Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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quagmire
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Comparative Adverbs from Adverbs Ending in "-ly"Many adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" to the end of an adjective. If an adverb has been created according to this pattern, what do we do to form the comparative? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Shroud of TurinThe subject of intense study, the Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have been crucified. Though carbon dating places the shroud's origin in the Middle Ages, some believe the image on the cloth is that of Jesus of Nazareth, recorded on the shroud at the time of his proclaimed resurrection. Skeptics, however, have dismissed the shroud as a medieval forgery created using paint or even crude photography. How recently did the shroud undergo carbon dating? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Chicago Flood (1992)The source of the water pouring into the basements of buildings in the Chicago Loop area had not yet been identified when reports of live fish in the water began surfacing. This helped lead a reporter to the source of the flood—a leak in an old tunnel that ran underneath the Chicago River. It turned out that the leak had been discovered months earlier, but the city had failed to repair it in a timely fashion, allowing it to worsen and eventually inundate the area with how much river water? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Philippe de Rothschild (1902)A member of the aristocratic Rothschild banking family, Philippe was one of the most successful winemakers in the world. In the 1920s, the wealthy French playboy took up Grand Prix motor racing, among other pursuits, but soon withdrew to focus on the family vineyard. He spent decades building the Château Mouton Rothschild label, finally achieving Premier Cru—or First Growth—status in 1973. His idea for bottle labels became an enduring part of his vineyard's image. What was it? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A man can never quite understand a boy, even when he has been the boy.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(it's) little wonder— It is not at all surprising (that something is the case). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Jefferson's Birthday (2021)Unique among American presidents, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was not only a statesman but a scholar, linguist, writer, philosopher, political theorist, architect, engineer, and farmer. In the United States, he is remembered primarily as the author in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence; he died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration. A birthday commemoration is held each year at Monticello, Jefferson's home in Virginia, as well as at the Jefferson Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lightsday - One of the perpendicular divisions or "lights" of a mullioned window. More... blackout - Originally a theatrical term for the extinguishing of all lights on the stage when scenery was shifted. More... taps, last post - Taps, the bugle call for lights out, was originally a drum roll and got its name from the tapping of the drums; taps are also called last post. More... twilight - The time of two lights, the fading sunset and the emerging light of the moon and stars; there are three sequential stages of twilight: civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight. More... | |