Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 9, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Uncountable NounsNouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate parts are called uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or non-count nouns). Why is it incorrect to use third-person plural pronouns with uncountable nouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HinniesBred as work animals for at least 3,000 years because of their ability to withstand harsh conditions, mules are the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. The less common cross of a female donkey and a male horse is called a hinny. Hinnies are more horselike in appearance than mules, but are often considered inferior. Like mules, they are sterile, since their uneven number of chromosomes results in an incomplete reproductive system. Why are hinnies rarer than mules? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) Nathan Ames Patents His "Revolving Stairs," Now Known as the Escalator (1859)Although no working model of his design was ever built, Ames is credited with patenting the first escalator. His idea for the "revolving stairs" was largely speculative. It was not until the 1890s that the first working escalator—called the "inclined elevator"—was produced, based on another's designs. It was installed among the amusements at New York's Coney Island but did not remain a novelty for long. How did shoppers react when Harrods in London debuted its first escalator in 1898? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jean Piaget (1896)Regarded as the foremost developmental psychologist of the 20th century, Piaget developed a theory of "genetic epistemology," a natural timetable for the development of the child's ability to think, in which he traced four stages—the sensorimotor (ages 0–2), preoperational or symbolic (2–7), concrete operational (7–12), and formal operational (12 and up)—each marked by increased cognitive sophistication and ability to use symbols. What specific developments occur in each stage? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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last-minute— (used before a noun) Done at the very last possible moment or opportunity. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Drachenstich (Spearing the Dragon) (2024)This annual event centers around the performance of an open-air play, Drachenstich, in Fürth, Germany, in the Bavarian Forest. The climax of the play is a battle between a knight on horseback and a huge (about 50 feet long and 10 feet tall), fire-spewing dragon. The knight, of course, wins—by thrusting his spear into the dragon's throat, thereby piercing a pig's bladder filled with ox blood. The celebrations also include various merrymaking events and a street procession. The play has been performed for about 500 years and is thought to be the oldest folk play in Germany. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lawsautonomy - From Greek autos, "self," and nomos, "law," i.e. a person or unit that makes its own laws. More... blue sky laws - Laws protecting the public from securities fraud. More... code, codex - Code, from Latin codex, meaning "block of wood split into tablets, document written on wood tablets," was first a set of laws. More... constitute, constitution - Constitute can mean "make laws" and a constitution is a "how-to" document for a government or organization. More... | |