Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, May 8, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conditional SentencesConditional sentences are in the conditional mood, which is used for hypothetical scenarios that are dependent on a certain condition or conditions. What are the four "degrees" of conditionals? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MutationIn biology, a mutation is a sudden, random change in hereditary material, such as a gene, that can alter an inheritable characteristic. Most mutations are not beneficial, since any change in the delicate balance of an organism that is highly adapted to its environment tends to be disruptive. As the environment changes, however, mutations can prove advantageous and thus contribute to evolutionary change in a species. Mutations may be spontaneous or induced by outside factors, such as what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Soviet Union Announces Boycott of Summer Olympics (1984)In response to the US boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries, including the USSR, Cuba, and East Germany, boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. The USSR cited US "chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria" in its announcement of its decision not to participate. Thanks, in part, to the Soviet boycott, the US won 83 gold medals and 174 medals overall in Los Angeles. How did the US's unexpected success cost McDonald's millions? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Petrus Canisius (1521)Canisius was a 16th century Jesuit preacher who fought against the spread of Protestantism in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland. His catechism, Summa Doctrinae Christianae, authorized in 1566, was one of the earliest popular expositions of the faith. The reestablishment of Roman Catholicism in Germany after the Reformation was largely due to his zeal, and he was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1925. What line is he credited with adding to the Hail Mary prayer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Heroes, notwithstanding the high ideas which, by the means of flatterers, they may entertain of themselves, or the world may conceive of them, have certainly more of mortal than divine about them.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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eat, drink, and be merry— A call for others to enjoy themselves, usually in the context of a party or other festive gathering. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 White Lotus Day (Death of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky) (2019)The anniversary of the death of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) is commemorated by members of the Theosophical Society, which was founded in New York in 1875 by Blavatsky and Henry Olcott. Olcott and Blavatsky moved to India in 1878, and the international headquarters for the Theosophical movement remains in Adyar (near Madras) today. She completed her most important work, The Secret Doctrine (1888), an overview of Theosophical teachings, along with numerous other books, before her death in 1891. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: unluckydismal - Comes from French dies mali, "evil days," and first meant the 24 evil or unlucky days of the medieval calendar (two per month). More... infaust, infausting - Infaust is "unlucky" and infausting is "making unlucky." More... left-handed - Had a meaning of "unlucky" or "unseasonable." More... widdershins - Means "in a direction opposite of the usual one," but can also mean "unlucky." More... | |