Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, March 11, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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philippic
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AppositivesAn appositive is a noun that serves to describe or rename another noun (or pronoun) that appears directly before it in a sentence. When an appositive is made up of a noun phrase, what is it called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AutomatsAn automat is a fast food restaurant where food and drinks are served by coin- and bill-operated vending machines. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart opened the first automat in the US in 1902 and quickly popularized the notion of take-out food with their slogan “Less work for Mother.” The original automat machines, which had little windows containing the prepared meals, were filled from behind by workers who cooked the fresh food in an unseen kitchen. What led to the decline of automat dining? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes Leader of the Soviet Union (1985)In 1985, after the death of the third Soviet leader in two years, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, ushering in an era of political reform with his policies of glasnost and perestroika. He cultivated warmer relations with the US and others and even supported the democratically elected governments that replaced the communist regimes of eastern Europe. In 1991, he resigned the presidency of the USSR, which ceased to exist the same day. How did his own policies lead to the end of his administration? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (1915)In the 1950s, Licklider—who had studied math and physics and had a doctorate in psychology—began studying information technology. He was appointed head of information processing at ARPA, the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, in the early 60s. There, he laid the groundwork for computer networking and ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet. He is considered one of the most important figures in computing history and is often compared to what historical trailblazer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To believe in a child is to believe in the future. Through their aspirations they will save the world. With their combined knowledge the turbulent seas of hate and injustice will be calmed. They will champion the causes of life's underdogs, forging a society without class discrimination. They will supply humanity with music and beauty as it has never known. They will endure.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have enough on (one's) plate— To be sufficiently busy or preoccupied with work, problems, or difficulties as to be unable or unwilling to cope with anything more. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lithuania Restoration of Statehood Day (2020)Lithuania had been independent for only 12 years when the Soviets occupied the country in 1940. The people voted for self-rule in February 1990, and the new democratically elected parliament declared independence from the U.S.S.R. on March 11, 1990. Restoration of Statehood Day is an official holiday in Lithuania. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pushingcentrifugal, centripetal - Centrifugal force pulls away or pushes outward; centripetal draws toward or pulls inward. More... cow tipping - A widely frowned-upon activity whereby one knocks over a sleeping cow (which sleeps standing up) by pushing on its side. More... exert - Can refer to a seed's pushing out or up. More... crowd - Its underlying notion is of "pushing, pressing," from Old English crudan, "press." More... | |