Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 3, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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desiccant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Choosing the Correct Demonstrative Adjective"This," "That," "These," and "Those" are the four common demonstrative adjectives in English. Which ones are used to refer to people and objects that are plural? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MarmaladeMarmalade is a sweet preserve with a bitter tang made from citrus fruit, sugar, water, and, in some commercial brands, a gelling agent. The term marmalade stems from marmelo, Portuguese for quince, which is the fruit originally used to make the preserve. The term marmalade first appeared in the English language in the 15th century, and has been used since the 17th century to refer to any preserve derived from citrus fruit. What is the legend of Dundee Marmalade? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Illinois Becomes the 21st US State (1818)At the end the French and Indian Wars, France ceded the entire Illinois region to Britain. This region was an integral part of the Old Northwest that was brought within US boundaries 20 years later by the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. In 1787, the area was officially designated the Northwest Territory. Made part of Indiana Territory in 1800, Illinois was granted statehood in 1818. In recent years, Illinois has earned recognition for being what sort of state? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Brinton McClellan (1826)At the outbreak of the American Civil War, McClellan was placed in command of the Union forces in Ohio. Appointed general-in-chief of the army by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, he cautiously conducted the Peninsular Campaign but failed to take Richmond. At the Battle of Antietam, he failed to destroy Robert E. Lee's army, and Lincoln removed him from command. In 1864, he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president against Lincoln. What did Lee once say about McClellan? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Money's a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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advanced in years— Of an older age. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Blowing the Midwinter Horn (2019)The custom of Midwinterhoorn Blazen in the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, is believed to have originated more than 2,000 years ago. The local farmers make their winter horns out of pieces of birch wood, and they produce a piercing wail that carries for miles over the frozen countryside. Although in pagan times the blowing of the horns was thought to rid the earth of evil spirits, today the horns announce the coming of Christ. In Oldenzaal, a special melody composed by the area's champion hornblower is played beginning at dawn on Advent Eve and continuing until Three Kings' Day (Epiphany). More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sequencearithmetic progression - A sequence in which each term is obtained by the addition of a constant number to the preceding term, as 1, 4, 7, 10, 13. More... initialism, alphabetism, acronym - Initialisms (sometimes called alphabetisms) are formed from the initial letters of a string of words and are pronounced as a sequence of letters, e.g. BYOB, USA, DVD. Acronyms are formed from the initial letters or parts of words in a sequence, but have the distinction of being pronounceable words, e.g. RADAR, SCUBA. More... solfeggio, gamut - Solfeggio and gamut are words formed on the sequence of musical notes. More... | |