Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 16, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
|---|---|
Pronouns as the SubjectPronouns stand in for a person or thing we are speaking about or referring to; they are used to avoid repetition in speech or writing. When the personal pronouns in the subjective case act as substitutes for the subject of the clause or sentence, what are they known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 StonefishFound in the tropics of the Indian and Pacific oceans and in the Red Sea, the stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa, is the world's most venomous fish. Spines lining its dorsal area release a toxin that causes excruciating pain, local swelling, general paralysis, and, eventually, fatal respiratory paralysis. Using its resemblance to a piece of rock to camouflage itself, the carnivorous fish feeds on small fish, shrimp, and other crustaceans. A stonefish can survive out of water for how long? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Olympic Medalists Create Furor with Black Power Salute (1968)The silent protest of two black American athletes at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City was an iconic and controversial statement. Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos received their medals shoeless to draw attention to black poverty in America, and they performed the Black Power salute as their national anthem played. They were booed by the crowd and were later expelled from the staunchly apolitical games. Smith saluted with his right hand. Why was Carlos forced to salute with his left? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Oscar Wilde (1854)Wilde was an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright who mocked social conventions and scandalized English society with his unorthodox ideas and conduct. He is best known for his sophisticated, witty plays, among them Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest, as well as his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, about a handsome young man who purchases eternal youth at the expense of his soul. Why did Wilde spend his final years living abroad under an assumed name? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 A man will tell you that he has worked in a mine for forty years unhurt by an accident as a reason why he should apprehend no danger, though the roof is beginning to sink.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
shank's nag— One's legs and feet, used for walking; travel by foot. Also "shanks' nag." A reference to the shank— the lower leg between the knee and the ankle—and the use of ponies or horses for travel. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 World Food Day (2025)Proclaimed in 1979 by the conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, World Food Day is designed to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and to promote cooperation in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. October 16 is the anniversary of the founding of the FAO in Rome, Italy, in 1945. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
|---|---|
Today's topic: markingpastry wheel, pastry jagger - A pastry wheel or pastry jagger is a handled tool with a thin sharp wheel, used for marking and cutting rolled-out dough. More... stocking - A white marking on the lower part of a horse's leg. More... on the dot - Probably a reference to the minute hand of the clock being exactly over the dot marking the given minute on the dial. More... hilum - The scar on a seed marking the point where it was attached to its seed vessel. More... | |