Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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somnolent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Degrees of Comparison - AdjectivesAdjectives can be inflected (changed in form) to compare a quality between two nouns—this form is known as the comparative degree. What suffix is added to the end of the adjective to form the comparative degree? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eyam, EnglandThe village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England, is best known for its decision to voluntarily quarantine itself when the Great Plague of London spread there in 1665. Villagers further tried to contain the disease by burying their own relatives and by leaving money disinfected in vinegar on a stone outside the village to pay for goods being delivered. The plague raged for 14 months and devastated Eyam, wiping out between 50 and 75 percent of its population. How was the plague brought to the village? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Katzbach (1813)During the Napoleonic Wars, France battled the shifting alliances of European powers in an attempt to affirm Napoleon's supremacy. The battle between the French and the Prussians at the Katzbach River, however, came about somewhat by accident. On a stormy August day in the Prussian province of Silesia, the two forces stumbled upon one another. The French recovered from the surprise first and attacked despite orders to defend. Their effort was met with a heavy counterattack. Who won the battle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Peggy Guggenheim (1898)Born to a wealthy New York City family, Guggenheim grew up in luxury, inherited a fortune in her early 20s, and became a friend, patron, and sometime lover to a number of avant-garde artists and writers. She spent the 1930s living in Paris and then London, where she opened her first gallery, Guggenheim Jeune. World War II impelled her return to New York, whereupon she married artist Max Ernst and opened a new gallery featuring her vast collection. Where did she take her collection after the war? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make an end of (something)— To stop, cease, or conclude something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Namibia Heroes' Day (2021)To honor those who lost their lives fighting for national freedom, Namibia has designated August 26 as Heroes' Day. On this day, thousands of Namibians gather at Ongulumbashe to celebrate. Representatives from all 13 regions give performances and cultural presentations, including traditional praise songs and dances. A re-enactment of the battle of Ongulumbashe concludes with the raising of the Namibian flag, as the real fighters did after each triumph in the war. In Namibia's capital city of Windhoek, the Heroes' Acre national monument was erected to honor the freedom fighters. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wind instrumentorgan - Comes from Latin organum, from Greek oganon, "implement, instrument, tool"; it was first a very general term, but was then used for "wind instrument" and "functional part of the body." More... poop - Once had the meaning "to make an abrupt sound, as from a wind instrument." More... bell - The flared open end of a wind instrument. More... tootle - To toot continuously, as notes on a wind instrument. More... | |