Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 19, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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petrous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Prepositional PhrasesA prepositional phrase is made up of at least a preposition and its object, which can be a noun, pronoun, or a noun phrase. What is an adjectival prepositional phrase? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Jug BandsJug bands are musical groups that use a mix of traditional and improvised instruments—usually ordinary objects modified for making music, such as the jug, washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe, and kazoo. Early jug bands were typically made up of African-American vaudeville and medicine show musicians. Emerging in the urban South, the bands played a mixture of Memphis blues—before it was formally called the blues—ragtime, and Appalachian music. How does one play the jug? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sten Sture the Younger Mortally Wounded in Battle (1520)Sture was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden. When he refused to recognize Christian II of Denmark as king of Sweden, Christian sent a force to aid Sture's rival, Archbishop Gustaf Trolle, whom Sture had deposed and who was besieged in his castle. Sture defeated the Danish army and imprisoned Trolle. Warfare continued, and Sture was killed in battle, but not before he paved the way for Swedish independence, which was attained under Gustavus I. What was done to Sture's body after his death? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edgar Allan Poe (1809)Considered one of the most brilliant and original writers in American literature, Poe was a poet, short-story writer, and critic whose skillfully wrought tales and poems convey with passionate intensity the mysterious, dreamlike, and often macabre forces that pervaded his sensibility. He also pioneered the detective fiction genre with stories such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter." What mysterious, six-decade-old tradition at Poe's Baltimore grave was broken in 2010? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is sorrow enough in the natural wayFrom men and women to fill our day; But when we are certain of sorrow in store, Why do we always arrange for more? Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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twinkly-eyed— Happy, cheerful, innocent, and good-natured. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Epiphany (Russia) (2019)On January 19th, members of the Russian Orthodox Church ritually bathe in a river or lake. The day marks the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan, an event called the Epiphany. Bathing outside on that day, Orthodox Christians believe, washes away sin. As believers cut holes in the ice with chainsaws and plunge into the frigid water, priests chant prayers to bless the water. Altars and crosses made of ice and snow are sometimes constructed near the bathing site. Authorities advise against the practice, especially in the freezing temperatures of a Russian winter. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: revolutiongyre - A circular movement or revolution; to cause to spin around or whirl. More... rebellion, revolution - Rebellion is open resistance to a government or authority; revolution is a rebellion that succeeds in overthrowing the government and establishing a new one. More... rev - An abbreviation of revolution. More... young Turk - Term for a tyrannical or unmanageable man, based on the members of a party of Turkish agitators that brought about the revolution of 1908. More... | |