Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 16, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unavailing
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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When to Conjugate for PersonEvery verb in English (except modal auxiliary verbs) conjugates for grammatical person. However, this conjugation only occurs in one specific instance: if the subject is singular and in the third person, and if the verb is in the present simple tense. If this is the case, we most often conjugate the verb by adding what to the end? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fuel CellA fuel cell is a device that converts fuel directly into electricity, a process far more efficient than indirect methods of energy conversion, such as heating steam to turn a turbine connected to an electrical generator. Since fuel cells can be used in place of virtually any other source of electricity, they are being developed for use in automobiles in hopes of greatly reducing pollution. In 1966, automobile manufacturer GM created its first fuel cell-powered automobile. Did it work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 UK Calls Off the Toddlers' Truce (1957)Today we are used to turning on the television at any hour of the day or night and having access to countless channels broadcasting all manner of program, but this was not always the case. In television's early days, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was the UK's sole public broadcaster; it started out with just one channel, and it cut its feed from 6PM to 7PM to accommodate parents putting their children to bed. What caused the BBC to eventually abandon the so-called Toddlers' Truce? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Giambattista Bodoni (1740)As did many tradesmen of his day, Bodoni followed in his father's footsteps, training from a young age to become a printer. He apprenticed at the press of the Vatican before assuming the management of the Royal Press of the duke of Parma in 1768. He paid little mind to the quality of text he printed, prizing typeface and layout above all else. By the 1780s, he was designing his own typefaces, some of which are still in use. What distinguished his typefaces from the "old style" of William Caslon? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be put behind bars— To be arrested and held in prison; to be serving time in prison. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kamakura Matsuri (2022)Kamakura Matsuri is held in northern Japan in the Akita Prefecture, at the time of year when there is usually deep snow on the ground. In Yokote and other towns of the region, children build Kamakura, snow houses that resemble igloos. They furnish the huts with tatami mats and a wooden altar dedicated to Suijin-sama and have parties in them, while families gather to drink sweet sake and eat rice cakes and fruits. The rice cakes are made in the shape of cranes and turtles, traditional symbols of longevity, and of dogs called inukko, thought to guard against devils. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: magicianmagus - A person regarded as having great wisdom or powers likened to those of a magician. More... archimage - A great magician, from Greek archi-, "chief, principal," and Latin magus, "magician." More... fascinate, fascinator - Fascinate is derived from Latin fascinare, "to bewitch or enchant," and a fascinator was a magician. More... mage, magian - Mage and magian are two other ways to say magician. More... | |