Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, February 27, 2019)Word of the Day | |||||||
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purlieu
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of PlaceAdverbs of place tell us about an aspect of location associated with the action of a verb, specifying the direction, distance, movement, or position involved. Because adverbs of place are specific to actions of verbs, they cannot be used to modify adverbs or adjectives—with one exception. What is it? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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![]() EncyclopédiePublished under the direction of Denis Diderot, Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers—Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades—was one of the principal works of the Enlightenment. Inspired by the success of E. Chambers's British Cyclopaedia; or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, the first 17 of an eventual 35 volumes were published between 1751 and 1765. Who were some of its notable contributors? More... |
This Day in History | |
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![]() Carbon-14 Discovered (1940)Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon having a mass number of 14 and a half-life of approximately 5,700 years. It occurs naturally, arising from cosmic rays, and is used as a tracer in studies of metabolism and in radiocarbon dating—a method of determining the age of carbonaceous, once-living material. Carbon-14 was discovered by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory, but its existence had been predicted six years earlier by whom? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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![]() John Steinbeck (1902)Steinbeck was an American writer perhaps best remembered for his strong, Pulitzer Prize-winning sociological novel The Grapes of Wrath, which is widely considered one of the great American novels of the 20th century. His later novels include Cannery Row, The Pearl, and East of Eden. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. One of Steinbeck's last works was Travels with Charley, a travelogue about a road trip across America. Who was Charley? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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![]() Henry James (1843-1916) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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you've got me— I don't know the answer to your question. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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![]() Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia (2019)The Carnival celebrations in Oruro, Bolivia, continue for an entire week and include music, dancing, eating and drinking, and offerings to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. The highlight is the parade that begins with a series of vehicles carrying items made from gold and silver. Next are the Diablos, costumed with horns made from plaster; the Incas and the Tobas, who perform war dances; the llama drivers, or llameros; followed by the Callahuallas, or witch doctors. The parade ends with the entry of all into the church for a mass in honor of the Virgen del Socavón. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: spidercobweb - A single thread spun by a spider. More... arain - Another word for spider. More... lobster - Comes from Old English loppestre, "spider," because there is some resemblance. More... insect, spider, crustacean - One major difference between insects, spiders, and crustaceans is the antennae; most insects have one pair, spiders have none, and crustaceans have two pairs. More... |