Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 27, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
artificer
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - WouldThe modal auxiliary verb "would" has a variety of functions and uses, including replacing "will" for things that happened or began in the past, or describing hypothetical situations. What type of mood is used to express hypotheticals and desires? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 WagonwaysThe idea of using "tracked" roads dates back millennia. In the US and England, the first railroads employed not locomotives but horse-drawn wagons, which were used to haul minerals on the tracks. In 1829, locomotives were imported to the US from England, but they were found to be too heavy for the existing tracks. However, steam powered railroads soon grew to dominate the transportation of cargo. How did horses continue to be used by railroads after the advent of steam locomotives? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Grant's Tomb Dedicated (1897)The remains of American Civil War general and US President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, lie interred in Grant's Tomb. The granite and marble structure, designed by architect John Duncan, was completed in 1897 and dedicated on what would have been Grant's 75th birthday. The tomb complex is located in New York City's scenic Riverside Park. A major restoration by the National Park Service was completed by its centennial. What did Duncan use as a general model for his design? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Herbert Spencer (1820)Admired by some and loathed by others, Spencer was one of the most discussed Victorian thinkers. An English sociologist and philosopher, he was an advocate of the theory of social Darwinism. In his vast, multi-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy, he held that the physical, organic, and social realms are interconnected and develop according to identical evolutionary principles. To describe his theory of sociocultural evolution, he coined what well-known phrase? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Trusting no man as his friend, he could not recognize his enemy when the latter actually appeared.Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
shaken up— Greatly startled, shocked, or upset. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Sierra Leone Independence Day (2022)This national holiday celebrates the day Sierra Leone became independent from Britain in 1961. Independence Day festivities are especially elaborate in the capital city of Freetown. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: rustlingsoughing - A soft rustling or murmuring sound—like the deep sigh of a sleeping baby. More... frou-frou - From French for "a rustling." More... murmur - Comes from the Latin word for "rustling," and can mean "complain, grumble about." More... psithurism - The sound of wind in the trees and rustling of leaves. More... | |