Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, September 30, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unmindful
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Examples of PrepositionsPrepositions are used to express the relationship of a noun or pronoun (or another grammatical element functioning as a noun) to the rest of the sentence. The noun or pronoun that is connected by the preposition is known as the "object of the preposition." What are some common prepositions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TaklamakanOne of the largest sandy deserts in the world, the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China is approximately 600 miles (965 km) across, with an area of 105,000 square miles (272,000 sq km). It is crossed at its northern and southern edges by two branches of the Silk Road, whose travelers sought to avoid the arid wasteland. Archeological digs in the Taklamakan's sand cover, which is 1,000 feet (300 m) thick in some places, have revealed what 4,000-year-old discoveries? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mozart's The Magic Flute Premieres (1791)In the final year of his life, prolific composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produced the opera Die Zauberflöte—The Magic Flute—featuring a libretto by the actor Emmanuel Schikaneder. The work is considered a singspiel—an opera in German that contains spoken dialogue and is usually comic in tone. Mozart brought this form of light musical entertainment to a height of lyrical and symbolic art. The Magic Flute is said to contain what prominent Masonic elements and symbolism? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hans Geiger (1882)After receiving a doctorate in physics in Germany in 1906, Geiger traveled to England, where he assisted chemist Ernest Rutherford. In 1908, they designed an instrument to detect and count alpha particles, positively charged ionizing particles produced by radioactive decay. Two decades later, Geiger developed the sensitive, portable radiation counter that now bears his name. During World War II, he was a member of the Uranium Club, a group of German scientists who attempted to develop what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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cut it close— To do or complete something very near to its limit, especially of time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rosh Hashanah (2019)Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the first two of the 10 High Holy Days that conclude with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is a time of prayer and penitence. The story of Abraham is read in the synagogue, and the blowing of the shofar ("ram's horn") serves as a reminder that although Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, God allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. Jews celebrate the New Year by eating a special rounded loaf of challah, symbolic of the continuity of life, as well as apples dipped in honey, symbols of sweetness and health. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: imposedboycott, embargo - A boycott is an organized popular protest, named for Captain Charles C. Boycott (1832-97), a land agent in Ireland to whom this was done in 1880; an embargo is usually imposed by a government. More... silentium - A place where silence is imposed (library, religious retreat). More... Pax Romana - An uneasy peace, as one imposed by a powerful state on a weaker or vanquished state. More... mumbletypeg - The children's game was first mumble-the-peg, descriptive of one of the penalties imposed on the loser. More... | |