Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, November 6, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sashay
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Stative Verbs that Take GerundsStative verbs, also known as verbs of feeling, are very likely to take gerunds as their objects. "Love" is a common stative verb that takes gerunds. What is the gerund in the following sentence? "I love going to the movies." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Singing SandAlso known as sounding sand, singing sand is sand that emits musical, humming, whistling, or crunching sounds when disturbed. Although it has been studied extensively, the phenomenon is not completely understood. When it occurs near dunes, the sound accompanies a slumping or avalanching movement of the sand, usually triggered by wind or by someone walking near the crest. Different patches of sand are even said to "sing" at different frequencies. What are some locations where the sand sings? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Voters Reject Proposal to Establish Australia as a Republic (1999)The British began settling Australia in 1788, and before long, the entire continent was a British dependency. Over the years, Britain's role in Australian government has been progressively restricted, yet Australians remain reluctant to entirely cut ties, as evidenced by the 1999 referendum in which voters rejected a plan to establish Australia as a republic and replace the British monarch as head of state with a president elected by parliament. What other measure did they strike down? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Naismith (1861)While teaching physical education in 1891, Naismith was tasked with creating a safe and inexpensive indoor sport to occupy his students during the Massachusetts winter. His game involved throwing a soccer ball through suspended half-bushel peach baskets, hence the name "basketball"—though "Naismith Ball" was briefly considered before the inventor rejected it. The game took off on campus and quickly spread across the US and around the globe. What other sports invention is credited to Naismith? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What makes old age hard to bear is not the failing of one's faculties, mental and physical, but the burden of one's memories.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(there's) no comparison— This person or thing is clearly and inarguably better than any other. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Gustavus Adolphus Day (2021)Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) was the king of Sweden who laid the foundations of the modern Swedish state and turned the country into a major European power. He was killed during the Thirty Years' War while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Lützen on November 6, 1632. The anniversary of his death is observed throughout Sweden with patriotic demonstrations—particularly in Skansen, Stockholm's outdoor museum. Enormous bonfires are built on Reindeer Mountain and processions of students carry lighted torches through the museum grounds. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: proportionad valorem - A type of customs duties, from Latin, meaning "in proportion to the value." More... analogy - Comes from Greek analogia, "a proportion," such as 2/10 = 10/X, a way of calculating unknown quantities. More... bonsai - Comes from Japanese words meaning "tray planting" and involves growing and pruning so that all parts of the plant—flowers, leaves, and stems—are in proportion. More... reason - From Latin ratio, "thinking," and associated with the ideas of right order, proportion, or harmony. More... | |