Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, June 26, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vapid
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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The SubjectThe subject is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling the action of the verb. Every sentence requires a subject and a verb to be complete—with one exception. What is it? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CutenessThe kind of innocent and youthful attractive beauty that we call cuteness may be a key to survival. Zoologist Konrad Lorenz, who first introduced it as a scientific concept in the study of animal behavior, argued in 1949 that cuteness—characterized by a combination of infantile features, such as big eyes, big heads, and shortened noses—triggers nurturing responses in adults, ultimately securing the survival of the species. What human behavior did Lorenz use as evidence of his theory? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Conquistador Francisco Pizarro Killed (1541)After multiple expeditions in the New World, Pizarro set sail for Peru in 1531 with 180 men. His men soon slaughtered the unarmed emissaries of the Inca emperor, Atahuallpa, and took him hostage. After accepting a rich ransom for Atahuallpa's release, Pizarro had him garroted and spent the rest of his life consolidating Spain's hold on the Inca empire in Peru. In 1535, he founded Lima, where he was killed by fellow Spaniards he had betrayed. What became of Pizarro's remains? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Violette Szabo (1921)Szabo was a British secret agent during WWII. After her husband died in the war, Szabo, who was fluent in French, offered her services to the British Special Operations Executive. After intensive training, she parachuted into German-occupied France to reorganize a French resistance network. On her second mission, she was captured by the Nazis. She endured interrogation and torture before being transferred to a concentration camp, where she was later executed. How old was Szabo when she died? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We pay a price for everything we get or take in this world; and although ambitions are well worth having, they are not to be cheaply won, but exact their dues of work and self-denial, anxiety and discouragement.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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catch the sun— To get sunburned. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Madagascar Independence Day (2019)This national holiday commemorates Madagascar's independence from France on this day in 1960. Republic Day is another public holiday in Madagascar, held on December 30, the day the new constitution went into effect. The country became a republic in 1975. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: servantslivery - A company's distinctive color scheme or emblem on vehicles is called the livery; livery first referred to the dispensing of clothes, food, or provisions to servants. More... gardyloo - A warning cry derived from French gare de l'eau, "beware of the water"—referring to the water and slops that were once thrown by servants from higher stories of a building onto the street. More... servants' quarters - In Victorian days, they were usually referred to as below stairs; above stairs was the realm of the family. More... family - First referred to the servants of a household and then to both the servants and the descendants of a common ancestor. It comes from Latin familia, "household; household servants," which came from another Latin term, famulus, "servant." It was not until 1667 that the term was used specifically for parents and their children. More... | |