Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, October 4, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pusillanimous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining ParticiplesParticiples are words formed from verbs that can function as adjectives or gerunds. Participles can also be used to form which verb tenses? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SitaSita is one of the most revered figures in the Hindu pantheon. She has become a symbol of women's strength and suffering and appears in the epic Sanskrit poem the Ramayana. Sita married Prince Rama, hero of the Ramayana and an incarnation of the god Vishnu, but was abducted by the demon-king Ravana. Afterward, Sita walked on fiery coals to prove that she had remained faithful to Rama during her long imprisonment. However, once Rama became king, he exiled his pregnant wife. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sputnik 1 Launch Begins the Space Race (1957)The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched by the USSR in 1957 and spurred the dormant US space program into action, leading to an international competition popularly known as the "space race." Explorer I, the first American satellite, was launched just months later, in January 1958. In the decade that followed, the US and the USSR launched approximately 50 space probes between them to explore the Moon. What project is said to have marked the end of the space race? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rutherford B. Hayes (1822)After fighting in the Union army in the American Civil War, Hayes served in the US House of Representatives and then as governor of Ohio. In 1876, he won the Republican nomination for president. His opponent, Samuel Tilden, won a larger popular vote, but the election was so close that a special commission had to decide the issue. It eventually ruled in Hayes's favor. What concessions did Hayes make as part of a secret compromise reached with Southerners during the electoral dispute? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is a good deal of satisfaction about being thoroughly miserable; but nobody likes a fit of the blues.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a joy to behold— A thing, event, or experience that creates a profound sense of joy or elation in the spectator. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Mozambique Peace Day (2024)The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution, funded by the United States Congress to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts; it played an instrumental role in brokering the peace in Mozambique. On October 4, 1992, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, President of the Republic of Mozambique, signed the Mozambique General Peace Agreement in Rome and essentially put an end to the country's civil war. To commemorate this day, the Republic of Mozambique has declared October 4 as Peace Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tailscomet - Has a tail, and gets its name from Greek kometes, "long-haired star." More... bangs - The practice of cutting horses' tails the same length was called "banging off," which led to this term for a woman's hairstyle. More... soup-and-fish - Refers to the attire of white tie and tails. More... tailgate - Originally a gate that dropped down at the tail of a wagon. More... | |