Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 8, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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overweening
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past TenseThe past tense is used to describe or indicate an action that began in the past. There are four forms of the past tense that can accomplish these tasks. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Martian TerraformingSince the concept of terraforming—making a planet's environment suitable for human habitation—was first proposed, Mars has been one of the primary hypothetical candidates for its application. Although Mars may have had a relatively earthlike environment early in its history, experts disagree on whether present-day Mars can be adapted to support human life. Terraforming Mars would require at least two major changes: building up the atmosphere and heating it. How could such changes be achieved? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US Postal Service's First and Only Delivery of "Missile Mail" (1959)In 1959, the US Navy assisted the US Post Office Department—predecessor of today's US Postal Service—in its search for a faster form of mail transportation. The USPS tried its first and only delivery of "missile mail" when a Navy submarine fired a guided cruise missile containing 3,000 pieces of mail off the Florida coast. Twenty-two minutes later, the missile landed at a naval station in Mayport, Florida. What bold claims did the postmaster general make about missile mail at the time? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Lena Baker (1901)Baker was an African-American maid who was executed for murder by the State of Georgia in 1945 for killing her employer, Ernest Knight. The only woman ever executed by electrocution in Georgia, Baker was fully pardoned 60 years after her death. At her trial, she claimed that Knight had imprisoned her and threatened to shoot her if she attempted to leave, so she had taken his gun and shot him in self defense. Her trial was presided over by Judge William "Two Gun" Worrill and lasted how long? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is a true saying that a man must eat a peck of salt with his friend before he knows him.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hold up (one's) end (of the bargain)— To fulfill or attend to one's obligation(s) or promise(s) as agreed; to do one's agreed part in some arrangement. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Luilak (2019)Luilak, or Lazybones Day, is a youth festival celebrated in Zaandam, Haarlem, Amsterdam, and other towns in the western Netherlands. The celebration begins at four o'clock in the morning on the Saturday before Pentecost, when groups of young people awaken their neighbors by whistling, banging on pots and pans, and ringing doorbells. Any boys or girls who refuse to get up and join the noisemaking are referred to as Luilak, or "Lazybones." In Haarlem, Luilak marks the opening of the celebrated Whitsun flower market in the Grote Markt at midnight. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: helmetcrest - From Latin crista, "plume, tuft," it first referred to the erect feathers of a plume on a helmet or headdress. More... panache - Can be a tuft or plume of feathers on a headdress or helmet. More... coif, coiffure, coiffeur - Coif, coiffure, and coiffeur (hairdo, hairstyle) derive from Latin cofia, "helmet." More... galeated - Means "shaped like a helmet" or "wearing a helmet." More... | |