Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, July 9, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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built-in
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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InfinitivesAn infinitive is the most basic form of a verb. It is "unmarked" (not conjugated for tense or person), and it is preceded by the particle "to." What is a split infinitive? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The BendsDecompression sickness is a disorder that often affects scuba divers who ascend from the depths too quickly, causing severe joint and muscle pain, nausea, paralysis, and even death—for no externally obvious reason. Under pressure, respiratory gasses are compressed and dissolved in the body’s tissues. When a person rapidly moves to a lower pressure environment, the dissolved gases expand and form bubbles that cause "the bends." Workers in what other occupations are susceptible to this sickness? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Queen Elizabeth Wakes to Find Strange Man in Her Bedroom (1982)In the early hours of July 9, 1982, 32-year-old Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace—for the second time—and entered Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom. He set off the alarm, but guards believed it to be false and turned it off. The Queen awoke when Fagan moved a curtain in her bedroom, and he talked to her while she waited for police to arrive. The officer who was supposed to be posted outside her door at the time was walking the Queen's dogs. Why was Fagan not charged for his brazen trespass? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Fanny Fern (1811)Fanny Fern was the pseudonym of Sara Willis Parton, an immensely popular American columnist and novelist known for her conversational writing style and emphasis on the everyday concerns of middle-class women. Though she had struggled to support her children after her first husband died and caused a scandal by ending her unhappy second marriage, she persevered and by 1855 commanded the unprecedented sum of $100 a week for her New York Ledger column. What famous saying is attributed to her? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I've been a great deal happier ... since I have given up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own will. Our life is determined for us—and it makes the mind very free when we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to do.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a long row to hoe— A particularly difficult or problematic task, situation, or set of circumstances to contend with or confront. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Nunavut Day (2021)Canada's northernmost territory of Nunavut was established on July 9, 1993, through a land claim signed by the national government and the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area. Most of the day's activities take place in Nunavut's hub and capital city, Iqaluit. Festivities include barbeques, parades, traditional Inuit games, and feasts featuring local cuisine of caribou, walrus, and arctic char. In recent years, the day's program has also included organized tournaments of cribbage, checkers, and Scrabble. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: keyboardfallboard - The hinged protective covering that protects the keyboard of a piano when it is not being played. More... finger board - The part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the strings to vary the tone—as well as the keyboard of a piano, organ, etc. More... home key - The home key is either of two keys on a keyboard acting as the base position for one's fingers in touch-typing (left F, right J). More... octothorpe - The pound key on a keyboard or keypad is technically an octothorpe. More... | |