Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rive
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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NounsNouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or clause. These are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The History of FirefightingThe practice of firefighting has come a long way since the Roman Empire, when fire patrols relied on bucket brigades and pumps to extinguish blazes. The first fire engines arrived in Europe in the 17th century. Around this time, insurance companies—motivated by the Great Fire of London—formed private fire brigades, but they protected only the buildings they insured. In the early 18th century, France established the first modern brigades as a fee-based service. Why was the fee soon eliminated? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Hundreds Killed in Hajj Stampede (2006)About one in four people in the world is Muslim, a demographic that includes more than a billion people. Each Muslim is required to visit Mecca, the Saudi Arabian city of Mohammed's birth, at least once in their lifetime. During the annual pilgrimage, or Hajj, Mecca bears an influx of millions of people. In 2006, during the final day of the requisite Stoning of the Devil ritual, some 350 people were crushed to death in the crowd. What other dangers have pilgrims faced during the Hajj? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies (1751)Ferdinand became king of Naples in 1759 when his father ascended to the Spanish throne. A weak ruler, he was greatly influenced by his wife, the arguably more capable Maria Carolina of Austria. The execution of her sister, Marie Antoinette of France, induced Ferdinand to fight against the French Revolution. The French then invaded Naples—twice. Ferdinand regained control of Naples and took over Sicily, but his despotism prompted an 1820 insurrection. What secret society influenced the uprising? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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jug-eared— Having ears that stick out markedly from the side of the head, thus resembling the handles of a jug. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hostos Day (2021)Eugenio Maria de Hostos (1839-1903) was a Puerto Rican philosopher and patriot who became a leader of the opposition to Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century. He campaigned for the education of women in Brazil, and his books on law and education triggered reforms in other Latin American countries. He even sponsored the first railroad between Chile and Argentina, across the Andes Mountains. The anniversary of his birth is observed as a public holiday in Puerto Rico on the second Monday in January. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: recalllethologica - If you cannot recall the precise word for something, you have a case of lethologica, which may lead you to an obsession with trying to recall it—loganamnosis. More... remember - From Latin rememorari, "recall to mind." More... reduce, reduct - Reduce first meant "bring back or recall in memory" or "take back or refer (a thing) to its origin," from Latin reducere, "lead back"; reduct means "simplify." More... tartle - From Scottish, to hesitate in recognizing a person or thing, as happens when you are introduced to someone whose name you cannot recall; so you say, "Pardon my tartle!" More... | |