Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 22, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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degage
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Infinitive PhrasesInfinitives are used to express an action as a concept, rather than what is being done or performed by the subject of a clause. In this way, they can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. They can also form infinitive phrases when combined with what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Green ManA legendary pagan spirit later adopted by the Christian church, the Green Man is often depicted as a male figure covered in foliage or as a face surrounded by, made of, or sprouting leaves. He is represented in a variety of English church carvings made between the 11th and 20th centuries. From the Renaissance onward, elaborate variations on the Green Man theme began to appear in many other media. Which popular folklore characters are associated with the Green Man? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nuclear Submarine USS Scorpion Sinks, Cause Unknown (1968)On May 21, 1968, the crew of the US Navy's Scorpion submarine engaged in communications with land stations. Six days later, the submarine was reported overdue. After an unsuccessful search, the Scorpion and its crew were "presumed lost." However, in October, a Navy research ship located sections of the submarine's hull in approximately 10,000 feet (3,048 m) of water about 400 miles (644 km) southwest of the Azores. What are some theories about how the Scorpion may have sunk? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Cassatt (1844)Cassatt was an American figure painter and etcher. As a young art student, she moved to Paris, where she was inspired by the work of Edgar Degas, with whom she developed a friendship. She allied herself with the Impressionists early in her career, but, in the late 1880s, she began experimenting with other styles and techniques. Many of Cassatt's best-known works are intimate depictions of mothers and children. What cause did she take up when cataracts put a stop to her painting career? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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no one in his/her/their right mind would (do something)— No one who is sane would consider doing something; someone would have to be crazy to do something. (In this case, "their" is used as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 National Maritime Day (2018)It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who first proclaimed May 22 as National Maritime Day in 1933. Since that time, observations of this day have grown in popularity, particularly in American port cities. Ships are opened to the public, maritime art and essay contests are held, and parades and band concerts are common. Environmentalists sometimes take advantage of the attention focused on the country's maritime heritage on this day to draw attention to pollution and deterioration of maritime environments, particularly in large commercial ports like New York City. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: recentAmazonian epoch - The Amazonian epoch is the most recent of the Martian geologic epochs, from 1,800 years ago to the present. More... grey, gray - The distinction in spelling between British grey and American gray is recent, popping up in the 20th century. More... Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene - Epochs indicating periods in the Earth's geology; Pleistocene means "most recent," Pliocene means "more recent," Miocene means "moderately recent," and Oligocence means "but a little recent." More... neoteric - Used to describe a person, especially an author, it means one belongs to modern/recent times—but it might also refer to a person having a modern outlook or new ideas; when used of things, it indicates that they are modern, new, or recent. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Scientists Glued Fake Caterpillars on Plants Worldwide. Here's What HappenedDozens of scientists recently glued fake green caterpillars onto plants around the world in an unusual study to see how the caterpillars' risk of getting eaten varied from pole to pole. Any ant, slug, lizard, bird or beetle that attacked the soft clay ... More... | |