Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, October 7, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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venerable
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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DashesThere are two similar but distinct punctuation marks called dashes: the en dash ( – ) and the em dash ( — ). What are en dashes used to indicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Penny-FarthingPopular in the 1880s, prior to the development of the so-called safety bicycle, the penny-farthing was an early bicycle with a large front wheel and a comparatively tiny rear one. Perched on a seat above the front wheel, the rider was unable to touch the ground with their feet. "Taking a header" was a constant danger, so some riders put their feet over the handlebars when coasting downhill to ensure that any fall forward would be feetfirst. How did one go about mounting such a contraption? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Russian Journalist and Human Rights Activist Murdered (2006)Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist and human rights activist well known for her opposition to the Russian government's role in the Chechen conflict and her criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, notably in her book Putin's Russia. Her controversial work sparked numerous death threats against her, and she was shot to death in an elevator in her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Her murder, which remains unsolved, coincided with what other occasion? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rosalba Carriera (1675)One of the greatest Italian portrait and miniature painters of her day, Carriera became known for her miniature portraits on snuffboxes and was an originator of the Rococo style in France and Italy. By the time she was 30, she had been elected to the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, the Academy of Bologna, and the Florence Academy. As her career progressed, she gained a reputation for her pastel portraits and was even commissioned to create one of King Louis XV. What tragedy befell her late in life? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have more than one string to (one's) bow— To have multiple viable options or alternatives available in the event that the current course of action, circumstance, opportunity, etc., does not work out. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Okunchi Matsuri (2021)The Okunchi Festival in Nagasaki dates back to the 17th century, when many Chinese lived in the city and when both Dutch and Chinese traders regularly anchored their ships there. The festival pays tribute to these traders by presenting both a Dutch dance and a Chinese dragon dance, along with street fairs and other entertainment. The Okunchi Festival also features the traditional procession of the mikoshi—the ornate palanquin on which the local deity is believed to descend for a ride as it is carried through the streets. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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