Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 29, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Understanding Tenses in EnglishGrammatical tense refers to the conjugation of a verb to reflect its place in time—that is, when the action occurred. There are technically only two grammatical tenses in English: the past and the present. Why is English considered not to have a true future tense? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bog BodiesBecause of their extreme acidity, bogs form a natural preservative and have been found to be a valuable repository of human remains. Over the past two centuries, hundreds of bodies—some of which date back 10,000 years—have been recovered from bogs throughout Europe. These unusually preserved corpses often remain so intact that even intricate details like tattoos and fingerprints can still be distinguished. How did many of the people whose remains have been recovered from the bogs die? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mountainside Collapses on Town in Alberta, Canada (1903)Before dawn on April 29, 1903, millions of tons of limestone tumbled from the face of Alberta's Turtle Mountain onto the valley below, burying several buildings on the outskirts of the coal mining town of Frank. Though dozens were killed, only a handful of bodies were recovered from the debris. Scientists believe the slide was caused by a number of factors and speculate that another slide will likely occur. What legends about the slide arose in its aftermath and continue to persist today? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Arbuthnot (1667)Greatly admired in his time, Arbuthnot was a Scottish scientist, mathematician, and satirist. The court physician to Queen Anne, he is best remembered for his five "John Bull" pamphlets, political satires on the Whig war policy that introduced the character John Bull, a personification of England akin to the American Uncle Sam. With his friends Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Gay, Arbuthnot was a founding member of the famous Scriblerus Club, an organization devoted to what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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keep the lid on (something)— To quash or suppress something; to control something so as to keep it from flourishing, increasing, or succeeding. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Stanford Antigua Sailing Week (2024)The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is famous for stiff easterly trade winds, which are ideal for sailing. Thus, it is little wonder that Antigua is the site of a major international sailing event that draws racing fans and yachting enthusiasts from all over the world. The first Antigua Sailing Week took place in 1968; since then, the regatta has expanded to include as many as 1,500 sailors and 200 yachts of various sizes that compete in 16 different classes. Nearly every day of Sailing Week, yachts face off in courses of various distances and orientations toward the wind. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perfumesilence - Lack of flavor in a distilled spirit or lack of scent in a flower, perfume, or spice is a "silence." More... perfume, eau de toilette, cologne, eau de cologne - Perfume or parfum is 20–40% oil and the highest concentration; eau de toilette is 10–18% oil, and cologne or eau de cologne is 3–9% oil. More... attar - A flower's essence, used for perfume. More... toilet water, eau de toilette - Eau de toilette, or toilet water, is a dilute form of perfume. More... | |