Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 11, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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henchman
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Verbs that Take Both "To" and "At"Many verbs are able to take multiple prepositions after them. However, this often results in a change in the sentence's meaning. The most common of these pairs is "to" and "at"—a large number of verbs are able to take both. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BlackbirdingBlackbirding refers to the recruitment of people through kidnapping and fraud to work on plantations, particularly the sugar cane plantations of Fiji and Queensland, Australia, in the latter half of the 19th century. Those "blackbirded" were kidnapped from the indigenous populations of Australia or nearby Pacific islands. In 1872, the British Parliament passed a law in an attempt to curtail the practice, but it continued until the turn of the century. How did blackbirding get its name? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) Launch of Apollo 7 (1968)In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy committed the US to the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon and bringing them safely back to Earth by the end of the decade. The resulting Apollo program is said to have been the largest scientific and technological undertaking in history. The project's first successful manned mission was Apollo 7, which paved the way for the Moon landing less than a year later. What caused tension between the flight crew and mission control during Apollo 7? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Samuel Clarke (1675)Clarke was an English philosopher and clergyman who advocated the theories of Isaac Newton. Clarke maintained that ethical law is as constant as mathematical law. His published works include many translations, lectures, sermons, and commentaries. In 1717, his correspondence with German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz was published. In it, he argues with Leibniz in defense of the existence of absolute space—physical space independent of what occupies it. Why did their discussion abruptly end? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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worthy cause— A cause that merits attention, aid, or action due to an inherent goodness of values or intention. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 General Pulaski Memorial Day (2019)Count Casimir Pulaski first arrived in America in 1777 to help General George Washington and the Continental Army overthrow the British. It was on October 11, 1779, that the Polish count died while trying to free Savannah, Georgia, from British control. The president of the United States proclaims October 11 as Pulaski Day each year, and it is observed with parades and patriotic exercises in communities in Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The biggest Pulaski Day parade takes place in New York City on the first Sunday in October. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: momentextemporaneous, impromptu - Extemporaneous means "prepared in advance and carried out with few or no notes," while impromptu means "totally unprepared, performed on the spur of the moment"—but this distinction has been all but lost. More... moment, momentum - Latin momentum, from movere, "move," and -mentum, is the source of moment and momentum, which first meant "moving power." More... moment of truth - A translation of a Spanish expression referring to the time of the final sword thrust in a bullfight. More... momentarily, presently - Momentarily means "in a moment"; presently means "soon" or "shortly." More... | |