Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 9, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Relative AdverbsRelative adverbs, like relative pronouns, introduce relative clauses (also called adjective clauses) that modify a noun or a noun phrase. How do relative adverbs differ from relative pronouns? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Potatoes Save the USS O'BannonThe USS O'Bannon was a US Navy destroyer deployed to the Southwest Pacific during World War II. On patrol on April 5, 1943, the O'Bannon sighted a Japanese submarine on the ocean's surface and fired upon it, but the submarine soon moved too close to be attacked with the main guns. When the Japanese crew came topside, the US sailors pelted them with potatoes. Believing they were being assaulted with grenades, the Japanese panicked and threw their guns overboard. What happened next? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 America's First Serving African-American Governor Takes Office (1872)Born to a former slave and a white planter, Pinckney Pinchback was America's first African-American governor. During the American Civil War, he raised and led a company of black Union volunteers, called the Corps d'Afrique, in Union-held New Orleans. After the war, he was elected to the Louisiana senate and served as lieutenant governor. In 1872, he became governor when Henry Warmoth was impeached. How long was it before another African American held a gubernatorial office in the US? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Milton (1608)Considered the greatest English poet after William Shakespeare, Milton wrote 23 sonnets that are accepted as among the best ever written as well as the epic Paradise Lost. This masterpiece reworks Classical epic conventions to recount the fall of man in blank verse and contains a portrayal of Satan so compelling that many 19th century critics considered him, not Adam, to be the real hero of the epic. The 12-volume work was completed well after Milton became blind. How did he compile it? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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end (something) on a high note— To finish, complete, or leave (something) at a successful, impressive, or climactic point. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Antigua National Heroes Day (2023)Antigua has four citizens who have been designated as National Heroes, and December 9 is a public holiday to honor and celebrate all of them. The date is the birthday of one of the four, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, the first prime minister of Antigua, who is considered the father of the nation. The others are King Court, who led a slave revolt in 1736; Dame Ellen Georgian Nellie Robinson, a pioneer in education; and Sir Vivian Richards, one of the world's greatest cricket players. Speeches and ceremonies honor the accomplishments of the National Heroes on this day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: revolutiongyre - A circular movement or revolution; to cause to spin around or whirl. More... rebellion, revolution - Rebellion is open resistance to a government or authority; revolution is a rebellion that succeeds in overthrowing the government and establishing a new one. More... rev - An abbreviation of revolution. More... young Turk - Term for a tyrannical or unmanageable man, based on the members of a party of Turkish agitators that brought about the revolution of 1908. More... | |