Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 20, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
maverick
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
CommasCommas are used to connect two or more elements in a sentence, but the way in which they do this varies widely, depending on what these elements are. What is a comma splice? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Blue WhalePerhaps the largest animal to have ever lived, the blue whale can grow to be 100 ft (30.5 m) long and weigh as much as 200 tons. It eats as much as 4 tons of krill a day, and its massive mouth can hold up to 100 tons of food and water, but its throat restricts the passage of anything wider than a beach ball. Once abundant, it was nearly hunted to extinction before being placed under the protection of the international community in 1966. What is the blue whale's only natural predator? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Sun Dog Phenomenon Observed over Stockholm (1535)Today, the science behind parhelia—also known as "sun dogs"—is well understood, but when the huge, glowing halos and miniature suns appeared in the sky above Stockholm in 1535, it was a major event. A painting of the occurrence is the earliest color depiction of Stockholm, then a crowded cluster of stone buildings on an island. It is also the earliest depiction of sun dogs and is largely scientifically accurate. What were some of the conflicting interpretations of the omen at the time? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Ernesto Antonio "Tito" Puente, Jr. (1923)One of the premier composers and players of Latin music, Puente was an American bandleader, pianist, and virtuoso percussionist. He formed his own band in 1947 and rose to prominence with the salsa, mambo, merengue, and cha-cha-cha fads of the 1950s. Always experimenting, he became a pioneer of Latin-jazz fusion and recorded more than 100 albums, winning multiple Grammy awards. His compositions include "Pare Cochero" and "Oye Como Va." On what TV shows did Puente appear as a guest star? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Our fear of death is like our fear that summer will be short, but when we have had our swing of pleasure, our fill of fruit, and our swelter of heat, we say we have had our day.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
have the better of (someone or something)— To have or gain superiority, mastery, or an advantage over someone or something; to have control over someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Boston Marathon (2020)The oldest footrace in the United States was first held on Patriots' Day, April 19, 1897. Organized by members of the Boston Athletic Association, the race involved only 15 runners. Nowadays the Boston Marathon draws upwards of 30,000 official starters. The 26.2-mile course begins exactly at noon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, includes the infamous "Heartbreak Hill" (a section of Commonwealth Avenue in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, that marks the race's 21st mile), and ends near Copley Square in the Back Bay Area. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: plasterdrywall, plasterboard - Drywall is a building material made of a sheet of plaster covered with heavy paper on both sides; it is also called plasterboard. More... gypsum - From Semitic, a relative or ancestor of Arabic jibs and Hebrew gephes, "plaster." More... plaster of Paris - So called because it is prepared from the gypsum of Paris, France. More... trullization - Laying on plaster with a trowel. More... | |