Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 27, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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semiannual
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Action VerbsThere are many different categories of verbs that describe different kinds of actions or states of being. Action verbs describe an active process that results in an effect. What are these verbs also known as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Battle of the TrebbiaOne of the titanic struggles of history, the Second Punic, or Hannibalic, War, lasted from 218 to 201 BCE. Fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic, the war's first major clash was the Battle of the Trebbia, named for the Trebbia River where it took place. Shortly after making his now-famous crossing of the Alps with elephants and a full baggage train, Hannibal descended into Italy and stunned the Roman forces by defeating them at Trebbia. Who won the war? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Radio City Music Hall Opens in New York City (1932)Developed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the Radio Corporation of America, and the creator of the Roxy Theatre, New York's landmark Radio City Music Hall opened with a lavish variety show that was not well received. Instead, the world's largest indoor theater began showing movies with accompanying stage spectacles. Recently, it has focused on concerts and live events such as the Grammy Awards. Its annual Christmas show remains a popular tourist attraction. What was the first film shown there? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Louis Pasteur (1822)Perhaps best remembered for developing the pasteurization process, Pasteur was a French microbiologist who made great strides in keeping people safe by revolutionizing contemporary thinking about diseases. He proved that food spoilage was due to exposure to microorganisms, leading to the use of heat pasteurization to kill bacteria. He developed vaccines against anthrax, cholera, and rabies, and his work on silkworm diseases saved the French silk industry. What was "Pasteur's Deception"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(it's) just as well (that) (something happened)— It is or turned out to be beneficial (that something happened). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dian Fossey Day (2020)American conservationist Dian Fossey (1932-1985) conducted groundbreaking research on Rwanda's mountain gorillas, a species long victimized by wide-scale poaching, and helped ensure their preservation. Fossey was murdered in her cabin at a research center in the Virunga Mountains on December 27, 1985. Ceremonies for the anniversary of her death take place in Volcanoes National Park, which contains a permanent memorial to the zoologist. Individuals typically perform traditional dances, while government officials deliver speeches and lay wreaths on her grave site. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: trunkbillet - A civilian house where soldiers are lodged temporarily; a billet is also a thick piece of wood, from Latin billa/billus, "branch, trunk." More... trunk - As a box or chest, it was originally made from a tree trunk. More... bole - Another name for the trunk of a tree. More... stocky - A derivative of stock, which first meant "trunk, block of wood," in Old English. More... | |