Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 16, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
spellbound
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Adverbs of DegreeAdverbs of degree are used to indicate the intensity, degree, or extent of the verb, adjective, or adverb they are modifying. What are grading adverbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Fatal HilarityPeople can and do die of laughter. The 3rd century BCE philosopher Chrysippus, for example, is said to have laughed himself to death while watching the antics of a drunken donkey. In 1410, Martin I of Aragon succumbed to a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter. More recently, a UK man died of heart failure after laughing for 25 minutes at a TV show featuring a Scotsman in a kilt battling a vicious black pudding. What other historical figures have died from laughter? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 The Altmark Incident (1940)While passing through neutral Norwegian waters during WWII, the German supply vessel Altmark was boarded by Norwegian inspectors. They were told the craft was merely a commercial ship, but it was in fact being used to transport 299 British prisoners of war. The captives tried to make their presence known by banging on the hull, but winches were run to drown them out. The Royal Navy, however, pursued the ship and mounted a rescue. What now-famous phrase alerted the men to their liberation? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Vera Menchik (1906)A Russian-born British international chess master, Menchik won seven consecutive Women's World Chess Championships, beginning with the first one ever held and ending in 1939, when World War II halted the tournament. She and her family were killed in an air raid on London in 1944. When Menchik entered a men's tournament in 1929, Viennese master Albert Becker ridiculed her by saying that anyone who lost to her should become a part of the "Vera Menchik Club." Who was the first of its many members? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
in the last analysis— When everything has been considered; when all the facts are known or the truth has come to light. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Lithuania Independence Day (2021)This is a national holiday in Lithuania marking the declaration of independence from Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation on February 16, 1918. Today, the anniversary is celebrated with festivals and fireworks, particularly in the capital city of Vilnius. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: prosperityland of milk and honey - In the Bible, a land of prosperity and plenty promised by God to the Israelites. More... pumpkin time - The end of prosperity and a return to normal. More... thrift - First meant "acquired wealth, prosperity, success." More... welfare - Originally the phrase wel fare—first meaning "happiness" or "prosperity." More... | |