Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, October 19, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ragbag
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Regular and Irregular VerbsRegular verbs form the past simple tense and past participle the same way (-d or -ed), while irregular verbs do not adhere to a distinct or predictable pattern. What common verb is known as a "highly irregular" verb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 ChulalongkornChulalongkorn was the king of Siam—now Thailand—from 1868 to 1910. Educated in part by a British governess, Anna Leonowens, he greatly advanced the Westernization that was begun by his father, King Mongkut. He departed from tradition by traveling abroad—to Singapore, Java, and India in 1871 and to Europe in 1897. He abolished slavery and introduced numerous reforms, which, along with his foreign policy, kept Siam from being colonized for decades. How many children did Chulalongkorn have? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Streptomycin Is First Isolated (1943)After coining the word "antibiotic" for bacteria-killing chemicals derived from micro-organisms, American microbiologist Selman A. Waksman, working with Albert Schatz, isolated streptomycin—the fourth antibiotic ever discovered. Waksman won the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery. Streptomycin acts by inhibiting protein synthesis and damaging cell membranes. Produced by soil bacteria, it was the first specific agent effective in the treatment of what disease? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown (1876)Nicknamed "Three Finger" by the press because a farming accident in his youth cost him parts of two fingers on his right hand, Brown was one of the top Major League Baseball pitchers at the turn of the 20th century. He used his injury to his advantage, developing a unique grip on the ball that produced an unusual amount of spin, baffling batters. Over the course of his major league career, Brown won 239 games and lost just 130. With what team did he win two World Series championships? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
be in tall cotton— To be in a time or period of great success or wellbeing; to be doing very well. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Yorktown Day (2023)On October 19, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington's Allied troops at Yorktown, Virginia. The Battle of Yorktown is widely considered to mark the end of the Revolutionary War. Yorktown Day activities held at the Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown include a commemorative placing of a wreath at the French Monument and the Monument to Alliance and Victory. There are also 18th-century tactical demonstrations, a parade of military and civilian units, and musical presentations by fife and drum units. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: joiningapse - From Latin apsis, meaning "fastening together," it is based on the notion that a vaulted space seems to be the joining together of arcs to form a circle. More... syssarcosis - The joining of two or more bones by muscle. More... couple - Its underlying notion is of "joining," coming from Latin copula, "connection, tie." More... conjugal - From Latin conjugare, "join together (in marriage)"—from com-, "together," and jugare, "yoke"—it has an underlying notion of "joining together." More... | |