Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, July 21, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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traipse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbial Complements and Sentence PlacementAdverbial complements always appear after the verb they complement. If the verb is intransitive, the complement will appear directly after the verb. If the verb is transitive, where will the complement appear? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Endogenous RetrovirusRetroviruses carry their genetic blueprint in the form of RNA, which they use to synthesize DNA—the reverse of the usual process. This makes it possible for their genetic material to become a permanent part of the genes of an infected cell. An endogenous retrovirus is a retrovirus-like sequence found in an organism's genome that is thought to constitute the remains of a true retrovirus absorbed through evolution. In humans, endogenous retroviruses are suspected of involvement in what diseases? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Lowest Temperature in History Recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica (1983)Located near the magnetic South Pole, Russia's Vostok Research Station in Antarctica experiences three straight months of polar night every year from April to August, a period during which the Sun does not rise. In 1983, in the dead of southern winter and polar night, Vostok experienced the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, a chilling -128.56 degrees F (-89.2 degrees C). December 1989 was the warmest month ever recorded at Vostok. On average, how warm was it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Isaac Stern (1920)Born in Ukraine, Stern came to the US as an infant and began studying violin as a child. He made his New York debut at 17 and toured extensively after World War II. A cultural ambassador, he performed in the Soviet Union and China as one of the world's top violin virtuosos. In 1960, he formed a famous trio with pianist Eugene Istomin and cellist Leonard Rose. Stern helped establish the National Endowment for the Arts and is noted for having saved what landmark institution from demolition? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 You will hear people say that poverty is the best spur to the artist. They have never felt the iron of it in their flesh. They do not know how mean it makes you. It exposes you to endless humiliation, it cuts your wings, it eats into your soul like a cancer.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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out of (one's) shell— Less shy, reserved, or reticent and in a more sociable, outgoing, or enthusiastic state. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hemingway Days Festival (2022)This week-long celebration of Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), the American novelist and short-story writer, is held in Key West, Florida. The festival has been held since 1980 during the week of Hemingway's birthday, July 21. Hemingway made his home in Key West at one time, and his novel, To Have and Have Not (1937), is set there. Events include a street fair, a Hemingway look-alike contest, a fishing tournament, an arm-wrestling competition, and a party and concert at the Hemingway Home and Museum. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: measuringcord - An amount of wood containing 128 cubic feet (4x4x8 feet); the name comes from the old practice of measuring a stack of firewood with a cord of a certain length. To cord is to stack or put up wood in cords. More... drosometer - An instrument for measuring the amount of dew on a surface. More... isometric - From Latin isus, "equal," and -metria, "measuring." More... Mach - The scale measuring the speed of an object or fluid relative to the speed of sound is named for philosopher/physicist Ernst Mach (1838-1916), who researched thermodynamics; Mach is the ratio of the speed of something to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium. More... | |