Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 1, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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egoism
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns - Reflexive PronounsReflexive pronouns are used when someone or something is both the subject and the object of the same verb—i.e., when both performing and receiving the action. What are the nine reflexive pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Dung BeetlesAs their name suggests, dung beetles feed partly or exclusively on feces. Many dung beetles roll manure into balls—sometimes as large as apples—which they then use as food sources and brooding chambers. They can eat more than their own weight in 24 hours and are considered helpful because they convert manure into substances usable by other organisms. According to estimates, how many millions of dollars do dung beetles save the US cattle industry each year by burying above-ground livestock feces? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Volume of Oxford English Dictionary Is Published (1884)Though the first volume, A–Ant, was published in 1884, the first complete edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was not published until 1928. Planned as a 10-year project, the 44-year undertaking resulted in a comprehensive, historical dictionary of English—the longest in the world today. It required more than 800 volunteers to compile material, including one who, it was later learned, turned out to be working from an asylum for the criminally insane. Why was he there? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Clark Gable (1901)Despite having such large ears that some doubted he could become a romantic lead, Gable had a rugged masculinity and lighthearted charm that proved popular with audiences. The actor debuted on Broadway in 1928 and went to Hollywood in 1930. There he starred in Mutiny on the Bounty, Gone with the Wind, and It Happened One Night, for which he won an Academy Award. What tragedy prompted him to give up show business and become a bomber pilot during World War II? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is the stillest words which bring the storm. Thoughts that come with doves' footsteps guide the world.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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get the green light— To receive permission to proceed with some action or task. Likened to the green light of a traffic signal. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Black History Month (2020)Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, which was established in February 1926 by African-American historian Carter G. Woodson, who founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History. Initially designed to encompass the birthday of the abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass on February 14 as well as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, it was expanded in 1976 to a month-long observance. The event is widely observed by schools, churches, libraries, clubs, and organizations wishing to draw attention to the contributions of African Americans. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: similarityeye rhyme - A similarity between words in spelling but not pronunciation—like dove and move. More... icon - Originally a "simile" in rhetoric; its etymological idea is of "similarity," from Greek eikon, "likeness, similarity." More... goose pimples - Named for their similarity to the skin of a plucked goose. More... lens - From Latin for "lentil," because of the similarity in shape. More... | |