Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 20, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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insouciance
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Present Perfect Tense with "For" and "Since"In English, we use the present perfect simple with the prepositions "for" and "since" when we speak about something that started in the past and is still true now. "For" is used to specify the duration of time leading up to the present. When is "since" used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 EcdysisIn order for certain insects, crustaceans, and reptiles to grow, they must periodically shed, or molt, their outer layer of skin or other covering in a process known as ecdysis. Prior to shedding, a new soft and expandable layer is laid down underneath the existing one. Then the inner layers of the old cuticle are digested by a molting fluid secreted by the epidermal cells, the animal emerges from the old covering, and the new cuticle hardens. How often do insects undergo ecdysis? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Chalons (451 CE)Perhaps one of the most important battles of late antiquity, the Battle of Chalons is known only from written records and its exact location remains a mystery, though it probably took place in northeastern France. In this battle, the Romans and Visigoths stopped the advance of the Huns under Attila and, some say, preserved Western civilization. The battle was brutal, and legend holds that the ghosts of the dead continued to fight for days. By some accounts, the battle was fought over what woman? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Errol Flynn (1909)As a young man, the Australian-born Flynn led an adventurous life, pursuing various careers in the Pacific before taking up acting in England. He soon became a Hollywood star, playing swashbuckling heroes in such films as Captain Blood and Robin Hood. Scandals involving drinking and womanizing marred his reputation, and his career faltered until a lauded return in The Sun Also Rises in 1957. Numerous legends surround the circumstances of his death. What were his last words? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The bow cannot always stand bent, nor can human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not as black as (one) is painted— Not as evil, malicious, or malignant as one is described or believed to be. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 West Virginia Day (2025)West Virginia Day is a state holiday in West Virginia to celebrate its joining the Union in 1863 as the 35th state. The creation of the state was a result of the Civil War. The settlers of western Virginia defied the state's vote to secede from the Union, and on June 20 West Virginia formally entered the Union as an anti-slave state. The day is marked with ceremonies at the state capitol in Charleston and at the West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling. It was there that the conventions were held to declare West Virginia's independence from Virginia. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tapfaucet - Probably comes from French fausset, meaning "bore, tap." More... tattoo - In the military sense—of a signal summoning soldiers to their quarters at night—it was originally written tap-too, from a Dutch word taptoe, meaning "close the tap" (of a cask), which was told to soldiers when they were expected to return to their quarters. More... tick, tickle - Tick, as in "sound of a clock," "mark of correctness," originally meant "light touch, tap," and its modern senses are recent developments; tickle is probably a derivative of this version of tick. More... tit for tat - Probably borrowed from Dutch tip for tap, "blow for blow." More... | |