Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 13, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ruffian
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Past TenseThe past tense is used to describe or indicate an action that began in the past. There are four forms of the past tense that can accomplish these tasks. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Porgy and BessThe folk opera Porgy and Bess is American composer George Gershwin's most ambitious work. Controversial since its release in 1935 for its depiction of African Americans, it tells the story of Porgy, a crippled black man living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina, and his attempts to rescue Bess from Crown, her pimp, and Sportin' Life, a drug dealer. Which song from the show is one of the most popular cover songs ever, with an estimated 30,000 different versions recorded? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Black Friday Fires in Victoria, Australia (1939)One of Australia's worst natural disasters took place in January 1939, when bushfires broke out in the state of Victoria. Over the course of several days, fires burned nearly 5 million acres of land, killing 71 people, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, and ravaging entire towns. An extremely hot and dry summer had preceded the fires, and the day they broke out, temperatures in Melbourne soared to a record 114.1 °F (45.6 °C). How long was it before the city had a hotter day than that? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Sophie Tucker (1884)Tucker was a Russian-born American singer and entertainer who began performing vaudeville as a child, singing ragtime melodies in blackface. She later abandoned the makeup but continued in the African-American style, helping popularize the songs of black composers. Known for her racy songs, she enjoyed great success on tour and went on to appear in several stage and movie musicals but was best known as a nightclub torch singer. In her later years, she was billed under what moniker? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 If it were possible to heal sorrow by weeping and to raise the dead with tears, gold were less prized than grief.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
however much— No matter how much. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Death of George Fox (2024)George Fox (1624-1691) was the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, which he organized in 1650 to protest the overly formal religion of his time. Fox believed that creeds and scriptures were unimportant in religion; all that really counted was the divine light of Christ as it manifested itself in all people. Church was merely a gathering of friends who were guided by the Inner Light and who were thus able to provide guidance for each other. Quakers all over the world observe the anniversary of their founder's death in their meetinghouses. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: inncaravanserai - A type of inn in Eastern countries where caravans are put up. More... harbergery - An inn or place of entertainment. More... inn - Etymologically a place "in" which people live or stay, from Proto-Germanic innam. More... | |