Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 14, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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varsity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Regular and Irregular VerbsRegular verbs form the past simple tense and past participle the same way (-d or -ed), while irregular verbs do not adhere to a distinct or predictable pattern. What common verb is known as a "highly irregular" verb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Eon of Earth's FormationThe Hadean geologic eon began when the Earth was formed an estimated 4.6 billion years ago and ended approximately 800 million years later. There remain few geological traces of this period on Earth, but toward the end of the 20th c, geologists identified a few rocks and zircon crystals that dated to the Hadean. The eon's name is derived from Hades, a Greek word now used as a synonym for hell, and may be a reference to the conditions on Earth at the time. How hot was Earth's surface then? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin Awarded Patent (1794)By the end of the 18th century, the mechanization of fabric production in England had created a huge demand for US cotton, but cotton production was hampered by the large amount of manual labor required to remove the sticky seeds from the raw fiber. Whitney's cotton gin solved this problem, performing the work mechanically and quickly. Cotton production in the US skyrocketed, as did the slave population—which quadrupled by 1850. Why was Whitney unable to profit from his invention? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Johann Strauss I (1804)Tragically orphaned at the age of 12, Strauss was apprenticed to a bookbinder but studied violin on the side. After completing his apprenticeship, he performed in string quartets around Vienna before deciding to start his own band and write his own music. He enjoyed much professional success, but his family life was tempestuous. He forbade his children to study music, but they did anyway, with Johann II eventually overshadowing him. In 1849, he died after contracting scarlet fever from whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a fable for (something)— To have a strong or particular preference, affinity, or weakness for something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Holmenkollen International Ski Meet (2020)The Holmenkollen International Ski Meet is a Norwegian winter festival held at Holmenkollen Hill outside Oslo. It is the main winter sports event of the year and it covers all types of skiing—cross-country racing and jumping as well as downhill and slalom. The world's best skiers meet here to compete for highly coveted prizes. At the high point of the festival, over a hundred thousand spectators, headed by the king and the royal family, gather at the famous Holmenkollen Hill to watch the ski-jumping event, which has been held here since 1892. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: small piececollup - A small piece or slice. More... cover slip - The small piece of thin glass that goes over the specimen on a microscope slide. More... brioche - In French, it literally means "split up into small pieces." More... stamp - Originally meant "crush into small pieces; pound"; its sense of "imprint with design by pressure" came into play in the 16th century—and is the semantic basis of postage stamp. More... | |