Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 26, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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obtuse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Misplaced ModifiersWhen we use participles as adjectives, it's important that the noun modified is clearly stated and that the participle appears as close to it as possible. Otherwise, we run the risk of having a "misplaced modifier," which is what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Along the River During the Qingming FestivalOften called "China's Mona Lisa," Along the River During the Qingming Festival is a 17-ft (5.2-m) long panoramic painting that depicts life during the Song dynasty. The subject of several similar works painted over the next few hundred years, the 12th-century original depicts 814 people in a bucolic countryside and busy city and reveals some of the nuances of class structure at the time. Why do some scholars question the traditionally accepted translation of the painting's name? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Opens in Wales (1805)It took 10 years to build the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which towers over the River Dee valley in Wrexham, Wales. A feat of civil engineering, it is still in use more than two centuries later, allowing boats to cross the Llangollen Canal about 120 feet (35 m) above the valley. The aqueduct consists of a narrow cast iron trough supported by stone columns and bordered by a railed path that was built so horses could tow canal boats. The span occasionally closes for maintenance. How is it emptied? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Edwards Walker (1832)Walker was an American surgeon and feminist. She served as a nurse in the Union army in the American Civil War, before being commissioned as an assistant surgeon. She was the first woman to serve in such a capacity and was awarded the Medal of Honor for her service. Walker remains the only woman ever to receive this award. After the war, she was active in the struggle for women's rights, lecturing and writing on such issues as dress reform and women's suffrage. Why was her medal revoked in 1917? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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absolve from guilt— To consider innocent, clear of all suspicion, or pardon from any cause of guilt. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Baha'i Day of the Covenant (2019)The Baha'i Day of the Covenant is a Baha'i holy day. It commemorates the covenant Baha'u'llah, founder of the faith, made with humanity and his followers, appointing Abdu'l-Baha as the head of the Baha'i religion who would interpret Baha'i teachings. Abdu'l-Baha chose the date when followers requested an occasion to remember his importance. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: whirlturbine - Came from Latin turbo, "whirl, whirling thing." More... twirl - May be a blend of twist and whirl. More... warble - Has the underlying notion of "whirling around"; for sounds, it took on the meaning "whirl of notes; trill." More... whorl - A variant of whirl, it first meant "small flywheel." More... | |