Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 15, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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scintilla
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Ending Exclamatory SentencesExclamation points are most often used in place of periods to end declarative sentences that express a very strong emotion, such as anger, excitement, surprise, or disgust. What are such sentences sometimes called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 OrcasFound in oceans worldwide, orcas display sophisticated hunting techniques and social behaviors that have been described by experts as manifestations of a shared culture. Like other dolphins, orcas produce a variety of vocalizations used for communication and echolocation. Orca mothers have even been observed training their young in the group's dialect, and it is said that groups that share ancestors are likely to have a similar set of call types. What does this suggest about orca vocal behavior? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nuremberg Laws Deprive German Jews of Citizenship and Civil Rights (1935)Enacted in the early years of Adolf Hitler's rule, the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of German citizenship, prohibited them from marrying non-Jews, and forbade them to hire non-Jewish domestic servants. Supplementary decrees laid down the criteria for determining exactly who was legally Jewish. Punishments for violating the laws included fines, hard labor, and even death. Three years after the laws were announced, another law required Jews to adopt what middle names? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Howard Taft (1857)An extremely large, easygoing man, Taft was said to have not really wanted to be US president. In 1908, he was elected anyway, having already served as solicitor general, appellate judge, secretary of war, and governor of the Philippines. His split with former president Theodore Roosevelt, who consequently ran for office again, cost them both the 1912 election. Taft later served as chief justice of the Supreme Court. He was the last president to have what physical characteristic? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 When I look out on such a night as this, I feel as if there could be neither wickedness nor sorrow in the world; and there certainly would be less of both if the sublimity of Nature were more attended to, and people were carried more out of themselves by contemplating such a scene.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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let me tell you— Used to emphasize a statement. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nicaragua Independence Day (2020)Nicaragua shares its Independence Day with four other Central American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras— all of which declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. There is a parade in the capital city of Managua, and the president and other public officials give speeches. Nicaraguans also celebrate Independence Day by attending cockfights and bullfights. But unlike bullfights in other countries, the Nicaraguan matador does not kill the bull. Instead, he tries to mount it and ride it rodeo-style. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: replyriposte - A counterstroke, such as a snappy retort, from Italian riposta, "reply, response." More... antapology - The reply to an apology, such as "That's all right." More... irrespondence - People not answering your e-mails? That's irrespondence! (Failure to reply.) More... | |