Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 10, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abridgment
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Relative PronounsA relative pronoun is a type of pronoun used to connect a relative clause (also known as an adjective clause) to the main clause in a sentence. What are restrictive relative clauses? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Naga JolokiaOminously known as the "ghost chili" or "poison chili," the naga jolokia was once the hottest chili pepper in the world, as certified by Guinness World Records in 2007. Originally grown in northeastern India and Bangladesh, the naga jolokia has measured over 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale, a system developed to measure the "hotness" or piquancy of chili peppers. In comparison, jalapeño peppers range from 2,500 to 8,000. What pepper has since surpassed it as the world's hottest? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 European Heat Wave: UK's Hottest Day on Record (2003)The European heat wave of 2003 resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people. In France, where summers are usually very mild and many homes do not have air conditioning, nearly 15,000 people died from heat-related issues—at a time when many physicians were on summer holiday. So many died that undertakers ran out of room in their own facilities and had to keep corpses in off-site warehouses. The UK, meanwhile, suffered through violent storms and experienced what record high temperature? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender (1909)Few people in recent history have transformed popular music—rock and roll in particular—the way Leo Fender did. A self-taught radio repairman, Fender began inventing electronic instruments in the 1940s and is responsible for the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar, the first widely used electric bass, and many other revolutionary instruments. His Fender Musical Instruments Corporation remains a leading manufacturer of electronic instruments and amplifiers. What are Fender "Nocasters"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To live was then in itself a delight, because living implied seeing.Edwin Abbott (1838-1926) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lubrication payment— A small sum of money or other gifts or services to be paid or given to government officials to expedite business operations in countries that do not prohibit such activity. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Puck Fair (2021)A traditional gathering that dates back hundreds of years, Puck Fair is a three-day event held in Killorglin in County Kerry, Ireland. A large male goat is decorated with ribbons and paraded through the streets on the first day, which is known as Gathering Day. The goat, known as King Puck, presides over the fair from his "throne," an enclosure on a three-story platform in the town square. The main event of the second day, known as Puck's Fair Day, is a livestock show. On the third day, known as Scattering Day, King Puck is led out of town to the accompaniment of traditional Irish music. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: skilledart - Comes from a base word meaning "put together"; its original general meaning referred to any kind of skill. More... deipnosophist - If you are skilled at table talk, you are a deipnosophist. More... kung fu - From Chinese words translating to "merit master" or "one who is highly skilled." More... linguished - Means "skilled in languages." More... | |