Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, November 2, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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oceanaut
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Second ConditionalSecond conditional sentences include a simple past tense verb in the "if clause" and a future tense verb in the main clause, preceded by the auxiliary verb "would." What do these sentences refer to? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Ryutin AffairThe Ryutin Affair, one of the last attempts of the Soviet Communist Party to oppose Stalin, took place in 1932, when Martemyan Ryutin, an Old Bolshevik, decided to secretly oppose the controversial Soviet leader. In a nearly 200-page document now known as the "Ryutin Platform," he called for Stalin's elimination and a "fresh start," but he was soon identified as the author, imprisoned, and ultimately executed. What happened when Stalin initially proposed the death penalty for Ryutin? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Major Internet-Distributed Computer Worm Launched (1988)In 1988, Cornell University student Robert Morris launched a program supposedly aimed at measuring the size of the Internet. He had designed the ostensibly harmless program to count the computers connected to the small but growing Web by copying itself to each unit. Due to a design flaw, however, the program spread wildly, repeatedly copying itself to some computers and rendering them useless. A large part of the Internet was affected by the so-called Morris worm. What was Morris's punishment? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Knox Polk (1795)A native southerner and friend of Andrew Jackson, Polk was elected president of the US in 1845. During his administration, the US made large territorial gains. Polk peacefully negotiated the Oregon border dispute with Britain, while the US victory in the Mexican War secured much of the West. Though an efficient and competent president, Polk was exhausted by the time he left office, and he died three months later. Despite his happy marriage, he had no children. What likely rendered him sterile? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To found principles of government upon too advantageous an estimate of the human character is an error of inexperience, the source of which is so amiable that it is impossible to censure it with severity.John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(in) up to (one's) eye(ball)s— Extremely busy; deeply involved or engrossed (in or with something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 National Peanut Festival (2020)The National Peanut Festival is a nine-day festival in Dothan, Alabama, honoring the peanut, a multimillion-dollar crop in Alabama. A highlight is the Goober Parade, for which the streets are paved with peanuts by a giant cement mixer that moves along the line of march throwing out a ton of peanuts, while parade watchers scramble for them. It is said the parade attracts as many as 200,000 spectators. Other events include the selection of Peanut Farmer of the Year, a cooking contest of peanut dishes, crafts exhibits, fireworks, a beauty pageant, and live entertainment. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tapfaucet - Probably comes from French fausset, meaning "bore, tap." More... tattoo - In the military sense—of a signal summoning soldiers to their quarters at night—it was originally written tap-too, from a Dutch word taptoe, meaning "close the tap" (of a cask), which was told to soldiers when they were expected to return to their quarters. More... tick, tickle - Tick, as in "sound of a clock," "mark of correctness," originally meant "light touch, tap," and its modern senses are recent developments; tickle is probably a derivative of this version of tick. More... tit for tat - Probably borrowed from Dutch tip for tap, "blow for blow." More... | |