Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 28, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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artistry
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of Manner and AdjectivesAdverbs of manner can also be used to describe adjectives, giving them an extra depth or dimension of character. Where must an adverb of manner be positioned in relation to the adjective it modifies? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eartha KittKitt, whose career as an actress, singer, and cabaret star has spanned nearly 6 decades, was born to an African-American and Cherokee mother and a Caucasian father during a time when laws prohibiting miscegenation, or interracial marriage, were still in place. Kitt's first starring role was in Orson Welles' production of Dr. Faustus, but she is best known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s TV series Batman. What oft-covered Christmas song is Kitt famous for having recorded? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Messina Earthquake (1908)Messina is a busy seaport and commercial center in northeastern Sicily, Italy, opposite the Italian mainland. On the morning of December 28, 1908, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Messina, followed by a 40-foot (12-meter) tsunami. About 80,000 people were killed, and at least 90 percent of Messina's buildings, including its churches and palaces, were destroyed. Afterward, the city was completely rebuilt under standards for quake-resistant construction. What happened to the survivors? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pío Baroja y Nessi (1872)Considered the foremost Spanish novelist of his time, Baroja was part of the Generation of '98, a group of writers who, in the face of defeat in the Spanish-American War, proclaimed a moral and cultural rebirth for Spain. He wrote almost 100 novels, including 11 trilogies and, perhaps his most ambitious project, a 22-volume cycle about a 19th-century insurgent. Baroja's writings largely concern the intellectual and political climate of his homeland. What career did he give up to be a writer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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there and back— Taking the distances to the end point and back to the beginning together as a single sum. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fifth Night of Hanukkah (2016)Hanukkah commemorates the successful rebellion of the Jews against the Syrians in the Maccabean War of 162 BCE, but the military associations are played down. What is really being celebrated is the survival of Judaism. Jewish families today celebrate this holiday by lighting a special Hanukkah menorah, a candelabrum with holders for eight candles, one for each day of celebration, plus a ninth, the shammash, used to light the others. A special prayer is recited during the lighting, and, while the candles burn, it is a time for songs and games, including the four-sided toy called the dreidel. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pullingpull out all the stops - Refers to the knobs and levers on a church organ that control the pipes; pulling out all the stops will result in the full range of pitch and maximum volume. More... track - Borrowed from Old French trac, from Middle Dutch trek, "pulling," or trekken, "pull." More... traction, tractor - Traction and tractor trace back to Latin tractus, "drawing, pulling," and trahere, "draw, pull." More... tractive - Refers to power exerted in pulling, especially by a machine. More... | |