Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, January 2, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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voluminous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Uncountable NounsNouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate parts are called uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or non-count nouns). Why is it incorrect to use third-person plural pronouns with uncountable nouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eruption ColumnsVisually similar to nuclear mushroom clouds, eruption columns are massive plumes of hot ash produced during explosive volcanic eruptions. In extreme cases, eruption columns may rise over 25 miles (40 km), penetrating the stratosphere and causing short-term climate change, like the drop in global temperature that followed the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. It is believed that the largest eruptions can cause up to several degrees of global cooling and may be responsible for what phenomena? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Discovery of the Planet Vulcan Is Announced (1860)To account for inconsistencies between Mercury's predicted and observed orbital path, French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier postulated that a tiny, hypothetical planet, which he named Vulcan, was present within Mercury's orbit. Sightings of Vulcan were reported until 1878, and Leverrier died believing he had discovered another planet. Eventually, however, the orbital anomalies were explained by Einstein's general theory of relativity. After what was the hypothetical planet named? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mehmed IV (1642)After the deposition and murder of his father, Sultan Ibrahim, 7-year-old Mehmed IV ascended the throne of the Ottoman Empire. Chaos and corruption followed, and though grand vizier Mehmed Köprülü managed to restore order, the empire suffered severe setbacks. In 1683, the Turks besieged Vienna but were repulsed by King John III of Poland, and a Holy League was formed to carry the war into Ottoman territory. Mehmed was deposed after a Turkish defeat by Charles V of Lorraine. Who succeeded him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The woods are never solitary—they are full of whispering, beckoning, friendly life. But the sea is a mighty soul, forever moaning of some great, unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity…The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only—a mighty voice that drowns our souls in its majestic music. The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of the archangels.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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this, that, and the other— Miscellany; a lot of different, varying things. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Berchtold's Day (2019)In Switzerland, the day after New Year's Day is known as Berchtoldstag and is celebrated primarily by children. Groups of playmates organize parties that feature nut eating and nut games followed by singing and folk dancing. A popular game is the building of "hocks" composed of four nuts placed close together with a fifth balanced on top. The children begin gathering and stockpiling nuts for Berchtold's Day festivities early in the fall. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tiredlanguescent - If you are becoming tired, you are languescent. More... irk - Originally meant "grow tired"; a possible source is Old Norse yrkja, "work." More... lassate - Means tired or weary. More... late - Comes from Indo-European lad-, "slow, weary," which begat Latin lassus, "tired," before English late, meaning "slow." More... | |