Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 23, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AdjunctsAdjuncts are parts of a sentence that are used to elaborate on or modify other words or phrases in a sentence. What are misplaced modifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 LadybugsCoccinellidae is a family of about 5,000 beetles known in the US as ladybugs and in the UK as ladybirds. The insect's name originated in the Middle Ages, when it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called "beetle of Our Lady," likely because Mary was often depicted in a red cloak in early paintings and because the seven spots on the species most common in Europe were associated with her seven joys and seven sorrows. A common myth is that the number of spots on a ladybug’s back indicates what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Baltic Way: Millions Join Hands (1989)In 1989, more than a million people formed a human chain more than 373 miles (600 km) long across the three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Known as the "Baltic Way," the demonstration marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, an agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany that secretly divided Poland and gave the Soviet Union control of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. When did the Soviet Union finally admit the existence of the secret protocol? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Eleftherios Venizelos (1864)Often called "the maker of modern Greece," Venizelos was a Greek revolutionary who became a prominent statesman. After leading an assembly to declare the union of Crete with Greece in 1905, he went to Athens and won an extraordinary popular following. During his first term as Greek premier, he completed the revision of the constitution and led Greece through the Balkan Wars, in which its territory and population were doubled. Facing rebellion in 1935, he fled to France. When did he die? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Trying to stop slanderers' tongues is like trying to put gates to the open plain.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a hard pill to swallow— Something, especially a fact or piece of news, that is unpleasant or difficult but which is unavoidable or must be accepted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vulcanalia (2023)Vulcan was the ancient Roman god of volcanic or destructive fire. The Vulcanalia, or festival in honor of Vulcan, was held on August 23, right at the time of year when forest fires might be expected and when the stored grain was in danger of burning. For this reason, Vulcan's cult was very prominent at Ostia, where Rome's grain was stored. At the Vulcanalia, which was observed in Egypt, in Athens, and in Rome, the priest or flamen Volcanis performed a sacrifice, and the heads of families burned small fish they had caught in the Tiber River. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wanderingevagation - Means mental wandering or digression, also a digression in speech or writing. More... mundivagant - Means "wandering around the world." More... vagation - The action of wandering, straying, or departing from the proper or regular course. More... wanderjahr - Literally German for "wander year," it refers to a year of wandering or travel. More... | |