Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, January 9, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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didactics
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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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 The Great Wall of ChinaThe Great Wall of China is the world's longest man-made structure, stretching approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) along China's northern and northwestern borders. Erected to prevent invasions by northern nomads, it is an amalgamation of many walls built in ancient times and connected by later empires. Averaging a height of 25 feet (7.6 m) and a width of 15 to 30 feet (4.6–9.1 m) at its base, the wall is fortified by watchtowers placed at regular intervals. Can the Great Wall be seen from space? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters Executed for Murder (1923)Frederick Bywaters was convicted of murder after admitting to the brutal stabbing of Percy Thompson, the husband of his lover Edith Thompson. In an extremely controversial decision, Edith was also convicted of her husband's murder, even though Bywaters himself claimed that Edith had had nothing to do with it. Public sympathy for Edith could not prevent her execution, which was carried out at the same time as her former lover's. Who had witnessed the murder and fingered Bywaters as the culprit? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875)Born into immense wealth as a member of the Vanderbilt family, Whitney studied sculpture in the US and Europe. In addition to producing her own notable artwork, which included a Titanic memorial, Whitney became an influential patron and collector. After attempting to donate her vast art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and being turned away, Whitney founded her own museum—today one of the foremost museums of modern American art. What family dispute made headlines in 1934? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I'd rather look ridiculous when everybody else does than plain and sensible all by myself.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Johnny One-Note— Someone who repeatedly expresses or maintains a strong opinion on a single or a few particular subjects. Primarily heard in US, Canada. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Black Nazarene Fiesta (2021)The largest festival in Manila, Philippines, held each year in honor of the Quiapo District's patron saint, the Black Nazarene, a life-sized statue of Jesus carved from blackwood, whose shrine is located in Quiapo's baroque church. The traditional nine-day fiesta begins on January 1, and features nightly cultural events, band concerts, and fireworks. On the last day of the festival, the statue's translación and enshrinement in the church is commemorated by a procession of barefoot men pulling a carriage that holds the 200-year-old statue on the way to Calvary. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sheetmap - Comes from Latin mappa mundi, "sheet of the world" from mappa, "napkin, tablecloth." More... ream - Used to be 480 sheets of paper and is now 500. More... bed clothes, night clothes - Bed clothes usually refers to blankets and sheets, while night clothes refers to pajamas and gowns. More... portfolio - Comes from Italian for "carry" and "sheets or leaves of paper." More... | |