Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 7, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rebutter
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Subjunctive MoodThe subjunctive mood refers to verbs that are used to describe hypothetical or non-real actions, events, or situations. What is the subjective mood most commonly used to express? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Marriage StonesA marriage stone is a stone—or sometimes wood—lintel carved with the initials, coats of arms, or other symbols of a newly married couple along with the date of their marriage. Occasionally, religious symbols or artistic motifs are also incorporated into the design. Popular until Victorian times, marriage stones served as a record of a marriage as well as a symbol of social status. For whose 2005 wedding was a two-ton, granite marriage stone created? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Galileo Galilei Discovers Three of Jupiter's Four Largest Moons (1610)Jupiter has more than 60 moons. The four largest—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—were the first satellites of a planet other than Earth to be detected. They were discovered by Galileo in 1610, shortly after he invented the telescope, and are therefore known as the Galilean satellites. On January 7, 1610, Galileo observed near Jupiter what he described at the time as "three fixed stars, totally invisible by their smallness." How long did it take Galileo to realize they were not stars? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Zora Neale Hurston (1891)An anthropologist, folklorist, and author, Hurston spent much of her life collecting African-American folktales in the rural South and in other places, such as Haiti, Bermuda, and Honduras. She was a significant figure in the Harlem Renaissance and collaborated with her friend Langston Hughes on the play Mule Bone in 1931. Along with her folklore collections, she also wrote four novels, including the influential Their Eyes Were Watching God. Why did the book inspire controversy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank, and independent.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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good going— An informal expression of praise for having done something well. (It can also be used sarcastically to mean the opposite.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Daruma Ichi (Daruma Doll Fair) (2020)Daruma are papier-mâché tumbling dolls that are sold at doll markets held at various times throughout the year in Japan. Custom encourages people to buy dolls that have no eyes painted in. The doll owner makes a wish and gives the doll one eye; the other eye is painted in when the wish has been fulfilled. During the Daruma Ichi held in Takasaki (January 6-7), these dolls are sold in stalls erected on the grounds of shrines or temples. They are similar in shape to the famous Russian "nesting" dolls, and they are often made by farmers as a hobby and sold during the winter months. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: recentAmazonian epoch - The Amazonian epoch is the most recent of the Martian geologic epochs, from 1,800 years ago to the present. More... grey, gray - The distinction in spelling between British grey and American gray is recent, popping up in the 20th century. More... Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene - Epochs indicating periods in the Earth's geology; Pleistocene means "most recent," Pliocene means "more recent," Miocene means "moderately recent," and Oligocence means "but a little recent." More... neoteric - Used to describe a person, especially an author, it means one belongs to modern/recent times—but it might also refer to a person having a modern outlook or new ideas; when used of things, it indicates that they are modern, new, or recent. More... | |