Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 2, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Words with the Same Plural and Singular FormsSome nouns remain the same in singular and plural forms. "Sheep" is one such noun. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Nika RiotsNearly half of Constantinople was destroyed and some 30,000 people were killed in the Nika riots of 532 CE. Chariot racing was quite popular at the time, and rivalries between the fans of competing teams often became mingled with political or religious disputes, sometimes leading to riots. The Nika riots began when spectators at a chariot racing event, angered by the emperor's refusal to pardon two rioters accused of murder, started attacking his palace. How was the rebellion finally suppressed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pontiac's Rebellion: Ojibwas Capture Fort Michilimackinac (1763)In 1763, immediately after the French and Indian Wars, several Native American tribes allied against the British in an uprising that became known as Pontiac's Rebellion, after the Ottawa leader Pontiac. They captured and destroyed many British outposts. On the day of the surprise attack on Fort Michilimackinac, the Ojibwas, or Chippewas, approached the fort without arousing suspicion among the watching British soldiers by staging a game of baaga'adowe—the precursor of what modern sport? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.png) The Marquis de Sade (1740)Described by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire as "the freest spirit that has yet existed," the Marquis de Sade was a French novelist and philosopher infamous for his wildly liberal lifestyle and erotic writings. The term "sadism" derives from his depictions of violent behavior, and he spent decades in prisons and insane asylums for his scandalous actions. How did he try to incite a riot at the Bastille, where he was imprisoned just days before it was stormed by French revolutionaries? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Circus, n.: A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women, and children acting the fool.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in the next breath— (especially when speaking) In or at the very next moment or opportunity; in a very short space of time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Israel Festival (Jerusalem) (2024)This three-week festival, founded in 1961, is primarily dedicated to Israeli arts and culture, although guest conductors and performers from other countries are featured as well. There are symphony and choral concerts, opera, ballet and modern dance, theater, jazz, folklore, films, and art exhibitions at several locations in Jerusalem. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has performed with guest conductors like Zubin Mehta and Leonard Bernstein, and Israeli dance groups offer both traditional and modern programs. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: oddsacross the board - An allusion to the board displaying the odds in a horse race. More... rubble - Comes from Anglo-Norman robel, "bits of broken stone," from earlier French robe, "loot, odds and ends stolen." More... ironic - Something is ironic if the result is the opposite of what was intended; an ironic event is an incongruous event, one at odds with what might have been expected. More... odds and ends - The first official odds and ends were found in lumberyards—odds were pieces of board split irregularly by the sawmill, ends were pieces trimmed from boards that were cut to specific lengths. More... | |