Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 28, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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precognition
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Regular and Irregular InflectionRegular inflection is governed by consistent, predictable rules. Irregular inflection doesn’t seem to follow any rules or conventions at all. What are some examples of irregular inflection? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Operation Ivory CoastOperation Ivory Coast was a failed rescue mission conducted by US special forces during the Vietnam War. The goal of the mission was to rescue 61 American prisoners of war thought to be held at a prison camp in North Vietnam. After months of planning and training, an elite team of soldiers helicoptered in and stormed the compound in the early morning of November 21, 1970. The raid was executed successfully, with only a few injuries, but the mission was ultimately deemed a failure. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Westminster Abbey Is Consecrated (1065)The first church built on the site of what is now Westminster Abbey is believed to date from the early 7th century. Around 1050, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding it. A week after the consecration of the new church, he died. William the Conqueror then launched the Norman invasion and, a year later, was crowned at Westminster Abbey—which would later house Edward's shrine. Nearly every British sovereign since then has been crowned in the abbey. What do they sit on during the coronation? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dhirubhai Ambani (1932)Ambani was born in rural Gujarat, India, to a family of modest means. As a youth, he worked in Yemen, then returned to India to found Reliance Industries. Originally an importer of synthetics, Ambani went into textile production, establishing his Vimal brand as a household name in India. As the company diversified into chemicals and power, he became a billionaire. At his death, his sons inherited one of the largest companies in India—but squabbled over ownership. How was the conflict resolved? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Religious discord has lost her sting; the cumbrous weapons of theological warfare are antiquated; the field of politics supplies the alchemists of our times with materials of more fatal explosion, and the butchers of mankind no longer travel to another world for instruments of cruelty and destruction.John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in front of (one's) very eyes— Right in plain sight or while one is watching. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Holy Innocents' Day (2025)Also known as Innocents' Day or Childermas, this day commemorates the massacre of all the male children two years and younger in Bethlehem as ordered by King Herod, who hoped that the infant Jesus would be among them. Not surprisingly, this day has long been regarded as unlucky. In ancient times, the "Massacre of the Innocents" was reenacted by whipping the younger members of a family. But over the years, the tables turned, and in some countries it has become a day when children play pranks on their elders. In Mexico, Childermas is the equivalent of April Fools' Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shouthue and cry - Somewhat redundant, as hue means "shout, make an outcry"; hue and cry was a medieval law requiring that all citizens within earshot give chase to a fleeing criminal. More... jubilate - From a Latin word meaning "shout for joy." More... slogan - From Scottish-Gaelic slaugh, "army," and gairm, "shout"—since the first slogans were actually battle cries. More... claim - The etymological notion behind claim is "calling out," from Latin clamare, "cry out, shout." More... | |