Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, June 4, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pandemonium
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming a Compound Sentence with a SemicolonCompound sentences are made up of at least two independent clauses expressing closely related ideas of equal or similar importance. When can we join the clauses using a semicolon without a conjunction? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 XYY SyndromeXYY syndrome is a chromosomal anomaly characterized by the presence of one X-chromosome and two Y-chromosomes. Some medical geneticists question whether the term "syndrome" is appropriate for this sex-linked trisomy, because afflicted males are physically normal—though they tend to be above average in height—and the vast majority of those affected do not know that they possess the extra chromosome. About 1 in 1,000 boys are born with this condition. How does the chromosomal disorder develop? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Jonathan Pollard Pleads Guilty to Espionage Charges (1986)After leaving graduate school in 1979, Pollard immediately began applying for intelligence positions, and landed one at the US Naval Investigative Service (NIS). In 1985, after he had attained a high level of clearance, coworkers noticed that he was accessing a huge number of documents for seemingly no reason. He was arrested and, the following year, pled guilty to selling secrets to Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison. What early clues nearly derailed his career before it started? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 François Quesnay (1694)While serving as consulting physician to Louis XV at Versailles, Quesnay developed an interest in economics. In his 1758 Tableau économique, he described the relationship between the different economic classes of society and the flow of payments among them, and he developed the concept of economic balance used by many later economic analysts. An advocate of laissez-faire economics, he believed that all wealth originated with the land. What school of economics is he credited with founding? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better: we find comfort somewhere.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a modest proposal— An extreme, unorthodox, and often provocative or distasteful remedy to a complex problem, generally suggested humorously or satirically. (An allusion to Jonathan Swift's 1729 essay A Modest Proposal, in which he suggests that the poor of Ireland could alleviate their woes by selling their children as food.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tonga Emancipation Day (2025)June 4 is a national holiday in the Kingdom of Tonga, celebrating its full independence from Britain. On June 4, 1863, King George Tupuo I abolished the system of serfdom in the island nation of Tonga. The historic occasion is remembered on Emancipation Day, which is celebrated just after the conclusion of the annual three-day Ha'apai Festival. The Ha'apai Festival begins on Tonga's outer islands and ends on Lifuka Island on June 4th. Both the festival and Emancipation Day are marked with feasts and dancing. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mirrorcheval glass - A tall mirror swung on an upright frame that takes its name from French cheval, "horse"—a synonym for "supporting framework," which describes this mirror. More... catoptric - Means pertaining to a mirror, reflection, or reflector. More... mirage - From French se mirer, "be reflected," from Latin mirare, "look at"—the same root used in mirror. More... heliography - Using a mirror to send a signal. More... | |