Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, July 15, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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curare
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Gradable AdverbsWe can only make comparisons using "gradable adverbs," meaning adverbs that are able to move up and down on a scale of intensity. The majority of adverbs are gradable. As with comparative adjectives, we can state differences in scale by using what words and phrases before the comparative adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Captain NemoOne of the most famous antiheroes in fiction, Captain Nemo is an enigmatic character featured in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. A scientific genius, Nemo roams the depths of the sea in his submarine, the Nautilus. Though he projects a stern confidence, he is driven by a thirst for vengeance and, at the same time, is wracked with remorse over the deaths of his crew members and even his enemies. What does "Nemo" mean in Latin? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping (1976)Chowchilla is a small California town that made national headlines when kidnappers took control of a school bus full of children in 1976. The 26 children and their bus driver, Ed Ray, were driven around in two vans for 11 hours before being forced into a moving van buried in a quarry. After 16 hours underground, Ray and the children managed to escape. All were safely returned home, and the kidnappers were soon arrested. Who were they? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dame Iris Murdoch (1919)An Irish-born novelist and philosopher, Murdoch studied at Cambridge under prominent philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein before pursuing a career in writing. Her novels focus on the idea that free will is illusory and depict humans as "accidental" creatures, seemingly free but actually bound to self, society, and the natural world. She penned 26 novels and many philosophical works before Alzheimer's ended her writing career. To what non-medical condition did she initially attribute her symptoms? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We are not rich in the bank, but we have always prospered, and we have quite enough. I never walk out with my husband but I hear the people bless him ... I never lie down at night but I know that in the course of that day he has alleviated pain and soothed some fellow-creature in the time of need ... Is not this to be rich?Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be not worth a brass farthing— To be completely worthless or useless; to have little or no value. Refers to farthings (obsolete British units of currency, worth one-quarter of a penny), formerly made from a copper alloy (brass). Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Basset Hound Games (2018)The Basset Hound games are held annually at Legion Park in Woodburn, Oregon, as a way to bring together Basset Hound owners and their dogs in a day of light-hearted activities. The dogs compete in such custom-tailored Basset Hound events as longest ears, marathon napping, and the best howl. The public is welcome to view the games. The event is run by and raises money for Oregon Basset Hound Rescue, a non-profit group that fosters abandoned Basset Hounds and places them in permanent homes. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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| In the News | |
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Milky Way is full of 'space grease,' study findsSpace is full of grease-like molecules, according to a new study that attempted to mimic interstellar dust in a laboratory. The study, conducted by the University of New South Wales in Australia and Ege University in Turkey, sought to better estimate ... More... | |