Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 5, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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recidivist
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ModifiersModifiers are, quite simply, any word or group of words that modifies (describes or elaborates upon) another element in a sentence. Modifiers can either be adjectives or what other part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Nauvoo TempleAfter Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, and his Mormon followers were forced to flee Missouri in 1839, they established a new community in Nauvoo, Illinois. They soon set to building a grandiose temple, but construction was only half complete when Smith was assassinated in 1844. Two years later, the Mormons were driven from that city as well. They tried to sell their temple for $200,000, but it ultimately sold for what greatly reduced price? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Publishing Magnate Robert Maxwell Dies Mysteriously at Sea (1991)A Czechoslovakian Jew, Maxwell fled to the UK during World War II and joined the British army. After the war, he purchased publishing house Pergamon Press. The company's success helped him win election to Parliament in 1964, but a 1969 financial scandal cost him control of Pergamon and his political career. He regained control of the company in 1974 and rejuvenated and expanded his empire. What did investigators discover about Maxwell's business dealings after his mysterious drowning death? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850)When her Poems of Passion was published in 1883, Wheeler gained notoriety for writing "immoral" poetry. Her subsequent works showed a marked change in content, focusing on temperance, religion, and sentimental, inspirational verse. Her best known poem is "Solitude," which earned her five dollars when it was published in an 1883 issue of the New York Sun. It famously opens, "Laugh and the world laughs with you / Weep and you weep alone." What inspired her to write these lines? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every desire bears its death in its very gratification. Curiosity languishes under repeated stimulants, and novelties cease to excite and surprise, until at length we cannot wonder even at a miracle.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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set (someone or something) loose— To make free or give up control of something or someone; to release or discharge something or someone, as from confinement. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dhan Teras (2018)Dhan Teras or Dhanvantri Trayodashi is observed two days prior to Dewali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. It is held in honor of Dhanvantri, the physician of the gods and the father of Indian medicine, whom doctors in particular worship on this day. According to Hindu mythology, the gods tried to produce the elixir known as amrita by churning up the ocean. Dhanvantri rose up out of the water bearing a cup filled with it. On this day Hindus rise at dawn and bathe, put on new robes, and fast. In the evening, they light an earthen lamp before the door of the house and break their fast. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: movieart movie - A movie intended to be an artistic work rather than a commercial movie of mass appeal. More... longueurs - Boring periods of time or parts of a book, play, music, or movie are longueurs. More... horse opera - A slang term for a western (movie). More... vamp - Theda Bara's performance in the movie The Vampire brought us this word, meaning "seductive woman." More... | |
| In the News | |
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T. Rex Could Open Jaw a Full 90 Degrees to Take Bite Out of Prey, Researchers SaySome carnivorous dinosaurs, such as the Tyrannosaurus rex, could open their jaws as wide as 90 degrees, say researchers from the University of Bristol who examined feeding styles and dietary preferences of dinosaurs. Digital models and computer analyses ... More... | |