Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 7, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
debacle
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
SentencesA sentence, whether short or long, must express a complete idea; and a complete sentence must consist of at least one independent clause. What is a simple sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The BallistaThe ballista is an ancient missile launcher designed to hurl long arrows or heavy balls. The largest could accurately hurl 60-pound (27-kg) weights up to about 500 yards (450 m). The Greek version was basically a huge crossbow, while the Roman ballista was powered by torsion and used two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. Once the Roman Empire declined, so too did the ballista—it was too challenging and expensive to build. Which weapons took its place? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 The New Madrid Earthquake (1812)One of the largest earthquakes ever to strike the US—and possibly one of the strongest earthquakes in human history—the New Madrid earthquake is said to have made the Mississippi River run backwards, permanently changing its course and redefining state boundaries. Though it struck a sparsely populated area near modern-day New Madrid, Missouri, the quake was felt across the country, ringing church bells as far away as Boston, Massachusetts. What large lake did it create in Tennessee? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Anna of Russia (1693)When the young Peter II of Russia died without an heir, the Supreme Privy Council offered the throne to his distant cousin, Anna, under the condition that she would place the real power in the council's hands. She initially agreed, but then tore up the conditions, abolished the council, and restored the autocracy. She occupied herself with extravagant amusements and relied on her lover and foreign advisors to manage the state. What happened to the infant grandnephew she named as her successor? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.James Madison (1751-1836) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
a peg too low— Dejected; in low spirits. It originally referred to pegs that were inserted into draughts to measure how much alcohol had been consumed. If the peg was low, there wasn't much alcohol left to drink. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Grenada Independence Day (2025)This is a national holiday commemorating Grenada's independence from Britain on this day in 1974. Britain had held the island since the 18th century, when France ceded it under the Treaty of Paris. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: jestjoke - Latin jocus, "jest, joke," gave us joke. More... ludicrous - Early senses of ludicrous, from the adjective ludic, were "sportive," "intended as jest" and "spontaneously playful." More... juggle, juggler - Juggle is from Latin joculus, a diminutive of jocus, and a juggler was originally a jester. More... jocose - From Latin jocus, it means "full of jokes." More... | |