Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 4, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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recompense
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Passive Perfect Participle PhrasesIf we want to describe a noun that was passively acted upon in an event that happened before another one, we can use what is known as the "passive perfect participle" (sometimes called the "perfect passive participle"). How is this structured? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mohs Scale of Mineral HardnessThe Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals, through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer one and not be scratched by it. While the varying hardness of stones was likely first explored around 300 BCE, German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs devised his scale in 1812. It uses 10 standards ranging from talc, the softest, with a value of 1, to diamond, the hardest, with a value of 10. Where does a fingernail fall on the Mohs scale? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 West Point Opens (1802)Before it was home to young men and women training to be US Army officers, West Point, New York, was the site of a military post. Congress signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy there in 1802, though it was initially an apprentice school for military engineers. Its curriculum broadened in 1866, and, after World War I, Superintendent Douglas MacArthur pushed for major changes in the physical fitness and athletic programs. What collegiate tradition began at West Point? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Calvin Coolidge (1872)In 1920, Coolidge was elected vice president of the US under Warren G. Harding, who died in 1923—making Coolidge president. Untouched by the scandals of the Harding administration, Coolidge was directly elected president in 1924. He was a popular and deliberately hands-off leader, and though he was an effective public speaker, he was a man of few words when out of the spotlight. Upon hearing that "Silent Cal" had died in 1933, writer Dorothy Parker is said to have delivered what famous remark? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The value of a dollar is social, as it is created by society.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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on the down low— In a state of secrecy or minimal public knowledge; being known only by a select few people. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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Calvin Coolidge Birthday Celebration (2025)The village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, is where Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th president of the United States, spent his boyhood and was sworn in as president by his father following the death of Warren Harding in 1923. On the Fourth of July each year, the anniversary of Coolidge's birth, there is a noontime march from the green near the Plymouth Post Office to the Notch Cemetery, led by a Vermont National Guard colorguard with a bugler and a chaplain. The White House sends a wreath, which is laid at the President's tomb. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: manuscriptacephalous - A manuscript lacking a beginning could be called acephalous. More... autograph - Comes from Greek, then Latin autographum, meaning "self-written"; it originally meant "author's own manuscript." More... manuscript - Originally an adjective meaning "written by hand"; manuscript can refer to a handwritten piece of music. More... palimpsest - Can describe a manuscript or writing surface that has been reused, erased, or altered while retaining traces of its earlier form—and, by extension, an object, place, or area that reflects its history. More... | |