Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 7, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vallecula
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Mitigators and IntensifiersAdverbial phrases are commonly formed when an adverb's intensity is being modified by another adverb. These modifying adverbs are known as "mitigators" and "intensifiers." How do mitigators and intensifiers each function in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Proto-Sinaitic ScriptDespite a century of study, researchers can agree on the decipherment of only a single phrase of Proto-Sinaitic script, a Middle Bronze Age alphabet dating to 1500 BCE. The Proto-Sinaitic script is one of two similar undeciphered scripts dated to that period and believed to be ancestral to nearly all modern alphabets. Many experts believe the language of Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions is Semitic, and cite the one phrase that was interpreted as proof of this hypothesis. What is the phrase? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Alexander Graham Bell Awarded US Patent for Telephone (1876)Originally an audiologist, professor, and teacher of the deaf, Bell became interested in the idea of transmitting sound waves by wire when he misread a thesis by a German physicist. He mistakenly believed that the thesis implied such a transmission was possible. It did not, but Bell's idea was sound. Later, he described his mistranslation as a "valuable blunder." Three days after receiving a patent for his device, he spoke the first sentence ever transmitted by telephone. What was it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anna Magnani (1908)An illegitimate child abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandparents in a Roman slum, Magnani overcame incredible odds to become an internationally acclaimed, Academy Award-winning actress. She began her performing career singing bawdy street songs in the nightclubs of Rome, but before long she was starring on the stage and screen, earning recognition for her dynamic and forceful portrayals of earthy, lower-class women. A believer in the supernatural, Magnani claimed to have what power? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea—whether it is to sail or to watch it—we are going back from whence we came.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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leather-lunged— (used before a noun) Having an extremely or inordinately loud or strong voice, as of someone with very robust lungs. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bike Week (2021)Bike Week is the largest motorcycle meet in the world, held for 10 days in Daytona Beach, Florida. The highlight of the week is the Daytona 200 race, which attracts competitors from all over the world. Other races include a three-hour U.S. Endurance Championship race and vintage motorcycle races on Classics Day. These events take place in the Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium and on the Daytona International Speedway. Another popular feature of the week is a parade of over 5,000 motorcycles, and concerts and trade shows are held throughout the week. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: skirtbustle - A stuffed pad or cushion worn under the skirt of a woman's dress, it had a synonym of "dress-improver." More... kick pleat - The slit in the back of a skirt or coat that allows more freedom of movement. More... A-line - A dress or skirt shaped like an A, created by Christian Dior. More... skirt - The ice cream at the base of a scoop of ice cream in a cone. More... | |