Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 27, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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upstart
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Idioms that End with PrepositionsIdioms that end with prepositions are typically phrasal verbs. They consist of a verb followed by what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bat BombsDuring WWII, a dentist named Lytle Adams proposed a new method of aerial attack to the US military: the bat bomb. The plan called for containers filled with hundreds of bats fitted with small incendiary devices to be dropped over Japanese cities at dawn, a time when the nocturnal creatures would be inclined to find somewhere to roost. Shortly thereafter, the timed devices would detonate, creating widespread fires and chaos. How was his proposal received by government and military officials? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Sierra Leone Granted Independence from the UK (1961)The capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, was founded on the coast of West Africa by British abolitionists in 1787 as a haven for freed and runaway slaves. It became a British colony in 1808, and the region became a British protectorate in 1896. It achieved independence in 1961 and became a republic 10 years later, but with independence came a series of military coups. An 11-year civil war marked by horrific atrocities further devastated the country and ended in 2002. What has occurred since then? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Herbert Spencer (1820)Admired by some and loathed by others, Spencer was one of the most discussed Victorian thinkers. An English sociologist and philosopher, he was an advocate of the theory of social Darwinism. In his vast, multi-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy, he held that the physical, organic, and social realms are interconnected and develop according to identical evolutionary principles. To describe his theory of sociocultural evolution, he coined what well-known phrase? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing exists; all is a dream. God—man—the world—the sun, the moon, the wilderness of stars—a dream, all a dream; they have no existence. Nothing exists save empty space—and you!...And you are not you—you have no body, no blood, no bones, you are but a thought.Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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keep (someone) in the loop— To keep someone informed about and/or involved in something, such as a plan or project, especially that which involves or pertains to a specific group. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 South Africa Freedom Day (2024)On April 27, 1994, the Republic of South Africa held its first democratic elections. The African National Congress (ANC) won the election, bringing with it socio-economic change that improved the lives of all South Africans, especially the poor. Every year, South Africa celebrates Freedom Day, a public holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the historic day in 1994. Special cultural events and exhibitions are held in various venues around Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, and other locations around the country. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: slimeasphalt - Its synonyms are mineral pitch, Jews' pitch, and slime. More... ooze - As in mud or slime, it traces back to an Old Norse word meaning "puddle, stagnant pool," and originally meant juice or sap from a plant or fruit. More... slime - Related to Latin limus, "mud, slime." More... mucous, mucus - Mucous is the adjective from Latin meaning "slimy," and mucus is the noun from Latin but cognate with Greek mussesthai, "blow the nose." More... | |