products are available. Music concerts are also held along the river. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: thickerconcave lens, convex lens - A concave lens is thinner at the center; a convex lens is thicker at the center. More... plank, board - A plank is thicker than a board. More... clotted cream - Cream made thicker and richer by cooking. More... skin - The term for the thin, tight covering on carrots, potatoes, grapes, and peaches—but also the thicker covering of bananas and avocados. More... | |