Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 23, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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gallivant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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VerbsVerbs are used to indicate the actions, processes, conditions, or states of beings of people or things. Verbs constitute the root of the predicate. What is the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bacterial ConjugationFirst observed in 1946, bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells through a bridge-like connection during direct contact between the cells. The transferred information is often beneficial to the recipient cell and can include material involved in antibiotic resistance. The process is easily interrupted—some scientists have disrupted it simply using a blender—and such breaks stop the transfer. How does the transfer of genetic material take place? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Man Causes a Sensation by Jumping off Brooklyn Bridge—Or Not (1886)The iconic Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. Three years later, a New Yorker named Steve Brodie claimed to have survived a jump off the span, and newspapers eagerly reported the stunt, allegedly done as part of a bet. Vaulted to sudden fame, Brodie embarked on a successful stage career and opened the popular Bowery Tavern. "To pull a Brodie" even became a slang term for doing something flamboyant and dangerous, but Brodie's dubious claim about his leap was later disputed. What really happened? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Babcock (1900)Prior to his death in 2010, at age 109, Babcock was Canada's last known surviving veteran of World War I. He joined the army at 15 by lying about his age. When he was discovered to be too young for combat, he was given labor jobs and was later transferred to England, where he continued his training in the Young Soldiers Battalion. Because he never actually fought on the front lines, he was uncomfortable with his fame as a veteran. At what age did Babcock finally earn his high school diploma? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Misfortune, n.: The kind of fortune that never misses.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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loose talk— Uninhibited, indiscreet talk or conversation, especially as might unintentionally lead to revealing private or sensitive information to others. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Haile Selassie's Birthday (2021)Haile Selassie I (1892-1975), emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was born Tafari Makonnen; he became Prince (or Ras) Tafari in 1916. Among the Jamaicans known as Rastafarians, Selassie was believed to be the Messiah, and Ethiopia was identified with heaven. Ethiopians still celebrate Haile Selassie's birthday. During the years of his reign as emperor, Selassie would stand on the balcony of his palace in Addis Ababa and greet the thousands of well-wishers who gathered there on his birthday. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: scorehopscotch - A game in which one must "hop" over the lines scratched in the ground; scotch means "scratched" or "to score." It was once called hop-score. More... Apgar score - A measure of a baby's wellbeing that takes into account respiratory effort, skin color, heart rate, muscle tone, and sense of smell—named for American anesthetist Virginia Apgar. More... earned run - In baseball, a run scored without the aid of errors by the opposing team's fielders. More... points in the paint - Refers to basketball points scored from within the free-throw lane. More... | |