Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, June 23, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vituperation
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ParticlesA particle is a word that does not have semantic meaning on its own, but instead relies on the word it is paired with to have meaning. What are the only two things that a particle is used to create? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Crocodile BirdThe Egyptian plover is commonly called the "crocodile bird" because of a legend attributed to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. Supposedly, these birds would pick scraps from the teeth of crocodiles, and, in exchange for the dental service, grateful crocodiles would refrain from eating the plovers. Despite anecdotal evidence, the legend is unconfirmed. Instead of being incubated, plover eggs are buried beneath a small layer of warm sand. By what unusual method do plover chicks drink water? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The International Olympic Committee Is Founded (1894)Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded following efforts by Pierre de Coubertin to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games that were first held in Greece in 776 BCE. Today, the IOC constitutes a single legal entity that organizes the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and owns copyrights, trademarks, and other intangible properties associated with the Games, such as the Olympic logos. What is the maximum number of members the IOC can have? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Wilma Glodean Rudolph (1940)Rudolph was the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field in a single Olympic Games. She accomplished this despite having contracted numerous serious illnesses as a child, including polio, which damaged her leg and required her to wear a brace for some time. At the 1960 Games, she won gold in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay. She finished the 100-meter dash in world-record time but was not credited with the record. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If any question why we died, tell them, because our fathers lied.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be thrilled to death— To be ecstatic; to be very pleased and excited. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Estonia Victory Day (2022)This date commemorates the Battle of Vönnu in 1919, in which a joint force of Estonians and Latvians claimed a decisive victory and marked the end of 700 years of German control. Today, the president and other dignitaries attend the official Victory Day ceremonies in the capital city, Tallinn. The holiday transitions from the political to the traditional when the president orders citizens to take torches from the official bonfire held in honor of Victory Day to light the hundreds of bonfires in the country that initiate Midsummer and St. John's Eve celebrations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wonderadmire - Can mean "to wonder at, to be slightly surprised." More... marvel - Traces to Latin mirabilia, from mirari, "wonder at." More... nine days' wonder - An old term (c. 1325) for an event or phenomenon that attracts enthusiastic interest for a short while, but is then ignored or forgotten. More... Wonder Bread - Got its name from a vice president who watched a hot-air balloon race shortly before the bread needed a name—"wonder" is how he described the event and then the bread. More... | |