Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 20, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pyrexia
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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SentencesA sentence, whether short or long, must express a complete idea; and a complete sentence must consist of at least one independent clause. What is a simple sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Hypatia of AlexandriaHypatia was an Alexandrian Neoplatonic philosopher and mathematician renowned for her learning, eloquence, and beauty. She became head of Alexandria's Platonist school in about 400 CE, lecturing there on mathematics and philosophy. Several works are attributed to her by later sources, including commentaries on Ptolemy's works, but none have survived. Her murder, the subject of many conspiracy theories, was a brutal event. How did religion factor into Hypatia's lynching? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) The Johnny Bright Incident (1951)The Johnny Bright Incident was an allegedly racially-motivated on-field assault against black football star Johnny Bright by white player Wilbanks Smith during a college football game between Bright's Drake University and Smith's Oklahoma A&M. The assault—which resulted in a broken jaw for Bright—was captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo sequence. The incident highlighted the racial tensions of the times and even provoked changes in college football rules. What happened to Smith? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Christopher Wren (1632)Though now known as the greatest architect of the English baroque style, Wren was first a celebrated astronomer and mathematician who was one of the founders of the Royal Society. His architectural career began in 1661 when King Charles II appointed him assistant to the royal architect. Wren went on to help rebuild more than 50 churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. He also designed Saint Paul's Cathedral, where he is buried. What famous epitaph appears on Wren's burial marker? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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high note— The most successful, impressive, or climactic point (of something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Guatemala Revolution Day (2023)On October 20, 1944, university students and military leaders aligned to overthrow the dictator Jorge Ubico. Guatemalans fondly remember the replacement government and its executive leader, Juan José Arévalo, who implemented a series of successful labor and agrarian reforms. Music and fireworks mark the day's lively celebrations, the grandest of which are held in the Plaza Mayor in Guatemala City. It is also common on this day for activists to exercise their free speech, a human right that Arévalo championed. Some protests draw thousands of people and extend into the next day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tossfungo - A baseball drill in which a batter tosses a ball in the air and hits it as it descends, probably from Scottish fung, "to pitch, toss, fling." More... jactitating, jactitation, jactation - If you toss and turn at night, you are jactitating; jactitation or jactation is restless tossing or twitching. More... saute - A form of French sauter, it means "to leap or cause to toss." More... walk - First meant "roll," "toss," or "move about; go"—from Old English wealcan, "to roll." More... | |