Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 18, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
molder
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Factitive VerbsFactitive verbs are used to indicate the resulting condition or state of a person, place, or thing caused by the action of the verb. What is this resulting condition or state known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Scabies, the "Seven-Year Itch"Scabies is a highly contagious—yet highly treatable—parasitic skin disease caused by tiny mites. Often contracted through contact with mite-infested persons, it is most prevalent in crowded, unhygienic areas and has plagued mankind for centuries. Female mites tunnel into the host's skin to deposit their eggs, triggering a massive allergic reaction that causes intense itching. Scratching the skin causes lesions that may then become infected. Most scabies infestations are caused by how many mites? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Plessy v. Ferguson: "Separate but Equal" Ruled Constitutional (1896)In this case, the US Supreme Court upheld a Louisiana statute mandating racially segregated railroad cars, ruling that the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment dealt with political and not social equality. This provided constitutional sanction for the adoption of the Jim Crow laws. Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote the majority opinion, stating that "separate but equal" laws did not imply one race's inferiority to another. What prompted Homer Plessy to serve as the case's plaintiff? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Frank Russell Capra (1897)One of the preeminent Hollywood directors of the 1930s and 40s, Capra produced idealistic populist movies that celebrate the virtues of the common American. At age six, the Sicilian-born future director immigrated with his family to the US. After holding various jobs in the film industry, he emerged as a major director in 1928. Within years, he had won his first Oscar. Which of his films is now considered one of the best American films ever made—despite having initially been a box office flop? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Habit, n.: A shackle for the free.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
take ill— To be or become sick or unwell. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Toshogu Haru-No-Taisai (2022)This festival provides the most spectacular display of ancient samurai costumes and weaponry in Japan. The Toshogu Shrine, in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, was built in 1617 to house the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), the first of the Tokugawa shoguns. On the first day of the festival, dignitaries and members of the Tokugawa family make offerings to the deities of the shrine, and warriors on horseback shoot at targets with bows and arrows. The next morning, more than 1,000 people take part in the procession from Toshogu to Futarasan Shrine, including hundreds of samurai warriors. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: meltingfondue - Comes from French fondre, "to melt." More... relent, resolve - Relent and resolve originally meant "melt, dissolve" in literal (under the influence of heat) and figurative senses. More... eliquate - To melt or liquefy. More... clarify - To make clear by removing impurities or solid matter, as by heating gently; to purify butter by melting. More... | |