Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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petulant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Perfective AspectThe perfective aspect highlights actions, states, or events as a whole, presenting the actions from an outside perspective as complete, bounded events. In which tenses is the perfective aspect encountered? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Messier ObjectsIn 1784, French astronomer Charles Messier compiled a list of non-stellar celestial objects. He had no understanding of what these items—now known to be galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters—actually were; he just wanted to further the search for comets by listing the indistinct objects that might be mistaken for them. Designations from his catalog are still used to refer to some nebulae and star clusters—for instance, M1 is the Crab Nebula and M45 is the Pleiades. What is a "Messier Marathon"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Raid on the Branch Davidian Compound (1993)After investigating charges of child abuse and the illegal stockpiling of weapons at the Texas ranch of the Branch Davidian religious sect, US federal law enforcement agents raided the compound. The confrontation turned violent, and 10 people were killed in the firefight. A siege of the compound ended 51 days later, when the complex was engulfed in flames. At least 76 people, including Davidian leader David Koresh, died in the incident. How did the Davidians receive advance warning of the raid? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mario Andretti (1940)Mario Andretti is the only racecar driver to have won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the international Formula One championship. He retired from Indy-car racing in 1994 with 52 victories but continued his attempts to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car endurance race until the age of 60. The Italian-American legend has been called the "Driver of the Century." How many members of the Andretti family have followed in Mario's footsteps and become racecar drivers? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bystander effect— A social psychological phenomenon in which the more people there are viewing a crisis or crime, the less likely they are to offer aid to the victim(s). Also known as bystander apathy. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Marzas (2023)On the last night of February and the first of March in Spain, young marceros, or March serenaders, wander through the streets singing songs to their girlfriends and asking for donations of food and sweets to celebrate the arrival of spring. The term marzas refers both to the traditional songs they sing and to the gifts they receive. Although the songs themselves vary, they always mention the month of March and the coming of spring, leading many to believe that the tradition has its roots in pagan rituals celebrating the passing of winter. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: whirlturbine - Came from Latin turbo, "whirl, whirling thing." More... twirl - May be a blend of twist and whirl. More... warble - Has the underlying notion of "whirling around"; for sounds, it took on the meaning "whirl of notes; trill." More... whorl - A variant of whirl, it first meant "small flywheel." More... | |