Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, April 15, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sobriquet
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AspectAspect has to do with how an action, state of being, or event as described by a verb relates to time. It is often confused with tense. How do aspect and tense differ? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Weightless Wonders"Vomit Comet" is a nickname for any airplane that briefly provides passengers with a nearly weightless environment by following a parabolic vertical flight path. The aircraft mimics the trajectory of an object in free-fall and therefore does not exert any g-force on its contents. As a result, passengers have zero apparent weight relative to the aircraft. According to the director of the Reduced Gravity Research Program, what percentage of passengers on zero-g flights becomes violently ill? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ray Kroc Opens His First McDonald's Franchise (1955)Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940 and introduced the "Speedee Service System," establishing the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. Ray Kroc, a mixer salesman, recognized the idea's potential and partnered with the brothers. Kroc opened his first McDonald's franchise in Illinois in 1955 and later bought out the McDonald brothers. The company now has a global presence. What controversies have stemmed from its success? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Catherine I of Russia (1684)Originally a Baltic peasant named Martha, Catherine was captured by Russian soldiers in 1702. That same year, she became the mistress of Peter I. In 1703, after the birth of their first child, she was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and rechristened Catherine. She married Peter in 1712, and in 1724 he had her crowned tsarina and joint ruler. When Peter died in 1725 without naming a successor, she served two years as empress of Russia until her death. How did she and Peter meet? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What they do in heaven we are ignorant of; what they do not do we are told expressly.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have seen (one's) day— To be beyond one's prime; to be no longer useful, effective, or functional. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Kim Il-Sung (2020)The birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung on April 15, 1912, is marked as a public holiday throughout North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea). The holiday is known as the Day of the Sun. All over the country, people lay floral wreaths and baskets before the hundreds of statues that commemorate Kim. The main observances take place in the capital city, Pyongyang, where officials of numerous organizations and citizens lay flowers at one of the nation's grandest monuments to Kim, located on Mansu Hill. Kim Il-Sung ruled North Korea from 1945 until his death in 1994. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pancasserole - Came from casse, "pan" or "ladle," which probably comes from Greek kuathos, "serving cup"; casserole is a diminutive of casse, "spoonlike container" (cassette is also a diminutive of casse). More... paella - The rice dish is Spanish for "frying pan," from Latin patella, "little pan." More... pan, brain pan - The upper part of the skull has been called the pan or brain pan. More... | |