Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 2, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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discomfit
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Plural Possession with ApostrophesIf there is more than one person, place, or thing that possesses something else, then the rules for showing possession change slightly. Because an "-s" is usually added to a word to make it plural, the "-s" that follows the apostrophe is dropped. What marks possession in this case? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 La TomatinaApproximately 30,000 people participate in La Tomatina, an annual festival held on the last Wednesday in August in the Spanish town of Buñol. A weeklong festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks, but it is the tomato fight that draws the crowds. During the battle, more than 100 metric tons of overripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets. Participants must follow certain safety guidelines during the event, and wearing goggles is recommended. When does the tomato throwing begin? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 John Brown Hanged for Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)Brown was a radical US abolitionist who advocated armed action to end slavery. He and his supporters murdered five proslavery settlers in Kansas in 1856, and three years later he tried to start an armed liberation movement among slaves by seizing the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, intending to arm local slaves with its weapons. His small force was soon overpowered, and Brown was captured, tried for treason, convicted, and hanged. What went wrong during the raid? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Otto Dix (1891)A German painter and printmaker, Dix fought in World War I and returned haunted by what he had witnessed. After experimenting with Impressionism and Dada, he arrived at Expressionism and began producing works depicting nightmarish scenes of the horrors of war and the depravities of a decadent society. His antimilitary works aroused the wrath of the Nazi regime and he was dismissed from his academic posts in 1933. On what charges was he arrested in 1939? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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advance notice— A notification, signal, or sign that something is going to happen or is expected to happen. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Ngondo Festival (2019)For the majority of the Sawa, a coastal ethnic group in Cameroon, guidance comes from the Jengu water spirits. The annual Ngondo Festival is a special occasion for Sawa chiefs to petition these spirits for prophecies and warnings and to communicate those messages to a gathered assembly. The event, which lasts a few weeks, takes place on the banks of the Wouri River in the country's most populous city, Douala. Various cultural activities accompany the discernment process of the festival. Activities preceding the water feast include traditional wrestling competitions, a canoe race, and a Miss Ngondo pageant. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: protectedgeneric word - One referring to a commercial product, formerly a brand name that is no longer protected by trademark. More... patent leather - Got its name from the U.S. Patent Office, as the leather's finish was once protected by patent. More... shelter - May come from Middle English sheltron, a body of troops that protected itself in battle with a covering of joined shields. More... patron - Derives from Latin patronus, which means "protector of clients" or "defender." More... | |