Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 18, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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cogwheel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Past Perfect TenseThe past perfect tense expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past. How do we form the past perfect tense? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 QanatsKnown by many names throughout the Middle East and North Africa, qanats are water management systems used to provide water to human settlements and for irrigation in hot, arid, and semi-arid climates. Qanats are constructed as a series of well-like vertical shafts that tap into subterranean water and are connected by a gently sloping tunnel. Since the destination is lower than the source, the water drains into it by gravity. How were qanats used in ancient times to store ice in the desert? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 "British Bang" on German Archipelago (1947)Heligoland is a pair of small German islands located in the North Sea, comprising the main island and the smaller island of Düne. The main island is commonly divided into three geographic sections, the last of which came into being in 1947, when the British Royal Navy detonated 6,700 tonnes of explosives on the island, actually changing its shape. The so-called British Bang was one of the largest non-nuclear single detonations in history. Why did the British bomb the island? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James McCune Smith (1813)Smith was the first African American to obtain a medical degree and operate a pharmacy in the US. Denied admission to American colleges due to racial discrimination, he studied in Scotland, obtaining a series of degrees. After returning to New York, he became the first professionally trained black physician in the country. He wrote forcefully against common misconceptions and false notions about race, science, and medicine and once used statistics to refute what argument about slaves? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of things longer.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Peter Pan syndrome— A psychological state or condition in which a grown person cannot or refuses to act like an adult; a stubborn and persistent immaturity found in an adult person. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Zimbabwe Independence Day (2022)Like much of Africa, the area that is now Zimbabwe was long controlled by Europeans. In 1922, the 34,000 European settlers chose to become a self-governing British colony, Southern Rhodesia. In 1923, Southern Rhodesia was annexed by the British Crown. A fight for independence took place in the 1970s. An independent constitution was written for Zimbabwe in London in 1979, and independence followed on April 18, 1980. Independence Day is celebrated in every city and district of the nation with political rallies, parades, traditional dances, singing, and fireworks. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: triviafactlet - A piece of trivia. More... inconsequentia - Trifling facts or trivia. More... nugae - Trifles or trivia. More... trivia - Derives from Latin tri, "three" and via, "ways." In Roman times, at the intersection of any three streets were kiosks where information was posted for travelers, but which was totally ignored by the citizens—a possible source of its modern meaning; trivia is actually plural and should take "these" instead of "this" (etc.). More... | |