Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 28, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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artistry
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of Manner and AdjectivesAdverbs of manner can also be used to describe adjectives, giving them an extra depth or dimension of character. Where must an adverb of manner be positioned in relation to the adjective it modifies? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Eartha KittKitt, whose career as an actress, singer, and cabaret star has spanned nearly 6 decades, was born to an African-American and Cherokee mother and a Caucasian father during a time when laws prohibiting miscegenation, or interracial marriage, were still in place. Kitt's first starring role was in Orson Welles' production of Dr. Faustus, but she is best known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s TV series Batman. What oft-covered Christmas song is Kitt famous for having recorded? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Lumière Brothers' First Film Screening for a Paying Public Audience (1895)In 1882, French inventor Louis Lumière developed a method of making photographic plates. By 1894, he and his brother August were producing 15 million plates a year. They worked on improving Edison's kinetoscope, and, in 1895, patented their combination movie camera and projector, the Cinématographe. Their 46-second film La Sortie des ouvriers de l'usine Lumière is considered the first motion picture and was one of 10 included in their first public film screening. What is its subject? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John von Neumann (1903)Neumann was a Hungarian-born American mathematician. He emigrated to the US in 1930 to teach at Princeton University and was among the original faculty of its Institute for Advanced Study. He solved one of David Hilbert's 23 theoretical problems, collaborated on an algebraic ring with profound applications in quantum physics, and helped develop the atomic bomb. He later made major contributions to the development of computers. What branch of applied mathematics did he help found? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a going concern— A business, enterprise, or activity that has done well thus far and is expected to continue making a profit. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fifth Night of Hanukkah (2016)Hanukkah commemorates the successful rebellion of the Jews against the Syrians in the Maccabean War of 162 BCE, but the military associations are played down. What is really being celebrated is the survival of Judaism. Jewish families today celebrate this holiday by lighting a special Hanukkah menorah, a candelabrum with holders for eight candles, one for each day of celebration, plus a ninth, the shammash, used to light the others. A special prayer is recited during the lighting, and, while the candles burn, it is a time for songs and games, including the four-sided toy called the dreidel. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: temporarybooth - First a temporary dwelling made of branches, material, etc. More... learning cottage - A residential trailer used as a temporary or portable classroom. More... lodge - First was a temporary dwelling, as a hut or tent. More... jerry-built - Is either from English dialect jerry, "bad, defective," a pejorative use of the male nickname Jerry, or from nautical slang jury, "temporary," which came to be used of all sorts of makeshift and inferior objects. More... | |