Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, February 13, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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deprecatory
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using "Could" to Ask for PermissionWhen we ask someone for permission to do something, it is often considered more polite to use "could" instead of "can." However, we can only make this substitution in what situation? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TextingText messages are brief written messages exchanged between mobile phones or other mobile communications devices. Texting originated in the 1990s with the Short Message Service (SMS), a system that supports messages of up to 160 characters, and has since become a global phenomenon. With billions of texters around the world, texting has created new forms of interaction and has had a wide social impact that extends to language, crime, and politics. What was the first text message ever sent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Massacre of Glencoe (1692)Following the deposition of King James II in 1689 and the accession of William III, some Scottish clans fought—and failed—to restore James to the throne. In 1691, William offered to pardon all Highland clans that took an oath of allegiance to him before January 1, 1692. The MacDonald clan of Glencoe missed the deadline by six days, and for this they paid with their lives. The unsuspecting MacDonalds were massacred in their homes by soldiers that had arrived seeking shelter how many days earlier? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Joseph Banks (1743)Banks was a British naturalist, botanist, and patron of the sciences. After inheriting a large fortune in his early 20s, he began traveling extensively, collecting plant and natural history specimens. He outfitted and accompanied James Cook's voyage around the world, during which time he collected many biological specimens that had never before been classified. His herbarium, one of the most important in existence, and library are now at the British Museum. What plant genus was named after him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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beauty queen— A woman who has won, or looks as if she could win, a beauty pageant. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Parentalia (2023)This was an ancient Roman festival held in honor of the manes, or souls of the dead—in particular, deceased relatives. It began a season for remembering the dead, which ended with the Feralia on February 21. This week was a quiet, serious occasion, without the rowdiness that characterized other Roman festivals. Everything, including the temples, closed down, and people decorated graves with flowers and left food—sometimes elaborate banquets—in the cemeteries in the belief that it would be eaten by the spirits of the deceased. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: navelomphalos - From the Greek word meaning "navel"—for the round stone in the temple of Apollo at Delphi supposed to mark the center of the earth—it describes the center, heart, or hub of a place, organization, or sphere of activity. More... omphaloskepsis - Contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation. More... navel, umbilicus, belly button, omphalodium - The navel is also the umbilicus, belly button, or omphalodium; navel and umbilicus share the same Indo-European root. More... | |