Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, May 12, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The PredicateThe predicate is, essentially, everything in the sentences that follows the subject. It is made up of at least one finite verb. What is a compound predicate? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GerontocracyA gerontocracy is system of oligarchical rule in which leaders are significantly older than most of the adult population. In gerontocracies, political power often accumulates with age. While those holding the most power may not hold formal positions, they often dominate those who do. Such forms of rule are common in communist states where the length of one's service to the party is among the main qualifications for leadership. In what works of fiction have gerontocracies been depicted? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Luna 5 Crashes on the Moon (1965)Luna 5 was an unmanned Soviet space probe launched for lunar investigation. On May 10, the spacecraft began spinning around its axis due to a problem in a gyroscope in the guidance system unit. A subsequent attempt to fire the main engine failed because of a ground control error, and Luna 5 impacted the lunar surface. Though it failed to soft-land—Luna 9 would do so a year later—Luna 5 was the second Soviet lunar probe to land on the moon. What was the first? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910)Hodgkin developed a passion for chemistry at an early age and went on to become a leader in the field of X-ray crystallography. In 1948, she and her colleagues made the first X-ray photograph of vitamin B12—one of the most complex nonprotein compounds—and eventually determined its atomic arrangement. Her work in determining its structure, as well as that of other biochemical compounds, won her a 1964 Nobel Prize. In 1969, Hodgkin completed a similar three-dimensional analysis of what hormone? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a breath— To inhale and then exhale. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Boston Pops (2022)Henry Lee Higginson, who established the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881, believed that in the summer, "concerts of a lighter kind of music" should be presented. People began to refer fondly to these summer concerts as "the Pops," a name which became official in 1900. The Boston Pops tailors its programs around American music and musicians, medleys of popular songs, and familiar movements of classical works. Outside of its official concert season at Symphony Hall, where it performs through May and June, the Pops also tours the United States. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: softenemollient, emolliate - Emollient is from Latin emolliere, "to soften"; to emolliate is to soften or make effeminate. More... macerate - Meaning "to soften," it comes from Greek massein, "knead." More... lenify, lenity - To lenify is to alleviate or soothe an emotion or suffering, from Latin lenire, "soften"; lenity means kindness or gentleness. More... amalgamate - Seems to go back to Greek malagma, "softening." More... | |