Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 11, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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drachm
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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QuantifiersQuantifiers are used to indicate the number or quantity of the noun being referred to. How do we choose which quantifier to use? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The GolemWhile the term golem, a Hebrew word meaning “undeveloped lump,” is used today to refer to someone who is clumsy or slow, the golem of Jewish folklore is a very different creature—an automaton-like servant made of clay that is supernaturally endowed with life. The most famous golem legend involves 16th century rabbi Judah Löw, who created a massive clay servant to protect Prague's Jewish ghetto from violence and persecution. What events compelled Rabbi Löw to later destroy his golem? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Anglo-Zulu War Begins (1879)The Anglo-Zulu War was fought between the British Empire and the Zulu nation. It began when Zulu king Cetshwayo, determined to resist European advances, rejected British demands to disband his troops. The British attacked, and Cetshwayo routed them at Isandlwana with a disciplined army of 40,000. However, his forces were utterly defeated at Ulundi, with 1,500 Zulus, compared to 13 Britons, killed in the final battle. The British then burned the town. What became of Cetshwayo? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alexander Hamilton (1755?)Pictured on the US $10 bill, Hamilton was an American Founding Father and the first secretary of the treasury. Differences between Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson led to the rise of political parties, with Hamilton heading the Federalist Party and Madison and Jefferson leading the Democratic-Republican Party. In 1804, Aaron Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and though Hamilton opposed the practice and had even lost a son in a duel, he agreed and was mortally wounded. Why did Burr challenge him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven; and every countenance, bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is a mirror transmitting to others the ways of a supreme and ever-shining benevolence.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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tighten the purse strings— To become less liberal with or more controlling of one's expenditures; to decrease the availability of money for spending purposes. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Juturnalia (2025)According to Virgil, Juturna is the sister of Turnus, king of the Rutuli. In return for her virginity, Jupiter gave her immortality. Afterward, she was turned into a fountain of the same name near the Numicus, the river where Aeneas' dead body was found. The waters from this fountain were used in sacrifices, particularly those in honor of the Roman goddess Vesta, and were believed to have curative powers. On January 11, a festival in honor of Juturna was observed by men working on aqueducts and wells. She was also celebrated at the Vulcanalia on August 23 as a protectress against fire. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wheelsgurney - A stretcher with wheels. More... axel, axle - Axel is the figure-skating jump; axle is the pin or rod between two wheels. More... dry steering - The act of turning the wheels of a car that is not moving. More... three-point landing - An aircraft landing in which the two wheels of the main landing gear and the tail or nose wheel touch the ground simultaneously. More... | |