Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 20, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining Adjective ComplementsAn adjective complement is a phrase or clause that provides information necessary to complete an adjective phrase's meaning. What part of speech are they most often used with? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Invention of the Potter's WheelIt is not known when the potter's wheel first came into use, but experts suggest it was developed between about 6,000 BCE and 2,400 BCE. Many modern scholars suggest that it was first developed in Mesopotamia, although Egypt and China are also possible places of origin. The device enables potters to utilize the energy stored in the wheel and direct it specifically to the point of contact between the clay and hands. What term is used to refer to the forming of a vessel on a potter's wheel? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Metropolitan Museum of Art Opens in New York City (1872)"The Met" is the foremost repository of art in the US, with a collection of more than two million works of art. Established for the purpose of encouraging the study of fine art, the museum opened in 1872 with just one stone sarcophagus and 174 paintings. However, the collection quickly outgrew its gallery space and in 1880 was moved to its iconic present-day location on the eastern edge of Central Park. In recent decades, the Met has used what controversial practice to acquire high-quality art? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Ansel Adams (1902)Adams was an American photographer famous for his black-and-white landscape photographs and for his many books about photography, including a series of technical instruction manuals: The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. He invented the "zone system," a technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, and advocated a more sharply focused and composed style of photography than was in vogue at the time. What initially spurred his interest in photography? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Long ago, before I had ever seen a diamond, I read about them and I tried to imagine what they would be like ... When I saw a real diamond in a lady's ring one day I was so disappointed I cried. Of course, it was very lovely but it wasn't my idea of a diamond.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
make (something) up as (one) goes (along)— To improvise continuously as one does something; to do something without formal guidelines, structure, rules, etc. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Black History Month (2025)Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, which was established in February 1926 by African-American historian Carter G. Woodson, who founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. Initially designed to encompass the birthday of the abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass on February 14 as well as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, it was expanded in 1976 to a month-long observance. The event is widely observed by schools, churches, libraries, clubs, and organizations wishing to draw attention to the contributions of African Americans. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: scrapmammock - A scrap, shred, or piece that is torn or broken off. More... riffraff - Rif/riff, "spoil, strip," and raf, "carry off," combined as rif et raf in French, then went to English as riff and raff, "everything, every scrap," and then riffraff. More... scrip - Can be a scrap of paper with writing on it. More... tatter - A scrap of cloth, from Old Norse totrar, "rags"; often used as tatters. More... | |