Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 11, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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intransigent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Identifying Reflexive VerbsReflexive verbs are verbs whose subjects are also their direct objects—that is, the action of the verb is both committed and received by the same person or thing. Reflexive verbs can most easily be identified by the use of what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Tree That Owns ItselfAt the corner of Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia, you will find a tree that, according to most accounts, has legal ownership of itself and all land within 8 ft (2.4 m) of its base. Sometimes called the "Son of the Tree That Owns Itself," the tree currently standing on this spot was grown from an acorn of the original white oak, which fell in 1942. The earliest known record of the tree's tale comes from an 1890 newspaper article. How did it explain a tree having ownership of itself? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mayan Long Count Calendar Begins (3114 BCE)The Long Count is one of the various ancient Mayan calendars that maintained complicated, cyclical measurements of time. It was intended to provide an accurate record of historical events and counts the days elapsed from a fixed starting point—calculated as August 11, 3114 BCE, the date of creation according to the Maya. Some believe that the calendar predicts the world's end on December 21, 2012, but scholars have widely rejected this claim. What was the significance of that date to the Maya? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alex Haley (1921)A descendent of African slaves, Haley began writing during a 20-year US Coast Guard career. He became a journalist, and earned national attention for The Autobiography of Malcolm X. His biggest success was 1976's Roots, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of his ancestors beginning with their enslavement. A television adaptation became one of the most-watched programs in America, spurring interest in genealogy. Why then was the work excluded from a prominent anthology of literature? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Everything looms pleasant through the softening haze of time. Even the sadness that is past seems sweet.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be put out of business— To be caused or forced to cease carrying on commercial trading or transactions. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Chad Independence Day (2022)On August 11, 1960, Chad became an independent country after struggling against the French since they first claimed Chad as a French territory in the 1890s. Celebrations of this national holiday—including parades, dancing, and singing—are often moved to January 11 because of the heavy rains in August. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: marriedbenedick, benedict - A long-time bachelor who is newly married is a benedick or benedict. More... quadrigamist - Someone who has married four times. More... connubial - A synonym for "married, wedded." More... matrimony - From Latin matrimonium, "state of being married," from mater, "mother," and monium, "-mony" (state, condition). More... | |