Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abhorrence
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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NounsNouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or clause. These are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The HakaThe haka is a traditional dance of the Maori of New Zealand, performed by a group in unison and incorporating rhythmic shouting, foot stamping, and contorted facial expressions. It was traditionally performed when two groups met, whether for war or diplomacy. Many people today are familiar with this type of dance because it is performed by New Zealand's international rugby team, the All Blacks, while facing the opposing team before each match. How is the haka said to have originated? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 U-2 Crisis of 1960 Begins (1960)After becoming Soviet premier in 1958, Nikita Khrushchev asserted a doctrine of peaceful coexistence with capitalist nations. He toured the US in 1959 and planned a Paris summit with the US, Britain, and France in 1960, but in May of that year, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Khrushchev cancelled the conference, and the American pilot, F. Gary Powers, was tried in the Soviet Union and sentenced to 10 years in prison. What happened to him? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anna Marie Jarvis (1864)Though she never wed or had children herself, Jarvis campaigned tirelessly for the establishment of an annual holiday honoring mothers. She began her campaign after the death of her mother, a social activist who had brought mothers together in an effort to counter the divisions caused by the Civil War. By 1914, Mother's Day had been proclaimed a US national holiday. Rather than savor her success, Jarvis soon became one of the holiday's most vehement opponents. Why did she want it abolished? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must do something.Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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heat wave— A period of time in which the weather is unusually and persistently hot. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lei Day (2021)This is a celebration of Hawaii's state symbol of friendship. Leis are garlands made of flower blossoms, seeds, leaves, ferns, and pods. The events of the day include state-wide lei competition, the crowning of a Lei Queen in Honolulu, and assorted exhibits and hula performances. The queen's coronation is accompanied by chanting and the blowing of conch shells. On the day after the celebration, leis from the state-wide competitions are ceremoniously placed on the graves of Hawaii's royalty at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu Valley. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: notchcrenelation, crenelle - A crenelation (from Latin crena, "notch") is a series of indentations or loopholes around the top of a castle, battlement, or wall—with each indentation being a crenelle (or crenel). More... carf, kerf - A cut or notch in timber is a carf or kerf—which are also used to describe the width of such a cut. More... dent - As in "notch," it comes from the French word for tooth; its original meaning was "blow, stroke" in general. More... score - First a notch used to keep count, as on a stick. More... | |