Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, April 9, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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inductee
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Irregular Comparative AdverbsJust as there are irregular adverbs, there are irregular comparative adverbs. "Well" is an example of an irregular comparative adverb. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The LeathermanFor more than 30 years in the mid- and late 1800s, a figure known as the Leatherman regularly walked a 365-mile route through Connecticut and New York. He was famous for his handmade suit made entirely of leather, and townspeople would save food for him in anticipation of his arrival every 34 days. He lived in caves, which he heated by building fires. Very little is known about his background. Though he was said to speak French, he communicated mostly by gestures. What name graces his headstone? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles Wed (2005)The 2005 wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles capped off a decades-long romance that began in the 1970s, while both were single, and continued through both of their marriages—his to Diana Spencer, hers to Andrew Parker Bowles—as well as their respective divorces. The scandal of their affair tainted public perceptions of the pair and mired their union in controversy. When they finally wed, it was in a civil rather than religious ceremony. Why was the wedding postponed for one day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830)Muybridge was an eccentric photographic innovator who left a vast and varied body of work. He is best known for his pioneering use of multiple still cameras to photograph the stages of motion. Hired by Leland Stanford to answer the question of whether there is a moment during a horse's stride when all four of its hooves are off the ground, he developed a special shutter for his cameras and a method for triggering them sequentially. Why was he acquitted of murdering his wife's lover? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have heard men talk of the blessings of freedom, ... but I wish any wise man would teach me what use to make of it now that I have it.Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath— To say threatening, consternated, or disgruntled remarks (toward someone or something) in a very soft or indistinct voice, such that no one else can hear or understand them clearly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Appomattox Day (2022)The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, when Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army accepted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy. The most widespread celebration of Appomattox Day took place in 1965 during the Civil War centennial year. The day was noted across the country with costumed pageants, books and articles reflecting on the war, and concerts of martial music. Although the anniversary is not observed on a yearly basis, reenactments of the historic surrender are held periodically. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perverseawkward - Comes from Old Norse awk, "perverse," and weard, "in the direction of," i.e. "turned back upon itself" or "turned backward." More... crabby, crabbed - Crabby and crabbed derive from a crab's sideways movement and habit of snapping (thought to suggest a perverse or irritable nature). More... peeve - A back-formation from peevish, "perverse, obstinate." More... queer - Comes from the German root quer, "across, oblique, perverse." More... | |