Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 13, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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argus-eyed
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Pluralizing Compound NounsSometimes, compound nouns need to be made plural. To do so, what endings are usually added to the main word, or the defining word, of the compound noun? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ShahnamehThe Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, is an enormous poetic opus compiled by the Persian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 CE. Considered the first great work of modern Persian literature, the Shahnameh recounts the mythical and historical past of Iran, from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest in the 7th century. With 62 stories, 990 chapters, and 60,000 rhyming couplets, the Shahnameh is much longer than what well known ancient epic? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Children Report Visions of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal (1917)In 1917, three children were herding sheep in Fátima when, according to their story, the Virgin Mary appeared to them. They claimed that she continued to appear to them on the 13th of every month, relaying messages and prophesies. Word of the visions spread, and at one point, the children were arrested. Then, on October 13, thousands reported seeing the sun spin in the sky near Fátima, which became a pilgrimage site. Two of the children died before the age of 12. What happened to the third? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Maria Theresa of Austria (1717)Maria Theresa became Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Bohemia and Hungary upon the death of her father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. Lacking a male heir, he had initiated the Pragmatic Sanction providing for female heirs to inherit the Habsburg property and throne. She married Emperor Francis I and bore him 16 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. Two of their sons became emperors, and two of their daughters became queens. One queen was Marie Antoinette of France. Who was the other? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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of no account— Of no or very little importance, significance, or worth. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lemuralia (2025)In ancient Rome, the lemures were the ghosts of the family's dead, who were considered to be troublesome and therefore had to be exorcized on a regular basis. The Lemuralia, or Lemuria, was a yearly festival held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May to get rid of the lemures. Participants walked barefoot, cleansed their hands three times, and threw black beans behind them nine times to appease the spirits of the dead. On the third day of the festival, a merchants' festival was held to ensure a prosperous year for business. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: movieart movie - A movie intended to be an artistic work rather than a commercial movie of mass appeal. More... longueurs - Boring periods of time or parts of a book, play, music, or movie are longueurs. More... horse opera - A slang term for a western (movie). More... vamp - Theda Bara's performance in the movie The Vampire brought us this word, meaning "seductive woman." More... | |