Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
surfeit
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining GerundsA gerund is the "-ing" form of a verb when it functions grammatically as a noun in a sentence. Gerunds can either stand alone, or they can take a noun (the object of the gerund) and/or modifier(s) to form what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 OddfellowsOddfellows are some of the earliest friendly societies—mutual aid organizations formed to protect members against debts incurred through illness, death, or old age using what are now the basic principles of insurance. Though they date back to at least the 18th century in England, their early history is obscure. Some trace the Oddfellows' origins back to the Israelites' exile from Babylon in the 6th century BCE, but they more likely evolved from medieval guilds. What makes these fellows "odd"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Horace Walpole Coins the Word "Serendipity" (1754)Defined as the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident, the word "serendipity" was first coined in 1754 by English author Horace Walpole in one of his more than 3,000 letters. In it, he explains that the root of his new word is taken from "The Three Princes of Serendip," a Persian fairytale about princes who "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of." Who was the recipient of Walpole's letter introducing "serendipity"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz (1890)Stroud was a convicted murderer serving time in prison when he came across some injured sparrows in the Leavenworth prison yard. He kept the birds and soon began raising canaries, which he could sell for supplies and to help support his mother. Using equipment furnished by a new warden, Stroud created an aviary and became an expert in avian pathology, writing two books on the subject and developing a cure for hemorrhagic septicemia. How much of his sentence was spent in solitary confinement? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Revenge triumphs over death; love slights it; honor aspireth to it; grief flieth to it; fear preoccupateth it.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
have (something) to do— To have some task or action that one must complete or undertake. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (2024)The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is a celebration of the old tradition of cowboy poetry in the buckaroo town of Elko, Nevada. The gathering, which began in 1985 with about 50 working cowboys, has become a six-day affair in the last week of January that now includes folk-music concerts, western dances, exhibits of cowboy gear, and workshops not only on writing but also on such topics as horse-hair braiding and photography. Poetry remains the heart of the festival, and the poets—all working ranch people—include men, women, and children. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: poultryfowl, poultry - Chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkey are fowl in the wild and poultry if domesticated. More... free range - Supposed to mean that poultry is allowed to roam without being confined and is fed naturally grown crops, consuming only a vegetarian diet. More... poultry, pullet - Poultry is derived from Latin pullus, "young animal" or "chicken"; a pullet is a young hen between the ages of a chicken and a mature fowl. More... alektorophobia - Fear of chickens. More... | |