Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 25, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Functions of Other Demonstrative PronounsThe less commonly used demonstrative pronouns are "none," "such," and "neither." "None" and "such" can be used as both singular and plural demonstrative pronouns, although there is debate as to whether "none" can denote plurality. Why? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Population BottlenecksCheetahs are basically all the same. Any two randomly selected cheetahs will be so similar genetically that a skin graft from one will likely provoke no immune response in the other. In the distant past, cheetahs underwent a population bottleneck—an evolutionary event in which a species nearly dies out and is repopulated by a few individuals whose genes are then disproportionately reflected in the ensuing generations. All humans can trace their ancestry back to a single woman. When did she live? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Calaveras Skull Hoax Begins (1866)What began as a practical joke became a famous, decades-long scientific hoax when a prominent geologist not only fell for it, but vigorously defended it as real. After miners in Calaveras County, California, claimed to have found a human skull deep within a mine, Harvard University Professor Josiah Whitney—then the State Geologist of California—announced that it was the earliest evidence of humans on the continent. Where might the miners who planted the skull have obtained it in the first place? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ida Noddack (1896)One of the first prominent female chemists in Germany, Noddack was nominated several times for a Nobel Prize but never won. Still, she made a number of remarkable contributions to science, co-discovering the element rhenium with her future husband and proposing for the first time the idea of nuclear fission. She also participated in the discovery of another element, which her team named masurium, but they could not prove its existence. It was finally isolated by others in 1937 and named what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The freedom of the press should be inviolate.John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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late model— Especially regarding an automobile, of a relatively recent design or model. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta sa EDSA (People Power Anniversary) (2021)The Fiesta sa EDSA is a commemoration of the bloodless People Power Revolution in the Philippines on February 22-25, 1986, in which the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos was toppled. Two key government officers rebelled in protest of Marcos's oppression and demanded his resignation. Pro-Marcos forces threatened to annihilate them, but two million unarmed people, with offerings of flowers, food, and prayers, provided a human shield and overcame the military's firepower. The day is marked with ceremonies at the site of the revolution in Quezon City, a part of Manila. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: positivelitotes - From Greek litos, "simple, single," it refers to an ironical understatement (e.g. no small amount) or two negatives used to make a positive (e.g. it was not unsuccessful); it is pronounced lie-TOH-teez, LEYED-uh-teez, LID-uh-teez, or leye-TOHD-eez. More... set point - One's set point (for happiness) is a genetically determined level of happiness, to which one returns after positive or negative emotional experiences. More... Positive, comparative, superlative - Positive is the ordinary form of a word, with comparative conveying a sense of greater intensity of the adjective and superlative reflecting the greatest intensity of the adjective. More... acceptable face - The positive or reasonable side of something. More... | |