Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 8, 2016)Word of the Day | |||||||
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swallowtail
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Dangling PrepositionsDespite what you may have been taught, it’s a myth that ending a sentence or clause with a preposition is an error. Where did this myth originate? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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![]() Nikola Tesla: "The Man Who Invented the 20th Century"Deemed "the patron saint of modern electricity" by contemporary biographers, Nikola Tesla was an inventor, physicist, and mechanical and electrical engineer best known for his revolutionary contributions to the fields of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla was the holder of myriad patents and is credited by some with the invention of radio technology. What strange behaviors led many to regard Tesla as a "mad scientist"? More... |
This Day in History | |
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![]() Dow Jones Averages Reaches Its Lowest Point of the Great Depression (1932)The Dow Jones Industrial Average, often referred to as the Dow, is the best-known and most widely followed market indicator in the world. Tracking the performance of 30 blue-chip US stocks—which sometimes change—the Dow is thought to reflect the overall condition of the US economy. In 1932, the Dow reached its lowest point of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22—down almost 90 percent since 1929. It did not return to pre-1929 levels until 1954. When did the Dow reach its all-time high? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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![]() John Davison Rockefeller (1839)After two years of high school, Rockefeller—the man destined to become, by some estimates, the richest person in history—got a job as a bookkeeper. A few years later, he formed a food handling firm that prospered in the American Civil War. In 1863, he entered the brand new oil business, and within 15 years, his company dominated the American petroleum industry. A noted philanthropist, he donated $550 million during his lifetime. It has been said that Rockefeller had what two ambitions in life? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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![]() Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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hold the ring— To monitor or control a conflict or dispute, especially in a neutral or uninvolved manner. Primarily heard in UK. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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![]() Caribbean Festival (Feast of Fire) (2020)The annual Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, also known as the Feast of Fire, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the cultural traditions of the Caribbean. In addition to numerous performances of music and dancing, there are exhibitions of culinary arts, painting, crafts, drama, religious rituals, and poetry. Each year the festival gives special focus to one of the Caribbean countries. The "Serpent Parade" is a high point of the Festival, with throngs of dancing people winding their way through the streets of Santiago de Cuba. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: plowacre - Old English aecer, now acre, was originally the amount of land a yoke of oxen could plow in a day; the Old English word came from Latin ager, "fertile field," and became acre, which first meant any field. More... plow - Borrowed from Old Norse plogr. More... |