Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, April 15, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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high-and-mighty
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Action VerbsThere are many different categories of verbs that describe different kinds of actions or states of being. Action verbs describe an active process that results in an effect. What are these verbs also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 KomitasKomitas was an Armenian composer, conductor, and ethnomusicologist now regarded as the founder of modern Armenian classical music. Orphaned as a boy, he was educated at Echmiadzin Seminary and ordained a priest. After establishing a choir at the monastery, he went to Berlin to study music. Upon his return, he traveled around Armenia collecting thousands of folk songs, many of which he adapted for choirs. Why do some consider him a martyr of the 1915 Armenian genocide, even though he survived it? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 RMS Titanic Sinks (1912)The Titanic was a massive ocean liner that was thought to be virtually unsinkable. The ship was on its maiden voyage and carrying more than 2,200 passengers and crew when it struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank early the next morning. More than 1,500 lives were lost in the disaster. In 1985, a team led by Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel located the Titanic's wreck on the ocean floor and made a discovery that shed light on how the ship sank. What was it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Bessie Smith (1894)When Smith was just a teen, she became the protégée of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, one of the earliest blues singers. After making recordings, she quickly became the favorite singer of the jazz public. The power and somber beauty of her voice, coupled with songs representing every variety of the blues, earned her the title "Empress of the Blues." Numerous critics have regarded her as the greatest of all jazz artists, and her fame increased enormously after her death in what tragic accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To know, to esteem, to love, and then to part,Makes up life's tale to many a feeling heart! Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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pay dirt— Something very, particularly, or abundantly valuable or useful, especially that which has been discovered after a long or arduous search. Used especially in the phrase "hit/strike pay dirt." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Kim Il-Sung (2022)The birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung on April 15, 1912, is marked as a public holiday throughout North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea). The holiday is known as the Day of the Sun. All over the country, people lay floral wreaths and baskets before the hundreds of statues that commemorate Kim. The main observances take place in the capital city Pyongyang, where officials of numerous organizations and citizens lay flowers at one of the nation's grandest monuments to Kim, located on Mansu Hill. Kim Il-Sung ruled North Korea from 1945 until his death in 1994. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: subduemortify - From Latin, meaning "kill or subdue the flesh," it originally meant "to kill," then "to destroy the vitality or vigor of," before it took on its present meaning. More... pacify - Can mean "to subdue by armed action." More... subdue - From Latin subducere, "draw from below." More... tame - Came from Indo-European dom-, "tame, subdue." More... | |