Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 9, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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denizen
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Linking VerbsLinking verbs (also known as copulas or copular verbs) are used to describe the state of being of the subject of a clause. What is the most common linking verb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 FamagustaThe city of Famagusta is located in Eastern Cyprus. It occupies the site of ancient Arsinoë—built in the 3rd century BCE by the Egyptian king Ptolemy II—and is thought to be the setting for much of Shakespeare's play Othello. In the 20th century, Famagusta served as a British naval base and was heavily bombed in World War II. From 1946–1948, a British internment camp for illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine was maintained near the city. Why was Famagusta completely evacuated in 1974? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Davy Lamp Tested at Hebburn Colliery (1816)The Davy lamp was an early safety lamp used in the mining and quarrying industries. It was designed by English chemist and physicist Sir Humphrey Davy to prevent the accidental ignition of flammable gases. This was achieved by enclosing the flame of the oil-burning lamp in wire gauze that distributed heat over a large area and brought its temperature below the ignition temperature of methane. Why did the introduction of the Davy lamp initially lead to an increase in the rate of mining accidents? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Richard Milhous Nixon (1913)After serving as vice president of the US under Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nixon ran for president but lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960. He was elected president in 1968 and 1972, but his second term was cut short by the Watergate scandal, which involved the burglary and wiretapping of Democratic party headquarters. Likely facing impeachment, he became the first president to resign. Although never convicted, he was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. What pet did Nixon receive as a political gift? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Music...takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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good-natured— Of or having a kindly, affable, beneficent, and/or obliging propensity, inclination, or personality. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Agonalia (2017)In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and of doorways. The worship of Janus is believed to have been started by Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome. Usually depicted with two faces, one looking forward to the future and the other looking back to the past, his image appeared on an early Roman coin with a ship's prow on the reverse side. During the festival in honor of Janus known as the Agonalia, the rex sacrorum or officiating priest sacrificed a ram. Offerings of barley, incense, wine, and cakes called Januae were also common. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wind instrumentorgan - Comes from Latin organum, from Greek oganon, "implement, instrument, tool"; it was first a very general term, but was then used for "wind instrument" and "functional part of the body." More... poop - Once had the meaning "to make an abrupt sound, as from a wind instrument." More... bell - The flared open end of a wind instrument. More... tootle - To toot continuously, as notes on a wind instrument. More... | |