Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 7, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lanate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Correlative ConjunctionsCorrelative conjunctions, or paired conjunctions, are sets of conjunctions that are always used together. Like coordinating conjunctions, they join words, phrases, or independent clauses of similar or equal importance and structure. How do they differ from coordinating conjunctions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Electromagnetic SpectrumThe electromagnetic spectrum is the total range of frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation—self-propagating waves of energy that result from the acceleration of electric charges. The spectrum ranges from waves of long wavelength, or low frequency, to those of short wavelength, or high frequency, and includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays. In a vacuum, these waves all travel at what speed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US Supreme Court Decides Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)In 1961, Estelle Griswold, executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, opened a birth control clinic for women in deliberate defiance of an 1879 law outlawing the use or distribution of contraceptives. She was arrested and fined. Her appeal made it to the US Supreme Court, which stated in a landmark 1965 decision that married couples had a right to "marital privacy," which included the right to use birth control. When was the same right extended to unwed individuals? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 George Szell (1897)Szell was a Hungarian-born conductor and pianist who immigrated to the US during WWII. Having already conducted many European orchestras, he soon became the principal conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1946, he took over the Cleveland Orchestra and, by means of his famously dictatorial approach, built it into one of the most respected ensembles in the world, famed for its precision. Nearly 20 years after Szell's death, who complained that he still got credit when the orchestra did well? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a part in (something)— To be involved in some capacity with establishing, maintaining, or running something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Blackbeard Pirate Festival (2020)The Blackbeard Pirate Festival takes place in Hampton, Virginia, on a two-day weekend in early June. The festival acknowledges Hampton's history as a key colonial port, the wealth of which attracted the notorious 18th-century Caribbean pirate Blackbeard. The festival features tours of replicas of three "tall ships" similar to the ones Blackbeard may have plundered; a street fair with live music, as well as refreshments and children's events; and several historical re-enactments such as an invasion of Hampton Harbor by pirates seeking revenge for Blackbeard's death. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: shorterstore - A shortened version of the obsolete astor, "stock of provisions, supplies." More... alligator - From Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard," which may have come from Latin lacerta; the alligator has a shorter, blunter snout than a crocodile. More... telescopic umbrella - An umbrella that can become shorter. More... dog watch - A two-hour watch on board a ship, it is based on dog sleep, the light or fitful sleep typical of dogs (a catnap being even shorter). More... | |