Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, October 9, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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fusillade
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositions and Indirect ObjectsSome transitive verbs are able to take both direct objects and indirect objects (people or things that receive the direct object of the verb). If a verb is capable of taking an indirect object, that person or thing appears immediately after the verb and before the direct object. We can also place it after the direct object with the preposition "to," in which case it is no longer a true indirect object but what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Capgras DelusionThe Capgras Delusion is a rare disorder in which a person holds the delusional belief that an acquaintance—usually a spouse or other close family member—has been replaced by an identical impostor. Found in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, dementia, or those suffering from a brain injury, the disorder is named after Joseph Capgras, the French psychiatrist who first described it in 1923. What have researchers since learned about the disorder? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Phantom of the Opera Premieres in London (1986)Based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London in 1986. In 2010, it celebrated its 10,000th performance at the same venue. It opened in New York in 1988, and went on to become the longest-running musical on Broadway. It is also the most financially successful entertainment project of all time, having earned billions of dollars. What is the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Dreyfus (1859)In 1894, French Army intelligence discovered that military secrets were being leaked to Germany. Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French Army, was blamed and convicted—twice—on insufficient and forged evidence. He was imprisoned on Devil's Island. The affair became a national scandal amid reports that the army, permeated by anti-Semitism, had covered up evidence of his innocence. He was pardoned by the president in 1899 and cleared by a civilian court in 1906. Who was probably the real traitor? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Potemkin village— Something that is made to seem very grand, elaborate, and/or prosperous for the purposes of impressing others, but which in reality has no real worth or substance. Taken from a story about Russian minister Grigory Potemkin (1739–1791) who allegedly erected false, painted façades to mimic a thriving, successful village along the Dnieper River in Crimea to impress the visiting Empress Catherine II. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Han'gul Day (2025)This day commemorates the invention of the Korean alphabet by scholars under the direction of King Sejong of the Yi Dynasty in 1446. The day is celebrated with Confucian rituals and Choson-period court dances performed at Yongnung, the king's tomb, in Yoju, Kyonggi. Yoju also stages the King Sejong Cultural Festival, with chanting and processions at Shilluksa Temple, farmers' dances, games such as tug of war, and a lantern parade. In some areas, there are calligraphy contests for both children and adults. Ceremonies are also held at the King Sejong Memorial Center near Seoul. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: trumpetkazoo, bazooka - Dutch bazu, "trumpet," gives us the words kazoo and bazooka, the latter originally being a form of kazoo that was a long sounding-horn. More... jubilee - Comes from Hebrew yobhel, "ram's horn," which was used as a trumpet to proclaim the jubilee, a year of emancipation and restoration (every 50 years). More... taratantara - The sound of a bugle or trumpet can be called taratantara. More... | |