Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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somnolent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive Adverbs in the Middle of the Second ClauseConjunctive adverbs must appear in the second of the two clauses that are connected. While they often appear at the beginning of the second clause, they can actually be moved around within it. If we place the conjunctive adverb in the middle of the second clause, what should it come after? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eyam, EnglandThe village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England, is best known for its decision to voluntarily quarantine itself when the Great Plague of London spread there in 1665. Villagers further tried to contain the disease by burying their own relatives and by leaving money disinfected in vinegar on a stone outside the village to pay for goods being delivered. The plague raged for 14 months and devastated Eyam, wiping out between 50 and 75 percent of its population. How was the plague brought to the village? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Katzbach (1813)During the Napoleonic Wars, France battled the shifting alliances of European powers in an attempt to affirm Napoleon's supremacy. The battle between the French and the Prussians at the Katzbach River, however, came about somewhat by accident. On a stormy August day in the Prussian province of Silesia, the two forces stumbled upon one another. The French recovered from the surprise first and attacked despite orders to defend. Their effort was met with a heavy counterattack. Who won the battle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, AKA Mother Teresa (1910)In 1927, 17-year-old Agnes Bojaxhiu left her native Macedonia and became a Catholic nun in India, changing her name to Teresa. She never saw her family again. Her decades of devoted charity to the poor earned her global recognition and a 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. Though she was a prominent religious figure, she suffered from a crisis of faith that lasted decades. Since her death in 1997, she has rapidly progressed toward being declared a saint. Why was an exorcism once performed on Mother Teresa? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be rained out— To be delayed, postponed, or cancelled due to the rain. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Namibia Heroes' Day (2025)To honor those who lost their lives fighting for national freedom, Namibia has designated August 26 as Heroes' Day. On this day, thousands of Namibians gather at Ongulumbashe to celebrate. Representatives from all 13 regions give performances and cultural presentations, including traditional praise songs and dances. A re-enactment of the battle of Ongulumbashe concludes with the raising of the Namibian flag, as the real fighters did after each triumph in the war. In Namibia's capital city of Windhoek, the Heroes' Acre national monument was erected to honor the freedom fighters. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: princeadmiral - First used in English to mean "an emir or prince under the Sultan," coming from Arabic amir al, "commander of"; admiral was originally a sea lord due to the office of amir-al-bahr or amir-al-ma (Arabic), "ameer/emir of the sea." More... prince - Derived from Latin princeps, "chief man" or "leading citizen." More... tycoon - Comes from Japanese tai, "great," and kun, "prince, lord," from Chinese da, "great," and jun, "prince, ruler." More... whipping boy - Meaning "scapegoat," the phrase derives from the boy formerly raised with a prince or other young nobleman and whipped for the latter's misdeeds. More... | |