Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 3, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
prevaricate
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Dependent ClausesA dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a clause that relies on the information from an independent clause to form a complete, logical thought. What are dependent words? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Diamond SutraThe Diamond Sutra is a Buddhist wisdom text. Written in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha Gautama and a questioning disciple, it emphasizes the fleeting nature of the material world and posits that enlightenment cannot be achieved through rational thought. A wood block-printed copy of the sutra held at the British Library is the earliest known printed text with a date—868 CE—predating the Gutenberg Bible by about 587 years. The copy, in scroll form, is roughly how many feet long? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 March of Dimes Established by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1938)The March of Dimes is a US charity whose mission is to improve the health of babies. It was founded with the goal of eradicating polio, one of the most dreaded diseases of the 20th century, during the tenure of President Roosevelt, who himself contracted what was thought to be polio in 1921. The national, nonpartisan organization initially raised funds for research by urging the public to contribute a dime to the effort and came to be called the March of Dimes, but its original name was what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Cicero (106 BCE)Cicero was a statesman, philosopher, unsurpassed master of Latin prose, and one of Rome's greatest orators. His writings introduced the Romans to Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary. He was a prolific author, and his letters reveal a wealth of information about Roman life and politics. As an active politician and leader of the senatorial party, he was at times hailed as a hero, but he also made enemies who contributed to his exile and, later, his execution for what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 It is the same with man as with the tree ... The more he seeketh to rise into the height and light, the more vigorously do his roots struggle earthward, downward, into the dark and deep—into the evil.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
be honor-bound to do (something)— To be or feel obliged to do something because it is morally correct or required by one's sense of duty or integrity, even if one does not desire to do so. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Ball-Catching Festival (2024)This 500-year-old tradition, said to have its roots in the legend of a dragon god (Ryujin) offering two balls to the Empress Jingu (170–269), takes place each year in Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka City, Japan. Two teams of Japanese men, wearing only loincloths (fundoshi), compete for a ball that weighs about 18 pounds; these teams consist of the Land Team, made up of farmers who work the fields, and the Sea team, composed of fishermen. A Shinto priest awaits the winner to hand him the ball—the size of the harvest or of the catch during the new year is determined by which team wins. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: meltingfondue - Comes from French fondre, "to melt." More... relent, resolve - Relent and resolve originally meant "melt, dissolve" in literal (under the influence of heat) and figurative senses. More... eliquate - To melt or liquefy. More... clarify - To make clear by removing impurities or solid matter, as by heating gently; to purify butter by melting. More... | |