Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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plectrum
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Third ConditionalThird conditionals are used to establish a hypothetical situation in the past, followed by a hypothetical outcome that did not really happen. Typically, what is the outcome? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Leaning Tower of PisaIn 1173, construction began on the final building of the cathedral complex in Pisa, Italy. The bell tower was designed to stand 185 feet (56 m) tall, but uneven settling of its foundation caused its 5.5-degree lean. Work was suspended several times, but the structure was still leaning upon completion in the 14th century. The tower's tilt only worsened over time, prompting a recent strengthening project to prevent collapse. How did the tower narrowly escape destruction during World War II? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak (1920)In 1920, meteorologists did not have modern forecasting equipment, and there was no storm warning system in place in the US. Thus, when an outbreak of storms began near dawn on March 28, 1920, few were prepared for the devastation that followed. Some 400 people were killed and more than 1,200 injured that day by at least 38 recorded tornadoes in the deep South and the Midwest. Why is it likely that both the total number of tornadoes as well as the actual death toll were underreported? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Freddie Bartholomew (1924)Abandoned by his parents as a baby and raised by a British aunt whose last name he took, Bartholomew was a successful child actor in Hollywood during the 1930s. He appeared in such films as Little Lord Fauntleroy, Captains Courageous, and David Copperfield, which propelled him to fame at the age of 10. After he became successful, his biological parents launched a protracted and expensive court battle to regain custody of the child star that lasted for how long? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but the first salutation to the possibilities of the immense Remote, the Wild, the Watery, the Unshored...Herman Melville (1819-1891) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be more trouble than it's worth— To not be important, useful, or beneficial enough to justify the effort or difficulty that something requires. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Teachers' Day in the Czech Republic (2025)March 28 is the birthday of Jan Amos Komensky (or John Comenius; 1592-1670), a noted educational reformer and theologian in the former Czechoslovakia. Komensky was the first person to write an illustrated textbook for children, used for teaching Latin words; he was also a proponent of compulsory education. It has been traditional for children to honor him on Teachers' Day, or Komensky Day, by bringing flowers and gifts to their teachers. The day is also observed with lectures, music, and educational activities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: thighham, hamstring - Originally, the part of the leg behind the knee was called the ham, and then the tendon near the ham was the hamstring; by extension, the ham became the thigh and buttock together. More... haunch - The buttock and thigh together. More... hockshin, gambrel - The underside of the thigh is the hockshin or gambrel. More... thigh - Etymologically, the "plump" part of the leg, from an Indo-European base meaning "swell" or "fat." More... | |