Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 23, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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despotism
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Transitive Verbs and Direct ObjectsA transitive verb describes an action that is happening to something or someone, which is known as the verb's "direct object." For instance, in the sentence "I am reading a book," what is the direct object? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 BalaamBalaam is an Old Testament diviner whose story appears in the Book of Numbers. He was asked by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Israelites as they approached Moab near the end of their 40 years of wandering. The Israelites had already defeated two kings in their travels, and Balak feared he would be next. According to the account, when Balaam opened his mouth, he was only able to bless the Israelites. In one part of the narrative, Balaam's donkey speaks to him. What does it say? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Christopher Latham Sholes Granted Typewriter Patent (1868)As a teen, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes apprenticed with a printer and later became a newspaper publisher. In 1868, he, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soulé were granted a patent for their design for the first practical typewriter. Five years later, he sold his rights for $12,000 to the Remington Arms Co., which developed the Remington Typewriter. Sholes went on to invent the so-called QWERTY keyboard that is still in use today. Why did he arrange the letters in this unusual order? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Wilma Glodean Rudolph (1940)Rudolph was the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field in a single Olympic Games. She accomplished this despite having contracted numerous serious illnesses as a child, including polio, which damaged her leg and required her to wear a brace for some time. At the 1960 Games, she won gold in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay. She finished the 100-meter dash in world-record time but was not credited with the record. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Clothes have more effect upon us than we imagine. Our deportment depends upon our dress.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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go under the hammer— To be put up for or sold at auction. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Luxembourg National Day (2023)On the eve of this national holiday, Dudelange hosts a torchlight procession, and the castle at Wiltz hosts a fête in the courtyard. Fireworks, parades, special religious services, public concerts, and dancing comprise the elaborate celebration in the capital city of Luxembourg. On National Day, people assemble in the capital not only to celebrate their independence, but also to observe the official birthday of the Grand Duke. The people there identify strongly with their country and speak their own language, known as Luxembourgeois. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: reflectionepiphonema - An exclamatory sentence or reflection summing up a discourse. More... rainbow - Comes from Old Norse regnbogi (becoming Old English renboga, ren, "rain," and boga, "bend, bow") and is a bow or arch of the colors of the prism that is formed in the sky opposite to the sun by the reflection, double refraction, and dispersion of the sun's rays in falling drops of rain. More... sheet lightning - Appears as a broad sheetlike illumination of parts of a thundercloud, caused by the reflection of a lightning flash. More... | |