Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 11, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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comestible
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Parentheses with Minor SentencesIt's not uncommon for words and sentence fragments to be used as complete sentences (known as "minor sentences" or "irregular sentences") within parentheses outside of the regular sentence. Why is this often done? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The TamburaThe tambura is a pear-shaped, unfretted lute, usually with four strings, used as a drone in Indian music. It produces a characteristic buzzing sound that is used to set the harmonic foundation for a song without contributing to the melody. The Indian tambura may be related to the Turkish tambur as well as many other similarly-named Asian lutes. Though readily available, electronic tamburas are seen as inferior. Many tamburas are carved from wood, but some are made of what other organic material? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Great Blizzard of '88 Begins (1888)The Great Blizzard of '88 was one of the most severe blizzards in US history. Snowfalls of 40 to 50 in (102 to 127 cm) fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and snowdrifts exceeded 50 ft (15 m) in some places. Railroads were shut down, and people were confined to their houses for up to a week. More than 400 people died from the storm and the ensuing cold, including 200 in New York City alone. What infrastructure changes were made in the aftermath of the storm? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Marius Ivanovich Petipa (1822)The principal creator of the modern classical ballet, Petipa was a French-born Russian dancer and choreographer. He received early training from his ballet-master father and was a dancer in France, Belgium, and Spain before joining the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, where he created several ballets and became chief choreographer in 1869. By his retirement in 1903, he had produced more than 60 ballets for the imperial theatres in St. Petersburg and Moscow, including what performances? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is very difficult to be wholly joyous or wholly sad on this earth. The comic, when it is human, soon takes upon itself a face of pain; and some of our griefs...have their source in weaknesses which must be recognized with smiling compassion as the common inheritance of us all.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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I take it— I imagine this is the case; I presume it to be true (that); it is my understanding (that). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Moshoeshoe's Day (2024)Moshoeshoe (c. 1790-1870) was a leader in South Africa who organized a group of tribes to fight the Zulu warlord Shaka. He called his followers the Basotho people, and although they succeeded in fending off the Zulu, they were drawn into war with Europeans who started settling their territory. In 1966, the Basotho nation became the independent kingdom of Lesotho within the British Commonwealth. The Basotho people honor their founder on this day with a wreath-laying ceremony in the capital city of Maseru, along with sporting events and traditional music and dancing. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: saddleapishamore - A blanket used under a saddle. More... col - A saddle between two mountain peaks, from Latin collum, "neck." More... caparison - A cloth or covering spread over the saddle or harness of a horse, often ornamented; this word can also mean "housings, trappings." More... larigos - The rings on a saddle through which the straps pass. More... | |