Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Separating Items in a List with SemicolonsWhen writing lists, we usually use commas to separate the individual elements. However, we use semicolons to make the division between the items clearer when one or more items in a list already includes what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 InhalantsThe practice of inhaling common, inexpensive household products such as glue, solvents, hair spray, or gasoline in order to induce a sense of euphoria is a global problem, particularly among teens. Headaches, vomiting, and a characteristic rash around the nose and mouth are associated with short-term inhalant abuse, while weight loss, disorientation, muscle weakness, irritability, depression, and death can result from long-term use. What are some of the ways that "huffing" can lead to death? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Short Creek Raid (1953)Before dawn on July 26, 1953, more than 100 Arizona state police officers and National Guard soldiers entered Short Creek, home to about 400 Mormon fundamentalists, many of whom illegally practiced polygamy. Almost the whole community was arrested, and 263 children were seized from their parents. Arizona's governor described it as a "police action against insurrection," but the raid drew widespread criticism. Community members knew the raid was coming. What were they doing when officers arrived? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jane "Jinny" Bunford (1895)Standing well over seven and a half feet tall, Bunford was twice recognized during her lifetime as the tallest person in the world. She is also believed to have had the longest hair, at 8 ft 1 in (2.5 m) long. Though she died in 1922, she was featured in the 1971 Guinness Book of World Records after her skeleton was discovered on display at Birmingham University. Bunford's height likely resulted from her pituitary gland secreting excessive growth hormones after what childhood accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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peg it— To leave or depart very quickly or suddenly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Anne's Day (2025)In 1650, a group of Breton sailors built a tiny frame church at the place where the town of Beaupré, Quebec, Canada, now stands. They wanted to honor St. Anne, the traditional name for the mother of the Virgin Mary and wife of Joachim or St. Joseph. The pilgrimage to her shrine in Beaupré is one of the major pilgrimages on the North American continent; Romanies from Canada and the United States also arrive to celebrate Santana ("St. Anna"). They camp on the church property, prepare a slava feast of special foods for and prayers to St. Anne, and visit their families. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: seizingacatalepsy - Greek for "not thoroughly seizing" or "incomprehensibility." More... rapine - Means "the act or practice of seizing and taking away by force the property of others." More... ravishing - Can mean "seizing on prey." More... hend, hent - To hend is to seize or take; hent is the act of seizing. More... | |