Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 21, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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solace
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Indefinite PronounsAn indefinite pronoun is used in place of a noun without specifying a particular person or thing that is being represented. Why are many pronouns that refer to more than one—e.g., everything, everyone, much, etc.— considered singular? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Portuguese Bank Note CrisisPerpetrated by Portuguese criminal Alves dos Reis, the Portuguese Bank Note Crisis was one of the largest frauds in history. In 1924, Reis forged a contract that fooled a legitimate print company into printing illegitimate banknotes for him. By the time his scheme was revealed, Reis had introduced into circulation banknotes equivalent to nearly 1% of Portugal's gross domestic product at the time, causing widespread economic and political repercussions. How did he initially cover up his scam? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Death of Last Native Speaker Leads to Extinction of Eyak Language (2008)Eyak is an extinct language that was spoken in Alaska, near the mouth of the Copper River. Marie Smith Jones, the language's last native speaker, as well as the last full-blooded Eyak, died in 2008 at the age of 89. Before her death, she worked with experts to compile a dictionary that would allow future generations to revive the language. With no native speakers left in the world, Eyak became a symbol in the effort against language extinction. Which languages are the closest relatives to Eyak? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Karl Wallenda (1905)Wallenda was a German-born US circus acrobat and founder and leader of the acrobatic troupe that came to be known as the Flying Wallendas. The group gained notoriety in Europe for its high-wire acts without a safety net before developing its most famous act—the seven-person pyramid, topped by Wallenda's wife, Helen. The troupe traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and later performed as freelancers. Wallenda continued performing until age 73. How did he die? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nature abhors the old, and old age seems the only disease; all others run into this one.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the unwashed masses— The broader general public, especially those of the lower and lower-middle classes. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Barrow Day (2018)This national public holiday honors Barbados' first prime minister. Errol Barrow was born in 1920, earned a law degree in England, then returned to Barbados. He became finance minister in 1959 and prime minister in 1961. He was reelected in 1966 and, soon after, Barbados became independent of Great Britain. Barrow was voted out in 1976, but regained office in 1986; he died the next year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: insignificantpiff - Something insignificant. More... bee's knees - Used from 1797 for "something insignificant." More... floccinaucinihilipilification, floccipend - Floccinaucinihilipilification is estimating or categorizing something as worthless, and floccipend means "regard as insignificant" (from Latin flocci pendere, "hold at little value"). More... piteous, pitiable, pitiful - Piteous is generally not used when speaking of people, pitiable means "able to be pitied," and pitiful most often means "insignificant; below contempt." More... | |