Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 8, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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horologist
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grammatical PersonGrammatical person refers to the degree of involvement of a participant in an action, event, or circumstance. There are three degrees of grammatical person. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 White ElephantsA "white elephant" is an expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain. The expression derives from Southeast Asian monarchs' practice of making gifts of rare albino elephants, which, although sacred in South Asia and a sign of the ruler’s favor, were very expensive to keep and could not be sold or used for work. White elephants were thus both a blessing and a curse. According to tradition, what role did a white elephant play in the birth of the Buddha? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Great Chicago Fire (1871)The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned for more than two days and destroyed about four square miles of the city. It killed hundreds of people, left 90,000 homeless, and destroyed some $200 million worth of property. Originally composed of mostly wooden structures, the city was rebuilt with stone and steel and became a center of industry. According to early accounts of the disaster, the blaze began in a barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O'Leary. What supposedly caused the fire? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Henri Louis Le Châtelier (1850)Le Châtelier was a French chemist best known for devising Le Châtelier's principle, which makes it possible to predict the effect that a change in conditions—such as temperature, pressure, or concentration of components—will have on a chemical reaction. The principle states that a system in equilibrium, when subjected to a perturbation, will respond in a way that tends to minimize its effect and restore equilibrium. In 1928, Le Châtelier published a book on what system of scientific management? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have nothing to do— To have no tasks or actions that one must complete or undertake; to have nothing with which to occupy one's time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Peru Battle of Angamos (2023)The War of the Pacific (1879-1883) began when Chile and Bolivia fought for control of a portion of the Atacama Desert. On October 8, 1879, the Chilean Navy captured Peru's ironclad warship, the Huáscar, and killed the captain, Admiral Miguel Grau. Chile gained control over the seas and was thus able to invade Peru and Bolivia. October 8 is a national holiday in Peru to remember the lost Battle of Angamos. On this day, military and civil parades are held, and celebrations are held to honor the heroic deeds of Admiral Miguel Grau and his role in the battle. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: monthsfetus - A human embryo starts to be called a fetus at nine weeks. More... Catholic twins - Siblings born within 12 months of each other. More... half-birthday - One's half-birthday is the day exactly six months before or after one's real birth date. More... semester - First meant six months, as it comes from Latin semestris, "of six months." More... | |