Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 16, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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spellbound
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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When to Conjugate for PersonEvery verb in English (except modal auxiliary verbs) conjugates for grammatical person. However, this conjugation only occurs in one specific instance: if the subject is singular and in the third person, and if the verb is in the present simple tense. If this is the case, we most often conjugate the verb by adding what to the end? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fatal HilarityPeople can and do die of laughter. The 3rd century BCE philosopher Chrysippus, for example, is said to have laughed himself to death while watching the antics of a drunken donkey. In 1410, Martin I of Aragon succumbed to a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter. More recently, a UK man died of heart failure after laughing for 25 minutes at a TV show featuring a Scotsman in a kilt battling a vicious black pudding. What other historical figures have died from laughter? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 UK Calls Off the Toddlers' Truce (1957)Today we are used to turning on the television at any hour of the day or night and having access to countless channels broadcasting all manner of program, but this was not always the case. In television's early days, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was the UK's sole public broadcaster; it started out with just one channel, and it cut its feed from 6PM to 7PM to accommodate parents putting their children to bed. What caused the BBC to eventually abandon the so-called Toddlers' Truce? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (1935)Bono was an American record producer, singer, actor, and politician. He began his music career working with legendary producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s and went on to write, arrange, and produce a number of hit singles like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," which he performed with his then-wife Cher. The duo also hosted a popular television variety show in the 1970s. Later, Bono became involved in politics and served as a member of the US House of Representatives. How did he die? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be put behind bars— To be arrested and held in prison; to be serving time in prison. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kamakura Matsuri (2022)Kamakura Matsuri is held in northern Japan in the Akita Prefecture, at the time of year when there is usually deep snow on the ground. In Yokote and other towns of the region, children build Kamakura, snow houses that resemble igloos. They furnish the huts with tatami mats and a wooden altar dedicated to Suijin-sama and have parties in them, while families gather to drink sweet sake and eat rice cakes and fruits. The rice cakes are made in the shape of cranes and turtles, traditional symbols of longevity, and of dogs called inukko, thought to guard against devils. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: magicianmagus - A person regarded as having great wisdom or powers likened to those of a magician. More... archimage - A great magician, from Greek archi-, "chief, principal," and Latin magus, "magician." More... fascinate, fascinator - Fascinate is derived from Latin fascinare, "to bewitch or enchant," and a fascinator was a magician. More... mage, magian - Mage and magian are two other ways to say magician. More... | |