Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, August 8, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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luminary
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Misplaced ModifiersWhen we use participles as adjectives, it's important that the noun modified is clearly stated and that the participle appears as close to it as possible. Otherwise, we run the risk of having a "misplaced modifier," which is what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Henry Wadsworth LongfellowLongfellow was a popular 19th c. American poet. He wrote some of the most popular poems in American literature and his works created a new body of romantic American legends. In preparation for professorships, he traveled to Europe twice to study languages. His works were immensely popular during his lifetime and remain so, despite critics' complaints that they are simple, sentimental, and moralizing. As a teenager, Longfellow began a lifelong friendship with what other famous American novelist? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 2008 Summer Olympics Begin in Beijing, China (2008)At 8:08 PM on 8-8-08, the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics began. Held in the new Beijing National Stadium—nicknamed "the Bird's Nest"—it marked China's first time hosting the Olympics. The nearly four-hour event, which showcased Chinese culture, was a popular and logistical success, and the games became one of the most-watched TV events in history. However, in the international torch relay before the opening ceremony, protests in what city caused the Olympic torch to be extinguished? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (1902)Dirac was an influential English mathematician and theoretical physicist. In 1928, he published a version of quantum mechanics taking into account the theory of relativity. His theory predicted an antiparticle to the electron, and, in 1932, the positron was discovered. That year, Dirac was appointed to the same University of Cambridge chair once held by Isaac Newton. Likely autistic, Dirac was known for his precise nature and literal view of the world. How did he once introduce his wife? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Ugliness, n.: A gift of the gods to certain women, entailing virtue without humility.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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keep out of sight— To remain unseen, as by hiding or evasion. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (2017)This mammoth yearly rally of 250,000 or so motorcyclists is held in Sturgis, South Dakota. There are races, merrymaking, band music, and usually some misbehavior, including arrests for drunken driving. Motorcycle drag racing runs eight days, and other official events include bike shows, a swap meet, monster truck races, Tough Man and Tough Woman Contests (the titles determined by fights in which biting and kicking, but not much else, is forbidden), and a fireworks show. The rally also includes unofficial events, especially weddings; 100 or more couples get married there every year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: securityhostage - First referred to the state of someone handed over as a pledge or security (for the fulfillment of an undertaking). More... policy - Meaning "insurance document," it is from a French word meaning "certificate, contract," from an earlier Latin word meaning "a receipt or security for money paid." More... impignorate, pignorate - To impignorate or pignorate means to put up as security or to pawn. More... wage, wager - Wage once meant "pledge, security" and wager was defined as "solemn pledge" or "undertaking," from French wagier, "to pledge." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Stolen Stradivarius Violin Is Recovered after 35 YearsRenowned violinist Roman Totenberg left his beloved Stradivarius in his office while greeting well-wishers after a concert in 1980. When he returned, it was gone. Its case was later found in the basement of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, ... More... | |