Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, January 9, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
diluent
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Linking VerbsLinking verbs (also known as copulas or copular verbs) are used to describe the state of being of the subject of a clause. What is the most common linking verb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Rabbit-Proof FenceWhen Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits onto his Australian farm in 1859, he was unaware of the damage they would cause to the Australian ecosystem. Within 35 years, the rabbits, which had no natural predators in Australia, spread throughout the mainland and destroyed millions of acres of farmland. In 1901, construction began on a fence that would traverse Western Australia from north to south and was intended to contain the rabbits east of the barrier. What animal was used to inspect the fence? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Martyrs' Day: Riots over Sovereignty of Panama Canal Zone (1964)Martyrs' Day is a Panamanian holiday commemorating the 1964 riots that began after a Panamanian flag was torn in a conflict between Panamanian and Canal Zone students over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the US flag. US Army units became involved in suppressing the violence, and 4 soldiers and more than 20 Panamanians were killed. The incident contributed to the US decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama. When was full control of the canal given to Panama? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Richard Halliburton (1900)Halliburton was an American adventurer and pioneer of adventure journalism. He liked to recreate historical and legendary feats in his travels, such as Hannibal's passage over the Alps on an elephant and Odysseus's journey around the Mediterranean, and made his living writing and lecturing about his experiences. He is, however, perhaps best known for having swum the length of the Panama Canal. He disappeared while attempting to sail a Chinese junk, the Sea Dragon, from Hong Kong to where? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
be tied (up) in knots— To be confused, anxious, worried, and/or upset (about something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Agonalia (2019)In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and of doorways. The worship of Janus is believed to have been started by Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome. Usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward to the future and the other looking back to the past, his image appeared on an early Roman coin with a ship's prow on the reverse side. During the festival in honor of Janus known as the Agonalia, the rex sacrorum, or officiating priest, sacrificed a ram. Offerings of barley, incense, wine, and cakes called Januae were also common. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: stringsbelly - In the violin family, the top surface of an instrument, across which the strings are placed. More... spaghetti - Naming pastas for everyday things is an Italian tradition, as in spaghetti, which means "strings." More... plectrum - Originally a device for tightening the strings of a harp, it is now the piece used to pluck a guitar's strings; its plural is plectrums or plectra. More... puppet, marionette - The word puppet originally meant "doll," and a puppet usually goes on the hand and arm, while a marionette (or string puppet) is a jointed figure with strings or wires. More... | |