Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 24, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hardtack
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Regular and Irregular AdverbsRegular adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" (or a variation) onto the end of an adjective. Irregular adverbs are not formed from standard spelling conventions. What are the most common irregular adverbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The GyroscopeAmong the unusual properties at work in gyroscopes is the resistance of a spinning object to being tilted. If set in a free-moving framework, such an object can provide a stable point of reference even if everything else around it—an airplane, for example—tilts. The effect is so strong that large gyroscopes can even prevent ships from rolling. Today, gyroscopes are used in missile guidance, automatic steering, and video game technology. What toys, besides tops, work with gyroscopic effects? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Christmas Island Discovered by Captain James Cook (1777)Though Captain James Cook was certainly not the first person to set foot on Christmas Island—the atoll had been visited by native Pacific Islanders in the past—it was uninhabited when he found it. Both the UK and US later laid claim to the atoll, and they vied for power there for the next 100 years or so, until it gained independence as part of the 33-island Republic of Kiribati and was renamed Kiritimati. Before it gained independence, the US and UK used the atoll as a testing ground for what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (1905)Before he became an infamously eccentric recluse, Hughes was a brilliant aviator and movie producer. At 17, he left college to take control of his late father's Hughes Tool Company, which would form the future basis for his vast fortune. After founding the Hughes Aircraft Company, he set a speed record of 352 mph (567 km/h) in a plane he designed, and in 1938, he flew around the world in a record 91 hours. A recluse in his later years, Hughes spent the last decade of his life living where? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 History develops, art stands still.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hold that thought— An expression used to interrupt someone mid-speech and indicate that one's attention is being or about to be diverted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 "Silent Night, Holy Night" Celebration (2023)"Silent Night, Holy Night" was written and composed by Franz Gruber and Father Josef Mohr. The carol was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818, at St. Nickola Church in Oberndorf, Austria. This event is commemorated in Oberndorf, Hallein, Wagrain, Salzburg, and other towns in the state of Salzburg by holding a candlelight procession on December 24. Everyone sings the carol as they march to the church and again when they are inside. It is usually sung in various languages to honor the many nations where the birth of the Christ child is celebrated. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: thickerconcave lens, convex lens - A concave lens is thinner at the center; a convex lens is thicker at the center. More... plank, board - A plank is thicker than a board. More... clotted cream - Cream made thicker and richer by cooking. More... skin - The term for the thin, tight covering on carrots, potatoes, grapes, and peaches—but also the thicker covering of bananas and avocados. More... | |