Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 31, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lineal
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Compound Words with PrefixesA prefix attaches to the beginning of a word (known as the "root" or "stem word") to change its meaning. While the vast majority of prefixes don't require a hyphen when they are attached to the root, in what situation is it helpful to use a hyphen between the prefix and the stem word? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AerogelAn aerogel is a highly porous solid formed from a gel, such as silica gel, in which the liquid is replaced with a gas. The lightest is less than four times as dense as dry air. Silica-based aerogels are among the lightest, and some, nicknamed "solid smoke" or "frozen smoke," are nearly transparent. Heavier aerogels were first developed in 1931 and have been used to detect high-energy particles emitted by particle accelerators. What are some other applications of aerogels in everyday products? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nauru, World's Smallest Island Nation, Gains Independence (1968)Annexed by Germany in 1888, controlled by Great Britain since World War I, occupied by Japan during World War II, and administered by Australia until the late 1960s, the tiny, phosphate-rich island of Nauru flourished in the years following its independence. However, after the island exhausted its primary phosphate reserves, living conditions deteriorated. Today, it has a 90 percent unemployment rate, and much of the island is uninhabitable. What percent of Nauruan citizens are obese? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Charles Lunalilo (1835)The shortest-reigning monarch in Hawaiian history, Lunalilo was unanimously elected by the legislature after the death of Kamehameha V, who had declined to name an heir. Just 13 months later, the similarly heirless Lunalilo died of alcoholism and tuberculosis. His goal of a more democratic Hawaii had earned him the nickname "the People's King," and he was buried in a common cemetery rather than in the royal mausoleum. What was his reward for having composed Hawaii's first national anthem? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 He had but one eye, and the popular prejudice runs in favor of two.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a knife in the back— A grievous or supreme act of treachery or betrayal. (Usually preceding "of/for (someone).") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) St. Paul Winter Carnival (2021)This 10-day winter festival was established in 1886 in response to a newspaper story that described St. Paul, Minnesota, as "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation." A group of local businessmen set out to publicize the area's winter attractions, and the first winter carnival featured an Ice Palace in St. Paul's Central Park. Since that time, an entire legend has developed about the founding of St. Paul and is reenacted each year. Other highlights include ice golf, skating, skiing, sled dog races, softball on ice, ice carving and snow sculpture contests, and a parade. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: socketball, socket - On a clothing snap, there is a ball and a socket. More... socket - From Middle English, first as "head of a spear, resembling a plowshare," from an Anglo-Norman French diminutive of French soc, "plowshare." More... acetabulum - The socket of the hip bone, into which the head of the femur fits. More... birn - The socket in a clarinet or other woodwind into which the mouthpiece fits. More... | |