Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 26, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
self-righteous
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Emphasizing Duration with the Present Perfect ContinuousThe present perfect continuous is especially useful for putting emphasis on the length of time that has passed while something is happening. What is the present perfect continuous verb in the following sentence? "They have been studying for three weeks for this exam." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 OstracismIn ancient Athens, ostracism was a method of temporarily banishing a public figure. Each year, the assembly took a preliminary vote to decide whether a vote of ostracism should be held. If a majority approved holding an ostracism, voters would put into an urn a piece of pottery—called an ostrakon—marked with the name of a person they wished to be ostracized. If at least 6,000 votes were cast, the person named on the most ostraka was exiled. How long did the exile last? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Australia Day: Britain's First Fleet Arrives (1788)On January 26, 1788, the first British fleet in modern-day Australia claimed it in the name of King George III. Captain Arthur Phillip and his band of British convicts settled in Port Jackson—where the city of Sydney was later established—and built a penal colony there to help relieve overcrowding in the British prisons. First officially celebrated in 1818, Australia Day—formerly known as Foundation Day or Anniversary Day—has been a public holiday since 1838. What was the British fleet called? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (1852)Born to Italian nobility in Brazil, Brazza joined the French navy and explored present-day Gabon from 1875 to 1878. Racing his British-American counterpart Henry Morton Stanley, Brazza explored the Congo River region, where he founded the French Congo and Brazzaville—now capital of the Republic of the Congo. He added some 200,000 square miles (500,000 sq km) to the French colonial empire and was the French Congo's commissioner general from 1886 to 1898. Why was he sent back to the Congo in 1905? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Fiddle, n.: An instrument to tickle human ears by friction of a horse's tail on the entrails of a cat.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
the other side— Existence after death; the world of the afterlife. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Australia Day (2022)The anniversary of the first British settlement in Australia on January 26, 1788, was formerly known as Foundation Day or Anniversary Day. Captain Arthur Phillip and his company of British convicts arrived first at Botany Bay, and when that proved to be unsuitable, they moved on to Port Jackson, where the city of Sydney was eventually established. First officially celebrated in 1818, Australia Day has been a public holiday since 1838. It used to be observed on either January 26 or the nearest Monday, but, since 1994, it has been observed on January 26 with celebrations all over the country. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: pancakeblin - As in blini and blintze, it is Russian for "pancake." More... blintz, blintze - Blintz(e) is from Russian blinets, "little pancake." More... cake - A Viking contribution, from Old Norse kaka, it is related to "cook"; cake first meant small, flat bread roll baked on both sides by being turned—as in pancake or potato cake. More... omelet, omelette - Omelet has also been written omelette, amulet, and aumelet; omelet's root sense is "thin layer" or "crepe," and it was first described in English as a "pancake of eggs." More... | |