Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, October 29, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cardiomegaly
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Compound NounsA compound noun consists of two or more words (usually two nouns or an adjective and a noun) functioning as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. What are the three written forms of compound nouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SarinSarin is a colorless and odorless nerve agent estimated to be more than 500 times as toxic as cyanide. A cholinesterase inhibitor, it effectively causes nerve impulses to be continually transmitted, resulting in a loss of control of bodily functions, suffocation, and death. Discovered in 1938 by German scientists attempting to create stronger pesticides, sarin was mass produced by the German military during World War II. Did the Nazis use sarin against Allied targets? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Black Tuesday (1929)In the 1920s, the US stock market expanded rapidly and reached a peak in August 1929, when prices began to decline while speculation increased. On October 24, "Black Thursday," a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Banks and investment companies bought large blocks of stock to stem the panic, but on October 29, "Black Tuesday," 16 million shares were traded and prices collapsed. Why do some scholars contend that the stock market crash was not the cause of the Great Depression? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania (1875)No ordinary queen, Marie took an active role in Romania's wartime activities, beginning with helping bring the country into the Allied camp in World War I and ending with her representation of Romanian interests in territory negotiations at the close of the war. In the interim, the "Soldier Queen" also contributed to the war effort by volunteering as a nurse with the Red Cross and publishing a book whose proceeds went to the same cause. Marie later became the first royal adherent of what faith? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not in a month of Sundays— Not at any point; under absolutely no circumstances. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Turkey Republic Day (2021)The Turkish Republic was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Kemal was named the first president on October 29, a full republican constitution was adopted the following April, and all members of the Ottoman dynasty were expelled from the country. The public celebration, which lasts for two days, includes parades, music, torchlight processions, and other festivities in honor of the founding of the republic. The largest parades are held in Ankara and Istanbul. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: subtlesubingression - A subtle or unseen entrance. More... ethereal - First meant "resembling the ether or lightest and most subtle of elements," and now means that something is impalpable or unearthly. More... hard sell, soft sell - Hard sell implies an aggressive approach toward a potential buyer; a soft sell is a more subtle, suggestive approach. More... subtle - Its ultimate source is Latin subtilis, "finely woven," a weaving term, from sub tela, "beneath the lengthwise threads of a loom." More... | |