Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 21, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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exceptionable
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Parts of SpeechThe parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a sentence. English has seven main parts of speech. Can you name all seven? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Germicidal LampsGermicidal lamps are specially designed lights that kill microorganisms and are used to clean wastewater, workspaces, and medical and scientific tools. The lamps work by emitting ultraviolet light that damages microorganismal DNA, rendering pathogens harmless or removing their reproductive capabilities. Some germicidal lamps also produce ozone, a substance known to have disinfectant properties. Why must people take care to shield their eyes and skin from the light these lamps emit? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US Captures Guam from Spain (1898)Visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, Guam was formally claimed by Spain in 1565 and remained under Spanish control until 1898, when it was taken by the US in the Spanish-American War. Because the Spanish garrison on the island had no knowledge of the war, the US sent a single Navy cruiser, the USS Charleston, and was able to capture Guam without a fight. At the end of the war, Guam was officially ceded to the US under the Treaty of Paris. How many Spanish soldiers were captured on Guam? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Al Hirschfeld (1903)Hirschfeld was an American graphic artist and caricaturist who was famous for his witty, perceptive, and joyful caricatures of theater celebrities and other public personalities. After becoming a theater correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, he worked for The New York Times, where many of his caricatures appeared. Hirschfeld also wrote and illustrated several books. Beginning in 1945, Hirschfeld concealed what in almost every drawing that he made? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Alas, how quickly the gratitude owed to the dead flows off, how quick to be proved a deceiver.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(the) man/woman of the hour— A person currently being celebrated, honored, or admired by others, especially for a recent victory, accomplishment, or other cause for celebration. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Midnight Sun Festival (2017)The Midnight Sun Festival is a celebration of the Summer Solstice in Nome, Alaska, where the sun shines for better than 22 hours a day in the peak of summer. The longest day of the year is feted with a street dance, blanket toss, barbecue, Monte Carlo night (gambling), Eskimo dances, and a parade. A river raft race has been held at midnight on June 21 since the 1960s. Various homemade rafts paddle down a one- to two-mile course on the Nome River, and the winning team claims a fur-lined honey bucket, which is passed on from year to year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sproutratoon crop - One that grows from the remains of one already harvested, from Spanish retono, "sprout." More... clan - Ultimately from Latin planta, "plant, sprout." More... germ, germinate - From Latin germen, "seed, sprout." More... acrospire - The first leaf that sprouts from a germinating seed. More... | |