Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, June 23, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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epigram
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ParticlesA particle is a word that does not have semantic meaning on its own, but instead relies on the word it is paired with to have meaning. What are the only two things that a particle is used to create? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TachyonsAccording to the theory of relativity, particles having nonzero rest mass can approach, but not reach, the speed of light, as their mass would become infinite at that speed. On the other hand, particles with zero rest mass, like photons, always travel at the speed of light. Theorists have argued that nothing in principle prohibits the existence of a third class of particles, named tachyons, whose velocity always exceeds that of light. What effect would a loss of energy have on a tachyon's speed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The International Olympic Committee Is Founded (1894)Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded following efforts by Pierre de Coubertin to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games that were first held in Greece in 776 BCE. Today, the IOC constitutes a single legal entity that organizes the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and owns copyrights, trademarks, and other intangible properties associated with the Games, such as the Olympic logos. What is the maximum number of members the IOC can have? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Wilma Glodean Rudolph (1940)Rudolph was the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field in a single Olympic Games. She accomplished this despite having contracted numerous serious illnesses as a child, including polio, which damaged her leg and required her to wear a brace for some time. At the 1960 Games, she won gold in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay. She finished the 100-meter dash in world-record time but was not credited with the record. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be thrilled to death— To be ecstatic; to be very pleased and excited. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Estonia Victory Day (2022)This date commemorates the Battle of Vönnu in 1919, in which a joint force of Estonians and Latvians claimed a decisive victory and marked the end of 700 years of German control. Today, the president and other dignitaries attend the official Victory Day ceremonies in the capital city, Tallinn. The holiday transitions from the political to the traditional when the president orders citizens to take torches from the official bonfire held in honor of Victory Day to light the hundreds of bonfires in the country that initiate Midsummer and St. John's Eve celebrations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: herdcutting horse - One trained to cut cattle out of a herd. More... pointer, point man - A pointer or point man was first a cowboy riding at the front of a herd of cattle. More... egregious - First meant "remarkably good" and "standing out or apart from the flock or herd; eminent"; its later derogatory sense is probably an ironical use. More... herd - As a verb, it first meant "keep safe, shelter." More... | |