Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 9, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sassaby
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grading and Non-Grading AdverbsAdverbs of degree can be mild, medium, strong, or absolute in how they describe the intensity, degree, or extent of the word they modify. Adverbs that are mild, medium, or strong are known as "grading adverbs." What are "non-grading adverbs"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) Digital PhysicsFirst posited by Konrad Zuse in his 1969 book Rechnender Raum, or Calculating Space, the theory of digital physics suggests that the universe is essentially digital or informational and that the entire history of the universe is actually the output of a computer program. Proponents hypothesize that reality is a computer itself or is being implemented on a computer that creates a simulated reality. What arguments do those who work with quantum mechanics make against digital physics? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First iPhone Announced (2007)Development of Apple's iPhone began in 2004, when a team of about 1,000 employees began work on the highly confidential "Project Purple." Their efforts fundamentally changed the cell phone industry and prompted the development of a host of increasingly advanced smartphones that essentially function as mobile computers. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco. What business did he prank-call as he tested features for the audience? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Simone de Beauvoir (1908)De Beauvoir was a prominent French writer and feminist, as well as a leading existentialist. Among her most celebrated works is the profound analysis of the status of women The Second Sex, which was completed in 1950 and has become a classic of feminist literature. De Beauvoir is also noted for her lifelong polyamorous relationship with famed existentialist thinker Jean-Paul Sartre, whom she met while studying at the Sorbonne. What had de Beauvoir wanted to do with her life until age 14? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Whipping and abuse are like laudanum; you have to double the dose as the sensibilities decline.Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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an/the olive branch— A symbol, expression, or gesture of peace, reconciliation, truce, etc. Used most commonly in the phrase "hold out/offer (someone) an/the olive branch." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Agonalia (2022)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 | |
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Today's topic: lightsday - One of the perpendicular divisions or "lights" of a mullioned window. More... blackout - Originally a theatrical term for the extinguishing of all lights on the stage when scenery was shifted. More... taps, last post - Taps, the bugle call for lights out, was originally a drum roll and got its name from the tapping of the drums; taps are also called last post. More... twilight - The time of two lights, the fading sunset and the emerging light of the moon and stars; there are three sequential stages of twilight: civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight. More... | |