Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, December 13, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dog-tired
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicate NounsNouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes known as predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the subject. If the noun is accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as articles, adjectives, or prepositional phrases), the entire noun phrase acts in what way? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 LeishmaniasisSpread by the bite of a bloodsucking sand fly, leishmaniasis is a tropical disease caused by parasitic protozoans. The cutaneous form of the disease causes deep, disfiguring lesions at the site of the bite, most of which heal spontaneously months later. The visceral form of the disease—also known as kala-azar—affects the internal organs and is usually fatal. Currently, there is no vaccine that can prevent leishmaniasis. What city is considered the cutaneous leishmaniasis capital of the world? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sir Francis Drake Begins Circumnavigation of the Globe (1577)Drake, an English buccaneer and navigator, set out in 1577 with five ships to raid Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of the New World. After abandoning two ships, he navigated the Straits of Magellan with the remaining three, becoming the first Englishman to do so. Another ship was destroyed in a storm, and a fourth returned to England, but Drake continued alone up the coast of S America, crossed the Pacific, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in England in 1580. How was he rewarded? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Talcott Parsons (1902)From 1927 until his retirement in 1974, Parsons, an American sociologist, trained three generations of students at Harvard University. He was known for his attempt to construct a single theoretical framework within which general and specific characteristics of societies could be systematically classified and was largely responsible for introducing the work of Émile Durkheim and Max Weber to American sociologists. Why was Parsons considered one of the most controversial sociologists in the world? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a load off (one's feet)— To sit down and rest one's feet; to relax. (Usually said as a suggestion.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Lucy's Day (2024)According to tradition, St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, was born in Syracuse, Sicily, in the 3rd or 4th century. Her day is widely celebrated in Sweden as Luciadagen, which marks the official beginning of the Christmas season. It is traditional to observe Luciadagen by dressing the oldest daughter in the family in a white robe tied with a crimson sash. Candles are set into her crown, which is covered with lingonberry leaves. The "Lucia Bride" wakes each member of the household on the morning of December 13 with a tray of coffee and special saffron buns or ginger cookies. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sakeeristic - Means "enjoying argument for its own sake," or "of or pertaining to controversy." More... fine art, commercial artwork - Fine art is any art created for its own sake, as opposed to commercial artwork. More... heaven's sake - It is heaven's sake (not heavens' sake, heaven's sakes, etc.). More... sensuous, sensual - Sensuous usually implies gratification of the senses for the sake of aesthetic pleasure; sensual usually describes gratification of the senses or physical appetites as an end in itself. More... | |