Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 15, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ridgepole
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Active VoiceThe active voice is a type of grammatical voice in which the subject is also the agent of the verb—i.e., it performs the action expressed by the verb. In active-voice sentences, where is the agent always positioned? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 PareidoliaWhether it's a face on Mars or the Virgin Mary's image on a grilled-cheese sandwich, perception of the meaningful in the mundane is common. It is called pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon in which a vague and random stimulus, such as an image or sound, is perceived as significant. Common examples include images of animals in clouds, the man in the moon, and hidden messages on records played in reverse. What test uses pareidolia to attempt to gain insight into a person's mental state? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Fire Ravages Rome's Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (1823)In 1823, a worker repairing the roof of Rome's Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls accidentally started a fire that resulted in its almost total destruction. The church, built under Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, had retained its original character for nearly 1,500 years. Reconstruction work began almost immediately with the aim of recreating the original structure. The viceroy of Egypt contributed alabaster pillars to the rebuilding effort, while the Russian emperor sent what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Jacques Derrida (1930)Derrida was an Algerian-born French philosopher whose critique of Western philosophy encompasses literature, linguistics, and psychoanalysis. In his famously dense and complex writings, he attempted to take apart, or "deconstruct," the edifice of Western metaphysics and reveal what he deemed its incompatible foundations. His thought is based on his disapproval of the search for an ultimate metaphysical certainty. Why was Derrida so controversial among many of his fellow philosophers? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 When a man bleeds inwardly, it is a dangerous thing for himself; but when he laughs inwardly, it bodes no good to other people.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
farmer's tan— A tan line or sunburn on the neck and lower arms that results from wearing a T-shirt during prolonged sun exposure and that is clearly demarcated from the pale skin of the chest and upper arms that remained covered. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Yudu Nal (2019)Yudu, which means "washing one's hair in flowing water," is a tradition that goes back to the Silla period (7th-9th centuries) in Korean history. It has been the custom on this day to go on picnics near a moving body of water, a stream, river, or waterfall, and to bathe and wash one's hair. Folklore has it that doing so will ward off fever and other heat-related ills. In any case, swimming in a cool stream is a refreshing way to beat hot summer weather. In modern times people also call this activity mulmaji, "greeting the water." More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: televisionvidiot - An undiscriminating viewer of television or video recordings. More... gaffer - In television and film, the senior electrician. More... sixty-four dollar question, sixty-four thousand dollar question - The sixty-four dollar question on the U.S. radio quiz (1942) became the sixty-four thousand dollar question on television (1955). More... square eyes - Used to describe someone addicted to television. More... | |