Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 5, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
admonitory
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Forming the Second ConditionalWe use the second conditional to speak about a hypothetical situation or outcome resulting from the condition. Unlike the first conditional, we use the second conditional to talk about things that cannot or are unlikely to happen. How do we create the second conditional? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 HaboobsA haboob is a strong wind and sand storm. Although haboobs are most common in Sudan, where about 24 occur each year, they can arise in many arid environments and are not uncommon in the American Southwest. They are often preceded by thunderstorms. Once a thunderstorm begins releasing precipitation, its winds change direction. When the downdraft reaches the ground, it stirs up loose sand, sending a wall of sand through the air at high speeds. "Haboob" comes from an Arabic word meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 The Battle of Wagram Begins (1809)The two-day Battle of Wagram signaled the end of the 1809 War of the Fifth Coalition between the kingdoms of Austria and France. Due to the battle's then-unprecedented use of artillery, both sides suffered tens of thousands of casualties. The Austrians were broken by the battle. Napoleon's victory forced Archduke Charles of Austria to accept unfavorable armistice conditions, stripping Austria of land and subjects. The battle might have ended differently if who had shown up in time? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 P. T. Barnum (1810)Barnum may be best known for the circus he formed with James Bailey in 1881, but this took place late in his life and was neither his first, nor sole, line of work. The splashy showman was also an author and, oddly enough, a politician. Yes, the man who may have said "There's a sucker born every minute" was elected to office—more than once. Apparently fond of seeing his name in print, Barnum published his autobiography in 1855 and even got a newspaper to oblige him in what way before his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 A very few—as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men—serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
on the fiddle— Engaged in deceitful, fraudulent, or dishonest means of obtaining money. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Beiteddine Festival (2025)The Beiteddine Festival, held in a magnificent 200-year-old palace in this town in the Chouf region of Lebanon, has presented world-class offerings in the arts since 1985. Organizers defied the struggles of Lebanon's civil war by staging this celebration of human culture. Many performers are Lebanese, but artists from around the world also are invited. The 2001 festival, for example, included a concert by Elton John, a production of Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris, and Turkish folk musician Kudsi Erguner, as well as a performance by the Lebanese singer Fairouz. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: lapis lazuliazure stone - Another name for the lapis lazuli. More... lapis lazuli - A sky-blue semiprecious stone, it is pronounced lap-us-LAY-zuh-lee. More... sapphire - From Greek sappheiros, "lapis lazuli" or "blue stone." More... ultramarine - First a blue pigment made from lapis lazuli, imported from Asia by sea, so, in Latin, it was ultramarinus, "beyond the seas." More... | |