Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 1, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hoagie
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Mitigators vs. IntensifiersMitigators are the opposite of intensifiers, which are used to increase the intensity of the words they modify. "Very" is an example of an intensifier. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Sprinkler SprinkledL'Arroseur Arrosé, or The Sprinkler Sprinkled, is an 1895 French silent film that contains the earliest known instance of film comedy and is the first film to portray a fictional story. Produced and directed by Louis Lumière, the film portrays a practical joke in which a boy torments a gardener by stepping on his garden hose, cutting off its water supply. When the gardener begins examining the nozzle, the boy lifts his foot, and the man is sprayed in the face. How long is the film? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Founding of the Illuminati (1776)The Illuminati were members of a rationalistic society founded in Germany by Adam Weishaupt. Having close affinities with the Freemasons and seemingly organized on a Masonic plan, the group was briefly very popular among German rationalists but had limited influence. The Roman Catholic Church, which Weishaupt left in his youth and rejoined before his death, condemned the Illuminati. In 1785, the Bavarian government dissolved the organization. What conspiracy theories involve the Illuminati? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Calamity Jane (1852)Born Martha Jane Canary, Calamity Jane was a legendary American frontierswoman. She grew up in Montana and worked in mining camps, where she acquired riding and shooting skills. In 1876, she appeared in Deadwood, South Dakota, the site of new gold strikes, boasting of her marksmanship and her exploits as a pony-express rider and as a scout with Custer's forces. It was there that she likely met Wild Bill Hickok, who would become her companion. How did Jane claim to have acquired her nickname? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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fingers crossed— An expression of hope that something one desires will come to pass or turn out to be true. A truncated version of the phrase "keep your fingers crossed." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Beltane (2024)Beltane is the Celtic name for the first day of May, which divided the ancient Celtic year in half. It was believed that each day began with the setting of the sun the night before, so Beltane was celebrated by lighting bonfires to honor the sun god. Contact with the fire was symbolic of contact with the life-giving sun. The day is still observed in parts of Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, Wales, Brittany, and the Isle of Man, with most of the celebrations revolving around fire and reflecting ancient fertility rites. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: notchcrenelation, crenelle - A crenelation (from Latin crena, "notch") is a series of indentations or loopholes around the top of a castle, battlement, or wall—with each indentation being a crenelle (or crenel). More... carf, kerf - A cut or notch in timber is a carf or kerf—which are also used to describe the width of such a cut. More... dent - As in "notch," it comes from the French word for tooth; its original meaning was "blow, stroke" in general. More... score - First a notch used to keep count, as on a stick. More... | |