Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 7, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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paroxysm
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Interrogative SentencesWhen we make sentences into questions, we almost always use auxiliary verbs that are inverted with the subject. This is known as subject-verb inversion. We can also use "question words" to ask more nuanced questions, but we still use auxiliary verbs and subject-verb inversion. What are some examples of question words? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Irrawaddy RiverThe Irrawaddy, or Ayeyarwady, is Myanmar's longest river and its most important commercial waterway. For many centuries, it was Myanmar's principal communication route. The 1,000-mile (1,600-km) river bisects the country from north to south and empties into the Indian Ocean through a vast, nine-armed delta, which is one of the world's great rice-producing regions. The Ayeyarwady lends its name to what animal found in its waters? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Zoot Suit Riots Come to an End (1943)Named for the style of clothing favored by the mainly Mexican-American victims of these clashes, the Zoot Suit Riots erupted between American servicemen stationed in Los Angeles, California, during World War II and the city's minority residents. While the local press lauded the attacks by the servicemen and described them as having a "cleansing effect," First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt denounced them as "race riots" rooted in discrimination. What happened to the nine sailors arrested in the riots? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Paul Gauguin (1848)First a sailor and then a successful stockbroker in Paris, Gauguin took up painting on weekends when he was in his mid-20s. Eventually, with the encouragement of Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, he devoted himself completely to art, quitting his job and separating from his wife and five children. Today, he is recognized as a highly influential founding father of modern art whose bold experiments with color led directly to the Synthetist style. What did Gauguin and Van Gogh have in common? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Now, here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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drive (someone) potty— To make someone particularly annoyed, vexed, or crazy. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Great American Brass Band Festival (2023)This weekend re-creation of the golden age of brass bands in America is held at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. About a dozen bands from throughout the U.S. and Canada play Sousa march music, ragtime, and jazz in the New Orleans funeral-march style. A highlight is a band playing over-the-shoulder instruments of the Civil War period; the music blew to the rear of the band so it could be heard by the troops marching behind. The festival begins with a hot-air balloon race, and music then continues through the weekend. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sunsetoccultation - One of its meanings is "the disappearance from view of a star or planet in the sun's rays after sunset or before sunrise, when the star or planet is above the horizon." More... acronical - Means happening at sunset or twilight. More... antitwilight - The sky's pink or purple glow after sunset. More... evening - Its Old English base meant "grow towards night," as evening extends from sunset to dark. More... | |