Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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plaint
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - MayThe modal verb "may" is used to ask, grant, or describe permission, and to politely offer to do something for someone, among other things. Why is "can't" more commonly used in questions than "may not"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 US Camel CorpsThe US Camel Corps was an experiment by the US Army to use camels as pack animals in the Southwest US. Using camels militarily had been suggested, to no avail, in 1836 during the Seminole Wars in Florida, but in 1855, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the Camel Corps project. One year later, a US ship arrived in Texas from the Middle East with about 30 camels. Despite the camels' impressive strength and ability to survive without water, the Camel Corps project was soon abandoned. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Short Creek Raid (1953)Before dawn on July 26, 1953, more than 100 Arizona state police officers and National Guard soldiers entered Short Creek, home to about 400 Mormon fundamentalists, many of whom illegally practiced polygamy. Almost the whole community was arrested, and 263 children were seized from their parents. Arizona's governor described it as a "police action against insurrection," but the raid drew widespread criticism. Community members knew the raid was coming. What were they doing when officers arrived? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jane "Jinny" Bunford (1895)Standing well over seven and a half feet tall, Bunford was twice recognized during her lifetime as the tallest person in the world. She is also believed to have had the longest hair, at 8 ft 1 in (2.5 m) long. Though she died in 1922, she was featured in the 1971 Guinness Book of World Records after her skeleton was discovered on display at Birmingham University. Bunford's height likely resulted from her pituitary gland secreting excessive growth hormones after what childhood accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The greatest tyrants over women are women.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(the good) Lord willing and the creek don't rise— rural If all goes as it should; if everything goes well. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festivities for the Day of National Rebellion (2021)This three-day national holiday in Cuba commemorates an attack that took place on July 26, 1953, when rebel forces led by Fidel Castro struck the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. It is remembered as the beginning of the rebellion that ousted the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. The holiday is an occasion for displays of national pride and mass rallies. Crowds of 100,000 are common in Havana, where a carnival, live music, singing, dancing and flag waving mark the occasion. Santiago de Cuba also has a large carnival, and other cities host celebrations as well. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: possessionhave - Coming through Proto-Germanic khaben, it was from Indo-European kap-, meaning "possession." More... jouisance - Also spelled jouissance, it is another word for "enjoyment" or "possession or use of something." More... tenement - First meant "holding as a possession." More... white elephant - The name of this animal, which has an enormous appetite, has come to mean "useless, expensive possession"—or a possession that is more trouble than it is worth. More... | |