Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 11, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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incumbency
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Which Quantifier to Use with Uncountable NounsCertain quantifiers can only be used with uncountable nouns, while others can only modify countable nouns. "Fewer" and "less" cause particular confusion. Which of those two quantifiers is used to modify uncountable nouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Walpurgis NightCelebrated in parts of Europe on April 30 or May 1, Walpurgis Night is a holiday influenced by both Pagan and Christian traditions. It is named after Saint Walpurga, whose holy day coincides with various Pagan spring customs, including the commemoration of the Norse god Odin's self-sacrificing retrieval of the knowledge of the runes. On this night, the boundary between the living and dead is allegedly weakened. Who is said to gather in Germany's Harz mountains on Walpurgis Night? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Mount Everest Disaster (1996)During the spring climbing season in 1996, 15 people died trying to reach the summit of Mount Everest, making it the deadliest season in the mountain's history. Eight of the deaths occurred on a single day in May, when climbers were caught by a fierce storm. The disaster was chronicled in a number of books, including one by journalist Jon Krakauer, who was on assignment writing about the commercialization and overcrowding of Everest. What non-weather factors contributed to the deaths that day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Martha Graham (1894)In a career spanning more than half a century, American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham transformed the art of dance with her revolutionary style and choreography. Her technique became the first significant alternative to classical ballet, and her influence extended worldwide through her students, many of whom went on to become choreographers themselves. One of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, Graham was the first dancer ever to perform at the White House and to receive what honor? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A boy's love comes from a full heart; a man's is more often the result of a full stomach. Indeed, a man's sluggish current may not be called love, compared with the rushing fountain that wells up when a boy's heart is struck with the heavenly rod.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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feel like a new man/woman— To feel completely refreshed and in good health and spirits, especially after an exhausting or debilitating experience. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Frost Saints' Days (2018)These three consecutive days in May mark the feasts of St. Mammertus, St. Pancras, and St. Servatus. In the wine-growing districts of France, a severe cold spell occasionally strikes at this time of year, inflicting serious damage on the grapevines; some in rural France have believed that it is the result of their having offended one of the three saints, who for this reason are called the "frost saints." French farmers have been known to show their displeasure over a cold snap at this time of year by flogging the statues and defacing the pictures of Mammertus, Pancras, and Servatus. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: selectelegant - Comes from Latin eligere, "select." More... eximious - Means "choice, excellent, select," or "distinguished." More... garble - Originally meant "to sort out" or "to select in a biased way," and was applied to the selection and sorting out of individual passages from a person's writings or any separation of the good from the bad, of a selection of the worst and setting aside the better; it evolved to mean "to jumble, scramble." More... select - From Latin legere, "choose," with the prefix se-, "apart." More... | |
| In the News | |
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How Did Birds Lose Their Teeth And Get Their Beaks? Study Offers CluesScientists are one step closer to understanding how modern birds evolved to have beaks, and the answer starts millions of years ago with some of the sexiest dinosaurs. Modern gulls, with their large eyes, long beaks and distinctly ancient-looking and ... More... | |