Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 11, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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intransigent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - MustThe modal verb "must" is most often used to express necessity—i.e., that something has to happen or be the case. When is "must" used in interrogative sentences? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Tree That Owns ItselfAt the corner of Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia, you will find a tree that, according to most accounts, has legal ownership of itself and all land within 8 ft (2.4 m) of its base. Sometimes called the "Son of the Tree That Owns Itself," the tree currently standing on this spot was grown from an acorn of the original white oak, which fell in 1942. The earliest known record of the tree's tale comes from an 1890 newspaper article. How did it explain a tree having ownership of itself? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "Malaysian Haze" Prompts State of Emergency Declaration (2005)For a week in 2005, a choking, smog-like haze brought the central part of peninsular Malaysia to a standstill. Air quality was so poor that a state of emergency was declared in the district of Kuala Selangor and the country's major shipping center, Port Klang. Residents were instructed to stay home, and schools were closed. Only supermarkets and essential services remained open. Miraculously, Kuala Lumpur's main airport was unaffected. What was identified as the primary cause of the haze? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778)A German patriot and educator at a time when Europe was actively trying to free itself from Napoleonic rule, Jahn founded a gymnastic society, Turnverein, to build strength and fellowship among young people as well as help foster a nationalistic spirit among members. After Napoleon's defeat, German leaders came to view the once-sanctioned organization as a threat and had its founder arrested in 1819 and a national ban placed on gymnastics. What now-standard gymnastics equipment did Jahn invent? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Everything looms pleasant through the softening haze of time. Even the sadness that is past seems sweet.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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luck in— To be very lucky or fortunate; to experience particularly good luck. (A nonstandard variant of "luck out.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Clare of Assisi (2021)There were a number of women who joined the Second Order of St. Francis, but the first and most famous was St. Clare (c. 1194-1253). She was joined 16 days later by her sister, Agnes; other women, referred to as the Poor Ladies, were eventually drawn to the hard life that Clare had chosen, and the religious order that she and Francis founded is known today as the Poor Clares. Clare died in 1253 and was canonized on August 12, 1255. Her feast day was eventually moved to August 11, the date of her death according to the revised Roman Catholic calendar. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: statesnation, country - A nation is made up of states—and a country is a nation defined geographically. More... political map - Shows the boundaries of cities, states, and countries. More... statistic - Comes from a German noun describing knowledge dealing with the constitutions and resources of the states of the world. More... booster name - A nickname for a state (as on a license plate). More... | |