Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 27, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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poppycock
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the SemicolonSemicolons ( ; ) are used for two main purposes: to separate lengthy or complex items within a list and to connect independent clauses. They are often described as being more powerful than commas, while not quite as a strong as what mark of punctuation? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Messel PitOne of the most significant fossil sites in the world, the Messel Pit is a former shale quarry in Germany. About 47 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch, the area was home to a lake, and archaeologists hypothesize that it periodically released clouds of poisonous volcanic gases. Insects, fish, birds, and mammals that died there were preserved with incredible detail—down to fur and feathers—in the lake's sediment. Prehistoric versions of what modern animals have been found there? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Italian Public Administrator Enrico Mattei Dies in Plane Crash (1962)After World War II, Mattei was given the task of dismantling the Italian Petroleum Agency, a Fascist state enterprise. Instead, Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI), or National Fuel Trust. Under his direction, ENI developed large deposits of natural gas in Italy and negotiated important oil concessions in the Middle East. Mattei became a powerful figure in Italy before he died in a plane crash in 1962. What conspiracy theories exist about his death? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sylvia Plath (1932)American poet Sylvia Plath excelled as a writer from an early age and published her first poem at eight. She attempted suicide while in college but underwent electroshock treatment and seemingly recovered from her breakdown. In 1956, she wed poet Ted Hughes, whom she met while attending Cambridge on a Fulbright grant. Shortly after they separated in 1962, Plath committed suicide. Her literary reputation grew rapidly after her death, and she became the first poet to win what prize posthumously? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 But there, everything has its drawbacks, as the man said when his mother-in-law died, and they came down upon him for the funeral expenses.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in fee— law (specifically of land) In absolute legal ownership or subjection. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Independence and Thanksgiving Day (2024)A group of islands in the West Indies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence from Britain on October 27, 1979, and its citizens celebrate their freedom with this national holiday. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: quietcoy, quiet - Coy and quiet derive from Latin quietus, "at rest, in repose," with coy coming from the Old French form coi (earlier quei), and quiet coming straight from Latin; the original sense of coy was "quiet, still." More... conticent - If something is hushed or quiet, it is conticent. More... q.t. - An abbreviation for "quiet," as in, on the q.t. (or QT). More... wildtrack, room tone - The wildtrack or room tone consists of the barely audible noises that make up a background sense of quiet. More... | |