Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, October 26, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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crackpot
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ParenthesesParentheses are used to separate information that is not necessary to the structure or meaning of the surrounding text. When can parentheses be replaced by em dashes? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Marine ChronometerBefore the mid-18th century, navigators were unable to accurately determine their longitude at sea. In an effort to encourage innovators to develop a method for precisely determining a ship’s longitude, the British government began offering a prize in 1714. In 1735, John Harrison invented the first timepiece accurate enough to be used in such calculations. He spent the next 30 years improving his chronometer and was awarded a good deal of money as a result. What do ships use to navigate today? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 USA PATRIOT Act Signed into Law (2001)Enacted quickly and with little opposition in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the sweeping USA PATRIOT Act dramatically enhanced the powers of law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies within the US. The bill has since come under increasing scrutiny and criticism, and aspects of it have faced legal challenges in the courts. After it was renewed in 2006, most of its sections became permanent. What section of the act has riled librarians in particular? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles William Post (1854)Post was an American breakfast cereal manufacturer. In the 1880s, while being treated by John H. Kellogg at a health sanitarium, he developed an interest in producing healthful foods like those served by Kellogg. In 1891, he established La Vita Inn, an institute for healing by mental suggestion. After experimenting with breakfast foods, he invented Postum, a coffee substitute after which he named his company, Postum Cereal Co., the precursor to General Foods Corp. What cereals did Post invent? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The connection between dress and war is not far to seek: your finest clothes are those you wear as soldiers.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get this show on the road— To promptly begin or get something started. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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Angam Day (2023)Nauru is an island in the Pacific, about 2,200 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia, and 2,400 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Over the past 100 years, the existence of Nauruans has been threatened a number of times—by tribal disputes in the 1870s and by an influenza epidemic in 1919. During World War II, two-thirds of the population were deported by the Japanese to the Caroline Islands to build airstrips. Angam ("hope") Day on October 26 commemorates the various occasions when the Nauruan population has reached 1,500, considered the minimum number necessary for survival. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leadercoryphaeus - A Greek word meaning "chief," for the leader of a party, sect, school of thought, etc. More... herald - Etymologically, a "leader of an army," from Germanic kharjaz, "army." More... hegemon - A Greek word for "leader." More... nestorian, nestor - Nestorian means wise and aged, and a nestor is a senior figure or leader in one's field. More... | |