Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, July 5, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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paronomasia
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions Used for Different MediaWe use the preposition "in" when we are talking about something appearing in printed media. What preposition do we use to talk about something appearing on televised or digital media? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MedusaIn Greek mythology, Medusa was the most famous of the three monstrous Gorgon sisters. She was once a beautiful woman, but she offended Athena, who changed her hair into snakes and made her face so hideous that all who looked at her were turned to stone. When Medusa was with child by Poseidon, Perseus beheaded her. What creatures sprang from her blood? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Modern, Skimpy Bikini Debuted at Paris Pool Fashion Show (1946)Although women have worn bikini-like two-piece garments for centuries—mosaics from the 4th century depict women in such garb—the modern bikini was only introduced in 1946. Anticipating that his revealing swimwear design would have an explosive effect on fashion, French engineer Louis Réard named his skimpy suit after the Bikini atoll in the central Pacific, where US nuclear testing had just begun. However, he struggled to find a model to debut his G-string bikini. Who finally agreed to wear it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 P. T. Barnum (1810)Barnum may be best known for the circus he formed with James Bailey in 1881, but this took place late in his life and was neither his first, nor sole, line of work. The splashy showman was also an author and, oddly enough, a politician. Yes, the man who may have said "There's a sucker born every minute" was elected to office—more than once. Apparently fond of seeing his name in print, Barnum published his autobiography in 1855 and even got a newspaper to oblige him in what way before his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Objectivity and justice have nothing to do with one another.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the moral high ground— A position of moral authority or superiority that one's arguments, beliefs, ideas, etc., are claimed or purported to occupy, especially in comparison to a differing viewpoint. (Used especially in the phrase "take/claim/seize/etc. the moral high ground.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tynwald Ceremony (2018)The Isle of Man, located off the coast of England in the Irish Sea, was once the property of the Vikings. It was here that they established their custom of holding an open-air court for the settling of disputes and the passing of laws. Today, the Tynwald Ceremony—whose name comes from the Norse Thing vollr, meaning a fenced open parliament—is held at St. John's on Tynwald Hill on July 5, when the Lieutenant-Governor reads a brief summary of every bill that has been passed during the year—first in English, and then in Manx, the old language of the island. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tokenjetton - A counter or token used as a gambling chip or to operate slot machines. More... token - Etymologically, something that "shows" you something, from a base meaning "show, sign." More... indicium - An indication, sign, or token—specifically, the stamp on mail indicating paid postage. More... signal, sign - Signal is from Latin signalis, "of a sign," from signum, "mark, token"—from which sign is derived. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Woolly Mammoth Clones Edge Closer to Reality After Genome AnalysisScientists are one step closer to bringing a woolly mammoth back to life. A new analysis of the woolly mammoth genome has revealed several adaptations that allowed the furry beasts to thrive in the subzero temperatures of the last ice age, including a ... More... | |