Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 27, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Modal Verbs that Indicate PossibilityBecause modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, we use "may," and "might" to express a possibility. Which of these verbs tends to express less certainty or a lower likelihood? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Nebra Sky DiskNow a beautiful blue-green hue due to millennia of corrosion, the Nebra sky disk is a bronze artifact inlaid with gold symbols that likely represent the Sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars, including a cluster interpreted as the Pleiades. Allegedly found near Nebra, Germany, by illegal treasure hunters, the disk was acquired by archeologists through a police sting operation and dated to around 1600 BCE. Now widely considered authentic, the disk was first suspected to be a forgery. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Germany, Italy, and Japan Sign Tripartite Pact (1940)The World War II alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was fully realized in September 1940, with the signing of the Tripartite Pact. The agreement called for the Axis Powers to come to each other's aid if attacked by a nation not already involved in the European War or the Sino-Japanese Conflict and to assist one another in their efforts to "establish and maintain a new order of things"—Germany and Italy in Europe and Japan in Greater East Asia. How did the treaty get the nickname "Roberto"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Grazia Deledda (1871)Influenced by the verismo—"realism"—school, Nobel Prize-winning Italian novelist Grazia Deledda wrote her first stories while just a teen and was still having her works published after her death. Her work is lyric and in part naturalistic and combines sympathy and humor with occasional touches of violence. In her approximately 40 novels, the ancient ways of her native Sardinia often come into conflict with modern mores. What are her most famous works? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth, and embaseth it.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
likely story— An exclamation of distrust or disbelief in someone's explanation or story. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Feast Day of the French Community (2022)Each of the autonomous regions of Belgium observes its own feast day. Feast Day of the French Community (La fête de la Communauté française de Belgique) is a celebration of linguistic heritage and national independence. It largely takes place in the Walloon cities of Namur, Liege, Huy, and Charleroi, and is a public assertion of the linguistic and ethnic rights of French speakers. All schools and administrative buildings are closed for the feast day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: spinacha la Florentine - Means with spinach. More... leaf vegetables - Include cabbage and Romaine lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, endive, and cress. More... rainbow rotelle - A combination of tomato, spinach, and regular twirl-shaped pasta in the colors of the Italian flag. More... spinach - May come from Persian aspanakh/ispanak, perhaps related to the Latin spina, "spine," because of its prickly seeds. More... | |