Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 16, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pinnace
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past Perfect Continuous TenseThe past perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that began and was still in progress in the past before another past action started. How does it differ from the past perfect tense? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The SaronThe saron is a musical instrument that features prominently in Indonesian musical ensembles. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame, called a rancak. Sarons typically come in a number of sizes, and each size is pitched differently. A seated performer strikes the instrument with a tabuh, or mallet, to produce a musical note and uses his free hand to then grasp the ringing key and dampen the sound. What materials are used to make saron mallets? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 16 May 1877 Crisis (1877)On May 16, 1877—le Seize Mai—French Republic president Marie MacMahon, a monarchist, attempted to rescue the monarchical cause by dismissing the republican prime minister and replacing him with a monarchist leader and cabinet. When the Chamber of Deputies rejected the new government, MacMahon dissolved parliament and ordered new elections, precipitating a crisis. His efforts spectacularly backfired, however, when the republicans triumphantly returned to government through what means? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Wladziu Valentino Liberace (1919)Liberace began playing piano at the age of 4, and by 16, he had appeared as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He soon began giving concerts in flamboyant costumes with ornate pianos, and though he occasionally performed with symphony orchestras, he built his career primarily upon popular music. Hugely successful, he hosted a television variety series, and, in later years, performed frequently in Las Vegas. During what decades was he said to be the world's highest paid entertainer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being eminent.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bossyboots— Someone who is bossy or controlling. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Brendan's Day (2019)This is the feast day of St. Brendan, a popular sixth-century Irish saint alleged to be the author of Navigatio Brendani (the story of his journey to a land across the ocean). No one, including St. Brendan, knew where he had been, but a number of legends developed over the centuries. In 1977, Tim Severin built a boat out of leather as described in Navigatio and set out to follow St. Brendan's instructions. He ended up in Newfoundland, giving credence to the theory that St. Brendan reached America 1,000 years before Columbus. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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