Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 5, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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trencherman
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Order of AdjectivesIn English, the order of adjectives can sometimes be flexible, but most of the time we use a very specific order. To avoid unnatural-sounding sentences, what types of adjectives are used first? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Wild Man of the WoodsThe woodwose, or hairy wild man of the woods, was the Sasquatch figure of medieval Europe. Seen as a link between civilized humans and dangerous, elf-like woodland spirits, the woodwose is depicted in a wide range of images, including carvings in the Canterbury Cathedral and 16th-century European coats of arms. References to the creature are found in stories by J.R.R. Tolkien. What happened to France's King Charles VI and five of his courtiers when they dressed as woodwoses for a masquerade? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Dolly, the First Cloned Sheep, Is Born (1996)Perhaps the most famous sheep in history, Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell through the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique, in which the nucleus of an egg cell is replaced by the nucleus of a cell from the organism to be cloned. In successful cases, the egg cell develops into a healthy fetus, but the success rate of cloning has been low. Of 277 eggs, only 29 created viable embryos, and Dolly was the only one to survive to adulthood. How did she get her name? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (1911)Pompidou was premier of France from 1962 to 1968 and president from 1969 to 1974. As Charles de Gaulle's chief aide from 1958 to 1959, he helped draft the constitution of the Fifth Republic. He secretly negotiated a cease-fire in the Algerian War in 1961 and was appointed premier the following year. In 1968, he skillfully negotiated an end to the French student-worker strikes. Elected president in 1969, he continued de Gaulle's policies. What job did Pompidou hold before he entered politics? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are certain narrow, unimaginative, and autocratic old people who seem to call out the most mischievous, and sometimes the worst traits in children.Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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flap (one's) gums— To chatter or blather. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tynwald Ceremony (2018)The Isle of Man, located off the coast of England in the Irish Sea, was once the property of the Vikings. It was here that they established their custom of holding an open-air court for the settling of disputes and the passing of laws. Today, the Tynwald Ceremony—whose name comes from the Norse Thing vollr, meaning a fenced open parliament—is held at St. John's on Tynwald Hill on July 5, when the Lieutenant-Governor reads a brief summary of every bill that has been passed during the year—first in English, and then in Manx, the old language of the island. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: locationCook's tour - A very fast tour of a location, from Thomas Cook, the famous travel agent. More... stamping ground, stomping ground - Stamping ground or stomping ground originally referred to a location frequented by animals. More... map reference - The numbers and letters you use to find a location on a map. More... urheimat - The location where a people or language originated. More... | |