Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, June 30, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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stockpile
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Subordinating ConjunctionsSubordinating conjunctions are used to create complex sentences containing one independent clause and one dependent clause. What is the independent clause also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Giant WetaOne of the heaviest insects in the world, the giant weta is an example of island gigantism—the phenomenon in which isolated species evolve to become unusually large in the absence of restraints such as predators. Giant wetas are found primarily on New Zealand's offshore islands, having been driven almost to extinction elsewhere in New Zealand by introduced mammalian predators. They are fairly tame, passive insects that resemble giant grasshoppers. How heavy are the largest wetas? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mysterious Beast of Gévaudan Kills Its First Victim (1764)From 1764 to 1767, the people of Gévaudan, France, reported dozens of sightings of a man-eating, wolf-like creature now known as the Beast of From 1764 to 1767, the people of Gévaudan, France, reported dozens of sightings of a man-eating, wolf-like creature now known as the Beast of Gévaudan. According to many accounts, the beast—consistently described as having large teeth and an immense tail—killed some 100 people, prompting King Louis XV to send hunters to slay it. Some stories say a local hunter shot the beast, possibly with silver bullets. According to one theory, what exotic-but-real creature may have been behind the attacks? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lena Horne (1917)An iconic American singer and actress, Horne began dancing at Harlem's Cotton Club as a teen and, with the help of her stunning voice and good looks, was soon singing with popular bands. She went on to record and perform extensively and appeared in a number of musicals and films, including Stormy Weather, whose title song became her signature. Her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, was hailed as her masterpiece. Why was Horne blacklisted in the 1950s? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part; do thou but thine.John Milton (1608-1674) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a good turn— An action that is beneficial to another person in some way. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Joust of the Saracens (La Giostra del Saracino) (2023)The most famous of the Italian jousting festivals, La Giostra del Saracino originated during the Crusades (11th-13th centuries), when it was used as propaganda to support the fight to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. Eight knights representing the four quarters of Arezzo, where the festival takes place, march to the piazza, where an effigy of a Moor or Saracen has been set up. The effigy is armed with a heavy flail, and the knights must try to hit it in the center with their lances without being touched by the flail. The winner is rewarded with a golden lance on behalf of his district. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sledbobber - A person who rides a bobsled or bobsleigh (meaning "short sled"). More... pung - Once the name for a one-horse sled or wagon. More... skate, ski, sled - The word skate was originally plural and comes from Dutch schaats, which derived from an Old French word for "stilt," but the connection is unclear. Skate appeared in English in the mid-17th century. Ski, in English by 1755, was borrowed from Norwegian, and ultimately from Old Norse for "snowshoe." Sled came from Flemish and Germanic sledde, between 1325 and 1388, for a "vehicle for transporting heavy goods," and is related to sledge and sleigh. More... toboggan - Comes from Canadian French from Micmac tobakun or Abnaki udabagan, "sled, sleigh." More... | |