Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, March 10, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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curlicue
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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When Not to Use a SemicolonAlthough semicolons function in ways similar to both commas and periods, they do not have the exact function of either: they are stronger than a comma but weaker than a period, so it is not always appropriate to substitute one for the other. With what types of clauses would we not use a semicolon? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Gates of TashkentThe Gates of Tashkent were built around the town of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the 10th century. The last of the gates was destroyed in 1890, but several of the city's districts still bear their names. The gates, which varied in number over time, served as fortifications for the original settlement located at the intersection of the Bozsuv canal and caravan routes from the Tien Shan Mountains. Who was in charge of protecting the wooden gates? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 French Foreign Legion Founded (1831)The French Foreign Legion is a unit of the French Army largely composed of foreigners and commanded by French officers. It was created by King Louis Phillipe in 1831 to keep potential dissidents busy fighting for France rather than against it. Because enlistment historically required no official identification, many criminals joined under assumed names to hide their unsavory backgrounds. What are the two ways foreign-born legionnaires can earn the right to apply for French citizenship? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (1844)Sarasate was a Spanish violinist and composer. He began studying the violin with his bandmaster father at age five, and at his first public concert at age eight, he impressed a wealthy patron and was sent to study in Madrid. There, Queen Isabel II gave him the Stradivarius violin that he would play for the rest of his life. He made his Paris debut in 1860 and commenced touring the world. He wrote scores of brilliant virtuoso works, some of which are still played today. Where are his violins now? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To me, fair friend, you never can be oldFor as you were when first your eye I eyed, Such seems your beauty still. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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many happy returns of the day— I wish you a very happy birthday and many more like it in the future. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Commonwealth Day (2025)From 1903 until 1957, this holiday in honor of the British Empire was known as Empire Day and celebrated on May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday. Between 1958 and 1966, it was called British Commonwealth Day. Then it was switched to Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday in June, and the name was shortened to Commonwealth Day. It is now observed annually on the second Monday in March. In Canada it is still celebrated on May 24 (or the Monday before) and referred to as Victoria Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: taughtacademy - Came from Akademos, the man or demigod for whom Plato's garden, where he taught, was named. More... pedagogue - A Roman slave who took children to school and on outings, but also taught them—from Greek ped, "child," and agein, "to lead." More... recant - Can mean "sing again"; its usual meaning stresses the withdrawing or denying of something professed or taught. More... doctor, physician - Doctor is derived from Latin doctus, "having been taught; learned," from docere, "to teach"; physician comes from Latin physica, "natural science; physics." More... | |