Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 24, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbial AdjunctsAdjuncts are usually adverbs or adverbial phrases that help modify and enrich the context of verbs in the sentence. What is the adverbial adjunct in the following sentence? "She walked to the park slowly." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Ig Nobel PrizesA parody of the Nobel Prizes, the Ig Nobel Prizes are given each year in early October—around the time the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced—for 10 achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think." Organized by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, the awards are presented by Nobel Laureates and are often intended to draw attention to scientific articles that have some humorous or unexpected aspect. What are some of the prize-winning topics? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Hersheypark Opens in Pennsylvania (1907)Milton Hershey, founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally created Hersheypark for his employees. Situated along a creek, it was a good spot for boating, picnicking, and enjoying baseball, which is what visitors did on the park's first day in 1907. The next year, the park added its first ride, a carousel. Over the decades, as the park expanded, it grew from a regional amusement to a national attraction. In what year did it bring the first looping roller coaster to the East Coast? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sue Taylor Grafton (1940)A onetime screenwriter, Grafton began writing detective novels after a bitter and protracted custody battle left her daydreaming about the vengeful crimes she would have liked to commit but could not. As a means of escape, she created private detective Kinsey Millhone, the protagonist in a series of alphabet-titled novels such as A is for Alibi and B is for Burglar. After G Is for Gumshoe, she was able to quit screenwriting. Why won't she sell the film rights to her books? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your lies in circulation inevitably multiplies, and the danger of detection increases every day.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the Nikon choir— The paparazzi or a large group of photojournalists, especially when actively engaged in photographing someone or something of great interest. (Refers to the Nikon brand of camera.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Armenian Martyrs' Day (2023)Armenian Martyrs' Day is a day of remembrance for the one million Armenians who died in the Turkish massacre of 1915-16. On April 24, 1915, Turks arrested Armenian political and intellectual leaders in Istanbul, killing 250 of them. That was the start of deportations, forced marches in the desert, rapes, and imprisonments that killed half the Armenian population in Turkey. Armenian communities throughout the world observe this day. In the United States, many state governors issue proclamations of remembrance; there are also special services in Armenian churches. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: heapmogul - A small mound of snow on a ski course, from Old Norse mugl, "little heap." More... congeries - A Latin word meaning "heap or pile of disparate items" or "disorderly collection." More... midden - Traces back to Scandinavian forms mog, "muck," and dynge, "heap," and first meant "dunghill" before it denoted a prehistoric or historic refuse heap. More... accumulate - One of its Latin elements is cumulus, "a heap." More... | |