Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 8, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
protuberant
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Negative ImperativesWhen we make an imperative sentence, we use the infinitive form of the verb (without "to"), and we omit the subject of the verb. What can we put before the infinitive verb to make an imperative statement negative? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Montgolfier BrothersAfter discovering that heated air in a lightweight bag would cause the bag to rise, French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier invented a contraption that would come to be known as the hot-air balloon. In 1783, they held the first public demonstration of their invention and, just months later, the first manned free flight. Before humans were sent up in the balloon, a test flight was made using three animals: a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. Why were these animals chosen? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 8888 Popular Uprising (1988)In the early 1970s, various insurgent groups controlled about one third of Burma. Economic strife and ethnic tensions throughout the 1970s and 80s led to antigovernment riots that began on August 8, 1988—08-08-88—and led to the resignation of President Ne Win. Succeeding governments failed to restore order, and the military seized control under the name of the State Law and Order Restoration Council. In 1989, the military government officially changed the name of the country from Burma to what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Esther Hobart Morris (1814)Morris was the first female justice of the peace in the US. A mother of three, she began her tenure as justice in 1870, after the previous justice resigned in protest of Wyoming's passage of the women's suffrage amendment. She attracted national attention and tried some 70 cases, becoming a legendary figure in the suffrage movement. The state of Wyoming officially commemorated her role as a leading suffragist in 1890. Why then is the extent of her contribution to the suffrage movement debated? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
a fine state of affairs— A situation that has gone wrong and is very problematic. The term is an instance of irony or sarcasm. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair (2019)Although craft fairs can be found all over New England during the summer months, the Craftsmen's Fair at Mt. Sunapee Resort in Newbury, New Hampshire, is considered to be the oldest that is continuously held, dating back to 1934. The fair features more than 200 craftspeople who sell their work and display their skills through demonstrations in such diverse areas as decoy carving, printmaking, weaving and spinning, basket making, embroidering, pipe making, and blacksmithing. Visitors to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair can buy just about any other craft they can imagine. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: small quantityfingerfull - A pinch or small quantity. More... quantulum - A small quantity. More... dreg - A small remnant or a small quantity. More... dribs and drabs - First recorded in the 19th century; both of the words mean "small quantity or amount," making this an emphatic phrase. More... | |