Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, October 2, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hypnotic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Difference between Transitive and Intransitive VerbsEnglish verbs are split into two major categories depending on how they function in a sentence: transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs take one or more objects in a sentence. How many objects do intransitive verbs take? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Head TransplantsA head transplant is a surgical operation involving the replacement of one organism's head with another's. The first successful head transplant took place in the 1970s, when the head of a monkey was transplanted onto another's body. The animal retained most of its senses but was paralyzed below the attachment site. Though still hypothetical for humans, proponents believe the procedure can help people facing widespread organ failure. What has prevented human head transplants from taking place? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Peanuts Is First Published (1950)The enormously popular syndicated comic strip Peanuts was first published in 1950. It ran continuously for the next 50 years, ending shortly before the death of its creator, Charles Schulz. The strip chronicled the childhood travails of Charlie Brown and his friends, including Lucy and Linus, and his dog, Snoopy. Schulz's characters also adorned hundreds of products, making him the world's wealthiest cartoonist. Which of Charlie Brown's friends appeared in the first strip? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nat Turner (1800)Turner was an American slave who believed that he had been chosen to lead the slaves out of bondage. He took a solar eclipse in 1831 as a sign and began his rebellion with a few trusted fellow slaves. They killed his master's family and went from house to house, freeing slaves and killing the white people they found. The rebels grew to more than 70 before the state militia quashed the insurrection. Turner was tried and hanged along with 56 others. What laws were passed in response to the revolt? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The properties of ink are peculiar and contradictory: it may be used to make reputations and unmake them; to blacken them and to make them white; but it is most generally and acceptably employed as a mortar to bind together the stones of an edifice of fame, and as a whitewash to conceal afterward the rascal quality of the material.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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live and kicking— Alive, healthy, and alert. (A truncated version of "alive and kicking.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 California Avocado Festival (2024)The California Avocado Festival is held every October in Carpinteria, California. The three-day, free event features music, arts and crafts, activities (including a golf tournament), and a kids' block party with games, face-painting, and crafts. It also celebrates the avocado. At the Avocado Expo tent, competitors vie to win the awards for best guacamole and biggest avocado. There are cooking demonstrations and a display of the largest vat of guacamole in the world. About 100,000 visitors enjoy each year's avocado celebration. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: silkfloss - A word for untwisted filaments of silk used in making embroidery or satin. More... lame - A material consisting of silk or other yarns interwoven with metallic threads. More... scroop - The rustle of silk. More... tabby - The common tabby cat derives its name from silk with a wavy pattern, from Arabic utabi, the name of the quarter in Baghdad where the silk was made. More... | |