Daily Content Archive

(as of Friday, August 23, 2024)
Word of the Day

disjunct

Definition:(adjective) Marked by separation of or from usually contiguous elements.
Synonyms:isolated
Usage: The islands were like little isolated worlds, as abruptly disjunct and unexpected as a palm-shaded well in the Sahara.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Categories of Dependent Clauses

Because dependent clauses must be a part of or attached to an independent clause, they serve a variety of grammatical functions depending on what type of dependent clause we are using. What are the three primary categories of dependent clauses? More...
Article of the Day

Atomic Force Microscope

With a demonstrated resolution of fractions of a nanometer, the atomic force microscope (AFM) is one of the foremost tools for imaging, measuring, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale. Unlike the electron microscope, which provides a two-dimensional image of a sample, the AFM provides a true 3-D surface profile. Though the term "microscope" suggests the visual study of minute samples, this high-tech device functions in an entirely different manner. How does the AFM gather information? More...
This Day in History

Freckleton Air Disaster (1944)

On the morning of August 23, 1944, an American B-24 bomber aircraft crashed into the village of Freckleton in Lancashire, England, during a fierce storm. The plane hit the Holy Trinity School, three houses, and a snack bar for American servicemen. Fuel from the plane's ruptured fuel tank created an inferno. Of the 61 people killed in the crash and fire, 38 were children. What reportedly widespread belief among the American airmen about British weather may have contributed to the disaster? More...
Today's Birthday

Ernst Krenek (1900)

Krenek was an Austrian-American composer born in Vienna to Czech parents. He studied in Berlin and Vienna and began composing in the 1920s. His 1926 jazz opera, Johnny Strikes Up, was extremely successful and has been translated into many languages. He explored atonal and 12-tone compositions, which lack a definable key. In 1937, Krenek moved to the US, where he became a citizen in 1945. In 1924, he began a short-lived marriage to the daughter of what famous composer? More...
Quotation of the Day
Few are qualified to shine in company; but it is in most men's power to be agreeable.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Idiom of the Day

(as) silent as the grave

Totally silent, especially as produces an ominous or foreboding effect. More...
Today's Holiday

Vulcanalia (2025)

Vulcan was the ancient Roman god of volcanic or destructive fire. The Vulcanalia, or festival in honor of Vulcan, was held on August 23, right at the time of year when forest fires might be expected and when the stored grain was in danger of burning. For this reason, Vulcan's cult was very prominent at Ostia, where Rome's grain was stored. At the Vulcanalia, which was observed in Egypt, in Athens, and in Rome, the priest or flamen Volcanis performed a sacrifice, and the heads of families burned small fish they had caught in the Tiber River. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: prune

amputate - Comes from Latin ambi, "around," and putare, "to prune, trim." More...

dried plum - Another name for a prune. More...

preen - Generally thought to be an alteration of prune, "cut branches." More...

purge - To purge a tree is to prune it; to purge a candle is to snuff it. More...

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