Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
whirlybird
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Future Simple TenseThe simplest way we create the future simple tense is by using the modal verb "will" + the bare infinitive (without "to") of the main verb of the sentence. How else can the future simple tense be formed? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The 51st StateIn American politics, the phrase "51st state" is used to refer to a territory that might be considered for inclusion in the US. With about 600,000 residents, the District of Columbia is regarded as a potential candidate, as is Puerto Rico, which is currently a self-governing commonwealth of the US. The term is also sometimes used to disparage a country that is perceived to be under American influence or to be too Americanized. Which US state has the right to divide itself into multiple states? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Fire of Moscow Breaks Out (1812)Described in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, the Battle of Borodino was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars. An estimated 100,000 people died in the battle between the Russian forces of General Mikhail Kutuzov and Napoleon's Grande Armée. After severely battering but not totally defeating the Russians, Napoleon's forces marched the 70 miles (110 km) to Moscow and entered the city. As the population evacuated, fires engulfed much of the city. Who caused them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Margaret Higgins Sanger (1879)Sanger married and had three children before becoming active in the women's labor movement and the Socialist Party. Convinced that control over childbearing was the key to female emancipation, she published a pamphlet in 1914 in which she called for legalization of contraception and coined the term "birth control." Founder of the organization that became Planned Parenthood, Sanger remains controversial for her views on contraception as well as race. Sanger was the sixth of how many children? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
have a voice (in something)— To have an active and participatory role in making or influencing a decision about something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Día de los Charros (2023)Today's Mexican charros are more sportsmen than cowboys or ranchers. On September 14, the day before the Mexico Festival of Independence, many of the charro associations organize parades and rodeos. The jaripeo, or rodeo, generally consists of 10 or more events involving special horse-handling skills and exhibitions of various tricks. Perhaps the most difficult trick is the paso de la muerte (death's pass), where the charro pursues a wild horse, switching from his own horse's saddle to the back of the wild horse at full gallop. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: pursuitdachshund - German for "badger hound," from its original breeding purpose to pursue a badger (etc.) that has taken refuge in a burrow. More... invite - Comes from Latin invitare, from an Indo-European root meaning "to go after something, pursue with vigor, desire." More... logology - The pursuit of word puzzles; also the science of words. More... sue - From Latin sequi, "follow," it first meant "follow, go in pursuit of." More... | |