Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 21, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past Continuous TenseAlso called the past progressive, the past continuous tense is used to describe something that was in progress at a certain moment in the past. Why is it called the past continuous? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MorgellonsThough not officially recognized as a disease, Morgellons is a condition associated with a range of cutaneous symptoms, including crawling, biting, and stinging sensations, persistent skin lesions, and the presence of fibers on or under the skin. Most health professionals consider Morgellons a manifestation of other known medical conditions, including delusional parasitosis, a form of psychosis in which sufferers believe they are infested with parasites. What is known about the unusual fibers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Hindu Milk Miracle (1995)On September 21, 1995, news spread around the world that Hindu worshippers in India and several other countries were experiencing what they considered a miracle. At numerous temples, thousands of Hindus were spooning offerings of milk to statutes of deities, especially the elephant-headed god Ganesha, and claiming that the milk—which appeared to disappear from the spoons—was being miraculously consumed by the gods. What scientific explanation was given for the phenomenon? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Loudon McAdam (1756)McAdam was a Scottish engineer who invented a process called "macadamization." After noting the poor condition of the highways near his estate, he recommended that roads be raised above the adjacent ground for good drainage and then covered, first with large stones then with small stones, and bound with fine gravel. It was perhaps the greatest advance in road construction since Roman times and became known as "tarmac," short for "tarmacadam." What was the first macadam road in North America? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 So the days pass, and I ask myself sometimes whether one is not hypnotized, as a child by a silver globe, by life, and whether this is living.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have got to (do something)— To be obligated, obliged, or required to (do something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Armenia Independence Day (2023)On September 21, 1991, the Armenian people voted in favor of independence from the USSR; they were granted independence on December 26 of that year, by which time the former Soviet Union had collapsed. Armenia had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: privatecloset - First denoted a private or small room. More... privilege - Derives from Latin privus, "private," and leg/lex, "law." More... privity - The state of being private or secret. More... secretary - Comes from Latin, meaning "confidential officer," and first denoted a person, such as a confidant, entrusted with private or secret matters; it should be pronounced SEK-ruh-tair-ee. More... | |