Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, January 24, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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commutation
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Proper AdjectivesProper adjectives, like all adjectives, modify nouns, but they are different from other adjectives because they are actually formed from proper nouns. Why are proper adjectives typically used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Star FruitStar fruit, so named because it has five prominent ridges that make it star-shaped on cross section, is the yellow- or green-skinned fruit of the carambola tree. Because it contains high levels of oxalic acid, it is typically sour and its juice can be used to remove stains from clothing. Like grapefruit, star fruit possesses compounds that make it dangerous to consume when taking certain medications, including those used to treat what kind of conditions? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Soviet Satellite Breaks Up upon Reentry, Scattering Nuclear Debris (1978)Cosmos 954 was a Soviet reconnaissance satellite that used radar to observe ocean traffic. It was launched in September 1977 and quickly began to experience problems. Within months, it had deviated from its designed orbit. A malfunction prevented the safe separation of its onboard nuclear reactor, so when the satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere, it scattered radioactive debris over northern Canada, necessitating an extensive clean-up operation. How much did Canada bill the USSR for this? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hadrian (76 CE)The nephew of Roman emperor Trajan, Hadrian became emperor when he was adopted and named successor just before Trajan's death, after years of intrigue. After executing his senatorial opponents and abandoning many of Trajan's conquests, he began to travel widely, and many of his accomplishments were related to his visits abroad, including the beginning of construction of Hadrian's Wall. The wall is one of the largest and most significant remains of the Roman occupation of what area? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The skeleton of the whale furnishes but little clue to the shape of his fully invested body.Herman Melville (1819-1891) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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gut-wrenching— Agonizing; extremely distressing, unpleasant, or emotionally disturbing; having a severe effect on one's feelings. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Alasitas Fair (2024)Each year on this day, a large marketplace in La Paz, Bolivia, is full of merchants who traditionally call out "Alasitas," an Aymara word meaning "buy from me," to potential buyers of their miniature wares. Shoppers can find tiny replicas of just about every kind of object—cars, houses, foods, furniture, clothes, tools, household goods, and, especially, money—and seek those which represent items they would like to have in the coming year. Presiding over all this downsized commerce is Ekeko, an Aymara god of material wealth, fertility, and good luck. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: metaphortrope - A figurative or metaphorical use of a word or phrase. More... ingrain, ingrained - Ingrain literally means "work into the grain" (originally, of fabric), and ingrained is metaphorically "deep-seated." More... farce - First meant forcemeat stuffing and came to be used metaphorically when a humorous play was "stuffed" in between two more serious acts of the main theatrical presentation—or for interludes of impromptu buffoonery in a dramatic presentation. More... relieve - Metaphorically, to "alleviate, lighten," from Latin relevare, "raise again." More... | |