Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, December 31, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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decadence
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Perfective and Imperfective AspectThe perfective aspect highlights actions, states, or events as a whole. The imperfective aspect is used when we focus on the internal structures of an action. What is the continuous aspect? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mongolian Death WormThe terrifyingly named Mongolian death worm is a creature purported to live in China's Gobi Desert. Though its existence is widely debated, it is described as a bright red worm with a wide body that is 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m) long and is said to resemble a cow's intestine. Mongolian locals claim that the worm can emit an electrical shock and spew acid that kills humans on contact and corrodes anything it touches. How did the Western world find out about the Mongolian death worm in 1926? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Vandals Invade Gaul (406 CE)An ancient Germanic tribe that originated in North Jutland, the Vandals began a decades-long migration in the early 5th century. The violent path they cut through Europe made their name synonymous with senseless destruction. Crossing the Rhine in 406 CE, they invaded their first stop, Gaul. The Roman-allied Franks refused to allow them to settle there, so the Vandals devastated the region and kept moving. By the time they sacked Rome in 455 CE, they had established a kingdom of their own—where? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henri Matisse (1869)One of the premier artists of the modern period, Matisse left his law career after taking up painting during an illness in 1890. He explored Impressionism but instead began to use vivid primary color as a structural element. He became a leader of the short-lived Fauvist movement, and by 1909, he had achieved worldwide fame. After 1939, he became increasingly active as a graphic artist. His contribution to 20th-century art is inestimable. Which of his paintings was burned in effigy in 1913? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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up to (one's) eyeballs (in something)— Extremely busy (with something); deeply or overly involved (in something); possessing, filled up with, or overwhelmed by an excessive amount (of something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 First Night (2025)First Night originated in Boston as an annual New Year's Eve celebration of the arts. This citywide festival was first held in 1976 to change the drinking and partying that have traditionally marked New Year's Eve celebrations in most American cities into a night of family entertainment. To bring both inner city and suburban communities together, 1,000 artists in Boston offer a wide variety of artistic events and performances at 70 indoor and outdoor sites in Boston's Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, downtown, and waterfront areas. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sitstrimmer - One who sits on the fence or remains neutral about political issues. More... insessor - One who sits in or on/upon something. More... nest - From Indo-European nizdos, literally "(place where the bird) sits down." More... soot - Etymologically, something that "sits" on something else—like film settling on a surface. More... | |