Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 28, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Third ConditionalThird conditionals are used to establish a hypothetical situation in the past, followed by a hypothetical outcome that did not really happen. Typically, what is the outcome? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fatal Familial InsomniaFatal familial insomnia is a rare genetic disease that interferes with sleep and eventually leads to death. The disease is the result of mutations in a certain protein, which cause plaques to build up in the thalamus, the brain region responsible for sleep regulation. Patients initially suffer from insomnia and progressively develop more serious problems—including hallucinations, rapid weight loss, and dementia—before dying. In how many families has the gene that causes the disease been found? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak (1920)In 1920, meteorologists did not have modern forecasting equipment, and there was no storm warning system in place in the US. Thus, when an outbreak of storms began near dawn on March 28, 1920, few were prepared for the devastation that followed. Some 400 people were killed and more than 1,200 injured that day by at least 38 recorded tornadoes in the deep South and the Midwest. Why is it likely that both the total number of tornadoes as well as the actual death toll were underreported? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henry Schoolcraft (1793)Schoolcraft was a geologist, geographer, and ethnologist noted for his studies of Native American cultures as well as for his discovery of the source of the Mississippi River in 1832. His extensive relations with Native Americans—including his marriage to an Ojibwa woman—led to his appointment as an Indian agent, and he negotiated a treaty with the Ojibwa in 1836 that ceded much of their land to the US. Upon discovering the lake that feeds the Mississippi River, what did Schoolcraft name it? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman—a rope over an abyss ... What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be more trouble than it's worth— To not be important, useful, or beneficial enough to justify the effort or difficulty that something requires. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Teachers' Day in the Czech Republic (2025)March 28 is the birthday of Jan Amos Komensky (or John Comenius; 1592-1670), a noted educational reformer and theologian in the former Czechoslovakia. Komensky was the first person to write an illustrated textbook for children, used for teaching Latin words; he was also a proponent of compulsory education. It has been traditional for children to honor him on Teachers' Day, or Komensky Day, by bringing flowers and gifts to their teachers. The day is also observed with lectures, music, and educational activities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: messengerapostle - Comes from Greek apostolos, "messenger." More... bode - Boda is messenger in Germanic, hence "bode"; at first, a bode was a command—then an omen or premonition. More... enunciate - Derives from Latin nuntius, "messenger." More... angel - The word angel was one of the earliest Germanic adoptions from Latin; originally from Greek aggelos, "messenger," it first meant "hireling" or "messenger." More... | |