Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 9, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rive
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Compound PredicatesWhen the subject is related to two or more finite verbs, the sentence is said to have a "compound predicate." What do we usually use to link the verbs in a compound predicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Tightrope Between the TowersPhilippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his illegal 1974 walk between the former Twin Towers in New York. After six years of planning, Petit used a 450-pound (204-kg) cable and a 26-foot (8-m), 55-pound (25-kg) balancing pole to make eight crossings between the still unfinished towers—walking, jumping, and lying down on the wire for more than an hour before being arrested when he returned to the tower roof. What punishment did Petit receive for his stunt? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 John Quincy Adams Elected US President by Congress (1825)Without a strong party system in place, the 1824 US presidential election was based on regional, rather than party, support. Consequently, of the five candidates who ran for office, none received enough electoral votes to take office, sending the decision to the House of Representatives under the terms of the twelfth amendment. Although Andrew Jackson had earned a plurality of the popular vote, Adams was elected because, according to the Jacksonians, he had struck a "corrupt bargain" with whom? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Whitaker Wright (1846)The son of a poor minister, Wright went on to become an extremely wealthy mining company owner. He lived a lavish lifestyle and mingled with the social elite, giving off the appearance of a legitimate and successful businessman. Yet, when his companies collapsed in 1900, it was revealed that he had earned his fortune by defrauding investors. Convicted in 1904 of fraud, he chose to end his own life rather than serve out his prison sentence. How did he kill himself while still in the courthouse? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I never deal in transformations, for they are not honest, and no respectable sorceress likes to make things appear to be what they are not.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make a leg— obsolete To make a show of obeisance or fealty by bowing deeply (drawing one's right leg back in the process). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Maron's Day (2025)St. Maron (also spelled St. Maroun), the patron saint of Lebanon, was a monk who died in 410 CE. The Feast of St. Maron, as it is known in Lebanon, does not have the cultural significance for its citizens that it had in past eras—today, Maronites only make up one-quarter of the Lebanese population (between one-half and one million). In Lebanon and abroad, the most common ceremony of the feast day is the Maronite liturgy, which is a distinctive blend of Catholic doctrine, Arabic music, and singing in Syriac-Aramaic, a classical language that was spoken by Jesus. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: proportionad valorem - A type of customs duties, from Latin, meaning "in proportion to the value." More... analogy - Comes from Greek analogia, "a proportion," such as 2/10 = 10/X, a way of calculating unknown quantities. More... bonsai - Comes from Japanese words meaning "tray planting" and involves growing and pruning so that all parts of the plant—flowers, leaves, and stems—are in proportion. More... reason - From Latin ratio, "thinking," and associated with the ideas of right order, proportion, or harmony. More... | |