Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, August 14, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
concoct
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Attributive NounsAttributive nouns, also called noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used to modify other nouns. For example, the noun adjunct "toy" can be used to modify the noun "soldier." The resulting phrase ("toy soldier") is known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Fig WaspsThe life cycle of fig wasps is intimately intertwined with that of the fig trees they inhabit. It begins when a female wasp enters the fruit through a natural opening and deposits her eggs inside, pollinating the inner flowers in the process. Next, non-pollinating wasps deposit their eggs. After maturing inside the fig, male offspring's only jobs are to mate with the females—while still within the fig—and chew a hole through which the females can escape. What happens when the males exit the fig? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 British Troops Are Deployed in Northern Ireland (1969)In August 1969, tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland came to a head in the predominantly-Catholic Bogside neighborhood of Londonderry. For days, fighting raged with Catholic residents on one side and police and Protestant residents on the other. On August 14, British troops were deployed to restore order. Some consider that day to be the definitive beginning of the decades-long conflict known as The Troubles. How did residents react to the arrival of the army? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Hans Christian Ørsted (1777)Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist. In 1820, he discovered that electric current passing through a wire can deflect a nearby compass needle, a phenomenon that inspired the development of electromagnetic theory. His 1820 discovery of piperine, one of the pungent components of pepper, was an important contribution to chemistry. In 1824, he founded a society devoted to the spread of scientific knowledge among the general public. What unit of measurement was named after him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 To learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the other.Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
be shown the ropes— To be taught how to do or perform a job, task, or activity; to have explained or demonstrated how something is done. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Great Battle of Hansan Festival (2020)The Great Battle of Hansan Festival is held annually in Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, for four days in August. This colorful and eventful celebration marks the stunning victory of Admiral Yi Sun-sin over the Japanese navy at the Battle of Hansan during the Imjin War (1592-1598). A re-enactment of the battle in the waters off Tongyeong is the undisputed highlight of the event, but dozens of associated activities are also held, including a commemorative parade; performances of music, dance, and drama; art exhibitions; and lectures. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: pullingpull out all the stops - Refers to the knobs and levers on a church organ that control the pipes; pulling out all the stops will result in the full range of pitch and maximum volume. More... track - Borrowed from Old French trac, from Middle Dutch trek, "pulling," or trekken, "pull." More... traction, tractor - Traction and tractor trace back to Latin tractus, "drawing, pulling," and trahere, "draw, pull." More... tractive - Refers to power exerted in pulling, especially by a machine. More... | |