Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 1, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
knavery
| |||||||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Defining the Middle VoiceThe so-called middle voice is an approximate type of grammatical voice in which the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb. In other words, the subject acts as both the agent and the receiver (i.e., the direct object) of the action. Why is the middle voice described as a combination of the active and passive voices? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 AuroraNamed for the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora borealis and aurora australis—also known as the northern and southern lights, respectively—are held among the most magnificent natural phenomena. The luminous nighttime displays of colorful bands that ripple across the sky are most often seen along the edges of the Arctic and Antarctic. They are caused by charged particles from the Sun that become trapped in the Earth's magnetic field and collide with air molecules. Do other planets have auroras? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunctions (2004)Nearly 90 million people watched Super Bowl XXXVIII, and approximately 540,000 of them filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission after Justin Timberlake exposed fellow singer Janet Jackson's breast during the game's halftime show. The incident led to legal action, heavy fines, and a crackdown on aspects of US broadcasting considered indecent. Shortly after the "wardrobe malfunction," a streaker darted onto the field in an unrelated stunt. What happened to him? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 William Clark Gable (1901)Despite having such large ears that some doubted he could become a romantic lead, Gable had a rugged masculinity and lighthearted charm that proved popular with audiences. The actor debuted on Broadway in 1928 and went to Hollywood in 1930. There he starred in Mutiny on the Bounty, Gone with the Wind, and It Happened One Night, for which he won an Academy Award. What tragedy prompted him to give up show business and become a bomber pilot during World War II? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 How great would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if such were possible, the scenery of another planet!Charles Darwin (1809-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
have a lump in (one's) throat— To have difficulty speaking as a result of feeling that one is about to cry due to an intense emotional response to something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 National Freedom Day (2025)National Freedom Day commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States. On that date in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, making slavery illegal. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the freedom from slavery for all people and to acknowledge the importance of freedom and harmony in American society. Freedom Day is not a federal holiday, and a strong drive is underway to adopt June 19, or Juneteenth, as it is known, as the American holiday to celebrate the end of slavery. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: sacrificeoffer - Originally meant "to present or sacrifice something to a religious entity." More... sacrifice - From Latin sacrificium, related to sacrificus, "sacrificial," from sacer, "holy, sacred." More... oblation - Something offered to God or a god, like a sacrifice or donation, can be called an oblation. More... victim - Originally denoted a person or animal killed as a sacrifice. More... | |