Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, April 8, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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nonobjective
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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"Could" and the Subjunctive MoodWe use the modal verb "could" instead of "can" when describing an ability that is desired or wished for. This is known as the subjunctive mood. In what kinds of situations is the subjunctive mood typically used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ArabesqueThough the arabesque motif most likely originated with the works of Hellenistic craftsmen in Asia Minor, the complex, linear style of decoration became typical of Islamic ornamentation around 1000 CE and thus became associated with Arab culture. It is characterized by symmetric, interlacing geometric patterns with flowing lines and often incorporates flower or animal motifs and Arabic calligraphy. Why are mistakes in the complicated, repetitive patterns sometimes made intentionally? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Entente Cordiale Signed by France and UK (1904)The Entente Cordiale was an agreement that settled numerous colonial disputes and ended antagonisms between Britain and France. It granted freedom of action to Britain in Egypt and to France in Morocco and resolved several other imperial disputes. The agreement was consequently upsetting to Germany, which had benefited from their antagonism. The Entente paved the way for Anglo-French diplomatic cooperation against Germany before World War I and for what later military alliance? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edmund Husserl (1859)Husserl was a German philosopher and the founder of the phenomenological movement. His philosophy is a descriptive study of consciousness for the purpose of discovering the structure of experience—the laws by which experiences are had. Husserl concluded that consciousness has no life apart from the objects it considers and, in his later work, moved toward idealism and denied that objects exist outside consciousness. Husserl had a major influence on what German philosopher? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One of our first amusements as children (if we have any imagination at all) is to get out of our own characters, and to try the characters of other personages as a change—to be fairies, to be queens, to be anything, in short, but what we really are.Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in(to) shape— In good, robust health; strong or fit. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hana Matsuri (2024)Hana Matsuri is a celebration of the Buddha's birthday, observed in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, where it is known as Kambutsue. The highlight of the celebration is a ritual known as kambutsue ("ceremony of 'baptizing' the Buddha"), in which a tiny bronze statue of the Buddha, standing in an open lotus flower, is anointed with sweet tea. People use a small bamboo ladle to pour the tea, made of hydrangea leaves, over the head of the statue. The custom is supposed to date from the seventh century, when perfume was used, as well as tea. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: thickfoggy, fog - Foggy first meant "covered with a grass; mossy; boggy," as fog first meant "coarse grass" and evolved to mean "thick, murky" in relation to atmosphere. More... riley - Has two meanings: thick and turbid, or angry and irritable. More... baobab tree - Is so thick—up to 30 feet across—that some African tribes hollow them out so families can live inside. More... | |