Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 21, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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melange
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ParenthesesParentheses are used to separate information that is not necessary to the structure or meaning of the surrounding text. When can parentheses be replaced by em dashes? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Moss Piglets and Water BearsTardigrades, commonly known as moss piglets or water bears, can be found living in water, damp moss, flower petals, and sand all around the world. The minute invertebrates are usually 1 mm (0.04 inches) or smaller in size and have a head, four fused body segments, and eight claw-ended legs. Tardigrades are able to resist extremely low temperature, pressure, and humidity, and go into dormant states for months or even years. How many years can a moss piglet survive without water? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Bahá'í Calendar Begins (1844)Founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Baha' Ullah, Bahá'í is a religion based on the unity of all faiths. Adherents pray daily, fast 19 days a year, and follow a strict ethical code. Because of the religion's 19 initial disciples, the number 19 is considered sacred, and the Bahá'í calendar, which began in 1844, consists of 19 months of 19 days, with four additional "intercalary" days. Today is the first day of the 168th year of the Bahá'í Era. On what day does the Bahá'í week begin? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Fourier (1768)Fourier was a French mathematician and Egyptologist. As an engineer on the Egyptian expedition led by Napoleon—who later made him a baron—he conducted anthropological investigations and wrote the preface to the monumental Description de l'Égypte, whose publication he oversaw. In mathematics, he is primarily known for his work in heat conduction, for his use of the Fourier series to solve differential equations, and for the related concept of the Fourier transform, which is what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bone-idle— Extremely lazy. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Phagwa (2019)The Hindu festival of Phagwa celebrates the Vernal Equinox and the start of the Hindu New Year. In Trinidad and Tobago, a Carnival spirit has pervaded the festivities, which now combine both secular and religious elements and are no longer confined to Hindus. The celebration includes bonfires (to symbolize the destruction of Holika, the evil sister of King Hiranya Kashipu) and Chowtal-singing competitions, which mix religious and secular music and are heavily influenced by calypso. The spraying of Abeer powder, a red vegetable dye, gives everyone's hair and skin a tie-dyed effect. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wonderadmire - Can mean "to wonder at, to be slightly surprised." More... marvel - Traces to Latin mirabilia, from mirari, "wonder at." More... nine days' wonder - An old term (c. 1325) for an event or phenomenon that attracts enthusiastic interest for a short while, but is then ignored or forgotten. More... Wonder Bread - Got its name from a vice president who watched a hot-air balloon race shortly before the bread needed a name—"wonder" is how he described the event and then the bread. More... | |