Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 27, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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flyblown
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using En Dashes to Indicate a Range of ValuesThe most common use of the en dash is to connect two numbers, dates, or times to indicate a range that spans these figures. When it is used in this way, we can think of the en dash as representing what words? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TrichotillomaniaAlso commonly known as TTM and "trich," trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out one's hair. Classified by many clinicians as a habit behavior that falls into the same class as nail biting, TTM has no cure but can sometimes be managed with habit reversal training and pharmacotherapy. It is estimated that up to 5% of the world's population has TTM. In recent years, the number of reported TTM cases has increased, a fact some attribute to what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Italian Public Administrator Enrico Mattei Dies in Plane Crash (1962)After World War II, Mattei was given the task of dismantling the Italian Petroleum Agency, a Fascist state enterprise. Instead, Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI), or National Fuel Trust. Under his direction, ENI developed large deposits of natural gas in Italy and negotiated important oil concessions in the Middle East. Mattei became a powerful figure in Italy before he died in a plane crash in 1962. What conspiracy theories exist about his death? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sylvia Plath (1932)American poet Sylvia Plath excelled as a writer from an early age and published her first poem at eight. She attempted suicide while in college but underwent electroshock treatment and seemingly recovered from her breakdown. In 1956, she wed poet Ted Hughes, whom she met while attending Cambridge on a Fulbright grant. Shortly after they separated in 1962, Plath committed suicide. Her literary reputation grew rapidly after her death, and she became the first poet to win what prize posthumously? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 So, naturalists observe, a fleaHas smaller fleas that on him prey; And these have smaller still to bite 'em; And so proceed ad infinitum. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Elvis has left the building— Said when an event or performance has come to an end, or when someone or something has left a place, especially in a dramatic fashion. The phrase refers to an announcement famously made at the end of Elvis Presley concerts alerting people that he vacated the premises and no further encores would be played. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Narak Chaturdashi (2019)The day after Dhan Teras is celebrated by Hindus as Narak Chaturdashi. It is dedicated to Yama, the god of Naraka, or Hell. Bathing at dawn on this day is considered essential; in fact, those who bathe after the sun has risen risk losing their religious merit. After bathing, Hindus offer libations to Yama three times in the hope that he will spare them the tortures of hell. A fast is observed, and, in the evening, lamps are lit in Yama's honor. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: podpod - A group of whales (or seals or dolphins), or a small flock of birds. More... boll weevil - From Old English wifel, "beetle," and boll, the pod of the cotton plant, which this beetle attacks. More... chalice - From Latin calix, "cup," and Greek kalux, "pod." More... vanilla - Once thought to be an aphrodisiac because its pod resembled the vagina; its name comes from the Spanish for "little vagina." More... | |