Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 28, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bathos
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The Past ParticipleUnlike the present participle, the past participle form changes depending on the verb. The past participle of regular verbs ends in "-ed," and is generally the same as the simple past tense of the verb. What is the past participle of the regular verb "close"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Andrew WyethWyeth is an American painter whose work has been enormously popular and critically acclaimed since his first one-man show in 1937. His principal subjects are the people of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and Cushing, Maine, portrayed in a meticulous naturalistic style. The best-known of Wyeth's paintings, Christina's World (1948), hangs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. What are his "Helga" pictures, and why did they generate a considerable amount of media buzz? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Vikings Capture Paris (845 CE)Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse hero of the Viking Age whose life—which was spent largely invading one country after another—has been mixed with myth in many legendary accounts. One of his favorite tactics was to attack Christian cities on holy days, as he did in 845, when he arrived in Paris on Holy Saturday with 120 ships. By some accounts, he accepted a tribute of 7,000 pounds of silver from French King Charles the Bald in exchange for sparing the city. According to legend, how did he die? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henry Schoolcraft (1793)Schoolcraft was a geologist, geographer, and ethnologist noted for his studies of Native American cultures as well as for his discovery of the source of the Mississippi River in 1832. His extensive relations with Native Americans—including his marriage to an Ojibwa woman—led to his appointment as an Indian agent, and he negotiated a treaty with the Ojibwa in 1836 that ceded much of their land to the US. Upon discovering the lake that feeds the Mississippi River, what did Schoolcraft name it? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a light heart— To have a carefree, uplifted attitude; to be in a happy or gladdened state or condition. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Teachers' Day in the Czech Republic (2021)March 28 is the birthday of Jan Amos Komensky (or John Comenius; 1592-1670), a noted educational reformer and theologian in the former Czechoslovakia. Komensky was the first person to write an illustrated textbook for children, used for teaching Latin words; he was also a proponent of compulsory education. It has been traditional for children to honor him on Teachers' Day, or Komensky Day, by bringing flowers and gifts to their teachers. The day is also observed with lectures, music, and educational activities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: slighthair-trigger - Its underlying meaning is something that may be triggered with the pressure of something as slight as a hair. More... legerdemain - "Slight of hand, conjuring tricks," from French, literally "light of hand." More... velleity - Describes a mild desire, wish, or urge that is too slight to lead to action. More... | |