Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, March 9, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Other Ways to Form the Future Perfect ContinuousAlthough we most commonly use the modal verb "will," there are two other ways we can form the future perfect continuous tense: "be going to" and "shall." Why are these constructions less common? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Shrunken HeadsThe Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru first came to worldwide attention in the 1800s, after Westerners discovered that the group practiced head shrinking. The custom stems from the belief that severing an enemy's head and shrinking it harnesses the person's spirit and compels it to serve the shrinker. Though cultural restrictions limited the manufacture of shrunken heads, Western demand for the macabre artifacts prompted the Shuar to produce them in greater quantities. How does one shrink a head? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 WWII: Bombing of Tokyo Kills 100,000 (1945)During WWII, Allied bombing devastated half of Tokyo, destroyed or damaged many famous landmarks, and ruined nearly all of the city's industrial plants. In the US firebombing raid that began on March 9, 1945, nearly 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the Japanese capital, killing roughly 100,000 people and destroying about 16 mi² (41 km²) of the city—making it the most destructive conventional bombing raid in history. How did the destruction compare to that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Bobby Fischer (1943)Fischer was a chess legend who, at the age of 15, became the youngest grandmaster in history at that time. In 1970 and 1971, he won an unprecedented 20 straight games to qualify to challenge Boris Spassky for the world championship. He then beat Spassky, becoming the only American world titlist and winning the lion's share of the $250,000 prize fund that was then the largest purse offered in any sport outside boxing. Afterward, Fischer did not publicly play another game of chess until what year? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Compromise, n.: Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be losing it— To start becoming crazy, insane, or mentally unstable. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Baron Bliss Day (2024)Baron Bliss Day is a public holiday in Belize honoring Englishman Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss (1869-1926). When he died on March 9, Bliss bequeathed his entire estate to Belize City. On this day each year, a morning mass and wreath laying is held at his tomb in the Fort Point area. Then there is a regatta in the harbor, a cycle race, and a kite contest. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: swimmingenatation - Escape by swimming. More... butterfly stroke - In swimming, the stroke in which both arms are raised out of the water and lifted forward together. More... shoal - A synonym for "school," referring to a large number of fish swimming together. More... supernatant - Means "swimming on the surface." More... | |