Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 8, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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swallowtail
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Dangling PrepositionsDespite what you may have been taught, it’s a myth that ending a sentence or clause with a preposition is an error. Where did this myth originate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Nikola Tesla: "The Man Who Invented the 20th Century"Deemed "the patron saint of modern electricity" by contemporary biographers, Nikola Tesla was an inventor, physicist, and mechanical and electrical engineer best known for his revolutionary contributions to the fields of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla was the holder of myriad patents and is credited by some with the invention of radio technology. What strange behaviors led many to regard Tesla as a "mad scientist"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Vasco da Gama Sets Sail on First Direct European Voyage to India (1497)In 1497, da Gama began his epochal voyage to India, becoming the first European to journey there directly by sea. With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed the easternmost point reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, continued up the coast of Africa to Malindi, and sailed across the Indian Ocean to Calicut. His voyage opened up a way for Europe to reach the Indies and marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. For what brutal methods was da Gama known during his travels? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Binet (1857)A major figure in the development of experimental psychology in France, Binet founded L'Année Psychologique, the first French journal on psychology, in 1895. He is also known for his research and innovations in measuring reasoning ability. Between 1905 and 1911, he and Théodore Simon developed influential scales for the measurement of the intelligence of children, which, with revisions, came into wide use in schools, industries, and the army. How did the scales work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Accidents will occur in the best-regulated families.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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fourth wall— The imaginary barrier separating performers in a TV show, film, or play from the audience. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 San Fermin Festival (2019)The festivities surrounding this well-known festival in Pamplona, Spain, begin with a rocket fired from the balcony of the town hall. Bands of txistularis—with dancers, drummers, and txistu players (a musical instrument like a flute)—march through the town playing songs announcing the "running of the bulls," an event that has taken place here for 400 years. Each morning, young men, dressed in typical Basque costumes, risk their lives running through the streets ahead of the bulls being run to the bullring where the bullfights will be held. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: vegetablerareripe - Originally simply a fruit or vegetable that ripened early. More... fruit, vegetable - Fruit is the name given to those plants that have an ovary used for food; vegetable is the name given to a large category of herbaceous plants with parts used for food. More... sauerbraten, sauerkraut - In German, sauerbraten is literally "sour roast meat," and sauerkraut is "sour cabbage or vegetable." More... sweet potato, yam - The sweet potatoes and yams sold in most stores are the same vegetable—sweet potatoes are inside every mislabeled yam can; true yams are not sold anywhere except a handful of specialty grocers. More... | |