Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bedlam
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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SlashesThe slash ( / )—technically known as a virgule but also called a slant, solidus, or stroke—serves a number of purposes in writing. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 XenophonXenophon was a Greek soldier and writer. Born to a wealthy Athenian family, he was a disciple of Socrates before joining the Greek force, known as the Ten Thousand, that served Persian prince Cyrus the Younger at the disastrous battle of Cunaxa. After Cyrus and the Greek generals were killed, Xenophon was chosen as one of the leaders of the army's heroic retreat, an experience he recounted in Anabasis, his most celebrated work. Why was Xenophon later exiled from Athens? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Siege of La Rochelle Ends (1628)In 1598, French King Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes to restore internal peace in France, ravaged by the Wars of Religion. The edict gave the French Protestants, or Huguenots, extensive rights and control of certain cities, including La Rochelle, which became a stronghold for them. However, Henry's successor, Louis XIII, and his minister, Cardinal Richelieu, resolved to crush the Huguenots, and La Rochelle fell after a 14-month siege. How did the royal forces block sea access to the city? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jonas Salk (1914)Salk was an American physician and microbiologist renowned for his work in developing the first vaccine against polio. He began his groundbreaking studies on viruses and immunization with the influenza virus. Later, while working with other scientists to classify the poliovirus, he confirmed earlier studies that identified three strains, and he showed that the killed virus of each strain could induce antibody formation without producing disease. Who owned the patent for Salk's vaccine? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a golden hello— A sum of money paid to a new employee as a benefit for being recruited by a company. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Czechoslovak Independence Day (2023)The Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded on October 28, 1918, when the National Committee in Prague proclaimed independence from the Austrian Hapsburg emperors and took over the administration of an independent Czechoslovak state. Independence Day was widely celebrated in Czechoslovakia until the Communists seized power there in 1948, but the day continued to be recognized in the US with special banquets, addresses, religious services, and cultural programs. Communities with large Czech or Slovak populations may also mark the occasion. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: piercesashimi - Thinly sliced raw fish with a sauce, it is a compound formed from sashi, "pierce," and mi, "flesh." More... point - "Sharp end" is the etymological notion underlying point, from Latin pungere, "pierce, prick." More... stake - Meaning "post," it comes from a Germanic base meaning "pierce, prick." More... stick - Comes from Germanic meaning "be sharp, pierce, prick"; the piercing notion led to "becoming fixed in something" and then "adhering." More... | |