Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, July 24, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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overwrought
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Present Simple TenseThe present simple tense is used when we speak about habits, general facts, and timetables. Does something have to be occurring in the present moment in time for it to be in the present simple tense? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TorcsA torc is a large, usually rigid, collar, necklace, or armband typically made of twisted metal. Its name, which means "to twist" in Latin, is derived from this design. A sign of nobility, torcs are made of bronze, gold, and other materials and were worn by cultures of the European Iron Age, such as the Scythians, Thracians, and Celts. Most torcs are open-ended at the front, although many seem to have been designed for near-permanent wear. What ancient sculpture features a figure wearing a torc? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Ascent of the Eiger's North Face (1938)Switzerland's Eiger mountain was first summited in 1858, but the sheer north face of the 13,025-foot (3,970-m) Alpine peak was not successfully climbed until 1938, when two independent pairs of climbers met on the face, joined forces, and reached the summit as a team. It has been climbed many times since, sadly with many fatalities, which, due to the cliff's high visibility, occur in full view of nearby villages. Since 1935, how many people have died climbing the Eiger's so-called Murder Wall? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Amelia Mary Earhart (1897)After attending an air show in 1920, Earhart, who had previously worked as a military nurse and a social worker, decided she wanted to become a pilot. She bought her first plane the following year. In 1928, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger, and four years later, she became the first female pilot to make the trip solo. In 1937, her plane mysteriously vanished over the Pacific as she and a copilot attempted to circumnavigate the globe. What happened to them? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron, namely, that he is a blockhead.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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pay (one's) last respects— To show or express one's respect for someone who has died, especially by attending their funeral, wake, memorial service, etc. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 World Santa Claus Congress (2019)The World Santa Claus Congress is held every July at the Bakken amusement park in Klampenborg, Denmark. The three-day event typically brings together more than 100 Santa Clauses from more than a dozen countries, including Japan and Venezuela, discussing such subjects as how to walk like, laugh like, and exude the generous spirit of Santa Claus. They dance around a Christmas tree and enjoy a traditional Danish Christmas feast of roast pork, cabbage and rice pudding. By tradition, the Santas also travel by antique fire engines and buses to a nearby beach for an annual dip in the sea. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: quietcoy, quiet - Coy and quiet derive from Latin quietus, "at rest, in repose," with coy coming from the Old French form coi (earlier quei), and quiet coming straight from Latin; the original sense of coy was "quiet, still." More... conticent - If something is hushed or quiet, it is conticent. More... q.t. - An abbreviation for "quiet," as in, on the q.t. (or QT). More... wildtrack, room tone - The wildtrack or room tone consists of the barely audible noises that make up a background sense of quiet. More... | |