Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, April 4, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
phellem
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Action Verbs that Take GerundsCertain action verbs (also called "dynamic verbs") can also take a gerund as their object if describing a secondary action. "Consider" is one such action verb. What is the gerund in the following sentence? "He is considering moving to London." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Great Fire of RomeAccording to the historian Tacitus, the Great Fire of Rome started in the shops around the Circus Maximus on July 18 in 64 CE and burned for 5 days. In his account, Tacitus writes that the fire completely destroyed 4 and severely damaged 7 of the 14 Roman districts. Both the size and cause of the fire are debated as well as Emperor Nero's response to the crisis. Some claim he sang or played music while the city burned, and many accused Nero of arson. Nero, in turn, blamed what religious group? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Bodies Found in Unsolved Hinterkaifeck Murders (1922)In 1922, Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead north of Munich, became the scene of one of the most puzzling unsolved crimes in German history. On the evening of March 31, the farm's six inhabitants, ranging in age from two to 72, were brutally murdered. The perpetrator likely remained at the farm for several days thereafter, but by the time the crime was discovered, he or she had disappeared without a trace. What unexplained events supposedly occurred there in the days leading up to the slaughter? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Antoine Galland (1646)Antoine Galland was a French scholar famed as the first European translator of The Thousand and One Nights. After translating The Tale of Sindbad the Sailor into French in 1701, he embarked on a translation of a 14th-century Syrian manuscript of the tales, filling 12 volumes. Still, mystery surrounds the origins of some of the most famous tales. No Arabic manuscripts of Aladdin and Ali Baba pre-date Galland's translations, leading some scholars to conclude what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 That is one good thing about this world...there are always sure to be more springs.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
dirty money— Money that is obtained or earned through illicit or illegal means, especially thievery, bribery, forgery, or money laundering. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Megalesia (2023)The cult of the Phrygian goddess Cybele (also known as Magna Mater) was established in Rome on this day in 204 BCE, and April 4 continued to be set aside as a commemoration of the foreign goddess' arrival in Rome. In the beginning, no Roman citizens were allowed to take part in it. But over time it spread to the streets of Rome, where Cybele's image was carried in a chariot drawn by lions with her castrated priests leaping and gashing themselves in a frenzy of devotion. The procession went from the Palatine to the Circus, where plays known as ludi megalenses were held. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: physicianallopathy, allopath, allopathist - Another word for conventional medical treatment is allopathy; an allopath or allopathist is a physician. More... pediatrician - Comes from Greek pais/paidos, "child," and iatros, "physician." More... armamentarium - The equipment of a medical institution or physician. More... | |