Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, January 9, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
wanderlust
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Past Continuous TenseAlso called the past progressive, the past continuous tense is used to describe something that was in progress at a certain moment in the past. Why is it called the past continuous? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Dürer's RhinocerosBased on secondhand descriptions, German printmaker Albrecht Dürer—who never actually saw a rhinoceros himself—made a woodcut of the exotic beast gifted to the king of Portugal in 1515. The image became wildly popular in Europe despite its inaccuracies, which include a horn on the animal's back and rivets in its armor. The rhino that inspired the woodcut perished in a shipwreck while being sent to the pope, but not before the king arranged for it to battle an elephant. Which animal won? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters Executed for Murder (1923)Frederick Bywaters was convicted of murder after admitting to the brutal stabbing of Percy Thompson, the husband of his lover Edith Thompson. In an extremely controversial decision, Edith was also convicted of her husband's murder, even though Bywaters himself claimed that Edith had had nothing to do with it. Public sympathy for Edith could not prevent her execution, which was carried out at the same time as her former lover's. Who had witnessed the murder and fingered Bywaters as the culprit? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875)Born into immense wealth as a member of the Vanderbilt family, Whitney studied sculpture in the US and Europe. In addition to producing her own notable artwork, which included a Titanic memorial, Whitney became an influential patron and collector. After attempting to donate her vast art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and being turned away, Whitney founded her own museum—today one of the foremost museums of modern American art. What family dispute made headlines in 1934? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
wear too many hats— business slang To hold too many responsibilities or assume too many roles at the same time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Agonalia (2024)In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and of doorways. The worship of Janus is believed to have been started by Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome. Usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward to the future and the other looking back to the past, his image appeared on an early Roman coin with a ship's prow on the reverse side. During the festival in honor of Janus known as the Agonalia, the rex sacrorum, or officiating priest, sacrificed a ram. Offerings of barley, incense, wine, and cakes called Januae were also common. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: rhymeassonance - The condition of the words of a phrase or verse having the same sound or termination without rhyming. More... blank verse - A verse without rhyme. More... rhyme - From Latin rhythmus, "rhythm," from Greek rhein, "to flow." More... rhyme or reason - A phrase derived from French ni rime ni raison. More... | |