Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 3, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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heart-to-heart
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Action VerbsThere are many different categories of verbs that describe different kinds of actions or states of being. Action verbs describe an active process that results in an effect. What are these verbs also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Newton's RingsWhen a curved glass surface, such as a convex lens, is placed against a flat piece of glass and illuminated by monochromatic light, a series of alternating bright and dark concentric bands, known as Newton’s rings, appears around the point of contact between the curved and flat glass. Though several scientists had observed the phenomenon before him, it was named for Isaac Newton, who analyzed it in detail. Why are the outer rings usually spaced more closely together than the inner rings? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Columbus Sets Sail for the New World (1492)By his early 30s, Columbus had become a master mariner in the Portuguese merchant service. Convinced that he could reach land by sailing west, he requested ships to attempt such a voyage from both John II of Portugal and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain but was repeatedly rebuffed. Finally, after eight years of supplication by Columbus, the Spanish monarchs decided to risk the enterprise. He sailed from Spain with three small ships and, after sailing for more than two months, reached what island? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Paxton (1803)Paxton was an English architect noted for his use of glass and iron in a manner that anticipated modern methods. He began his career as a landscape gardener and built two innovative greenhouses for the duke of Devonshire. These "glass houses" later served as a model for the Crystal Palace, made of iron and glass, which Paxton designed and built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was knighted for the success of his design. One of Paxton's greenhouses was designed solely to house what plant? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a ground ball with eyes— In baseball, a ball that is hit onto the ground and narrowly eludes two or more infielders, allowing the batter to take a base. It is said to have "eyes" because it seems to "see" its way between the two defensive players. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nebuta Matsuri (2023)Nebuta Matsuri, the main festival of Aomori Prefecture in Japan, features processions of huge, elaborately painted papier-mâché figures called nebuta. In the capital city of Aomori, the nebuta figures, up to 49 feet wide and 26 feet high, depict ferociously scowling samurai warriors. Illuminated from within by candles, they glow as they are carried through the streets at nightfall. Spectators wear hats made of flowers and dance in the streets. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mushroommushroom - Before it was a mushroom, it was called either toadstool or funge, from Latin fungus; small mushrooms are called "buttons," medium-sized ones are "cups," and the largest are "flat" or "open" mushrooms. More... fly agaric - A mushroom with a narcotic juice that, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. More... pileated - Etymologically means "capped," like a mushroom, but now refers to a bird with a crest on the top of the head from the bill to the nape. More... shiitake - Japanese for "evergreen beech, chinquapin" (shii) and "mushroom" (take). More... | |