Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 8, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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strapper
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Indicative MoodThe indicative mood is a type of grammatical mood used to express facts, statements, opinions, or questions. It is the sole realis mood in English. In which tenses can the indicative mood can be used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AmbigramsAmbigrams, or inversions, are graphical figures that spell a single word in multiple directions or orientations. There are a number of categories, including rotational ambigrams, which present several instances of a word when rotated through a fixed angle, and mirror ambigrams, which can be read when reflected in a mirror. The word “suns” is a natural ambigram, meaning it has some form of symmetry in its natural state. What novel, published by bestselling author Dan Brown, features ambigrams? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Shooter Opens Fire at Damageplan Concert, Killing Four (2004)Not long after American heavy metal band Pantera disbanded and two of its founding members, brothers "Dimebag" Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott, formed the band Damageplan, the group released its debut album. Sadly, it would also be its last. During a concert in Columbus, Ohio, later that year, former US Marine Nathan Gale went on a shooting rampage, killing Darrell along with a fan, a roadie, and a security guard before being fatally shot by a police officer. Why did Gale do it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Camille Claudel (1864)A skilled French sculptor in her own right, Claudel is best remembered for being a student, collaborator, model, and mistress of famed sculptor Auguste Rodin. The two had a tumultuous affair that began to crumble in the 1890s, and Claudel, who suffered from mental illness, became increasingly unstable and reclusive. She was committed in 1913 and remained institutionalized until her death 30 years later. Her work is highly valued by collectors, but little of it survives today. Why is this? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Happiness is a monstrosity! Punished are those who seek it.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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pound sand— To engage in pointless, menial efforts or labor. Used especially as an imperative to express disdain, contempt, or dismissal. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of the Immaculate Conception (2018)The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is an important day throughout Latin America, but it is especially significant in the Mexican town of San Juan de los Lagos, where the celebration begins several days in advance. The town temporarily renames the streets where the festival will occur—on Calle de Alegria (Joy Street), for example, there are puppet shows, side shows, and musical performances. On the morning of December 8, the 11-inch image of the Virgin Mary leaves the local church, carried by priests on a silver litter. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: piercesashimi - Thinly sliced raw fish with a sauce, it is a compound formed from sashi, "pierce," and mi, "flesh." More... point - "Sharp end" is the etymological notion underlying point, from Latin pungere, "pierce, prick." More... stake - Meaning "post," it comes from a Germanic base meaning "pierce, prick." More... stick - Comes from Germanic meaning "be sharp, pierce, prick"; the piercing notion led to "becoming fixed in something" and then "adhering." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Bye, Bye, BananasIn the mid 1900s, the most popular banana in the world—a sweet, creamy variety called Gros Michel grown in Latin America—all but disappeared from the planet. At the time, it was the only banana in the world that could be exported. But a fungus, known ... More... | |