Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, April 18, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vainglory
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Coordinating ConjunctionsCoordinating conjunctions are used to join two or more words, phrases, or independent clauses. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English, which can be remembered using what acronym? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ZigguratsA ziggurat is a pyramidal structure built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform with a shrine at its summit. Access to the shrine is provided by a series of ramps located on one side of the temple or by a continuous spiral ramp. These temples—the earliest examples of which date to the end of the third millennium BCE—were commonly erected by the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. What is the significance of the multicolored brick facings found on many ziggurats? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Construction of St. Peter's Basilica Begins (1506)With a capacity of over 60,000 people, St. Peter's Basilica is the one of the world's largest churches as well as one of the world's holiest Catholic sites. Begun by Pope Julius II in 1506 and completed more than a century later, it was built to replace Old St. Peter's, erected by Constantine over Peter's traditional burial site. Michelangelo and Bernini were among its many architects, and a number of their masterpieces adorn its interior. Why is St. Peter's not considered a cathedral? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Clarence Darrow (1857)Darrow was an American lawyer and a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union. He worked to free anarchists charged with murder in the Haymarket Riot, and his defense of Eugene V. Debs established his reputation as a union lawyer. Later came sensational criminal cases that displayed his eminence as a defense lawyer, especially the Loeb-Leopold murder case. Perhaps his most famous case was the Scopes trial, in which he defended a high school teacher who was charged with what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every tale must end at last.Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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cock in the henhouse— The only male in an all-female environment. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) (2019)Also known as Sheer Thursday or Holy Thursday, this is the day preceding Good Friday. It commemorates Jesus's institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper, celebrated by Christians since the middle of the fourth century. The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion still celebrate the rites of Maundy Thursday, which may include handing out special coins known as "Maundy money" to the aged and the poor, instead of footwashing. Also on this day, the sacramental Holy Oils, or chrism, are blessed. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: science fictiondroid - A robot in science fiction, it is a shortening of android. More... death ray - Was a staple of (pulp) science fiction in the mid-20th century. More... time warp - A concept that arose in the 1950s and originally applied to science fiction. More... warp speed - Alludes to the use in science fiction, especially the speed used for interstellar travel in the science fiction television series Star Trek. More... | |