Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 4, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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condescension
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Whose vs. Who'sBeware of the common error of confusing "whose" and "who's." "Whose" is an interrogative adjective or pronoun. What is "who's"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BombaThe bomba kryptologiczna—Polish for "cryptologic bomb"—was a machine designed in 1938 by mathematician and Polish Cipher Bureau cryptologist Marian Rejewski to break German Enigma machine ciphers. Shortly before Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Rejewski and his colleagues shared their findings on Enigma decryption with the French and British. The intelligence gathered as a result contributed, perhaps decisively, to the defeat of Nazi Germany. How did the machine come to be called a "bomb"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) "Genie" the Feral Child Discovered by California Authorities (1970)One of the worst known cases of child abuse and social isolation in American history is that of "Genie," a girl forced to spend the first 13 years of her life alone in her bedroom, most of the time strapped to a potty chair. She was never spoken to and was apparently beaten if she attempted to speak. By the time she was discovered by authorities, she was nearly mute—her vocabulary consisted of about 20 words and a few short phrases. What did experts hope to learn by studying Genie? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Benjamin Robbins Curtis (1809)Curtis joined the US Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1851 but did not stay long. After dissenting with the court's ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case that upheld slavery and declared African Americans ineligible for full US citizenship, Curtis resigned, becoming the only justice to have resigned from the court over a matter of principle. Curtis returned to his home state of Massachusetts and resumed his law practice, later becoming chief counsel in what high profile case? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have made a plan for my life, as I am in my teens, and no more a child.Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the Nikon choir— The paparazzi or a large group of photojournalists, especially when actively engaged in photographing someone or something of great interest. (Refers to the Nikon brand of camera.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rogers Day (2021)The birthday of Will Rogers, America's "cowboy philosopher," is observed in Oklahoma, where he was born on November 4, 1879. After his first appearance as a vaudeville entertainer in 1905 at Madison Square Garden, he developed a widespread reputation as a humorist. He went on to become a writer, a radio performer, and a motion-picture star. His birthday was first observed in 1947, with a celebration at the Will Rogers Memorial near the town of Claremore. Beneath the statue of Rogers at the memorial is the statement for which he is best remembered: "I never met a man I didn't like." More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: powderelixir - Derives from Arabic al-'iksir, "the powder for drying wounds." More... kohl - A powder used to darken the eyes, it is from ancient Arabic and Egyptian times. More... loaded for bear - Dating from the mid-1800s, it alludes to the heavy charge of powder or lead that hunters use for large animals, such as bears. More... take a powder - Comes from "take a runout powder," with powder meaning "impetus, rush; impetuosity." More... | |
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