Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 1, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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gratify
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Question MarkQuestion marks ( ? ) are used to identify sentences that ask a question (technically known as "interrogative sentences"). Where do question marks almost always appear in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) Master of the Playing CardsThe Master of the Playing Cards lived in Germany in the mid-1400s and is today recognized as the first great printmaking expert. Unusually, he was likely an artist as well as an engraver, and he possessed a distinctive artistic style. Attempts to identify him have failed. He is noted for a set of playing cards that feature finely detailed, realistic illustrations. The cards are organized into five suits, which differ entirely from the four suits used in playing cards today. What were they? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 BBC Report: Spaghetti Grows on Trees (1957)An estimated 8 million unsuspecting viewers were watching the BBC's trusted current affairs program Panorama when it aired one of the first televised hoaxes in history, a 3-minute report on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Afterwards, the station received calls from hundreds of curious viewers, including some who wanted information on cultivating their own spaghetti plants. In the report, the year's abundant spaghetti crop was attributed to a mild winter and the near-elimination of what pest? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sophie Germain (1776)Growing up during the French Revolution, a young Germain turned to her father's library for entertainment and discovered a passion for mathematics. Despite facing opposition due to her gender, the self-taught Germain was eventually able to attend the lectures of the French Academy of Sciences. She corresponded by mail with a number of prominent mentors, including mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, by using a male pseudonym. How did Gauss discover that Germain was a woman? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It was on one of those mornings, common in early spring, when the year, fickle and changeable in its youth like all other created things, is undecided whether to step backward into winter or forward into summer.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get on like a house afire— Of two or more people, to enjoy one another's company very much from the start and become good friends at once. (Used when people are meeting for the first time.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (2021)The Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, and also on April 1. St. Mary was a sinful, lustful woman who repented and became devout. She is seen as the least worthy person, who through God's mercy became a treasure chosen by God. She is revered as a patron saint of penitent women. On the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, St. Mary of Egypt is the subject of sermons during the Divine Liturgy. On this day, Orthodox priests typically bless dried fruit after the services. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: outlinewrite - From Proto Germanic writanan, "tear, scratch." More... curriculum, syllabus - A curriculum is a complete course of study offered by a school; a syllabus is the outline of a single course. More... profile - Literally "draw in outline" or "shown by a thread," from Latin pro, "forth," and filum, "thread." More... scarify - From Greek skariphasthai, "to scratch an outline," it now means "to break up the surface of." More... | |