Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, February 24, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dullard
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Stative Verbs that Take GerundsStative verbs, also known as verbs of feeling, are very likely to take gerunds as their objects. "Love" is a common stative verb that takes gerunds. What is the gerund in the following sentence? "I love going to the movies." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ThalesThales of Miletus, one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, was a pre-Socratic philosopher and scientist. He is traditionally considered the first Western philosopher and a founder of geometry and abstract astronomy. As a philosophical materialist, Thales theorized that water was the first principle of all things. He speculated that the Earth floated on water, and so proposed an explanation for earthquakes. A capable astronomer, Thales is said to have predicted what celestial phenomenon in 585 BCE? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Los Angeles (1942)The "Battle of Los Angeles" is the name given by contemporary sources to the imaginary enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage that took place over Los Angeles, California, just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Reports of an imminent strike on the city led to the sounding of air raid sirens, the imposition of a blackout, and the firing of 1,400 shells at supposed Japanese aircraft, killing several US civilians. What may have actually prompted the bombardment? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Winslow Homer (1836)A preeminent figure in American art, Homer was a largely self-taught landscape painter and printmaker. He trained as a lithographer, then became a freelance illustrator. As a correspondent for Harper's Weekly, he won international acclaim for his depictions of the Civil War battlefront. In 1876, he abandoned illustration to devote himself to painting, later settling in coastal Maine, where the local people and seascapes became the focus of his art. What are some of his most famous works? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is an old-time toast which is golden for its beauty. "When you ascend the hill of prosperity may you not meet a friend."Mark Twain (1835-1910) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in a bad light— Negatively; under unfavorable circumstances. (Typically used with the verbs "see" or "show," or some similar variation.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 N'cwala (2024)In 1835, the Ngoni tribe left South Africa and moved into what is now the country of Zambia. The N'cwala festival celebrates the tribe's satisfaction with its environs since that time, and also marks the beginning of the harvest. This is a festival of thanksgiving and people congregate in the village of Mutenguleni, including the paramount chief. Groups of dancers display their skills for the chief, who traditionally chooses one group as having outdone the others. The chief is also responsible for being the first to sample the season's new foods and blessing it for the people. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: justicehigh court - A supreme court of justice. More... attain - First meant "bring to justice." More... revenge, justice - Revenge is personal and justice is societal. More... blind justice - The Greek statue for justice is wearing a blindfold so she cannot see the bribes being offered to her, hence blind justice. More... | |