Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 16, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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greenhorn
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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DeterminersDeterminers do two things. First, they signal that a noun or noun phrase will follow. Then, they give information about the item. What are demonstrative determiners? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Alfred JewelThe Alfred Jewel is a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon ornament made during the reign of King Alfred the Great. Discovered in 1693, the teardrop-shaped ornament consists of a colorful enamel image of a man covered with a clear, polished piece of crystal and set in gold. Its purpose is unknown, but it was probably attached to a rod at one time. Words around the edge read "AELFRED MEC HEHT GEWYRCAN"—meaning "Alfred ordered me made"—yet the man portrayed in the center of the object is not Alfred. Who is it? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Wall Street Bombing (1920)At about noon on September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn wagon stopped across from the headquarters of the J.P. Morgan Inc. bank on Wall Street in New York City's Financial District. Moments later, the hundreds of pounds of explosives and shrapnel it was carrying exploded, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds more. Despite the chaos, markets reopened the next day. Now known as the Wall Street Bombing, it was the deadliest bomb attack on American soil at the time. Who was responsible for the attack? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hans Augusto "H.A." Rey (1898)Rey and his wife were the creators of the Curious George series of children's books. George, an impish monkey, first appeared in Rey's little-remembered Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys and was so well received that the Reys decided to write an entire book about him. Their work was interrupted by the outbreak of WWII, however, and the Reys, who were Jews, fled Paris hours before it fell to the Nazis, taking with them the illustrated manuscript of Curious George. How did they escape? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Exuberance is better than taste.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a sneaking suspicion— To have a slight but persistent premonition or intuition (about something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Papua New Guinea Independence Day (2023)This national holiday celebrates Papua New Guinea's independence on this day in 1975. In the late 19th century, Germany laid claim to the northeastern section of the island, while Britain ruled the southeastern section. Britain left its section to Australia in 1902, which eventually administered the whole area until independence, though it is still part of the British Commonwealth. In 2000, Papua New Guinea celebrated its silver (25th) anniversary of independence with a flag-raising ceremony, a parade, and musical and dance performances in the capital city, Port Moresby. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perfectA-OK - Astronauts on the Mercury Project in 1961 popularized A-OK, meaning "excellent, perfect"; it was coined by blending the adjective "A," as in A-one or A1, meaning "first-class," with "OK." More... palinoia - The compulsive repetition of an act until it is perfect. More... parfait - Literally French for "perfect." More... perfect binding - A book bound by gluing instead of sewing. More... | |