Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 11, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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prorogue
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Present Continuous Tense with AdverbsWhen using the present continuous tense, we can add adverbs relating to time between "be" and the present participle. What do such adverbs serve to specify or clarify? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HephaestionHephaestion was a Macedonian general who supervised the foundation of cities and colonies in Bactria, central Asia, and India. He was a close friend of Alexander the Great, who called him "my Patroclus"—in reference to the friend of the Greek hero Achilles. In 324 BCE, Hephaestion married Alexander's sister-in-law, Drypetis, but died suddenly in the same year at Ecbatana, the capital of ancient Media, in what is now northwestern Iran. How did Alexander mark Hephaestion's death? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) Skylab Returns to Earth (1979)Five years after it was abandoned in orbit, the US space laboratory Skylab began to fall back toward Earth. The impending re-entry and breakup became an international media event, as it was unclear exactly when or where the debris would land. News organizations went so far as to offer rewards for surviving pieces of the spacecraft. The debris finally crashed to Earth in Western Australia, earning NASA a $400 fine for littering from the Shire of Esperance. When was the fine paid? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elwyn Brooks "E. B." White (1899)After starting his writing career as a reporter, White settled in New York and became known for his impeccable prose style as a contributing editor of New Yorker magazine. Talented in diverse genres, he collaborated with James Thurber on satire, wrote the classic children's books Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, and revised William Strunk Jr.'s grammar and composition text The Elements of Style, which became a definitive writing guide. How did White know Strunk? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 As the viper, though it kills with it, does not deserve to be blamed for the poison it carries, as it is a gift of nature, neither do I deserve reproach for being beautiful.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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one card shy of a (full) deck— A pejorative phrase meaning not very intelligent or of questionable mental capacity. This expression can appear in many different forms and variations (e.g., "a few sandwiches short of a picnic," "one brick short of a load.," etc.). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Naadam (2025)This Mongolian festival, sometimes spelled Nadaam, spotlights three major sports events. Its history goes back to the 13th century; today, it is held from July 11-13 in provinces throughout the country. The fairs bring together the nomadic people, who pitch a city of yurts or gers (felt tents). Wrestling is usually the first event, the second sport is archery, and the last of the traditional sporting events is horse racing. When night falls, a bowed stringed instrument called a matouqin is played, and people sit by their yurts talking, dancing, and drinking aromatic butter tea and kumys. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: treasurehamper - A food basket for a picnic, it is a phonetic reduction of the word hanaper, "plate basket," or "repository for treasure." More... garrison - At first, it meant "store, treasure." More... treasure - Based on Greek thesauros. More... treasure trove - From French, literally meaning "found treasure." More... | |