Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, February 14, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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daredevil
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Infinitives vs. Base Forms (Bare Infinitives)The base form of a verb is simply the infinitive without the particle "to"—like an infinitive, it is uninflected for tense and person. Because of this similarity, the base form of a verb is often known as a bare infinitive. However, infinitives and base-form verbs function differently—in what ways? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HolographyHolography is the method of producing a three-dimensional image, called a hologram. A hologram is created by first splitting a laser beam. Half the beam is recorded on a plate, unaltered, and the other half is recorded after it is reflected off the object being imaged. On the recording plate, the two systems of light waves reinforce or neutralize one another, creating an interference pattern that, when illuminated by light of the same frequency, produces a hologram. Who invented holography? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, Unveiled (1946)ENIAC was an early electronic digital computer built in the US by engineers J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly. The massive ENIAC weighed 30 tons, filled an entire room, and used some 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors. After its official unveiling in 1946, it was used to prepare artillery-shell trajectory tables and perform other military and scientific calculations. When ENIAC solved its first test problem, it made calculations for what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jack Benny (1894)Benny made his vaudeville debut playing the violin in 1912. After discovering a talent for comedy while in the navy, he returned to vaudeville as a comedian. He made his film debut in 1927 and appeared in 18 films between 1930 and 1945. His weekly radio show—1932 to 1955—and TV show—1950 to 1965—won loyal audiences, and he became famous for a unique comic style characterized by subtle verbal inflection, meaningful pauses, and the stage image of a vain, stingy man. What was Benny's real name? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I think the first duty of society is justice.Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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honorable mention— A recognition or citation of merit given to a contestant, exhibition, entry, etc., in a competition despite that person or thing not being awarded a prize or top honor. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Birthday of Richard Allen (2024)The son of two slaves, Richard Allen (1760-1831) was born in Philadelphia on this day. By the time he was 26 years old, he had saved enough money to buy his way out of slavery, and soon after that he established America's first African-American church. Allen's work among African Americans expanded at such a rapid rate that in 1816 he had to expand the organization of his church nationwide. Members of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church commemorate the birth of their founder and first bishop on this day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mashbangers and mash - Sausage and mashed potatoes. More... farrago - From Latin, originally "a mash for feeding cattle"; later, figuratively, a medley or hodgepodge. More... mash - Originally malt mixed with hot water, to make wort. More... mush, moosh - Mush and moosh (nouns) are variations on mash. More... | |