Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 30, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ameliorate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Complex SentencesThe order of the independent and dependent clause in a complex sentence is flexible. We can structure complex sentences with the independent clause first or with the dependent clause first. When the dependent clause is placed first, what do we generally follow it with? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Armillary SphereUsed as early as the third century BCE, armillary spheres are astronomical models of the celestial sphere—an imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth, upon which the celestial bodies seem to lie. Fixed and movable rings representing circles of the celestial sphere, such as the ecliptic and the celestial equator, allow astronomers to use armillary spheres to determine the movements and positions of stars. A representation of this device is prominently featured on what country's national flag? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Old West Outlaw Pearl Hart Robs a Stagecoach (1899)Hart was an American outlaw whose notoriety stemmed primarily from the fact that she was female. Her early life was fairly ordinary. She grew up wealthy and eloped at 16. In 1893, after seeing Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, she left her abusive husband and went west, where she acquired a taste for cigars, liquor, and morphine. In 1899, she helped rob a stagecoach, making away with over $400. She was apprehended, escaped, was recaptured, and then tried for her crimes. Why was she later pardoned? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer (1907)A contemporary of American aviatrix Amelia Earhart, German airwoman Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer began her flying career as a stunt pilot. She went on to make several daring solo flights and was awarded the Hindenburg Cup for her achievements. In 1936, she married racecar driver Bernd Rosemeyer, and the couple, allegedly with some reluctance, became darlings of the Nazi regime. Bernd was killed in a speed record attempt two years later. How had Elly survived a crash in the Sahara in 1931? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in no way, shape, or form— In no possible manner; under no circumstances; not by any means. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kaamatan Festival (2024)Kaamatan is a festival and public holiday in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. The festival is celebrated by the Kadazandusun people, the largest indigenous ethnic group in Sabah. Irrigated rice is their principal crop, and the harvest is a ritual dedicated to the Bambaazon, or rice spirit. If the harvest has been good, this is a thanksgiving; if it has been poor, the ritual is an appeasement of the spirit. This festival is celebrated during the month of May with carnivals, special exhibits, sports competitions, and a regatta, all leading up to the harvest rituals on May 30-31 in Penampang. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: railwayMain Line - The principal line of a railway (1841), it also has the meaning "affluent area of residence" (1930s), originally that of Philadelphia, from the "main line" of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which added local stops to a string of backwater towns west of the city in late 19th century that helped turn them into fashionable suburbs. More... one-track mind - Is a reference to the railway. More... railway - The word was first recorded in 1776, but the first actual railway opened nearly 50 years later, in 1825. More... sidetrack - First used for a railway siding or a minor track or path. More... | |