Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 11, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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meager
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Understanding Restrictive Relative ClausesRestrictive relative clauses identify the noun, giving us information about it that we need to know in order to understand the speaker's meaning. This type of clause does not need any commas. What is the restrictive relative clause in the following sentence? "The house where I was born is a very special place." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 LycanthropyThe ancient belief in lycanthropy, the magical ability of a human to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf, still exists in many parts of the world. In the Middle Ages, the church went so far as to condemn lycanthropy as a form of sorcery and often ruthlessly punished suspected offenders. One of the most widely held superstitions relating to lycanthropy is the belief in the werewolf. According to folk beliefs, what are the various methods for becoming a werewolf? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Anthracite Coal First Burned as Residential Heating Fuel (1808)Anthracite is a compact variety of coal that was first burned as a residential heating fuel in the US by Judge Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It differs from wood in that it needs a draft from below. By burning it on an open grate in a fireplace, Fell proved that it could be a viable heating fuel. Fell's experiment took place 18 years after anthracite coal was said to have been discovered in Pennsylvania by hunter Necho Allen. According to legend, how did Allen "discover" anthracite? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839)Gibbs was an American mathematical physicist whose contributions to physical chemistry and thermodynamics have had a profound effect on industry, notably in the production of ammonia. He formulated the concept of chemical potential, and, in mathematics, was influential in developing vector analysis. Gibbs also contributed to crystallography, the determination of planetary and cometary orbits, and electromagnetic theory. His doctorate was the first granted in the US for what field? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Let us have done with vain regrets and longings for the days that never will be ours again. Our work lies in front, not behind us; and "Forward!" is our motto.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hold (one's) nerve— To remain calm, steady, and resolute, especially in the face of danger or adversity. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (2024)The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes commemorates the first of 18 appearances of the Virgin Mary to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous. The young girl's visions occurred between February 11 and July 16, 1858, near the town of Lourdes. The Virgin led her to a nearby grotto, and the miraculous spring that appeared there has been associated ever since with the power to heal. Some five million people a year make the pilgrimage to Lourdes, making it one of the world's major pilgrimage sites. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: melancholyelegiac - Can mean "melancholy, mournful." More... brown study - Gloomy meditation or melancholy is known as being in a brown study. More... hypochondria - First referred to the upper abdomen and the organs under the ribs (liver, gall bladder, spleen)—thought to be the source of melancholy. More... | |