Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 6, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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uninitiated
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Absolute PhrasesWe generally use absolute phrases at the beginning of a sentence to introduce additional information, or at the end of a sentence to provide a final comment on the sentence as a whole. It is also possible to use an absolute phrase in the middle of a sentence. What does that placement add to the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Maple Syrup Urine DiseaseBranched chain ketoaciduria, or maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), is a metabolic disorder in which an enzyme deficiency allows branched-chain amino acids to build up in the blood and urine. Often diagnosed in infancy, the condition gets its name from the distinctive sweet odor—similar to that of maple syrup or burnt caramel—of the sufferer's urine. If left untreated, MSUD can cause severe brain damage or death. Why is the disease more prevalent in children of Amish and Mennonite descent? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Dawson's Field Hijackings (1970)In 1970, Palestinian terrorists attempted to hijack five airplanes—most New York-bound flights that had originated in Europe or Israel—and rerouted three to Dawson's Field, a remote desert airstrip in Jordan. The Jordanian king responded quickly, ordering strikes on Palestinian targets. All of the hostages were eventually released. Only one person died in the hijackings—a terrorist who was shot on board one of the planes that did not make it to Jordan. What happened to the rest of the hijackers? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Catharine Beecher (1800)Beecher was an American lecturer, author, and advocate for women's education. The sister of abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe, she popularized a conservative movement to rescue women from frivolous "feminine" pursuits—by elevating and entrenching women's role in the domestic sphere. Her ideal woman was one who presided over an intelligent, cultured, well-managed household. In 1823, she founded the Hartford Female Seminary to train women to be teachers. What social change did she oppose? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing,Beloved from pole to pole. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in the event that— If it should happen or be the case that. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fiesta of San Roque (Bolivia) (2020)San Roque is the patron saint of Tarija, Bolivia, whose natives, known as chapacos, are a mixture of Spaniards and Tomata Indians. The townspeople wear their best and most colorful clothes for the fiesta in San Roque's honor that begins on the first Sunday in September. There are processions of the saint's image, which has also been brightly adorned, throughout the week, stopping at the hospital and area churches. Participants in the processions include dancers, singers, musicians, and people who've made personal vows. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: scalesmechanical drawing - One made with scales, rulers, and compasses. More... ctenoid - Means "resembling a thin-toothed comb"—like the scales of some fish. More... level - Based on Latin libella, a diminutive of libra, "balance; scales." More... scab - First pertained to any skin disease in which pustules or scales were formed, and is from Old Norse skabbr, "crust over a wound." More... | |