Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 28, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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irreverent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Periods with AbbreviationsWhile the period is most commonly used to mark the end of a sentence, it is also used to mark abbreviations. In addition to standard abbreviations (words that are shortened by omitting one or more letters), there are also three sub-categories that can use periods. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SubvertisingSubvertising is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. Taking its name from a combination of the words "subvert" and "advertising," the act is often intended to sabotage its targets by presenting easily recognizable images that are shocking upon second glance. Still, some critics say subverts, which are often modified versions of existing images, merely increase public awareness of the original symbols. How have subverts been used politically? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Caleb Davis Bradham Begins Selling "Pepsi-Cola" (1898)Bradham was a pharmacist who invented a soft drink made with kola nut extract, vanilla, and "rare oils." He believed his drink aided digestion and renamed it "Pepsi-Cola" after the kola nut and pepsin, an enzyme that aids in digestion. In 1902, he incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Co, and, in 1931, the trademark and assets were bought by Charles Guth, who improved the formula and marketed a 12-ounce bottle for five cents with huge success. What did Bradham originally call his drink? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749)Goethe was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, and scientist whose dramatic poem Faust is considered one of the world's greatest poetic and philosophic creations. In it, he represents Faust, the legendary scholar who sold his soul to the devil, tragically, as a singularly modern figure who is condemned to remain unsatisfied by life. In his later years, Goethe was celebrated as a sage and visited by world luminaries. Goethe wrote which of his novels while suicidal over an unrequited love? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Money dignifies what is frivolous if unpaid for.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be left in the lurch— To be left or abandoned without assistance in a particularly awkward, difficult, or troublesome situation. (Sometimes written as "left in a lurch.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Puccini Festival (2024)The Puccini Festival is held annually each summer in Torre del Lago in Tuscany, Italy, to honor and celebrate Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), the Italian composer of such beloved operas as La Boheme and Madame Butterfly. Throughout August, the festival presents distinguished and often innovative productions of Puccini's works. The productions take place in an open-air theatre close to the Villa Mausoleum, where Puccini lived and worked. Events such as talks and art exhibitions about Puccini's life and work are held throughout the area all summer as well. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: monthsfetus - A human embryo starts to be called a fetus at nine weeks. More... Catholic twins - Siblings born within 12 months of each other. More... half-birthday - One's half-birthday is the day exactly six months before or after one's real birth date. More... semester - First meant six months, as it comes from Latin semestris, "of six months." More... | |