Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 1, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gratify
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Forming the First ConditionalThe first conditional is very similar in structure to the zero conditional. We still use "if" plus the present simple to create the condition, except that we now use what tense to describe a probable result of the condition? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Master of the Playing CardsThe Master of the Playing Cards lived in Germany in the mid-1400s and is today recognized as the first great printmaking expert. Unusually, he was likely an artist as well as an engraver, and he possessed a distinctive artistic style. Attempts to identify him have failed. He is noted for a set of playing cards that feature finely detailed, realistic illustrations. The cards are organized into five suits, which differ entirely from the four suits used in playing cards today. What were they? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 BBC Report: Spaghetti Grows on Trees (1957)An estimated 8 million unsuspecting viewers were watching the BBC's trusted current affairs program Panorama when it aired one of the first televised hoaxes in history, a 3-minute report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Afterwards, the station received calls from hundreds of curious viewers, including some who wanted information on cultivating their own spaghetti plants. In the report, the year's abundant spaghetti crop was attributed to a mild winter and the near-elimination of what pest? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 William Harvey (1578)The personal doctor of kings James I and Charles I, Harvey was an English physician whom many credit with laying the foundation of modern medicine. Although his work was not fully substantiated until centuries later, he contributed greatly to the advance of comparative anatomy and embryology. Most importantly, he was the first to demonstrate the function of the heart and complete circulation of the blood, a feat that is especially remarkable because it was accomplished without the aid of what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 It was on one of those mornings, common in early spring, when the year, fickle and changeable in its youth like all other created things, is undecided whether to step backward into winter or forward into summer.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
hold (someone) in good stead— Especially of a talent, ability, or experience, to prove particularly useful or beneficial to someone in the future. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (2024)The Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, and also on April 1. St. Mary was a sinful, lustful woman who repented and became devout. She is seen as the least worthy person, who through God's mercy became a treasure chosen by God. She is revered as a patron saint of penitent women. On the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, St. Mary of Egypt is the subject of sermons during the Divine Liturgy. On this day, Orthodox priests typically bless dried fruit after the services. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: trunkbillet - A civilian house where soldiers are lodged temporarily; a billet is also a thick piece of wood, from Latin billa/billus, "branch, trunk." More... trunk - As a box or chest, it was originally made from a tree trunk. More... bole - Another name for the trunk of a tree. More... stocky - A derivative of stock, which first meant "trunk, block of wood," in Old English. More... | |