Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 8, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ataractic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Beginning a Sentence with a Coordinating ConjunctionMany of us have been taught at some point that we should never begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. What do most grammarians and nearly all style guides state about this? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Chris BurdenBurden is a performance artist who emerged as part of the American art scene in the 1970s, performing controversial, dangerous pieces in which he used his own body as the art medium. During a 1971 performance piece titled Shoot, he was shot in his left arm by an assistant standing a short distance away. He was labeled insane following the performance, but it has since become one of his most well-known pieces from the period. Why did he resign from the University of California in 2005? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 President Lyndon B. Johnson Declares a "War on Poverty" (1964)During his first State of the Union address, President Johnson outlined a vast program of economic and social welfare legislation designed to create what he termed the "Great Society." As part of this platform, Johnson called for a nationwide "War on Poverty" in response to a high national poverty rate. Johnson's call led Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, legislation that established an agency to administer federal funds targeted against poverty. Did it work? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (1912)Ferrer was an American actor, director, and producer. He made his Broadway debut in 1935 and gained acclaim playing the starring role in Charley's Aunt (1940) and Iago in a 1943 Broadway production of Othello. A versatile actor with a rich and powerful voice, he appeared in many films, including The Caine Mutiny and Ship of Fools. In 1950, he won an Academy Award for his performance as the title character in what film version of a play that he had also starred in? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When friends grow cold, and the converse of intimates languishes into vapid civility and commonplace, these [books] only continue the unaltered countenance of happier days, and cheer us with that true friendship which never deceived hope nor deserted sorrow.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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loose change— A small, usually insignificant amount of money, typically consisting of coins. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Gynaecocratia (2025)The Greek title of this observance is a word that means female rule or government. This attempt at feminist revolt is of long tradition in northern Greece, where it is common for women to do all the household work and for most men to take life easy in cafes. Today, in the villages of Komotini, Xanthi, Kilkis, and Serres, that standard is reversed for a day when Gynaecocratia is celebrated. The women gather in village cafes to socialize, while the men stay at home cleaning house, tending the babies, and generally looking after household tasks. At dusk, the men join their wives in celebrations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: measuredApgar score - A measure of a baby's well-being taking into consideration respiratory effort, skin color, heart rate, muscle tone, and sense of smell (named for American anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar). More... datum line - The horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc. More... scantling - Means "measured or prescribed size" or a "set of standard dimensions." More... military time - Time measured on a 24-hour scale of 0100-2400 hours. More... | |