Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 27, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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virid
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Relative Pronouns and Relative ClausesA relative pronoun is a type of pronoun used to connect a relative clause to the main clause in a sentence. What two purposes do relative clauses serve in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 But wait! There's more!The now-familiar phrase "But wait! There's more!" first accompanied infomercials for the "amazing" Ginsu knife in the 1970s. These ads also urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" By bringing the direct-marketing techniques of door-to-door sales and print advertising to television, the Ginsu ads established the formula for the modern infomercial. "Ginsu" was actually a word that executives made up to evoke images of Japanese samurai swords. What were the knives originally called? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Christopher Reeve Is Paralyzed (1995)Having starred in four Superman movies beginning in 1978, Reeve was an immensely popular actor by the 1990s. He was also an avid athlete and equestrian. During an event in 1995, his horse spooked before a jump, throwing Reeve. He landed on his head and was paralyzed from the neck down. He briefly considered suicide, but instead spent the rest of his life campaigning for spinal injury research. His friend Robin Williams was the first person to make Reeve laugh after the accident. How? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794)Cornelius was the patriarch of the famous Vanderbilt family. As a youth, he ferried freight and passengers in New York Harbor. As an adult, he gained control of most of the ferry lines around New York City and quickly expanded up and down the coast. He had similar success in the railroad business and died with an estate worth more than $100 million, the largest personal fortune accumulated in the US to that date. Why did Vanderbilt, who had 13 children, leave nearly everything to just one son? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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mind the gap— An audio or visual instruction used in the UK and Ireland to be careful stepping over the space between a train's carriage and the platform when boarding or disembarking. Primarily heard in UK, Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 National Reconciliation Week (2025)Australia sets aside the week between May 27 and June 3 to honor the culture and history of its Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, and to promote reconciliation and forgiveness for the treatment that these indigenous peoples have suffered at the hands of white Australians. Since it was first held in 1996, National Reconciliation Week has featured various activities designed to promote understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, such as the People's Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: plumdrupe - A fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone (e.g. almonds, cherries, plums, olives), it comes from Latin drupa, "overripe olive," from Greek druppa, "olive." More... plum, prune - Plum and prune are ultimately the same word, coming from Greek proumnon. More... plum job - Relates to the 1600s British term "plum" for 1,000 pounds, meaning a serious amount of money. More... plum pudding - So named because it was originally made with plums—the word was retained to denote "raisin," which became the main ingredient. More... | |