Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 3, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
diadem
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining the Habitual AspectThe habitual aspect, like the continuous aspect, is also a subclass of the imperfective aspect. It is used when an action occurs repetitively and (usually) predictably. English only has two marked ways of expressing habitual aspect. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Plimpton 322Plimpton 322 is a Babylonian clay tablet believed to have been created around 1,800 BCE. Approximately 5 inches (13 cm) wide and 3.5 inches (9 cm) tall, the tablet's surface is marked by four columns of cuneiform numbers. Many mathematicians believe that the ancient spreadsheet—possibly used by a teacher to assign math problems to a student—demonstrates an understanding of Pythagorean mathematics that predates Pythagoras by more than 1,200 years. What do the numbers in each column represent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Anne Frank and Family Deported to Auschwitz (1944)Thanks to the poignant and insightful diary she left behind, Anne Frank is one of the most renowned and discussed victims of the Holocaust. Her family emigrated to Amsterdam in 1933 to escape the Nazis but was forced into hiding after the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. Betrayed to the Germans in 1944, the Franks were soon sent to Auschwitz, where they were separated by gender. Later, Anne and her sister were moved to Bergen-Belsen, where both died. Did any members of the Frank family survive? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Louis Sullivan (1856)Sullivan is considered the father of modern American architecture. After working for several Chicago firms, he joined the office of Dankmar Adler in 1879, becoming Adler's partner at age 24. Their 14-year association produced more than 100 buildings, many of them landmarks. During this period, Frank Lloyd Wright spent six years as an apprentice to Sullivan, who would be a major influence on the younger architect. What famous phrase did Sullivan coin to express his architectural philosophy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 A puritan is a person who pours righteous indignation into the wrong things.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
lemon law— A law requiring an automobile manufacturer or dealer to replace, repair, or refund the cost of an automobile that proves to be defective after purchase. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Cromwell's Day (2022)As a British general, Puritan statesman, and Lord Protector of England from 1653-58, Oliver Cromwell is remembered today more for his actions as a general and a statesman than for his efforts within Puritanism. Each year the Cromwell Association holds a special service near Cromwell's statue outside the Houses of Parliament on September 3. It was on this day in 1650 that Cromwell won the battle of Dunbar, and it was on the same day a year later that he won a decisive victory at the battle of Worcester against the Scots. It was also the day on which he died. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: messaddled, muddled - Addled refers to mental confusion; muddled is anything confused or in a mess. More... dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - Meaning a mess or muddle, a dog's breakfast or dog's dinner originally may have referred to a cooking mishap with results fit only for a dog's consumption. More... higgledy-piggledy - Probably formed from pig and the animal's suggestions of mess and disorder. More... kettle of fish - Meaning "mess, muddle," the phrase is from "a pretty kettle of fish," a corruption of "kiddle of fish," in which a kiddle is a basket set in the opening of a weir for catching fish. More... | |