Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, April 1, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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propinquity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns - CaseCase is the manner by which a noun is inflected depending on its grammatical function as a subject or object in a sentence. While the English language has largely discarded its case system, personal pronouns are one area in which the case system is still active, being inflected depending on whether they function as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The History of Opium UseThe medicinal properties of opium have been known for millennia, and by 4000 BCE, both Sumerian and European cultures were using it as a narcotic. Early in the 19th century, British merchants began smuggling opium into China, and by 1905, more than a quarter of China's male population was addicted to the drug. The generous use of opium-derived morphine in treating wounded American Civil War soldiers also produced many addicts. How much morphine does one gram of poppy seeds contain? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Project Tiger Launched (1973)Though trophy hunting of tigers is no longer the popular "sport" it once was, things like habitat loss, loss of prey, and poaching continue to threaten tiger populations. In the past century alone, tiger populations shrank by over 90%. In 1973, India launched a wildlife conservation movement called Project Tiger to protect tigers in specially designated reserves throughout India. What do the latest estimates indicate about the current tiger population in India? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 William Harvey (1578)The personal doctor of kings James I and Charles I, Harvey was an English physician whom many credit with laying the foundation of modern medicine. Although his work was not fully substantiated until centuries later, he contributed greatly to the advance of comparative anatomy and embryology. Most importantly, he was the first to demonstrate the function of the heart and complete circulation of the blood, a feat that is especially remarkable because it was accomplished without the aid of what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Everything is self-evident.Rene Descartes (1596-1650) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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built like a tank— Having a physique or structure that is strong and physically imposing. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Easter (Hollywood, California) (2018)The early Christians believed that on Easter morning, the sun danced in honor of the resurrection of Christ, which led to the custom of rising before dawn to witness the phenomenon. At the Hollywood Bowl, a huge outdoor amphitheater in the Hollywood Hills, California, the Easter sunrise service is attended by about 30,000 people, who spend the night in the stadium. About 50,000 calla lilies decorate the stage, where a huge choir and a symphony orchestra perform the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah and traditional Easter hymns. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: manuscriptacephalous - A manuscript lacking a beginning could be called acephalous. More... autograph - Comes from Greek, then Latin autographum, meaning "self-written"; it originally meant "author's own manuscript." More... manuscript - Originally an adjective meaning "written by hand"; manuscript can refer to a handwritten piece of music. More... palimpsest - Can describe a manuscript or writing surface that has been reused, erased, or altered while retaining traces of its earlier form—and, by extension, an object, place, or area that reflects its history. More... | |