Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, November 22, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
phylactery
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining the CommaThe comma ( , ) is one of the most commonly used punctuation marks in English. Generally speaking, commas are used to connect two or more elements in a sentence, but the way in which they do this varies widely, depending on what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The TarThe tar is a long-necked lute found in Iran and throughout the Caucasus region. Its music was believed to cure a number of physical maladies and induce philosophical moods that compel listeners to reflect upon life. The tar's double-bowl shape is carved from mulberry wood, and a thin membrane of stretched lambskin covers the top. It has a number of adjustable frets as well as three double courses of strings. Tar, Persian for string, is the root for the names of what other instruments? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Toy Story, First Feature-Length Computer-Generated Film, Is Released (1995)Released to universal acclaim, Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-generated film, as well as the first such film from Pixar Studios. Steve Jobs had purchased Pixar in 1986, but the company had yet to find its niche. When its 1988 short film Tin Toy won an Oscar, Disney took notice, and the two companies soon formed a partnership that would prove to be extremely successful, beginning with the release of Toy Story. What popular toy was cut from the original plot? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 André Gide (1869)A prolific and unconventional French writer, Gide was controversial for his confessional works, his frank defense of homosexuality, and his espousal of Communism—and subsequent disavowal of it after a visit to the Soviet Union. A champion of society's victims, he spurred reform of French colonial policy in Africa with books such as Travels in the Congo. In one of his most famous quotes, Gide advised that one should believe those who seek the truth and reserve doubt for whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
don't shoot the messenger— Don't get angry at or punish someone who is simply delivering bad or undesirable news, as he or she is not responsible for it. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 St. Cecilia's Day (2019)According to her apocryphal acts, which date from the fifth century, St. Cecilia was a Roman from a noble family who was put to death for her Christian beliefs; how she became the patron saint of music and musicians is not exactly known. In 1683, a musical society was formed in London especially for the celebration of St. Cecilia's Day. It held a festival each year at which a special ode was sung. The poet John Dryden composed his "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" in 1687 for this purpose. There are still many choirs and musical societies that bear her name today. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: twigsdrey - A squirrel's nest of twigs in a tree. More... broom - Was first called a besom, but evolved because many of them were made of twigs from the wild broom shrub. More... lop - The smaller branches and twigs of a tree. More... whiskers - Originally the word for a bundle of feathers, twigs, etc. used for whisking (from "whisk"), it then came to denote the projecting hairs or bristles of mammals. More... | |