Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 2, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - ShouldThe modal verb "should" is used in a variety of ways, including to politely express obligations or duties and to ask for or issue advice. Why is "should" sometimes used instead of "will" or "shall"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The SeabeesThe Seabees are a US Navy unit whose name derives from the two-letter abbreviation of their official title: Construction Battalions. The unit was founded at the start of WWII, and before it was over, more than 325,000 Seabees had fought and built airstrips, bridges, roads, warehouses, hospitals, and housing on six continents and hundreds of islands. Seabees have served in every major conflict since and participate in peacetime goodwill missions. How many Seabees currently serve in the Navy? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 The Monroe Doctrine (1823)In his 1823 address to Congress, US President James Monroe laid out the terms of the American foreign policy that would become known as the Monroe Doctrine, effectively declaring the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization. Concerned that European powers would attempt to restore Spain's former colonies, he declared that any attempt by a European power to control any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as a hostile act. How was the doctrine applied during the Cold War? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Peter Carl Goldmark (1906)A Hungarian engineer and inventor, Goldmark immigrated to the US in 1933 and went to work in the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) laboratories. There he developed the first commercial color television system, but it was not compatible with existing black-and-white television sets and was soon superseded by one that was. Later, he developed the system that would allow the US Lunar Orbiter to relay photographs from the Moon to Earth. What did he invent that revolutionized the recording industry? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Calamities are of two kinds: misfortunes to ourselves, and good fortune to others.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
heave into view— To move or rise into sight, especially from a distance. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 United Arab Emirates National Day (2023)This national holiday commemorates the December 2, 1971, expiration of a British treaty that inhibited self-rule for the sheikhdoms on the Persian Gulf in the eastern Arabian peninsula, and the union of seven of the sheikhdoms in the former Trucial States to become the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates' major cities celebrate National Day on December 2-3. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: countryemancipate - Means "to free from legal, political, social control or restraint by others," and "to free from bondage." The word's Latin elements are manus, "hand," and capere, "to take," and first meant "to release or set free." More... assassin - Thought by some to derive from an Arabic word meaning "hashish user," as members of an Islamic sect in various countries during the time of the Crusades (13th century) ate hashish to intoxicate themselves before setting out to assasinate enemy leaders. More... patriot - Greek pater, "father," led to Latin patriota, "fellow countryman," which was the original meaning of patriot when it came into English in the late 1500s. More... country, nation - Both came into English c. 1330 and tend to be used interchangeably. Country comes from Latin contrata (terra), "the landscape in front of one, the landscape lying opposite to the view." Nation is from Latin nation-/natio, "race, class of person." More... | |