Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 11, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sardonic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Alternative QuestionsAlternative questions are questions that provide a choice among two or more answers. These choices might be explicitly stated in the question (identified by the coordinating conjunction "or"), or they might be implied by the context. What are alternative questions also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 OrigamiOrigami is the traditional Japanese art of folding paper into decorative or representative shapes. Its early history is unknown, but it likely developed from the older art of folding cloth. Over the centuries, an extensive literature has developed around the art form, helping spread the practice far beyond Japan's borders. The crane is a favorite subject of the origami tradition. According to legend, anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. What is kirigami? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Oka Crisis (1990)This 1990 confrontation between the Mohawk nation and the town of Oka, Quebec, was the first of several violent conflicts between the First Nations and the Canadian government. It began when developers tried to turn a plot of land into a golf course. Because that land contained a burial ground and sacred pine grove, members of the Mohawk community blockaded the area. Canadian troops were sent in, and a 78-day standoff ensued, ending with the Mohawks' surrender. What happened to the golf course? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Millie and Christine McCoy (1851)Millie and Christine McCoy were American conjoined twins born to slaves and sold to showman J.P. Smith as infants. A rival showman kidnapped the girls, but Smith reclaimed them. He taught them to speak five languages, play music, and sing, and the twins enjoyed a successful career under the stage names "The Two-Headed Nightingale" and "The Eighth Wonder of the World." In 1912, the girls died of tuberculosis just 17 hours apart. What was the title of the book sold at their public appearances? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The weather is like the government, always in the wrong.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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think (someone) hung the moon and the stars— To consider someone to be extraordinary, the best, or exceptionally wonderful. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast Day of the Flemish Community (2023)Each of the autonomous regions of Belgium observes its own feast day. The Flemish Community celebrates its heritage on the anniversary of The Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. On the feast day, all Flemish governmental offices close for the holiday. Various cities, municipalities, and private groups hold cultural events; local Flemings and those resettled throughout the world pause to give a toast to Flanders; and many gather to hear the minister-president of the Flemish Community deliver a speech marking the anniversary. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sedimentdecant - Means to pour wine, taking pains not to disturb any sediment at the bottom; decant comes from Latin de- and canthus, "angular lip of a jug." More... allogenic, allochthonous - Geological material that has been transported and then accumulates elsewhere is allochthonous, and sediment carried by a river is allogenic. More... lithification - The process of compaction of sediment into stone. More... | |