Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, June 11, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lidless
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ObjectsGrammatical objects are nouns or pronouns that complete the meaning of verbs and prepositions. What is an indirect object? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Sir Thomas Phillipps and His Multitude of BooksAn English antiquary and book collector, Phillipps amassed the largest collection of manuscript material in the 19th century. He suffered from severe bibliomania—an obsessive-compulsive disorder involving the collecting or hoarding of books—and spent much of his inherited fortune expanding his holdings, which ultimately contained some 100,000 books and manuscripts and was arguably the largest collection amassed by a single individual. How long did it take to disperse the works after his death? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Le Mans Disaster (1955)The legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race was created in 1923, when cars' top speeds hovered around 60 mph (97 km/h). Thirty years later, top speeds had more than tripled, with little change to the course. In the 1955 race, a narrow pass near the pit stop caused racer Pierre Levegh to hit another car from behind while traveling at about 150 mph (240 km/h). Levegh's Mercedes went airborne, and parts flew into the stands, killing Levegh and more than 80 spectators. Why did the race continue? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Gene Wilder (1933)Wilder was just 8 years old when his ailing mother's doctor urged him to try making her laugh. The boy took those words to heart and developed a passion for performing that eventually led him to Hollywood. He is best known for his roles in comedy classics like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Young Frankenstein. He cowrote the latter film with producer and director Mel Brooks, and their screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. Which film sequel's script beat them out? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I am Envy...I cannot read and therefore wish all books burned.Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a heavy heart— To have a dejected or miserable attitude or disposition; to be in a depressed or grievous state. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Barnabas's Day (2021)Before England adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, June 11 was the day of the Summer Solstice. In addition to being the longest day of the year, it was also St. Barnabas's Day (or Barnaby Day), and this association gave rise to the old English jingle, "Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright, the longest day and the shortest night." It was customary on this day for the priests and clerks in the Church of England to wear garlands of roses and to decorate the church with them. Other names for this day were Long Barnaby and Barnaby Bright. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: soreangry - Describing a wound or sore that is red and inflamed. More... merry-gall - A sore produced by chafing. More... sore - As a noun, it first meant generally "physical pain and suffering." More... chafe, chaff - To chafe means to rub until sore or worn; to chaff means to tease good-naturedly. More... | |