Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 10, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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How to Write Compound NounsWriting compound nouns is a bit complicated due to the fact that they can take three different forms. What are "closed compound nouns"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CrownsThe use of crowns as symbols of royal rank is an ancient tradition that dates back to Achaemenid Persia and Pharaonic Egypt. Crowns in ancient Greece and Rome—wreaths of leaves or ribbons—were awarded to victors of contests or bestowed upon citizens to recognize acts of public service. In medieval and more modern times, crowns were generally made of metal, often gold inlaid with precious gems. According to legend, what ruler surprised the pope by crowning himself during a coronation ceremony? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 European Heat Wave: UK's Hottest Day on Record (2003)The European heat wave of 2003 resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people. In France, where summers are usually very mild and many homes do not have air conditioning, nearly 15,000 people died from heat-related issues—at a time when many physicians were on summer holiday. So many died that undertakers ran out of room in their own facilities and had to keep corpses in off-site warehouses. The UK, meanwhile, suffered through violent storms and experienced what record high temperature? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henri Nestlé (1814)Born in Germany, Nestlé was the 11th of 14 children—only half of whom survived to adulthood. After apprenticing to a pharmacist in the 1830s, he began to work on an infant food that could serve as a substitute for breast milk for struggling babies. Combining milk, flour, and sugar, he created the first commercial infant formula and founded what is today the largest processed foods company in the world. The Nestlé company logo is derived from the family coat of arms, which includes what image? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery.Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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put (one's) hands together (for someone or something)— To applaud (someone or something); to clap. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Perseids Meteor Shower (2025)A meteor shower occurs when a number of meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere at approximately the same time and place. Since the year 36 CE there have been records of an annual meteor shower known as the Perseids (because it appears to originate in the constellation Perseus) that is most observable during the nights of August 10-12. Observers everywhere except the South Pole can see as many as 60 meteors an hour streak across the sky on what is often referred to as the Night of the Shooting Stars. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: unluckydismal - Comes from French dies mali, "evil days," and first meant the 24 evil or unlucky days of the medieval calendar (two per month). More... infaust, infausting - Infaust is "unlucky" and infausting is "making unlucky." More... left-handed - Had a meaning of "unlucky" or "unseasonable." More... widdershins - Means "in a direction opposite of the usual one," but can also mean "unlucky." More... | |