Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 19, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
berate
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Comparative Adverbs from Adverbs Ending in "-ly"Many adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" to the end of an adjective. If an adverb has been created according to this pattern, what do we do to form the comparative? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 HerbariaA herbarium is a collection of dried and mounted plant specimens. Whole plants collected from the field are spread flat and dried, usually between absorbent sheets in a plant press. They are then mounted on stiff white paper and carefully labeled. Specimens are often poisoned as a precaution against insect attacks. Herbaria are said to be the "dictionaries" of the plant kingdom, containing the reference specimens essential to the proper naming of unknown plants. How are specimens organized? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Operation Uranus Begins (1942)In the summer of 1941, a wave of German forces swept into the Soviet Union and proceeded to conquer a vast amount of territory. Stopped at Stalingrad, the Germans became mired in one of the most significant battles of WWII and were ill-prepared for the deteriorating Soviet weather. The enormous Soviet counteroffensive, code-named Operation Uranus, overwhelmed them. Within days, their entire force at Stalingrad was encircled. What nearly delayed the artillery bombardment that began the offensive? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711)With an extraordinarily broad education, Lomonosov became a prominent figure of 18th-century Russia in many capacities. He was a poet, a language reformer, a chemistry professor, and founder of Moscow State University. He created the first colored-glass mosaics in Russia. He designed a telescope and hypothesized the presence of an atmosphere on Venus. He cataloged more than 3,000 minerals and explained the origin of icebergs. His experiments in physics contradicted what commonly accepted theory? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Thou know'st the o'er-eager vehemence of youth,How quick in temper, and in judgment weak. Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
ride the pine— In sports (especially baseball), to remain sitting on the bench, rather than be an active participant in the game. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Garifuna Settlement Day (2024)Garifuna Settlement Day honors the heritage of the Garifuna people, a unique ethnic group in the Caribbean and Central America. In 1943, Garifuna Settlement Day was declared a holiday in the southern districts of Belize, and it is now celebrated throughout the country. There are long sessions of traditional drumming and dancing, and Garifuna crafts and food are sold and displayed. Events to raise awareness and appreciation of Garifuna culture are common, including special days to dress in traditional clothing, a Miss Garifuna Belize beauty pageant, parades, and rallies. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: mineraldiamond - Developed from adamant—the name of the hardest stone or mineral of ancient times—from Latin adamans, from Greek adamas, "invincible" (a-, "not," and daman, "to tame"). More... Formica - Got its name from being created as a substitute "for mica," a mineral. More... mineral - Etymologically "something obtained by mining," from Latin minera, "ore." More... snow - Technically a mineral, it is Teutonic in origin, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin words niv-/nix and Greek nipha; the spelling snow first appeared in English around 1200. More... | |