Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, February 11, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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bravado
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ArticlesArticles identify whether a noun is definite (specific or particular) or indefinite (general or unspecific). What are the three articles? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PhrenologyPhrenology is the study of the shape of the human skull in order to draw conclusions about particular character traits and mental faculties. Phrenologists believe that traits like intelligence are mirrored through elevations in the skull overlying particular areas of the brain. German physiologist Franz Joseph Gall developed the theory around 1800, but modern neurology and physical anthropology regard phrenology as a form of quackery. What is the difference between phrenology and craniometry? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Anthracite Coal First Burned as Residential Heating Fuel (1808)Anthracite is a compact variety of coal that was first burned as a residential heating fuel in the US by Judge Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It differs from wood in that it needs a draft from below. By burning it on an open grate in a fireplace, Fell proved that it could be a viable heating fuel. Fell's experiment took place 18 years after anthracite coal was said to have been discovered in Pennsylvania by hunter Necho Allen. According to legend, how did Allen "discover" anthracite? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839)Gibbs was an American mathematical physicist whose contributions to physical chemistry and thermodynamics have had a profound effect on industry, notably in the production of ammonia. He formulated the concept of chemical potential, and, in mathematics, was influential in developing vector analysis. Gibbs also contributed to crystallography, the determination of planetary and cometary orbits, and electromagnetic theory. His doctorate was the first granted in the US for what field? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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wit's end— A state of distress that is reached when someone has no more patience. Often used in the phrase "at wit's end" or "at (one's) wit's end." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Liberia Armed Forces Day (2019)On this day, Liberians honor the soldiers of the country's armed forces. Festivities often include regiment parades and a public address from the Liberian president or the commander-in-chief. The holiday has evoked mixed memories for Liberians, as the army has been linked with the chaos that plagued the country at the end of the 20th century. In 2007, however, the defense ministry introduced a newly restructured contingent, which paraded through the main streets of the capital city, Monrovia, before hundreds of attendees. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: technicalspod - A studious person who is quite socially inept or dull or a person who pursues an unfashionable, technical, or esoteric interest with obsessive dedication. More... masterpiece - Originally, it was used in a technical or academic sense to apply to a work that was presented to a medieval guild for qualification as a "master." More... technical, technic - Technical is based on technic, an adjective meaning "pertaining to art," from Greek tekhne, "art." More... technicize - To make technical. More... | |