Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ConjunctionsConjunctions are used to express relationships between things in a sentence, link different clauses together, and to combine sentences. There are four main types of conjunctions—what are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The SpleenLocated under the diaphragm on the left side of the abdominal cavity, the spleen is the organ that filters out old red blood cells and foreign organisms infecting the bloodstream. Ordinarily, the spleen's manufacture of red blood cells is taken over by bone marrow after birth, but if bone marrow breaks down, the spleen reverts to its fetal function. When additional blood is needed, the spleen contracts, forcing stored blood into circulation. Why does the spleen sometimes need to be removed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Felice Orsini Attempts to Assassinate French Emperor Napoleon III (1858)Orsini was an Italian revolutionary in the movement for Italian unification. In 1858, he made an attempt on the life of Napoleon III, whom he held responsible for the failure of the Italian revolutions of 1848 to 1849. Although ably defended by French statesman Jules Favre, Orsini was executed. His act, designed to arouse world interest in the Italian cause, paradoxically influenced Napoleon's own decision to intervene in favor of Italian unification. How did Orsini try to kill Napoleon? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Dos Passos (1896)Dos Passos was an American writer whose World War I service as an ambulance driver and later work as a journalist led him to see the US as "two nations"—one for the rich and one for the poor. An artist to boot, he created many of the illustrations and covers for his books. His reputation as a social historian, radical critic of American life, and major novelist of the postwar "Lost Generation" rests primarily on his powerful U.S.A. trilogy, which includes what three novels? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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grease payment— A sum of money, typically a bribe, paid to a government official or business person so as to facilitate or expedite some decision or transaction. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Feast of the Ass (2020)This festival recalling the flight of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) into Egypt to escape King Herod reached its peak during the Middle Ages in France. It was customary to have a girl carrying a baby and riding an elaborately decorated ass led through the streets to the church. But the celebration gradually took on comic overtones, with the priest and congregation imitating the braying of an ass during the service and the ass itself being led into the church. By the 15th century the feast was nothing more than an occasion for laughter and was suppressed by the Church. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lamblamb - In Gothic times, lamb was used for "adult sheep" as well as "baby sheep." More... rack of lamb - A roast of the rib section of lamb. More... shepherd's pie - Got its name from the meat it originally contained—lamb or mutton. More... white meat - The pale meat of poultry, rabbit, or veal; red meat is from beef or lamb. More... | |