Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, August 9, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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coddle
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Future Tense (Approximation)Grammatically speaking, there are no future tenses in the English language. There are really only aspects of the future tense. What does that mean? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Referred PainReferred pain is a phenomenon in which pain is felt in an area of the body other than the part where it originated. One well-known example is the jaw, neck, or arm pain often felt during heart attacks, another is the shoulder pain associated with gallstones. A less serious example is "brain freeze," a sudden headache sometimes triggered by eating cold foods. Scientists do not fully understand what causes referred pain, but it is thought to be related to what phenomenon experienced by amputees? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) Nathan Ames Patents His "Revolving Stairs," Now Known as the Escalator (1859)Although no working model of his design was ever built, Ames is credited with patenting the first escalator. His idea for the "revolving stairs" was largely speculative. It was not until the 1890s that the first working escalator—called the "inclined elevator"—was produced, based on another's designs. It was installed among the amusements at New York's Coney Island but did not remain a novelty for long. How did shoppers react when Harrods in London debuted its first escalator in 1898? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pamela Lyndon "P. L." Travers (1899)Australian-born British actress, journalist, and novelist P. L. Travers is best remembered for her series of fictional children's books about the prim, vain, imperious, acerbic, and mysteriously magical nanny Mary Poppins. The books were a great success, and Disney's award-winning 1964 film adaptation made the author even more famous. Travers worked as an adviser on the film, but in the end she was unhappy with it and never allowed anyone related to the production to adapt her work again. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I can see the humorous side of things and enjoy the fun when it comes; but look where I will, there seems to me always more sadness than joy in life.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lower the bar— To lower the standards of quality that are expected of or required for something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Meyboom (2021)One of the oldest folk traditions in Belgium, Meyboom is an amalgamation of Belgian folklore, patron-saint celebration, and traditional neighborhood rivalry. The event is marked with a procession of giant puppets and the planting of a meyboom (may tree) on the corner of Rue des Sables and Rue du Marais in Brussels. Before the planting, a procession of trumpeters and costumed giants accompanies the tree from the Place des Sablons to its final destination. According to custom, if the meyboom is not planted by 5:00 p.m., the city's good fortune will go to the people of Leuven. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lawsautonomy - From Greek autos, "self," and nomos, "law," i.e. a person or unit that makes its own laws. More... blue sky laws - Laws protecting the public from securities fraud. More... code, codex - Code, from Latin codex, meaning "block of wood split into tablets, document written on wood tablets," was first a set of laws. More... constitute, constitution - Constitute can mean "make laws" and a constitution is a "how-to" document for a government or organization. More... | |