Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, September 6, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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farinaceous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Compound Words with PrefixesA prefix attaches to the beginning of a word (known as the "root" or "stem word") to change its meaning. While the vast majority of prefixes don't require a hyphen when they are attached to the root, in what situation is it helpful to use a hyphen between the prefix and the stem word? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Byford DolphinThe Byford Dolphin is a drilling rig operating in the North Sea. It is known for having suffered several serious accidents, most notably an explosive decompression that killed five workers in Norwegian waters in 1983. The incident eventually led to a lawsuit against the Norwegian government, which compensated the families of the divers 26 years after the tragedy, after a report blaming the accident on faulty equipment surfaced. What other accidents have occurred aboard the rig? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Dawson's Field Hijackings (1970)In 1970, Palestinian terrorists attempted to hijack five airplanes—most New York-bound flights that had originated in Europe or Israel—and rerouted three to Dawson's Field, a remote desert airstrip in Jordan. The Jordanian king responded quickly, ordering strikes on Palestinian targets. All of the hostages were eventually released. Only one person died in the hijackings—a terrorist who was shot on board one of the planes that did not make it to Jordan. What happened to the rest of the hijackers? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Walter Robert Dornberger (1895)A German artillery officer during World War I, Dornberger was captured and spent two years in a French prisoner-of-war camp. After his release, he studied engineering, and, beginning in 1932, directed construction of the V-2 rocket, the forerunner of all post-war spacecraft. Along with other German scientists, Dornberger was brought to the US as part of Operation Paperclip and worked as an advisor on guided missiles for the US Air Force. He became a key consultant on what major American venture? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Conscience is harder than our enemies,Knows more, accuses with more nicety. George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be rushed off (one's) feet— To be exceptionally busy, especially to an exhausting or exasperating degree; to be made to work very hard and very quickly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Aloha Festivals (2025)Aloha Festivals is a celebration of Hawaiian culture. Once a week-long event called Aloha Week, it's now a two-month affair with 300 events that starts in Honolulu in early September and runs through the end of October, with a week of festivities on every island of Hawaii. The celebrations include canoe races between the islands of Molokai and Oahu, coronations of royal courts as commemorations of the former Hawaiian monarchy, street parties, cultural events, parades, and pageantry. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: summitcolophon - A crowning or finishing touch, from Greek kolophon, "summit" or "finishing stroke." More... knoll - The summit or rounded top of a mountain or hill, it seems to derive from Old Teutonic knoo-lo, meaning "ball, clod, knot." More... acrobat - Derived from Greek akrobatos, "walking on tiptoe," from Greek akron, "summit," and baino, "walk." More... | |