Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 23, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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gallivant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs with Two FormsThere are a few adverbs that have two generally accepted forms. In these cases, they also have two commonly used comparative and superlative degrees. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bacterial ConjugationFirst observed in 1946, bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells through a bridge-like connection during direct contact between the cells. The transferred information is often beneficial to the recipient cell and can include material involved in antibiotic resistance. The process is easily interrupted—some scientists have disrupted it simply using a blender—and such breaks stop the transfer. How does the transfer of genetic material take place? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 12th Street Riot Begins (1967)In 1967, racial tensions spurred by high unemployment rates and poor housing conditions in Detroit exploded when police officers raided a speakeasy on the corner of 12th Street and Clairmount. The confrontation with the patrons developed into one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in modern US history, lasting five days and resulting in 43 deaths, 467 injuries, more than 7,200 arrests, and the destruction of more than 2,000 buildings. How was the rioting finally brought under control? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Babcock (1900)Prior to his death in 2010, at age 109, Babcock was Canada's last known surviving veteran of World War I. He joined the army at 15 by lying about his age. When he was discovered to be too young for combat, he was given labor jobs and was later transferred to England, where he continued his training in the Young Soldiers Battalion. Because he never actually fought on the front lines, he was uncomfortable with his fame as a veteran. At what age did Babcock finally earn his high school diploma? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Misfortune, n.: The kind of fortune that never misses.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get the knack of— To learn how to do something competently or well after a certain period of practice or development. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Osorezan Taisai (2023)Mt. Osore, located on the Shimokita Peninsula in the north of Honshu, Japan, is a spiritual center for many Japanese. It is known as a place where departed souls congregate. During the Osorezan Taisai Festival, or Osorezanrei Grand Festival, people flock to the mountain at Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, where psychics endeavor to summon the spirits of the dead by chanting. The priests who cross the weathered slopes of the mountain in procession add to the festival's grim and ghostly atmosphere. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: taughtacademy - Came from Akademos, the man or demigod for whom Plato's garden, where he taught, was named. More... pedagogue - A Roman slave who took children to school and on outings, but also taught them—from Greek ped, "child," and agein, "to lead." More... recant - Can mean "sing again"; its usual meaning stresses the withdrawing or denying of something professed or taught. More... doctor, physician - Doctor is derived from Latin doctus, "having been taught; learned," from docere, "to teach"; physician comes from Latin physica, "natural science; physics." More... | |