Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 19, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cannoneer
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Gradable AdverbsWe can only make comparisons using "gradable adverbs," meaning adverbs that are able to move up and down on a scale of intensity. The majority of adverbs are gradable. As with comparative adjectives, we can state differences in scale by using what words and phrases before the comparative adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Diamond Head, HawaiiDiamond Head—Le'ahi in Hawaiian—is a peak along the rim of an extinct volcano in southeast Oahu. Its English name was given by 19th-century British sailors who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds. A prominent point in the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head was designated a national natural landmark to protect its slopes from the commercial development along world-famous Waikiki Beach. Why do scientists think that Diamond Head was formed by a short-lived eruption? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Gallipoli Begins (1915)The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli during World War I. It was initiated by the Allies to open a Black Sea supply route to Russia and capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The Allied navy arrived at Gallipoli in February 1915 but did not get sufficient land support for two months, giving the Turkish army ample time to reinforce its troops. After months of fighting, the Allied forces withdrew in January 1916. What had caused the Allied army's delay? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nicolaus Copernicus (1473)Copernicus was a church canon, physician, and economist, but his most important work was in the field of astronomy. He developed the heliocentric theory of the universe that placed the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of our solar system and helped launch a scientific revolution. Though Copernicus conceived his revolutionary model of planetary motion by 1530, his treatise on the subject did not see print until he was on his deathbed in 1543. What heliocentric hypotheses preceded Copernicus's? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The new rage is to say that the government is the cause of all our problems, and if only we had no government, we'd have no problems. I can tell you, that contradicts evidence, history, and common sense.Bill Clinton (1946-) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a bridge too far— An act or plan whose ambition overreaches its capability, resulting in or potentially leading to difficulty or failure. Taken from the 1974 book A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, which details the Allies' disastrous attempts to capture German-controlled bridges in the Netherlands during World War II. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin (2023)On February 19, 1942, Japanese bomber and fighter planes conducted a devastating air raid on the town of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory. As a tribute to honor the dead and those who defended Darwin, an annual commemoration is held in Bicentennial Park by the Cenotaph, a monument to those slain in World War I. At 9:58, the exact time the attack began, a World War II air raid siren sounds. During some observances, Australian regiments will reenact the attack: ground units fire their guns, and fighter planes perform fly-bys over the memorial site. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: incapableimpassible, impassable - Impassible is incapable of feeling or suffering; impassable is not capable of being passed. More... impregnable - Means "incapable of being taken by force" (from French prendre, "seize"). More... indefatigable - Means "incapable of being wearied." More... inimitable - Means "unique; incapable of being imitated." More... | |