Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 9, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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farrago
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using En Dashes to Indicate a Range of ValuesThe most common use of the en dash is to connect two numbers, dates, or times to indicate a range that spans these figures. When it is used in this way, we can think of the en dash as representing what words? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Anthony BourdainBourdain is an American author, executive chef of Brasserie Les Halles in NYC, and host of the Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program No Reservations. He is known for being edgy and provocative; his many epicurean exploits have included instances of him eating ant eggs in Mexico, a raw seal eyeball in the Arctic, and a live cobra in Vietnam. He initially gained popularity with his bestselling book about the darker side of the restaurant industry. What is the book called? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Queen Elizabeth Wakes to Find Strange Man in Her Bedroom (1982)In the early hours of July 9, 1982, 32-year-old Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace—for the second time—and entered Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom. He set off the alarm, but guards believed it to be false and turned it off. The Queen awoke when Fagan moved a curtain in her bedroom, and he talked to her while she waited for police to arrive. The officer who was supposed to be posted outside her door at the time was walking the Queen's dogs. Why was Fagan not charged for his brazen trespass? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Fanny Fern (1811)Fanny Fern was the pseudonym of Sara Willis Parton, an immensely popular American columnist and novelist known for her conversational writing style and emphasis on the everyday concerns of middle-class women. Though she had struggled to support her children after her first husband died and caused a scandal by ending her unhappy second marriage, she persevered and by 1855 commanded the unprecedented sum of $100 a week for her New York Ledger column. What famous saying is attributed to her? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Simple, sincere people seldom speak much of their piety. It shows itself in acts rather than in words, and has more influence than homilies or protestations.Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the nosebleeds— A seating area very high up in a stadium or theater, as for a sporting event, musical performance, play, etc., which typically costs less money but has a restricted view. "Nosebleed" refers jocularly to the effects of extremely high altitudes on the body, which can often cause nasal hemorrhaging, among other symptoms. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nunavut Day (2018)Canada's northernmost territory of Nunavut was established on July 9, 1993, through a land claim signed by the national government and the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area. Most of the day's activities take place in Nunavut's hub and capital city, Iqaluit. Festivities include barbeques, parades, traditional Inuit games, and feasts featuring local cuisine of caribou, walrus, and arctic char. In recent years, the day's program has also included organized tournaments of cribbage, checkers, and Scrabble. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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| In the News | |
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Why the US Postal Service is Excited about NASA's Mission to PlutoOn July 14, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will make our world's first encounter with Pluto. But this highly anticipated flyby will carry a special passenger you might not have heard about: A stamp. Collect Space reports the stamp -- which was ... More... | |