Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, September 27, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Compound SentencesCompound sentences are made up of at least two independent clauses that are joined using a conjunction and/or punctuation. How can we determine if two clauses can be joined in a compound sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mayerling IncidentThe Mayerling Incident was the apparent murder-suicide of 30-year-old Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover, 17-year-old Baroness Maria Vetsera, in 1889. His father, the emperor, had objected to the affair and reportedly ordered them to end the relationship. Rudolf became despondent and allegedly formed a suicide pact with his mistress. Although their deaths were officially declared a double suicide, efforts to disguise the facts provoked many rumors, including what conspiracy theories? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Germany, Italy, and Japan Sign Tripartite Pact (1940)The World War II alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was fully realized in September 1940, with the signing of the Tripartite Pact. The agreement called for the Axis Powers to come to each other's aid if attacked by a nation not already involved in the European War or the Sino-Japanese Conflict and to assist one another in their efforts to "establish and maintain a new order of things"—Germany and Italy in Europe and Japan in Greater East Asia. How did the treaty get the nickname "Roberto"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sophia Alekseyevna (1657)Sophia Alekseyevna seized power in Russia after the death of her father, Czar Feodor III, and became regent during the minority of her disabled brother, Ivan V, and her half-brother, Peter I. She brutally eliminated her opponents and ruled dictatorially with her lover, Vasily V. Gallitzin. She aspired to be crowned czarina, but lacked support from the nobility and clergy. When it was rumored that she intended to kill Peter to become sole ruler, he overthrew the regency and confined her where? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A steady hand in governing of military affairs is more requisite than in times of peace, because an error committed in war may, perhaps, prove irremediable.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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Marie Celeste— A place, location, or high-occupancy vehicle (especially a ship) that is inexplicably deserted or abandoned. An allusion to the Mary Celeste, an American merchant brigantine that was discovered floating off the Azores Islands in 1872 with no one on board and still in seaworthy condition. (Note: The variant spelling of "Marie" is the more common usage for the idiomatic reference, likely due to its use in a story by Arthur Conan Doyle.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Maskal (2021)Maskal is a Christian festival in Ethiopia to commemorate what is believed to have been the finding of the True Cross, the cross on which Christ was crucified. In communities throughout the nation, a tall pole called a demara is set up and topped with a cross. Families place smaller demaras against the big one, and in the evening they are made into a huge bonfire. Religious ceremonies are performed around the bonfire, with songs and dancing. The ashes of the burned-out fire are considered holy, and the people place the powder of the ashes on their foreheads. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: healingbalsam - First referred to an aromatic resinous substance with healing or soothing properties. More... healing, curing - Healing is a process in which an organism's health is restored; curing is a method that promotes healing. More... psychiatry - From Greek psykhe, "mind," and iatreia, "healing." More... salve - The main semantic element is "healing," but the etymological meaning is "oily substance." More... | |