Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 14, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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whimsy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Identifying Direct ObjectsDirect objects are directly affected by the verbs they complete. What questions can we ask to identify the direct object in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 OstrichesFlightless birds that inhabit Africa and parts of Asia, ostriches are the largest birds on Earth and the fastest animals on two legs. When they are unable to run from predators, however, they may attempt to camouflage themselves as mounds of dirt by lying on the ground with their necks outstretched, a habit that might have given rise to the notion that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they sense danger. They can also defend themselves—ostriches have been known to kill what predator? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Founded (1960)OPEC is a multinational organization that was established in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum production and export policies of its original members, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Other nations have since joined the organization. In 1973, OPEC began a series of oil price increases in retaliation for Western support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War, and its members' income greatly increased as a result. Today, the organization's members produce how much of the world's crude oil? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 María Capovilla (1889)Capovilla was an Ecuadorian supercentenarian whose life spanned three centuries. At the time of her death shortly before her 117th birthday in 2006, she was recognized as the world's oldest living person. She was also the last remaining documented person born in the 1880s. At age 100, Capovilla nearly died and was given last rites by a priest, but she recovered and lived in good health for another 16 years. She had 20 great-grandchildren and how many great-great-grandchildren? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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castles in the sky— Dreams, hopes, or plans that are impossible, unrealistic, or have very little chance of succeeding. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 National Hollerin' Contest (2019)Many years ago, the residents of Spivey's Corner, North Carolina, communicated with each other by calling out their greetings, warnings, and cries of distress. They also hollered for their cows, pigs, and dogs to come in. After modern technology supplanted this primitive mode of communication, a local citizen named Ermon Godwin Jr. decided to revive the custom of hollering by holding a day-long competition each year. In addition to the hollering contests, the event includes a pole climb, fox horn-blowing contests, and a watermelon carry. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: notchcrenelation, crenelle - A crenelation (from Latin crena, "notch") is a series of indentations or loopholes around the top of a castle, battlement, or wall—with each indentation being a crenelle (or crenel). More... carf, kerf - A cut or notch in timber is a carf or kerf—which are also used to describe the width of such a cut. More... dent - As in "notch," it comes from the French word for tooth; its original meaning was "blow, stroke" in general. More... score - First a notch used to keep count, as on a stick. More... | |