Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, December 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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querulous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Subjunctive MoodThe subjunctive mood refers to verbs that are used to describe hypothetical or non-real actions, events, or situations. Verbs do not have different forms to express the subjunctive mood in English. What is done to them to convey the meaning we wish to achieve? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mirror TestThis test is used to determine whether an animal recognizes itself in a mirror—an indicator of self-awareness. It was developed in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup, Jr., who was inspired by Darwin's account of an encounter with a captive orangutan that saw itself in a mirror and seemed to show recognition. Gallup refined the test by placing marks on his subjects and then observing their responses to the marks upon seeing their reflections. Which animals typically pass the test, and which fail? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Indian Ocean Tsunami Strikes (2004)A tsunami is a series of massive waves generated when a body of water is rapidly displaced. The deadliest tsunami in recorded history, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed some 230,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries as far away as Somalia on the Horn of Africa. It was triggered by an undersea earthquake near Sumatra with a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3 and inundated coastal communities with waves up to 100 ft (30 m) high. How far away were the effects felt? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Dewey (1837)Dewey was an American admiral and a hero of the Battle of Manila. He graduated from the US Naval Academy and served with Union naval forces in the American Civil War. In the Spanish-American War (1898), his Asiatic Squadron sailed to the Philippines and defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay, destroying eight Spanish ships in six hours and suffering only one American fatality. His victory led to the US acquisition of the Philippines. What rank did Congress create for him in 1899? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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long pig— obsolete Human flesh when eaten as food by cannibals. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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_in_Dingle,_Co_Kerry.jpg) St. Stephen's Day (Ireland) (2024)On this day in c. 35, St. Stephen became the first Christian martyr. He was denounced as a blasphemer by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council in ancient Palestine, and stoned to death. In many countries, St. Stephen's Day is celebrated as an extra Christmas holiday. In Ireland, boys with blackened faces carrying a paper wren go about begging and "hunting the wren." The hunting of the wren is most likely a carryover from an old belief that the robin, symbolizing the New Year, killed the wren, symbolizing the Old, at the turning of the year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spendscabbage pounder - An inept golfer who spends a lot of time in the rough. More... carpet knight - A knight who spends his time in luxury and idleness—knighted on the carpet at court rather than on the field of battle. More... mouse potato - A person who spends too much time on the computer, patterned on couch potato. More... spendthrift - One who spends the "thrift" or earnings/wealth of another. More... | |