Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 20, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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preponderance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Stative Verbs that Take GerundsStative verbs, also known as verbs of feeling, are very likely to take gerunds as their objects. "Love" is a common stative verb that takes gerunds. What is the gerund in the following sentence? "I love going to the movies." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The HabiruSumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources recorded roughly 3,200 to 4,000 years ago mention the Habiru, a group of people found throughout the Fertile Crescent, which spanned the Levant, Mesopotamia, and ancient Egypt. Depending on the source and epoch, the Habiru are variously described as nomads, rebels, outlaws, mercenaries, bowmen, slaves, or migrant laborers. Though opinion remains divided on this issue, some scholars associate the Habiru with what ethnic group? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 King Abdullah I of Jordan Is Assassinated (1951)Abdullah I was the king of Jordan from 1946 until his death. With Britain's support, he led Arab revolts against Turkish rule in WWI and, after the Ottoman Empire's collapse, became emir of the British mandate of Transjordan in 1921. When the mandate ended, he became king of the renamed Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. In 1948, he attacked the newly established state of Israel, annexing the portions of Palestine now known as the West Bank. In 1951, he was assassinated in Jerusalem by whom? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Petrarch (1304)The "Father of Humanism," Petrarch was the greatest scholar of his age. He traveled widely, visiting fellow scholars and searching out manuscripts, and wrote numerous lyrics, sonnets, and canzoni. His awareness of the classical past as a source of literary and philosophical meaning for the present left a lasting influence on European literature and paved the way for the Renaissance. Many of Petrarch's poems are devoted to what woman, who awoke a lasting passion in him on Good Friday in 1327? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Diplomacy, n.: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a feast for the eyes— An especially attractive, pleasing, and/or remarkable sight or visual experience. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Colombia Independence Day (2018)On the day they celebrate their independence from Spain, Colombians in the capital city of Bogotá often visit a historic place known as La Casa del Florero (The House of the Flowerpot). It was here that a Colombian storekeeper refused to lend a large flowerpot to the Spaniards. A riot ensued—the beginning of the revolt against Spain. There are Independence Day parades throughout the country on July 20. Schoolchildren march in their uniforms, and dancers perform in the costumes of their region. In the afternoon, people watch athletic games and listen to singing groups perform folk songs. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: saladcorn salad - A name given to several species of annual herbs sometimes used for salad. More... fruit cocktail, fruit cup, fruit salad - Fruit cocktail (1922) is a mixture of sliced or diced fruits, and it is synonymous with fruit cup (1931); fruit salad (1861) is a salad composed of fruits. More... salad days - Those when one is green in judgment, young and inexperienced. More... salad - A shortened version of Latin herba salata, "salted vegetables," from Latin sal, "salt." More... | |