Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, May 24, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rejoinder
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Regular AdverbsAdverbs generally correspond to an adjective, so that when we want to apply the adjective's meaning to a verb (or to an adjective or another adverb), we have a straightforward way to do so. What ending is typically added to the end of an adjective to make an adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The History of the Sewing MachineThe sewing machine is a device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England in 1790 with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread chain, but it was American inventor Elias Howe who made the first successful machine in 1846, using an eye-pointed needle and an intermittent feed. Isaac M. Singer, who is often credited with inventing the machine, patented what improvements to the device? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Peter Minuit Buys Manhattan (1626)Peter Minuit was the director-general of the Dutch colony of New Netherland who is credited with the purchase of the island of Manhattan in 1626. According to legend, he persuaded the natives—perhaps a Metoac band of Lenape known as the Canarsee, who were actually native to what is now Brooklyn—to "sell" the island for a handful of trade goods worth approximately 60 guilders. In 1846, that price was converted by a New York historian to what US dollar amount? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pontormo (1494)Pontormo was a Florentine painter and one of the creators of mannerism, an artistic style characterized by distortion of elements such as scale and perspective. In fact, his altar for the church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, is considered by many to be the first mannerist work in recorded history. He was also a talented portraitist. Pontormo was a recluse for much of his life and kept a diary in which he chronicled his obsessions. With which famous Florentine painters did he apprentice? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [America's] heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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affable personality— A personality that is friendly, approachable, sociable, amicable, and/or likeable. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bulgarian Culture Day (2023)This Bulgarian national holiday promotes Bulgarian culture and honors two brothers, St. Cyril (c. 827-869) and St. Methodius (c. 815-844), missionaries to Moravia. They are believed to have invented the Slavonic alphabet, also known as the Cyrillic alphabet. Special religious services, concerts, festivals, and student parades are held throughout Bulgaria on this day, which is also known as Saints Cyril and Methodius's Day, and Day of the Founders of the Slavonic Alphabet. An impressive liturgy, celebrated at the cathedral in Sofia, is one of the highlights. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: intellectheart - As the seat of feeling and intellect, heart has been used since around 825. More... intellect, intelligent - Intellect and intelligent come from Latin intelligere, "perceive" or "understand." More... intelligible - Means "understandable through the intellect." More... inwit - Usually means "an inner sense of right or wrong," but its more general meaning is "reason, intellect, understanding, or wisdom." More... | |