Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, August 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rappel
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Independent ClausesAn independent clause (also known as a main clause) is a clause that forms a complete, independent thought. What is a simple sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Great Pacific Garbage PatchIn the Pacific Ocean, there is a vortex of ocean currents that occupies an area of approximately 10 million square miles (26 million sq km). Called the North Pacific Gyre, it has a relatively stationary center whose circular rotation draws in waste material, leading to a massive, floating accumulation of debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Though such debris has historically been biodegradable, the gyre is now accumulating vast quantities of plastics, which break down into what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Russian Submarine K-141 Kursk Sinks in Barents Sea (2000)While completing naval exercises with dummy torpedoes on August 12, 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk suffered two explosions two minutes and 15 seconds apart. The second explosion registered about a 3.5 on the Richter scale. The blasts destroyed the front hull, and all 118 crew members died. It was initially believed that the entire crew died quickly. However, what evidence later suggested that some survived in another area of the submarine for about four hours after the explosions? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Cecil B. DeMille (1881)In 1913, DeMille joined Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn to form the forerunner of Paramount Communications. Their first venture, The Squaw Man (1914), was the first full-length feature film produced in Hollywood. DeMille, known for his flamboyance and his taste for huge casts and extravagant sets, went on to make numerous comedies before creating biblical spectacles such as 1923's The Ten Commandments. Which of DeMille's films won an Academy Award for best picture in 1952? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Men are all right for friends, but as soon as you marry them they turn into cranky old fathers, even the wild ones. They begin to tell you what's sensible and what's foolish, and want you to stick at home all the time. I prefer to be foolish when I feel like it, and be accountable to nobody.Willa Cather (1873-1947) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hand (something) to (someone) on a plate— To give or relinquish something to someone very easily, without him or her having to work very hard to get or achieve it. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Abbotsford International Air Show (2023)Widely recognized as Canada's national air show, this three-day event is an opportunity for the aviation industry to display the latest developments in civilian aircraft. Since the first show was held in 1962, it has included aerobatic performances by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Air Force, the Snowbirds Jet Team and the US Air Force's Thunderbirds. There is also a large banquet featuring well-known personalities in the aviation and aerospace fields. The show is held at the airport in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and is regularly attended by upwards of 200,000 people. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: solidcholesterol - Comes from Greek words meaning "bile, gall" and "stiff, solid," plus the ending "-ol." More... hydrogenated oil - An oil with trans-fatty acids that has been chemically changed from a room-temperature liquid state into a solid. More... sublimate - In chemistry, to change from a solid to a gas or from a gas to a solid without becoming a liquid. More... solder, solid - To solder something is etymologically to make it solid; solid comes from Latin solidus, "solid, whole." More... | |