Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 26, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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paunchy
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Generic "You"The second-person pronouns are also often used to indicate an unspecified person. This is sometimes referred to as "generic you," "impersonal you," or "indefinite you." This is less formal than its counterpart, the pronoun "one," but it is sometimes preferred. Why? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Vending MachinesToday, there are few things that cannot be purchased from vending machines. Most vending machines in the US dispense snacks, beverages, and other inexpensive merchandise, but in the 1950s, some airports featured life insurance policy-dispensing machines. In Japan, where there is approximately one vending machine for every 23 people, you can buy everything from live lobsters to iPods to underwear from machines. Who is believed to have invented the first vending machine and what did it dispense? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Wagner's Parsifal Premieres in the Bayreuth Festival Theatre (1882)Loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival—the medieval epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail—Parsifal is a three-act opera by German composer Richard Wagner. The opera was first conceived in 1857 but not completed until 25 years later. It premiered in 1882 at the second Bayreuth Festival, where it was performed exclusively until 1903. What tradition has arisen among the audience at performances of Parsifal at Bayreuth? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jane "Jinny" Bunford (1895)Standing well over seven and a half feet tall, Bunford was twice recognized during her lifetime as the tallest person in the world. She is also believed to have had the longest hair, at 8 ft 1 in (2.5 m) long. Though she died in 1922, she was featured in the 1971 Guinness Book of World Records after her skeleton was discovered on display at Birmingham University. Bunford's height likely resulted from her pituitary gland secreting excessive growth hormones after what childhood accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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good gracious— A mild exclamation of surprise, alarm, dismay, annoyance, or exasperation. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Liberia Independence Day (2023)This especially important Liberian holiday is celebrated with a parade, a party for the diplomatic corps in Monrovia, and a grand ball in the evening. Similar events are held throughout the country. The day commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1847 by the various settlements of the country, establishing the first independent black republic in Africa. After independence, elections were held, and Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected the first president in January 1848. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: medical termbrainstorm - By the 1890s, it was a medical term for "mental explosion". More... canities - The medical term for the graying or whitening of hair. More... repercussion - First a medical term for "repressing an infection." More... tension - Originally a medical term for the condition of being physically strained. More... | |