Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 4, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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macerate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of FrequencyAdverbs of frequency (sometimes called frequency adverbs) tell us how often something happens or is the case. They cannot be used to modify what part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 How Does Dry Cleaning Work?Dry cleaning is the process of cleaning fabrics without water. Special solvents and soaps are used so as not to harm fabrics. The practice began in France in the middle of the 19th century, after a dye-works owner noticed that his tablecloth became cleaner after his maid spilled kerosene on it. Early solvents were extremely flammable and led to many fires and explosions. Newer chlorinated hydrocarbon synthetic solvents, such as perchlorethylene, are nonflammable but pose what other dangers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Jesse Tafero's Execution Goes Horribly Wrong (1990)Accused of the fatal shooting of a Florida Highway Patrol officer and a visiting Canadian constable, Tafero was convicted of murder in 1976 and sentenced to death. His execution by electrocution in 1990 was grisly. Lasting more than 13 minutes, it took three separate jolts of electricity and caused flames to shoot out of Tafero's head. Later, the conviction of Tafero's girlfriend—obtained with the same evidence that implicated Tafero—was overturned. Who do many believe was guilty of the murder? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Richard Louis "Dick" Proenneke (1916)An icon of wilderness living, Proenneke spent 30 years residing alone in a log cabin he built by hand in remote Twin Lakes, Alaska. His three decades of solitude there were, in fact, his retirement years. During his stay, he chronicled his daily life, keeping detailed written journals and filming his activities, like the construction of his cabin, as well as wildlife. Proenneke left Alaska in 1998, at age 82, to live out the remainder of his life with family. What has since become of his cabin? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It was not that she was out of temper, but that the world was not equal to the demands of her fine organism.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in bits and pieces— In many small fragments. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Cassinga Day (2021)On May 4, 1978, South African forces attacked a SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization) base located in the old Angolan mining town of Cassinga. Hundreds of Namibians died during the attack. Namibia eventually won its political independence in 1990 and is currently ruled by the SWAPO party government, and a national holiday is declared every year on the anniversary of the attack to commemorate those who died in their country's struggle for independence. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nourishmentfoster - Comes from the Germanic base for "food" and it originally meant "food, nourishment." More... inanity, inanition - Inanity is intellectual or spiritual emptiness; inanition is the lack of nourishment. More... meat - First meant "food, nourishment"—especially solid food as opposed to drink. More... nourishment - Wine or spirits given medicinally can be called nourishment. More... | |