Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 18, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
free-spoken
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
The PredicateThe predicate is, essentially, everything in the sentences that follows the subject. It is made up of at least one finite verb. What is a compound predicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 MasersA maser is a device that produces an intense and highly focused beam of electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range of the spectrum. Its name is an acronym for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." A wavelength produced by a maser is so constant and reproducible that it can be used to control a clock that remains accurate to one second over hundreds of years. Masers also make it possible to measure faint radio waves emitted by Venus. How do they differ from lasers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 World's First Communications Satellite Launched (1958)Today, communications satellites are widely used to provide internet access, TV and radio broadcasting, and mobile telephone service, even to areas where traditional cable service is unfeasible. The first such satellite, launched by the US Air Force, was Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment). It was equipped with two tape recorders—each with a four-minute capacity—and batteries that would last for 12 days. What was the first message broadcast from the satellite? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Grimaldi (1778)Grimaldi was an English actor who is considered the inventor of the modern clown character. He made his debut as a young child at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, and for years he performed there and at Drury Lane. By the time he starred in Harlequin Mother Goose at Covent Garden in 1806, he was a legend. He is credited with introducing the white makeup now commonly worn by clowns. Exhausted by the physical exertion of clowning, he died in 1837. What famous author edited his memoirs? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The properties of ink are peculiar and contradictory: it may be used to make reputations and unmake them; to blacken them and to make them white; but it is most generally and acceptably employed as a mortar to bind together the stones of an edifice of fame, and as a whitewash to conceal afterward the rascal quality of the material.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
until all hours (of the day and night)— Until a very late hour of the night or early hour of the morning. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Fiesta of Our Lady of Solitude (2025)The Virgen de la Soledad, or Our Lady of Solitude, is the patroness of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Preparations for her fiesta begin several days before December 18, when carnival rides and food booths are set up in the vicinity of the church. For several evenings there are calendas, processions of men and women carrying colored paper lanterns illuminated by candles. There are also floats and huge papier-mâché caricatures of well-known individuals. Thousands of pilgrims come from all over the state of Oaxaca to see the Virgin, who is dressed in velvet and satin gowns. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: kilnhovel - A conical building enclosing a kiln. More... oast - A kiln used to dry hops or malt or tobacco. More... battledore - Can refer to various tools, such as the paddle of a canoe or a utensil for inserting loaves into an oven or wares into a kiln. More... china - Comes from Persian chini, for the delicate and valuable ware first made in China; the word describes pieces made from certain kinds of clay that have been glazed, usually decorated, and fired in a kiln at high temperatures. More... | |