Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past TenseThe past tense is used to describe or indicate an action that began in the past. There are four forms of the past tense that can accomplish these tasks. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) CortisolOften referred to as the "stress hormone" because of its involvement in the body's stress response, cortisol is the principal steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex. It increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels and can act as an immunosuppressant. Hydrocortisone, or synthetic cortisol, is used to treat a number of conditions, including inflammation, allergies, collagen diseases, and adrenocortical insufficiency. In humans, cortisol levels peak at what time of day? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Successful Escape from an Aircraft Using the Ejection Seat (1942)Ejection seats are used in aircraft to quickly propel occupants out in an emergency. Today, they are fired by an explosive charge, but the first ejection seats were powered by compressed air. One of the first aircrafts to be fitted with such a system was the German Heinkel He 280 prototype jet fighter. While testing the He 280 during WWII, pilot Helmut Schenk became the first person to use an ejection seat to make an emergency escape from an aircraft. What went wrong during his test flight? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sophie Tucker (1884)Tucker was a Russian-born American singer and entertainer who began performing vaudeville as a child, singing ragtime melodies in blackface. She later abandoned the makeup but continued in the African-American style, helping popularize the songs of black composers. Known for her racy songs, she enjoyed great success on tour and went on to appear in several stage and movie musicals but was best known as a nightclub torch singer. In her later years, she was billed under what moniker? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I have never felt lonesome, or in the least oppressed by a sense of solitude, but once, and that was a few weeks after I came to the woods, when, for an hour, I doubted if the near neighborhood of man was not essential to a serene and healthy life.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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however much— No matter how much. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Death of George Fox (2024)George Fox (1624-1691) was the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, which he organized in 1650 to protest the overly formal religion of his time. Fox believed that creeds and scriptures were unimportant in religion; all that really counted was the divine light of Christ as it manifested itself in all people. Church was merely a gathering of friends who were guided by the Inner Light and who were thus able to provide guidance for each other. Quakers all over the world observe the anniversary of their founder's death in their meetinghouses. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inncaravanserai - A type of inn in Eastern countries where caravans are put up. More... harbergery - An inn or place of entertainment. More... inn - Etymologically a place "in" which people live or stay, from Proto-Germanic innam. More... | |