Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 23, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AdjunctsAdjuncts are parts of a sentence that are used to elaborate on or modify other words or phrases in a sentence. What are misplaced modifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Stede Bonnet: The Gentleman PirateIn 1717, a moderately wealthy landowner named Stede Bonnet decided to abandoned his wife and children and become a pirate, even though he had no prior sailing experience. He bought a 60-ton sloop that he named Revenge, outfitted it with 10 guns, and proceeded to capture and plunder vessels along the American coast. After about a year and a half of piracy, during which time he partnered with Blackbeard, he was captured and hanged. Why did Bonnet suddenly decide to become a pirate? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Baltic Way: Millions Join Hands (1989)In 1989, more than a million people formed a human chain more than 373 miles (600 km) long across the three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Known as the "Baltic Way," the demonstration marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, an agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany that secretly divided Poland and gave the Soviet Union control of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland. When did the Soviet Union finally admit the existence of the secret protocol? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Eleftherios Venizelos (1864)Often called "the maker of modern Greece," Venizelos was a Greek revolutionary who became a prominent statesman. After leading an assembly to declare the union of Crete with Greece in 1905, he went to Athens and won an extraordinary popular following. During his first term as Greek premier, he completed the revision of the constitution and led Greece through the Balkan Wars, in which its territory and population were doubled. Facing rebellion in 1935, he fled to France. When did he die? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last.Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a hard pill to swallow— Something, especially a fact or piece of news, that is unpleasant or difficult but which is unavoidable or must be accepted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vulcanalia (2023)Vulcan was the ancient Roman god of volcanic or destructive fire. The Vulcanalia, or festival in honor of Vulcan, was held on August 23, right at the time of year when forest fires might be expected and when the stored grain was in danger of burning. For this reason, Vulcan's cult was very prominent at Ostia, where Rome's grain was stored. At the Vulcanalia, which was observed in Egypt, in Athens, and in Rome, the priest or flamen Volcanis performed a sacrifice, and the heads of families burned small fish they had caught in the Tiber River. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wanderingevagation - Means mental wandering or digression, also a digression in speech or writing. More... mundivagant - Means "wandering around the world." More... vagation - The action of wandering, straying, or departing from the proper or regular course. More... wanderjahr - Literally German for "wander year," it refers to a year of wandering or travel. More... | |