Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 10, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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greensward
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Comparative AdverbsComparative adverbs, like comparative adjectives, are used to describe differences and similarities between two things. Comparative adverbs and comparative adjectives sometimes have the same form. However, even when the forms are the same, how can we tell the difference between the two? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Gin CrazeIn 18th-century London, an unprecedented rise in the popularity of gin led to a decades-long epidemic of extreme public drunkenness known as the Gin Craze. Moral outrage and legislative action ensued. Between 1729 and 1751, a series of laws were passed to control gin consumption. Often, such laws resulted in mass law-breaking. Lower wages, rising food prices, and the unprofitability of gin production eventually conspired to end the craze. How had gin become so popular in the first place? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat Share Nobel Peace Prize (1978)In 1978, a historic peace summit was held between Israel and Egypt at the US presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. Now known as the Camp David Accords, the pact was signed in 1979 by Begin, the Israeli prime minister, and Sadat, the Egyptian president—who shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts—with US President Jimmy Carter as a witness. Under the pact, which was denounced by other Arab states, Israel agreed to return the Sinai to Egypt. What happened after the accord was signed? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Melvil Dewey (1851)In 1876, while working as a college librarian, Dewey developed a decimal-based system for organizing the contents of a library by subject category, indicated by a three-digit numeral, with further specification expressed by numerals following a decimal point. He established the first library training school and the American Library Association and is also credited with inventing the vertical office file. A cofounder of the Spelling Reform Association, Dewey respelled his own name in what way? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There, then, he sat, the sign and symbol of a man without faith, hopelessly holding up hope in the midst of despair.Herman Melville (1819-1891) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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high profile— A presence or stance that is deliberately conspicuous and prominent socially. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Whirling Dervish Festival (2023)Each year up to a million people flood Konya, Turkey, on the anniversary of the death of the poet and Sufi Islamic mystic Jelaluddin al-Rumi. Rumi's teachings are the basis for the Sufi Muslim order known as Mevlevi, which uses music and dance to experience spiritual ecstasy. Leading up to December 17, thousands of visitors arrive to partake of exhibits and lectures related to Rumi and the Mevlevi order. At the climax of the festival, the Mevlevis perform their whirling dance, wearing costumes that feature white trousers, a full white overskirt, and tall cylindrical hats. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: magicaeaeae - Meaning "magic," it is derived from aealae artes, "magic arts." More... elicit - Comes from a Latin stem meaning "draw forth by magic or trickery." More... glamour - First meant "magic, enchantment" or "art of contriving magic spells." More... magic - Named for the magi, who were regarded as magicians. More... | |