Daily Content Archive

(as of Friday, October 18, 2019)
Word of the Day

equitation

Definition:(noun) The sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements.
Synonyms:horseback riding
Usage: Arthur and Jennifer debated the finer points of equitation as they rode side by side across the field.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Subordinating Conjunctions Used to Convey a Reason

We use the subordinating conjunctions "in order that," "so that," and "so" to give a reason for an action. They are interchangeable in meaning, but differ in formality. Which one is the most formal? More...
Article of the Day

The Sterile Insect Technique

The sterile insect technique is a method of biological control in which millions of sterile insects are released into the wild to reduce the population of future generations through mating that does not produce offspring. It is often used to control the populations of insects that spread disease to humans or livestock. Repeated release of sterile insects can eventually eliminate a population. The technique has been successfully used to eradicate what insect in areas of North America? More...
This Day in History

Women in Canada Finally Recognized as "Persons" (1929)

In the early 20th century, Canadian women were often prohibited from hearing court testimony deemed inappropriate. Emily Murphy protested and became the first woman magistrate in Canada—and all of the British Empire—but her rulings were often challenged because women were not legally considered "persons." Murphy and four other women, the "Famous Five," submitted a petition for constitutional clarification. The subsequent Persons Case granted Canadian women personhood. What else did it establish? More...
Today's Birthday

Thomas Love Peacock (1785)

Peacock was an English writer whose comic and satirical novels—which contain some of his best poems—parody the intellectual pretenses of his age. His best-known work, Nightmare Abbey, satirizes the English romantic movement and contains characters based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and his close friend Percy Bysshe Shelley. After Shelley's death, Peacock became his literary executor. Peacock died at the age of 80 from injuries sustained while trying to save what from a fire? More...
Quotation of the Day
Ignorance is not so damnable as humbug; but when it prescribes pills it may happen to do more harm.

George Eliot (1819-1880)

Idiom of the Day

have (one's) heart on (one's) sleeve

To openly display or make known one's emotions or sentiments. More...
Today's Holiday

Alaska Day (2024)

Alaska Day commemorates the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States on October 18, 1867. The event, which took place at Sitka, was a sad one for the Russian colonists who had already made Alaska their home. After the transfer, Alaska was eventually organized as a territory and maintained this status until it became a state on January 3, 1959. Today, the lowering of the Russian flag and the raising of the Stars and Stripes is reenacted every year as part of this festival in Sitka. Other events include a parade and a period costume ball. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: tie

dogfall - A draw or tie. More...

dead heat - If two horses tied in a heat, the heat did not count and was called "dead"; now any tie can be called a dead heat. More...

knit - Literally first meant "tie with or in a knot." More...

moor - Meaning "tie up a boat," it was probably borrowed from German or Dutch. More...

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