Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, February 20, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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glockenspiel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Compound and Simple PredicatesThe subject of a clause or sentence must always be performing at least one action, but there are many instances in which it performs more than one action. In such a case, in which the subject is related to two or more finite verbs, the sentence is said to have a "compound predicate." What is a "simple predicate"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PFOAThough the US Environmental Protection Agency labeled perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) a likely carcinogen in 2006, it continues to be widely used in food packaging and in the processing of Teflon non-stick coatings. Traces of PFOA-family chemicals can now be found in the blood of most Americans and in the environment worldwide. Of particular concern is the grease resistant fluorotelomer coating used in the production of microwave popcorn packages. How does the PFOA from popcorn bags get ingested? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Station Nightclub Fire (2003)Moments after the band Great White took the stage at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, sparks from one of the group's pyrotechnic devices—of which the nightclub was unaware—ignited the highly flammable sound insulation around the stage. The nightclub, which had no sprinklers, was engulfed in minutes, trapping many inside. One hundred people were killed, making it one of the deadliest nightclub fires in US history. How many people faced criminal charges in the aftermath of the tragedy? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tony Wilson (1950)Beginning in the late 1970s, the English city of Manchester became the epicenter of a vibrant music scene that produced such seminal bands as Joy Division, Happy Mondays, and the Stone Roses. One of the key people behind the Manchester scene was Wilson, a record label owner, club manager, and journalist. The 2002 film 24 Hour Party People is based on his life. Despite his widespread influence, he made little money from his work and was unable to pay for what expensive medical treatment? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Heroes, notwithstanding the high ideas which, by the means of flatterers, they may entertain of themselves, or the world may conceive of them, have certainly more of mortal than divine about them.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the last of the lot— The last or final person(s) or thing(s) in a given group or list. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Black History Month (2021)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: leanextenuate - Comes from the Latin verb extenuare, "make thin or lean," and originally meant "to treat as of small importance, make light of." More... macilent - Means "lean, thin" or "shriveled," i.e. lacking in substance. More... recubation, recumb - Recubation is reclining in a near-horizontal position; to recumb is to "lean, recline, rest." More... streaky - Describes bacon with alternating strips of fat and lean. More... | |