Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, May 4, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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peddler
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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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 The Revenge of the Forty-Seven RoninThe Forty-seven Ronin were a group of Japanese samurai who, in 1703, assassinated Lord Kira, the official responsible for the disgrace and consequent seppuku—ritual suicide—of their master, Lord Asano. Though the ronin had followed the precepts of bushido—the samurai code of conduct—by avenging their lord’s death, their actions defied shogunate authority, and they were therefore ordered to commit seppuku. Today, they are regarded as heroes. Why was one of the ronin pardoned? 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 seems to me that I have always existed and that I possess memories that date back to the Pharaohs.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| 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... | |