Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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actuate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Quotation Marks and TitlesWe use italics or occasionally underlining to indicate the title of a complete body of creative work (such as a novel, music album, play, or film). In what instances do we use quotation marks to indicate a title? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Benjamin BrittenConsidered the most significant British composer since Henry Purcell, Britten first won international acclaim in 1937 for his Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra. His operas, admired for their skillful setting of English words and their orchestral interludes, include The Rape of Lucretia, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice. In 1976, he became the first British composer in history to be ennobled. What honor did he decline? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Issue of Sports Illustrated Is Published (1954)The first issue of Sports Illustrated—featuring Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat—was published in 1954. The brainchild of Henry Luce, the founder of Time magazine, it became one of the most influential sports magazines in America. Though Sports Illustrated originally covered a wide range of sports, including hunting and yachting, today it focuses on major sports, such as football and baseball. When was the annual swimsuit issue first published? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888)Lawrence was a British adventurer, soldier, and scholar popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia. He learned Arabic while on an archaeological expedition in Mesopotamia, then served in intelligence for the British army in Egypt during WWI. After conceiving a plan to support an Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire—a German ally—he joined the Arab forces and became a leader in the revolt, but he failed to achieve the formation of an independent Arab state. What did he later do under false names? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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carry (someone) off their feet— To completely overwhelm someone with enthusiasm, ardor, or passion. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Daimonji Okuribi (2023)In Japan, the belief that the souls of the dead return to earth during the Obon Festival gave rise to the custom of lighting great bonfires to guide the souls back to heaven after their yearly visit. This custom is known as Daimonji Okuribi, the Great Bonfire Event. In the city of Kyoto, an enormous flammable structure, built in the shape of the Chinese character dai, meaning "big," is set on fire on the hill in back of the Zenrinji Temple. The character is 530 feet tall and 510 feet wide, providing a spectacular display for city residents. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mineraldiamond - Developed from adamant—the name of the hardest stone or mineral of ancient times—from Latin adamans, from Greek adamas, "invincible" (a-, "not," and daman, "to tame"). More... Formica - Got its name from being created as a substitute "for mica," a mineral. More... mineral - Etymologically "something obtained by mining," from Latin minera, "ore." More... snow - Technically a mineral, it is Teutonic in origin, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin words niv-/nix and Greek nipha; the spelling snow first appeared in English around 1200. More... | |