Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 24, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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comedo
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Proper AdjectivesProper adjectives, like all adjectives, modify nouns, but they are different from other adjectives because they are actually formed from proper nouns. Why are proper adjectives typically used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 RubiesRubies are precious gemstones that range in color from light pink to blood red and are second only to the diamond in hardness. They are found chiefly in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka and are classified among the most valuable of gems. The rare star ruby, which shows an internal star-shaped formation when cut into a cabochon, is an example of a gemstone whose value is actually increased by an inclusion. Why can rubies be found beneath building foundations in some Asian countries? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Japanese WWII Soldier Found Hiding in Guam Jungle (1972)Shoichi Yokoi was a Japanese soldier who went into hiding in the jungles of Guam in 1944 as Allied forces took the island; 28 years later, he was still there. He had hidden in an underground cave, fearing to come out of hiding even after finding leaflets declaring that WWII had ended. In 1972, he was found by hunters and returned to Japan. He was the third-to-last Japanese soldier to surrender after the war, before Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura. What did Yokoi allegedly say upon his return? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hadrian (76 CE)The nephew of Roman emperor Trajan, Hadrian became emperor when he was adopted and named successor just before Trajan's death, after years of intrigue. After executing his senatorial opponents and abandoning many of Trajan's conquests, he began to travel widely, and many of his accomplishments were related to his visits abroad, including the beginning of construction of Hadrian's Wall. The wall is one of the largest and most significant remains of the Roman occupation of what area? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We must eat to live and live to eat.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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gut-wrenching— Agonizing; extremely distressing, unpleasant, or emotionally disturbing; having a severe effect on one's feelings. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Alasitas Fair (2024)Each year on this day, a large marketplace in La Paz, Bolivia, is full of merchants who traditionally call out "Alasitas," an Aymara word meaning "buy from me," to potential buyers of their miniature wares. Shoppers can find tiny replicas of just about every kind of object—cars, houses, foods, furniture, clothes, tools, household goods, and, especially, money—and seek those which represent items they would like to have in the coming year. Presiding over all this downsized commerce is Ekeko, an Aymara god of material wealth, fertility, and good luck. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: metaphortrope - A figurative or metaphorical use of a word or phrase. More... ingrain, ingrained - Ingrain literally means "work into the grain" (originally, of fabric), and ingrained is metaphorically "deep-seated." More... farce - First meant forcemeat stuffing and came to be used metaphorically when a humorous play was "stuffed" in between two more serious acts of the main theatrical presentation—or for interludes of impromptu buffoonery in a dramatic presentation. More... relieve - Metaphorically, to "alleviate, lighten," from Latin relevare, "raise again." More... | |