Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, August 20, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ragamuffin
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Attributive vs. Predicative AdjectivesWhile most adjectives can occur either as attributive adjectives or predicative adjectives, there are certain adjectives that can only occur predicatively. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CosplayA combination of the words "costume" and "play," cosplay refers to a Japanese subculture in which participants dress as characters from anime, manga, video games, and other forms of entertainment. Often seen at conventions or parties at nightclubs or amusement parks, cosplay is also publicly practiced in places like Tokyo's Akihabara district, where costumed servers wait on patrons at many of the area's cafés. How does cosplay in the US and UK differ from that in Japan? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Cease-Fire Declared in Iran-Iraq War (1988)On September 22, 1980, Iraqi forces invaded Iran, which was still struggling in the aftermath of its revolution. The resulting war—ostensibly a territorial dispute—turned into a bloody stalemate that saw the first widespread use of chemical warfare since World War I. An estimated 1.5 million people were killed in the conflict. After nearly eight years, the United Nations mandated a cease-fire. Both sides held thousands of prisoners of war for years. When were the last prisoners exchanged? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Benjamin Harrison (1833)The grandson of a US president, Harrison practiced law in Indiana before leading a volunteer regiment in the Civil War. He made two unsuccessful bids for the Indiana governorship before gaining a seat in the US Senate. In the 1888 presidential election, he defeated incumbent US President Grover Cleveland, though Cleveland won the popular vote. His association with unpopular tariffs cost him an 1892 re-election and brought Cleveland back. Why did his children refuse to attend his second wedding? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What makes old age hard to bear is not the failing of one's faculties, mental and physical, but the burden of one's memories.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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know-nothing— A completely ignorant, uninformed, or unknowledgeable person. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Down Home Family Reunion (2017)Introduced in 1992, the Down Home Family Reunion is an annual celebration of west African folk life held in Abner Clay Park in Richmond, Virginia. The reunion offers music and dance performances, storytelling presentations, traditional foods, a heritage marketplace, and children's activities. With many hands-on and interactive exhibits, the festival showcases the strong influence of west African culture on life in the American South. Saturday's activities are free and emphasize family participation in craft demonstrations and a variety of cultural exhibits. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: twigsdrey - A squirrel's nest of twigs in a tree. More... broom - Was first called a besom, but evolved because many of them were made of twigs from the wild broom shrub. More... lop - The smaller branches and twigs of a tree. More... whiskers - Originally the word for a bundle of feathers, twigs, etc. used for whisking (from "whisk"), it then came to denote the projecting hairs or bristles of mammals. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Thousands of Children Injured by Strollers and Carriers Every Year, Study FindsThousands of young children head to the emergency room every year because of injuries associated with strollers and baby carriers, according to a new study published today in the journal Academic Pediatrics. Investigators estimated that an average of ... More... | |