Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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skeptic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Secondary InterjectionsSecondary interjections are interjections derived from words that belong to other word classes—they may be adjectives, nouns, or entire clauses. They have nothing to do with the grammar of the sentences that come before or after them. What are some common secondary interjections? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Schmidt Sting Pain IndexThe Schmidt Sting Pain Index is a scale that rates the relative pain caused by the stings of nearly 80 species of insects in the Hymenoptera order, which includes wasps, bees, and ants. It is mainly the work of entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who spent years subjecting himself to the stings, ranking them, and describing some of the experiences in colorful detail. Which insect's sting was described as producing "trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Buffalo Creek Flood (1972)More than 100 people were killed and thousands more left injured or homeless when a dam in West Virginia's rural Buffalo Creek Valley gave way. It had been built out of sediment left over from coal mining and collapsed after a heavy rainfall, sweeping away two more dams in its path. The collapse unleashed approximately 130 million gallons of black waste water onto the residents of the valley below. A study done 17 years later found that residents still suffered what lasting psychological effect? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Harvey Kellogg (1852)Remembered today as the co-creator of corn flakes, Kellogg was a physician and food reformer. He founded a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, based on the principles of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in conjunction with his own eccentric ideas about health. He and his brother invented a flaked breakfast cereal for patients, but a feud developed between the two over flake recipes and business rights. At the end of his life, he sent his brother an apology, but it was not received in time—why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Cruelty was the devil's own trade-mark, and if we saw any one who took pleasure in cruelty we might know who he belonged to ... On the other hand, where we saw people who loved their neighbors, and were kind to man and beast, we might know that was God's mark.Anna Sewell (1820-1878) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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laugh in (one's) sleeve— To rejoice or be amused secretly and/or contemptuously, as at another's mistakes or misfortunes. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ayyam-i-Ha (2021)Also known as Days of Ha, the Ayyam-i-Ha are intercalary days (extra days inserted in a calendar) in the Baha'i calendar. The calendar is made up of 19 months of 19 days, plus the period of four days added between the 18th and 19th months, which allows for the year to be adjusted to the solar cycle. The days are set aside for rejoicing, hospitality, gift-giving, special acts of charity, and spiritually preparing for the Baha'i fast from March 2–20. The new calendar was inaugurated by Mirza Ali Mohammad, known as the Bab, founder of the Babi religion from which the Baha'i faith emerged. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: highesttop note - The highest in a piece of music or in a singer's vocal range. More... paramount, tantamount - Paramount means "primary, top," and tantamount means "equivalent to, same as"; paramount first meant "highest in jurisdiction." More... prime - Unusual since it can have virtually opposite meanings: "preliminary, basic" or "lowest"—as well as "finest" and "highest." More... supreme - Ultimately from Latin supra, "above," which begat supremus, "highest." More... | |