Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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half-baked
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Noun PhrasesNoun phrases are groups of two or more words within a sentence that function grammatically as nouns. Noun phrases consist of a noun and what else? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Reductio ad HitlerumReductio ad Hitlerum is a type of modern logical fallacy. Derived from the well-known logical argument called reductio ad absurdum, the phrase was coined in 1950 by political philosopher Leo Strauss, who noted the increasing trend of trying to discredit views or practices simply because they are said to have been shared by Hitler. Use of the tactic often derails arguments, since such comparisons distract from the debate. Engaging in this fallacy is sometimes known as playing what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 MV Joola Disaster in Senegal (2002)Just 11 years ago, a Senegalese ferry capsized off the coast of Gambia, claiming more lives than the notorious Titanic disaster. At least 1,863 people died in the sinking of the MV Joola, making it one of the deadliest civilian maritime disasters in history. A number of factors likely contributed to the tragedy, including bad weather, overloading—the ferry was carrying more than triple the number of passengers it was designed to hold—and a delayed rescue effort. How many survived? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ivan Pavlov (1849)Russian physiologist and Nobel laureate Ivan Pavlov is chiefly known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex, a reflex developed gradually by training in association with a specific repeated external stimulus. In the 1890s, he was investigating the gastric function of dogs when he noticed that the animals began salivating at the mere sound of the bell that preceded their feedings. He made this phenomenon the focus of his research. What other experimental subjects did he use in his research? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Very few reputations are gained by unsullied virtue.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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can't even— slang Cannot handle (something). A phrase used (usually comically) when one cannot articulate their strong feelings (often of frustration) about something or someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Johnny Appleseed (2022)John Chapman—better known as Johnny Appleseed for his lifelong dedication to planting apple seedlings all over the American Midwest—was born on this day in 1774. While some frontier settlers thought he was a saint, or at the very least a religious fanatic, with his tin pot hat and coffee-sack tunic, the Native Americans regarded him as a great medicine man since he planted herbs as well as apples. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sailingaloof - Comes from sailing, in which ships keep clear of coastal rocks by holding the vessel "luff"—"to the windward"; so, to hold "a-luff" means to "keep clear." More... jibe - Meaning "be compatible, consistent," it may come from the earlier jibe, "to shift a sail from side to side while sailing in the wind." More... plain sailing - Probably comes from plane sailing, a way of determining a ship's position based on its moving on a plane (flat surface). More... aback - Originated in sailing, as a ship was taken aback when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew the sails back against the mast, causing the ship to stop momentarily. More... | |