Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 21, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
extortionate
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining Dangling PrepositionsA dangling preposition (also called a "hanging preposition" or "stranded preposition") refers to a preposition whose object occurs earlier in the sentence, or else does not have an object in the sentence at all. It is considered "dangling," "hanging," or "stranded" because it does not form what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The HabiruSumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources recorded roughly 3,200 to 4,000 years ago mention the Habiru, a group of people found throughout the Fertile Crescent, which spanned the Levant, Mesopotamia, and ancient Egypt. Depending on the source and epoch, the Habiru are variously described as nomads, rebels, outlaws, mercenaries, bowmen, slaves, or migrant laborers. Though opinion remains divided on this issue, some scholars associate the Habiru with what ethnic group? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 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 | |
|---|---|
 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 | |
|---|---|
 Diplomacy, n.: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
out of (one's) shell— Less shy, reserved, or reticent and in a more sociable, outgoing, or enthusiastic state. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Hemingway Days Festival (2025)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 | |
|---|---|
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... | |