Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 25, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ireful
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Adverbial PhrasesAn "adverbial phrase" (also known as an "adverb phrase") is a group of words that functions as an adverb in a sentence. What do adverbial phrases typically give descriptions of? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Sami PeopleThe Sami are the descendants of ancient nomadic peoples who inhabited northern Scandinavia. They are sometimes called Laplanders, but many Sami consider this name pejorative. From the earliest times, they survived through hunting reindeer, and they became nomadic when they began to herd them a few centuries ago. Today, however, most Sami live in permanent dwellings and only about 10 percent still raise and follow the reindeer herds. What Academy Award-winning American actress is of Sami descent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Hirohito Becomes Emperor of Japan (1926)Hirohito was the longest reigning Japanese monarch, ruling from 1926 to 1989. During his reign, militaristic Japan entered World War II and bombed Pearl Harbor. After the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Hirohito pushed for surrender. He then broke the precedent of imperial silence by making a national radio broadcast to announce Japan's surrender. After World War II, Hirohito changed the importance of the monarchy when he renounced what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876)An Indian Muslim politician, Jinnah was the founder and first governor-general of Pakistan. Early in his career, he fervently supported the Indian National Congress and advocated Hindu-Muslim unity, but he eventually became convinced that a Muslim nation distinct from Hindu India was needed to protect Muslim interests in the dying days of the British Raj. Jinnah's firm stand and widespread Hindu-Muslim riots forced the issue, and Pakistan was created in 1947. How long did he lead the new nation? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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great cry and little wool— A great deal of fuss, noise, fanfare, or protestation over something of little or no substance, importance, or relevance. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Crossing of the Delaware (2021)On Christmas night in 1776, General George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River just before the Battle of Trenton. The crossing is reenacted on December 25 each year, beginning at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and ending on the opposite bank at Washington Crossing, New Jersey. The costumed actors who cross the river try to reproduce the scene exactly as it is depicted in the painting by Emanual Leutze: Green Mountain Boys sit in the bow, Gloucester fishermen man the oars, and General Washington stands with one foot on the gunwale. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: solidcholesterol - Comes from Greek words meaning "bile, gall" and "stiff, solid," plus the ending "-ol." More... hydrogenated oil - An oil with trans-fatty acids that has been chemically changed from a room-temperature liquid state into a solid. More... sublimate - In chemistry, to change from a solid to a gas or from a gas to a solid without becoming a liquid. More... solder, solid - To solder something is etymologically to make it solid; solid comes from Latin solidus, "solid, whole." More... | |