Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, June 16, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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transience
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Direct ObjectsDirect objects are directly affected by the verbs they complete—that is, the verb's action is happening directly to them. What is the direct object in the following sentence? "The dog chased its tail." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Brocken SpecterA Brocken specter is an optical phenomenon sometimes seen at high altitudes, when the observer is between the sun and a mass of clouds. The figures of the observer and surrounding objects are seen projected on the clouds, greatly enlarged and often encircled by a colorful halo. The phenomenon, named after a peak in Germany's Harz Mountains where it is often observed, can be seen on misty mountainsides, in cloud banks, and even from airplanes. What causes these shadows to appear so magnified? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Abraham Lincoln Delivers His "House Divided" Speech (1858)In 1858, Lincoln was nominated to challenge incumbent Illinois senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. At the state Republican convention, he accepted the nomination with a now-famous speech explaining his view that the US could not exist with both slave and free states—as "a house divided against itself cannot stand." He lost the race but won the presidency two years later. When and by whom had the same biblical reference previously been used to describe the national rift over slavery? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joyce Carol Oates (1938)Oates is an American author of over 50 novels and numerous volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. She has won the National Book Award and the O. Henry Award and has been thrice nominated for a Pulitzer. She writes about modern American life and the connection between violence and love. Her characters are mainly ordinary, inarticulate people to whom terrible things happen. Her most famous short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is based on what real-life serial killer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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nose into (something)— To investigate something; to try to find information about something, especially private, secret, or sensitive matters. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bloomsday (2025)James Joyce's novel Ulysses describes the events of a single day in Dublin: June 16, 1904. First published in Paris in 1922, Ulysses caused an uproar when it finally did appear in Ireland. But since 1954, Bloomsday—named after the novel's main character, Leopold Bloom—has been a Joycean feast day, observed with a number of events throughout Dublin that commemorate its illustrious author and the lives of his characters. There is a ritual pilgrimage along the path followed by Bloom, public readings from the novel, costume parties, and parades. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wormscan of worms - Based on an image of a container of maggots for use as fish bait. More... food for worms, food for fishes - A dead human being is food for worms; a drowning victim is food for fishes. More... silkworm - Is not a worm, but a caterpillar. More... wormwood - There are no worms or wood involved in wormwood, which is an alteration of the word wermod, a plant used for making vermouth, absinthe and medicine. More... | |