Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 28, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
camion
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Aspects of the Present TenseWe use different aspects with verbs in the present tense to describe exactly how an event is structured in relation to the present moment in time. What is the present simple structure used to express? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Dry QuicksandConsidered a mythic substance until recently, dry quicksand is loose sand that behaves like ordinary quicksand but contains no water and operates in a different manner. Though accounts of whole caravans being swallowed up by the substance have been discounted as folklore, researchers have demonstrated that aerating fine sand reduces its bulk density and creates a dry quicksand that could envelop an entire vehicle. How did fear of dry quicksand affect the planning of the Apollo moon missions? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Harvard College Is Founded (1636)Founded with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard College was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard. He bequeathed his books and about £780 to the fledgling college. The oldest and one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the US, Harvard originally trained Puritan ministers. Today, it has the largest university endowment in the US, estimated at more than $25 billion in 2009. Why did Harvard athletes first adopt the color red? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Evelyn Waugh (1903)Waugh was an English novelist who is widely considered the greatest satirist of his generation. His novels, characterized by sardonic wit, technical brilliance, and his devoted Catholicism, include A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. Waugh also wrote amusing travel books. After service in World War II, he led a retired life, and his writing grew increasingly misanthropic. In 1925, Waugh's suicide attempt was thwarted when he was coincidentally attacked by what animal? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Affection is the broadest basis of good in life.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
a shame— An unfortunate situation. The term is used either in consolation or ironically. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Señor de los Milagros (2017)A religious brotherhood affiliated with the church of Las Nazarenas in Lima, Peru, has maintained an annual devotional procession that began in the 17th century and centers on a painting of Christ, known as Señor de los Milagros, or Lord of the Miracles. Many men are required to carry the two-ton litter, upon which rests the portion of the wall with the painting. The procession attracts thousands of people, making it one of the most well attended processions in South America. Along the route, food stands offer numerous delicacies, especially the traditional sweet, Turrón de Doña Pepa. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: rabbitsbuck teeth - Large front teeth protruding over the others; the phrase may come from buck, the adult male of some animals, such as rabbits—which have this type of front teeth. More... hightail it - Refers to animals, such as mustangs and rabbits, that raise their tails high when fleeing danger. More... trattles - The rounded droppings of animals like rabbits and sheep. More... angora - As in cat, goat, and rabbit, it comes from the Turkish capital Angora (till 1930), now Ankara. More... | |
| In the News | |
|---|---|
Cave-Dwelling Millipede Has 414 Legs and an Unusual Number of Other Appendages, TooMillipedes, the little blunt-headed invertebrates with a habit of coiling up like baby ferns, rarely live up their name. In Latin, millipede means “thousand feet,” though the majority of the arthropods do not surpass the hundred-leg mark. That is not ... More... | |