Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 17, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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execrable
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining ParticiplesParticiples are words formed from verbs that can function as adjectives or gerunds. Participles can also be used to form which verb tenses? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The AbacusAn abacus is a calculation tool, often a frame with beads sliding on wires. Used for centuries before the adoption of the written Arabic numeral system, it is still utilized by merchants in China and elsewhere. Though often attributed to the Chinese, it is thought to have been invented by the ancient Babylonians. The first abacus was probably a flat tablet covered in sand. Lines were drawn in the sand and pebbles were used to make calculations. What is the origin of the instrument's name? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Last Public Execution in France (1939)Eugen Weidmann, a convicted thief, kidnapper, and murderer, was the last person to be publicly executed in France. After his arrest, Weidmann confessed to murdering five people and was sentenced to death. Shortly thereafter, he was beheaded by guillotine. The "hysterical behavior" of spectators at the event was so scandalous that French President Albert Lebrun immediately banned all future public executions. Executions by guillotine in France continued in private until what date? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Igor Stravinsky (1882)Stravinsky was a Russian-American composer considered by many to be the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th century. His first major success, The Firebird, brought him international renown in 1910. He followed this the next year with the great ballet score Petrushka and two years after that with his most acclaimed—and controversial—work, the ballet The Rite of Spring, recognized as a landmark and masterpiece of modern music. Why did its premiere provoke a riot? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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there and back— Taking the distances to the end point and back to the beginning together as a single sum. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Iceland Independence Day (2022)Iceland was proclaimed an independent republic on June 17, 1944. Sometimes referred to as National Day, the anniversary of this event is also the birthday of Jón Sigurdsson, the nation's 19th-century leader. A varied program of parades, speeches, sporting competitions, amusements, and outdoor concerts and shows culminates in the evening with dancing in the streets of Reykjavik and other towns. Another National Day was December 1, the anniversary of the 1918 treaty recognizing Iceland as an independent state under the Danish crown. This is now largely a student celebration. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: thiefjilt - A female accomplice to a thief. More... furtive - Someone who is furtive literally "carries things away like a thief." More... ferret - Its name comes from Latin furritus, "little thief"—alluding to the animal's affinity for stealing hens' eggs. More... thief - Has the underlying meaning of "crouching, furtive person." More... | |