Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 3, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
despondent
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Nouns with Inherent Gender IdentityThere is a relatively small amount of nouns in English that are inherently gendered because they describe members of the male or female sex; they do not use suffixes to alter the meaning of an existing word. Most commonly, they are terms describing what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 British East India CompanyChartered by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, the British East India Company was founded to break the Dutch monopoly on the spice trade. It gradually acquired unequalled trade privileges in India, reaping huge profits. Guarding against foreign and domestic competition, it began to intervene in Indian politics, sometimes with military force. The British government came to increasingly control the company. What prompted the government to finally take over the company—and India—in 1858? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Karl Benz Unveils His Patent Motorwagen (1886)Six months after applying for a patent for a three-wheeled horseless carriage driven by an internal combustion engine, Benz staged a public demonstration of the contraption in Mannheim, Germany. Widely regarded as the first automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen resembled a park bench on a giant tricycle and had a steering handle instead of the now-familiar wheel. It was only used for short jaunts until 1888, when Benz's wife took it for its first long-distance road trip. What was its top speed? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (1908)Raised in California, Fisher moved to Dijon, France, after her first marriage. There, she was inspired by the gastronomist Brillat-Savarin, and her 1949 translation of his Physiology of Taste is considered a classic. She created a new literary genre with her culinary writing, producing witty essays evoking the pleasures of life and food in a graceful style. Her books include How to Cook a Wolf and The Gastronomical Me. Where did Fisher spend her last 20 years? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
hold on to your hat— Get ready for what's coming or about to happen! More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Aston Magna Music Festival (2020)Held since the 1970s, this festival brings music of the Baroque period and beyond to today's audiences using historically accurate instruments and performance practices. The mission of this annual event in the Berkshires of Massachusetts is "to enrich the appreciation of music of the past and the understanding of the cultural, political, and social contexts in which it was composed and experienced." For five consecutive weekends, a 21st-century audience can enjoy a musical experience closely resembling that of an earlier era. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: tennisdrop shot - In tennis, it is so called because after it is hit, it drops abruptly to the ground. More... cachpule - The ancestral name for tennis or a tennis court. More... service game - In tennis, a game in which a particular player serves. More... tennis - From French tenez, "take, receive," which was originally called out by the server to the opponent. More... | |