Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, October 3, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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plaintive
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Verbs and TenseA modal verb must always be used with a main verb—they cannot stand completely on their own. But because we cannot use modal verbs with main verbs that are in a past-tense form, the verb that follows a modal must always be in what form? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 RouletteRoulette emerged in late 18th-century European casinos and has remained popular with gamblers to this day. In the game, a horizontal wheel is spun and a ball is dropped onto it. Players may bet on which of the wheel's numbered slots the ball will come to rest in, what color the slot will be, and whether the number will be odd or even. Though roulette is ostensibly a game of chance, players have repeatedly tried to improve their odds. How did one engineer exploit the game to win $325,000 in 1873? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" (1951)Late in the 1951 baseball season, the New York Giants trailed far behind their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the standings. However, the Giants went on a winning streak, and the two teams finished the regular season with identical 96-58 records. In the first two games of a three-game playoff series, the teams traded wins. In the bottom of game three's ninth inning, the Giants were trailing 4-2 with two men on base when Bobby Thomson came to bat. What happened next? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Ross (1790)The son of Scottish and Cherokee parents, Ross served in the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson against the Creeks. Elected principal chief of the eastern Cherokee in 1828, he resisted government attempts to seize Cherokee farms and lands in Georgia and unsuccessfully petitioned Jackson to defend the tribe's rights. In 1838, he was forced to lead his people on the infamously long, hard journey to the Oklahoma Territory. In Native American lore, this journey is known as what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule.Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hothead— A person with an excitable, fiery, or impetuous temper or disposition; one who is quick to get angry or act rashly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Korea National Foundation Day (2024)This national holiday in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), also known as Gaecheon-jeol, commemorates the legendary founding of the Korean nation in 2333 BCE by Tangun. Prince Hwan-ung left heaven to rule earth from Mt. T'aebaek and bore a son called Tangun Wanggom, meaning Sandalwood King. When he grew up, he built his own city and called his new kingdom Choson. The myth is important in that it links the Korean people with a heavenly origin. The holiday is celebrated with ceremonies at the ancient rock altar of Tangun, on the summit of Mt. Mani on Kanghwa Island, about 25 miles west of Seoul. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inflammationpleuritis, pleurisy - Greek pleura, "side" or "rib," came to be used for the "inner lining of the chest; lungs," and pleuritis or pleurisy is the inflammation of this area. More... intertrigo - Inflammation caused by the rubbing of one area of skin on another. More... phlegm - Comes from Latin phlegma, "clammy moisture," and Greek phlegma, "inflammation." More... polio - An abbreviation of poliomyelitis, from Greek polios, "gray," and muelos, "marrow," meaning "inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord." More... | |