Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, May 15, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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excoriate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Regular and Irregular InflectionInflection, the way we change a word's form to reflect things like tense, plurality, gender, etc., is usually governed by consistent, predictable rules. This is known as "regular inflection." However, there are many instances in which the way a word is inflected doesn't seem to follow any rules or conventions at all—this is known as "irregular inflection." What part of speech is most commonly affected by irregular inflection? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Niagara FallsNiagara Falls is a set of three spectacular waterfalls located on the US-Canadian border. The Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls are renowned for their beauty, and Niagara Falls as a whole is both a valuable source of hydroelectric power and a challenging project for environmental preservation. It is also a popular site for daredevils. In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over the falls in a barrel. She survived and had what to say about the experience? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Van Gogh's Portrait of Doctor Gachet Sold for $82.5 Million (1990)In June 1890, shortly before his death, Vincent Van Gogh created two versions of a painting depicting his doctor, Paul Gachet. The paintings, called Portrait of Dr. Gachet, portray the doctor seated beside a foxglove plant, an extract of which is used to treat heart conditions. In 1990, 100 years after it was first painted, Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito purchased one version of the work for the record sum of $82.5 million. Why did he later say he would have the painting burned? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pierre Curie (1859)Pierre Curie was a chemist who studied crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity, and the emerging field of radioactivity, first observed by A. H. Becquerel in 1896. Pierre and his wife Marie worked to isolate polonium and radium. Working with a student, Pierre also discovered nuclear energy by identifying the continuous emission of heat from radium particles. In 1903, the Curies shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Becquerel. Three years later, Pierre died in what type of accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a fit— To become very or unreasonably angry or upset; to have an outburst of rage, frustration, or ill temper. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Aoi Matsuri (2022)One of the three major festivals of Kyoto, Japan, the Aoi Matsuri, or Hollyhock Festival, is believed to date from the sixth century. The festival's name derives from the hollyhock leaves adorning the headdresses of the participants; legend says hollyhocks help prevent storms and earthquakes. Today, the festival, which was revived in 1884, consists of a re-creation of the original imperial procession. Some 500 people in ancient costume parade with horses and large lacquered oxcarts carrying the "imperial messengers" from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to the shrines. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: healingbalsam - First referred to an aromatic resinous substance with healing or soothing properties. More... healing, curing - Healing is a process in which an organism's health is restored; curing is a method that promotes healing. More... psychiatry - From Greek psykhe, "mind," and iatreia, "healing." More... salve - The main semantic element is "healing," but the etymological meaning is "oily substance." More... | |