Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 21, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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miserly
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ParenthesesParentheses are used to separate information that is not necessary to the structure or meaning of the surrounding text. When can parentheses be replaced by em dashes? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Terror BombingTerror bombing is a military strategy that involves deliberately bombing civilian targets in order to damage enemy morale and elicit panic. During World War II, the legality of area bombardment—the bombing of general regions rather than specific targets—rested on the language of treaties drafted in a time before aerial mass bombardment was possible. Despite diplomatic attempts, such language was not updated until after the war. How have treaties since 1945 treated the targeting of noncombatants? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Bahá'í Calendar Begins (1844)Founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Baha' Ullah, Bahá'í is a religion based on the unity of all faiths. Adherents pray daily, fast 19 days a year, and follow a strict ethical code. Because of the religion's 19 initial disciples, the number 19 is considered sacred, and the Bahá'í calendar, which began in 1844, consists of 19 months of 19 days, with four additional "intercalary" days. Today is the first day of the 168th year of the Bahá'í Era. On what day does the Bahá'í week begin? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Fourier (1768)Fourier was a French mathematician and Egyptologist. As an engineer on the Egyptian expedition led by Napoleon—who later made him a baron—he conducted anthropological investigations and wrote the preface to the monumental Description de l'Égypte, whose publication he oversaw. In mathematics, he is primarily known for his work in heat conduction, for his use of the Fourier series to solve differential equations, and for the related concept of the Fourier transform, which is what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bone-idle— Extremely lazy. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Phagwa (2019)The Hindu festival of Phagwa celebrates the Vernal Equinox and the start of the Hindu New Year. In Trinidad and Tobago, a Carnival spirit has pervaded the festivities, which now combine both secular and religious elements and are no longer confined to Hindus. The celebration includes bonfires (to symbolize the destruction of Holika, the evil sister of King Hiranya Kashipu) and Chowtal-singing competitions, which mix religious and secular music and are heavily influenced by calypso. The spraying of Abeer powder, a red vegetable dye, gives everyone's hair and skin a tie-dyed effect. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wonderadmire - Can mean "to wonder at, to be slightly surprised." More... marvel - Traces to Latin mirabilia, from mirari, "wonder at." More... nine days' wonder - An old term (c. 1325) for an event or phenomenon that attracts enthusiastic interest for a short while, but is then ignored or forgotten. More... Wonder Bread - Got its name from a vice president who watched a hot-air balloon race shortly before the bread needed a name—"wonder" is how he described the event and then the bread. More... | |