Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 5, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
discourtesy
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Modal Verbs Used to Make a RequestBecause modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "will," "can," "could," and "would" can all be used to make a request of someone, with differing degrees of politeness. Which of these modal verbs are considered the most polite options? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 EntropyIn popular, nontechnical use, entropy is regarded as a measure of the chaos or randomness of a system. In thermodynamics, it is the measure of a system's energy that is unavailable for work or of the degree of a system's disorder. Entropy increases during irreversible processes, such as the spontaneous mixing of hot and cold gases. The concept, first proposed in 1850 by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius, is sometimes presented as the second law of thermodynamics, which states what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 United Artists Film Studio Is Founded (1919)In 1919, four of the leading figures in Hollywood—Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Douglas Fairbanks—decided to form their own film studio to better control their own work. Though initially successful, United Artists foundered as films became more expensive to produce. It was taken over in the 1950s and began to thrive again until the 80s, when it was bought by the studio MGM. What famous actor announced plans to resurrect United Artists in 2006 as part owner of the company? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (1934)Aaron was the first US baseball player to hit more career home runs than Babe Ruth. After playing briefly in the Negro leagues and then in the minor leagues, Aaron moved up to the majors as an outfielder with the Milwaukee—later Atlanta—Braves in 1954 and was National League MVP in 1957. Upon breaking Ruth's record in 1974, he was besieged by the media and badgered by racist letter-writers, and retired just two years later. Aaron's home run record remained unbroken until when? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Towns are excrescences, gray fluxions, where men, hurrying to find one another, have lost themselves.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
(as) mad as a wet hen— Enraged; extremely or inconsolably angry. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 San Marino Liberation Day (2025)In 1739, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni invaded the Republic of San Marino and occupied the country. The people of San Marino protested the occupation and appealed to the Vatican; the Pope recognized the rights of San Marino and, on February 5, 1740, he restored the country's independence. Today, San Marino celebrates Liberation Day on February 5 to mark the anniversary of their independence. As part of the celebration, there is a public procession from the city of Borgo Maggiore to the capital city of San Marino proper. In addition, various civic celebrations take place throughout the day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: inherentimminent, immanent - Imminent is "about to happen" and immanent is "inherent" or "pervading the material world." More... intrinsic - Latin intrinsecus, "on the inside," came to be the English intrinsic, "inner, internal" and "inherent." More... proper - First meant "inherent, intrinsic." More... innate, inherent - The word innate means "inborn" and should apply to living things; inherent is "essential, intrinsic" and applies best to nonliving things like ideas. More... | |