Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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palpate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive Adverbs for ComparisonThere are many conjunctive adverbs. To choose the right one, we must consider the relationship between the first and second clause. When we state that two things are alike, what two conjunctive adverbs can we use? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Splendid IsolationSplendid Isolation is the name given to the foreign policy pursued by Britain during the late 19th century, a policy characterized by a reluctance to enter into permanent European alliances or commitments with other powers and by an increase in the importance placed on British colonies, protectorates, and dependencies overseas. Still, there is much debate among historians regarding whether or not the policy was intentional. What marked the end of Britain's so-called Splendid Isolation? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First American Girl Scouts Meeting (1912)After meeting Boy Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell, Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low organized the first meeting of the Girl Scouts in the US in Savannah, Georgia. There were only 18 girls at the first meeting, but within a few decades, the organization boasted hundreds of thousands of participants. More than 50 million American women have participated in the Girl Scouts since then, learning practical skills through character-building activities. What was the original name of the Girl Scouts? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir William Henry Perkin (1838)At the age of 15, Perkin entered the Royal College of Chemistry in London. It was there, just a few years later, that he discovered the first synthetic dye. Since antiquity, purple garments had been a mark of royalty, as natural purple dyes had to be extracted from mollusks or insects and were thus quite expensive. The lab-created dye made Perkin a wealthy man. In 1906, the chemist was knighted. At the time of his discovery, he had had been trying to create a synthetic version of what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Manners are the happy way of doing things; each once a stroke of genius or of love—now repeated and hardened into usage. They form at last a rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed, and its details adorned. If they are superficial, so are the dewdrops which give such a depth to the morning meadows.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make ground— To become more successful, popular, important, or accepted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Gregory's Day (2018)St. Gregory, a sixth-century monk who became pope, is also the patron saint of schoolchildren and scholars. In Belgium, schoolchildren rise early on March 12 and parade through the streets dressed as "little soldiers of St. Gregory." They carry a big basket for gifts and are accompanied by a noisy drummer. The young girls in the procession wear big shoulder bows that resemble the wings of a butterfly. They march from house to house, pausing at each door to sing a song and to ask for treats, and the procession always includes a group of angels. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: readinessimpromptu - Based on Latin in promptu, "in readiness," from promptus, "prepared, ready." More... procinct - A state of readiness or preparation. More... stand by - Meaning "to await, support," it was an order to hold one's self in readiness, recorded from 1669. More... gear - Its etymological meaning is "that which puts one in a state of readiness." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Baby bird fossil is 'rarest of the rare'Scientists have unveiled one of the smallest bird fossils ever discovered. The chick lived 127 million years ago and belonged to a group of primitive birds that shared the planet with the dinosaurs. Fossils of birds from this time period are rare, with ... More... | |