Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 23, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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reverential
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Passive VoiceThe passive voice may be used to emphasize the importance of the receiver of the action. How is this different from the active voice? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ephrem the SyrianSometimes known as the Harp of the Holy Spirit, Saint Ephrem the Syrian was a prolific hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century CE. According to some accounts, his father was a pagan priest. Ephrem, however, converted Syria to Christianity. He taught and composed at Nisibis and Edessa until his death in 373. His writings have been widely influential, and he is venerated by both the Eastern churches and Rome. He is also notable for conducting choirs that consisted entirely of whom? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Cuba Leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States (1903)The city of Guantánamo is located in southeast Cuba. Founded in the early 19th century by French colonists from Haiti, it is well known today as the home of the US Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which has installations covering roughly 45 sq mi (116 sq km). The site was leased to the US in 1903, but the Cuban government has refused since 1960 to accept the token annual rent of $5,000 from the US and has pressured for the surrender of the base. What was established at the base in 2002? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 W.E.B. Du Bois (1868)Du Bois was an early African-American civil rights leader and scholar, as well as the first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard University. He was an outspoken critic of the social inequalities that existed in the US during the early part of the 20th century, and he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). What led Du Bois to seek Ghanaian citizenship at the age of 95? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. Everywhere else we may be bound by laws and conventions—there we have none.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bucket list— A list of accomplishments or tasks one hopes to do or achieve before one dies. "Bucket" here is taken from the phrase "kick the bucket," meaning to die. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Polycarp's Day (2023)St. Polycarp (c. 69-c. 155) was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. He became bishop of Smyrna in 96 and, when the persecution of Christians was ordered by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, he was condemned to be burned at the stake. But according to legend, the fire formed an arch over his head and his body was left unharmed. When a spear was plunged into his heart, so much blood poured out that it quenched the flames. It was the martyrdom of St. Polycarp that gave rise to one of Christianity's richest traditions: the annual commemoration of the anniversary of a saint's death. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: noisycorroboree - A large, noisy gathering. More... crash - May have been created as an imitation of the sound of noisy breaking, or may be a blend of craze and dash. More... obstreperous - Meaning "clamorous, noisy" and "argumentative," it is from Latin ob-, "against," and strepere, "to make a noise." More... strepent, strepitent - Strepent and strepitent mean "noisy." More... | |