Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 5, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Complex SentencesComplex sentences are made up of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. What introduces and links the dependent clause to the independent clause? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Trojan Room Coffee PotThe Trojan Room coffee pot, a coffee pot located in the so-called "Trojan Room" of Cambridge University's computer laboratory, inspired the development of world's first webcam in 1991. A camera aimed at the pot allowed people throughout the building—and eventually Internet users worldwide—to see a live image of the coffee pot on their computers and judge whether a trip to the coffee room would be worthwhile at any given moment. What happened to the pot after the webcam was switched off in 2001? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Louis XV of France Survives Assassination Attempt (1757)Louis XV was king of France from 1715 to 1774. An orphan from age three, Louis succeeded to the throne upon the death of his great-grandfather Louis XIV, under the regency of the duke of Orléans. In 1757, the unpopular king was stabbed in the side by Robert Damiens. Convinced he was dying, Louis called for a confessor and begged his wife to forgive his infidelities. The small blade had, however, done little damage, and the king survived. How did Voltaire mock the king's allegedly shallow wound? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alvin Ailey, Jr. (1931)American choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey, Jr., formed his own company, the American Dance Theater—now called the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater—in 1958. Multiracial since 1963, Ailey's dance company has been internationally acclaimed and has brought recognition to many African-American and Asian dancers. His works, influenced by jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and modern dance, explore a wide range of black experience, from gospel music to social inequality. What is his most popular work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy.Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hot desking— The act or practice of sharing desks or workstations between employees in an office so as to cut down on the amount of office space required. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Epiphany Eve (2024)Also known in Austria as the Vigil of Epiphany, there is traditionally a special feast on this night during which an Epiphany cake is served. Three beans are concealed in the cake—two white, one black—and whoever finds a bean gets to dress up as one of the Three Wise Men or Holy Kings. The one with the black bean dresses up as the African king, Balthasar, by rubbing his face with soot or shoe polish. On Epiphany Day the three kings are the guests of honor at the table. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: removalbeheadment - The removal of an initial letter of a word to form a new word (e.g. blather becomes lather). More... curtailment - The removal of the last letter of a word to leave another word (e.g. goon becomes goo). More... detail - Comes from French de-, "removal," and tailler, "cut in pieces," and means "to relate or describe minutely." More... water softening - The removal of calcium and magnesium ions from water, or their replacement with sodium, either by chemical reaction or by ion exchange. More... | |