Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 14, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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myelinated
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Noun AdjunctsNoun adjuncts are nouns that are used to modify other nouns. What is the resulting phrase called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ConchsConchs are marine gastropod mollusks with heavy, spiral shells with overlapping whorls. Unlike other gastropods, which crawl, conchs move by jumping. Most conchs are carnivorous, feeding on bivalve mollusks. Their shells are used for carving cameos in Europe and are sometimes made into crude instruments by removing the small tip of the shell to form a mouthpiece. In popular folklore, it is believed that the ocean can be heard if one holds an open conch shell to the ear. How does it work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Ascent of the Matterhorn (1865)English illustrator Edward Whymper developed an interest in mountaineering after being sent to sketch the mountain scenery of Switzerland in 1860. In 1865, after several failed attempts, he and his expedition party became the first to climb the Matterhorn—one of the last Alpine mountains to be ascended. Tragically, during the descent, four of his companions were killed in a fall. Whymper describes his experiences in Scrambles Amongst the Alps. What did he write about the accident? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785)An American journalist, playwright, and diplomat, Noah was the first Jew born in the United States to reach national prominence. After finding success as a diplomat, Noah held several public offices in New York City, edited and founded many newspapers, including the New York Enquirer and The Evening Star, and wrote plays such as She Would Be a Soldier. In the 1820s, he unsuccessfully attempted to buy Grand Island in the Niagara River to use for what purpose? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 She was no longer wrestling with the grief, but could sit down with it as a lasting companion and make it a sharer in her thoughts.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hard done-by— Mistreated or abused; cheated; dejected. Often preceded by "feel." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Avignon Festival (2023)The month-long Festival d'Avignon was founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, a well-known French actor and director who selected bold and innovative productions. Throughout its evolution, the Avignon Festival has not strayed from the fresh experimentation that was Vilar's hallmark, thus continuing to attract new audiences after more than 50 years of existence. The festival presents a different program each year, with about 40 performances given in 20 venues including the Popes' Palace (Palais des Papes), cloisters, and churches, and approximately 120,000 people in attendance. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lakedemersal - Describing a fish that lives close to the floor of the sea or a lake. More... eyot, ait - A small island in a river or lake is an eyot or ait. More... benthos - The flora and fauna at the bottom of a sea or lake. More... lagoon - Derived from Latin lacuna, "pool, lake" or "hole, gap." More... | |