Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, September 11, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adjectives of OpinionAdjectives of opinion always come first before any other factual descriptions of the noun. There are two types of opinion adjectives. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Active Denial SystemInformally labeled the "pain ray," the Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon being developed by the US military. Designed for use in crowd control operations, the ADS emits electromagnetic radiation that excites water molecules in the epidermis, causing an intensely painful burning sensation. Though the device does not actually burn the skin, its effect is said to feel similar to a hot light bulb being pressed against it. How long do these painful effects last? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)On September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. They crashed two planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City and flew a third into the Pentagon building in Virginia. Passengers on the fourth flight attempted to retake control of the aircraft, but it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11 were responsible for 2,996 deaths and countless more injuries. What were the environmental consequences of 9/11? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pierre de Ronsard (1524)Now considered one of the greatest French poets, Ronsard first served as a page and a squire and seemed destined for a career at court both in France and abroad. However, an illness left him partially deaf, and he turned to scholarship and literature. Named poet royal, the "prince of poets" wrote a great number of poems on many themes, especially patriotism, love, and death. He led a group of poets who cultivated the sonnet form and took the name of what earlier group of poets and tragedians? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum—"I think that I think, therefore I think that I am."Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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call it even— To acknowledge or consider a situation or exchange as being equal or equitable, as regarding debt, status, ability, a contest, etc. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Enkutatash (2019)The Ethiopian New Year falls on the first day of the Ethiopian month of Maskarem, which is September 11 on the Gregorian calendar. It comes at the end of the rainy season, so the wildflowers that the children gather and the tall grass that people use to cover their floors on this day are plentiful. Small groups of children go from house to house, singing songs, leaving bouquets of flowers, and hoping for a handful of dabo, or roasted grain, in return. In some parts of Ethiopia it is customary to slaughter either a white-headed lamb or a red chicken on this day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: insultinsult - In medicine and science, it can mean "trauma, something that disturbs normal functions." More... political correctness - Can be an insult, accusation, joke, or the name of an effort to change a society by means of wide-ranging but often small-scale cultural reform. More... outrage - The true etymology of outrage has nothing to do with out or rage—rather, it is a borrowing from French outrage, "insult, outrage," based on Latin ultra, "beyond," and -agium, a noun suffix; outrage first meant "lack of moderation." More... umbrage - From Latin umbra, "shadow," in English it originally meant "shade, shadow," then shadowy suspicion, and then displeasure or resentment at a slight or insult. More... | |