Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 30, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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appurtenance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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How to Conjugate "Be"The verb "be" is unique among verbs for having a huge variety of conjugations. Not only does it have irregular inflections for the past simple tense and past participle, but it also has specific forms depending on what two things? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GrapeshotGrapeshot is a cluster of small iron balls loaded into a canvas bag and fired from a cannon. When a grapeshot-loaded cannon is fired, the balls disperse at a high velocity, causing devastation similar to that of a scaled-up shotgun. This ammunition was especially effective against infantry massed at close range and was used until the early 19th century, when it was largely replaced by metal-cased canister shot. Which pirate was killed by a blast of grapeshot? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Casey Jones Dies on the Cannonball Express (1900)Jones was an American locomotive engineer whose main claim to fame, until his fateful run on the Cannonball Express, was his punctuality. On April 30, 1900, he was driving the Cannonball Express south on a dangerous, accident-prone run when he suddenly saw a stalled freight train ahead. Instead of jumping to safety, he stayed to slow his train, saving his coworkers and passengers but losing his own life in the process. Who wrote the ballad that immortalized him as a folk hero? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Willie Nelson (1933)Nelson is an American musician who helped create the blues-rock-country genre known as "outlaw music." In his five-decade career, he has made more than 200 recordings. In the 1960s, he became a successful songwriter in Nashville but was not recognized for his own singing until he moved back to Texas and adopted the unique image that made him an icon. He is known for raising money to aid farmers and for his generous appearances at benefit concerts. What hit song did he write for Patsy Cline? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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no one in his/her/their right mind would (do something)— No one who is sane would consider doing something; someone would have to be crazy to do something. (In this case, "their" is used as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Minehead Hobby Horse Parade (2025)In England and Wales, hobby horses have been a part of celebrations welcoming spring as far back as anyone can remember. In the waterfront town of Minehead, Somerset, the "sailors' horse" has a boat-shaped frame 7-10 feet long, which is carried on the shoulders of a man whose body is concealed by a canvas curtain that hangs to the ground. His head is covered by a painted tin mask and a tall dunce cap, and hundreds of rainbow-colored ribbons stream from the top of the horse. The horse sets out on May Day Eve, ending up at Whitecross (a crossroads to the west of town) on May Day morning. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: temper | |