Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 9, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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jilt
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Irregular Comparative AdverbsJust as there are irregular adverbs, there are irregular comparative adverbs. "Well" is an example of an irregular comparative adverb. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Nessie: The Loch Ness MonsterAlthough most experts agree that the monster said to live in Scotland's Lake Ness does not exist, the Loch Ness Monster is alive and well in the popular imagination and has been rearing its enormous head in legends dating all the way back to 565 CE. Some theorize that "Nessie" is related to the long-extinct plesiosaur, a Mesozoic marine reptile, but this is challenged by the fact that Lake Ness was frozen solid during recent ice ages. What are some other theories about Nessie's origins? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The American Civil War Ends at Appomattox Court House (1865)The first major engagement of the US Civil War was the First Battle of Bull Run, fought in 1861 partly on the farm of Wilmer McLean in Manassas, Virginia. A few years later, McLean moved to Appomattox Court House, a town which, coincidentally, would soon be the site of the war's effective end. It was there that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in McLean's parlor. Why did Grant stop Union troops when they began to celebrate the victory? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830)Muybridge was an eccentric photographic innovator who left a vast and varied body of work. He is best known for his pioneering use of multiple still cameras to photograph the stages of motion. Hired by Leland Stanford to answer the question of whether there is a moment during a horse's stride when all four of its hooves are off the ground, he developed a special shutter for his cameras and a method for triggering them sequentially. Why was he acquitted of murdering his wife's lover? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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curse (someone or something) under (one's) breath— To say threatening, consternated, or disgruntled remarks (toward someone or something) in a very soft or indistinct voice, such that no one else can hear or understand them clearly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Appomattox Day (2022)The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, in the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, when Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union army accepted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy. The most widespread celebration of Appomattox Day took place in 1965 during the Civil War centennial year. The day was noted across the country with costumed pageants, books and articles reflecting on the war, and concerts of martial music. Although the anniversary is not observed on a yearly basis, reenactments of the historic surrender are held periodically. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perverseawkward - Comes from Old Norse awk, "perverse," and weard, "in the direction of," i.e. "turned back upon itself" or "turned backward." More... crabby, crabbed - Crabby and crabbed derive from a crab's sideways movement and habit of snapping (thought to suggest a perverse or irritable nature). More... peeve - A back-formation from peevish, "perverse, obstinate." More... queer - Comes from the German root quer, "across, oblique, perverse." More... | |