Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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incantation
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Common and Proper NounsCommon nouns identify general, nonspecific people, places, or things. A proper noun names someone or something that is one of a kind, which is signified by the use of what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HadhramautThe name Hadhramaut formerly referred to the Hadhramaut states, a collective term for the Quaiti and Kathiri sultanates that were British protectorates until 1967. Today, the Hadhramaut region roughly incorporates the territory of the two sultanates, extending about 400 mi (640 km) along the southeastern coast of Yemen. It consists of a narrow, arid coastal plain, a broad plateau, a network of deeply sunk wadis, and an escarpment bordering the desert. What is the origin of the word Hadhramaut? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Phoenix Lights: Aliens or Air Force? (1997)In 1997, thousands of people reported a series of optical phenomena—since known as the Phoenix Lights—taking place in the skies over the US states of Arizona and Nevada. The sightings consisted of two events: a triangular formation of lights observed passing overhead and a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area. Although the US Air Force identified the second group of lights as flares, many believe the first set of lights were those of a UFO, including what notable politician? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Percival Lowell (1855)Lowell was an astronomer who built a private observatory in Arizona to study Mars and championed the idea that intelligent inhabitants of the Red Planet had constructed a planetwide system of irrigation there. He believed that the so-called canals of Mars were bands of cultivated vegetation dependent on this irrigation. His theory, long vigorously opposed, was finally put to rest by images taken by the US Mariner spacecrafts. Lowell did, however, correctly predict the existence of what "planet"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A soul that is kind and intends justice discovers more than any sophist.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be in pursuit— Following or chasing someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ember Days (2019)The Ember Days occur four times a year, at the beginning of each of the natural seasons. Traditionally they are marked by three days of fasting and abstinence—the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following, respectively, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, Exaltation of the Cross, and St. Lucy's Day. In 1966, the Roman Catholic Church replaced them with days of prayer for various needs and withdrew the obligation to fast. The Anglican Communion still observes them. In the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, since the sixth century, priests have been ordained on an Ember Saturday. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: open spacelaund - An open space in the woods, like a glade or pasture. More... step-thru - Refers to having an open space in an otherwise solid object through which a person can step or walk, e.g. a motor-scooter has a step-thru frame. More... agoraphobia - Based on Greek agora, "open space," it was not the first phobia described, which was actually hydrophobia in the mid-16th century. More... concourse - An open space for people to move about in an airport terminal (or a set of gates) or other transport station. More... | |