Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 29, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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innocuous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ObjectsGrammatical objects are nouns or pronouns that complete the meaning of verbs and prepositions. What is an indirect object? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 StupasStupas are dome-shaped monuments erected in memory of the Buddha or Buddhist saints, often marking a sacred spot, commemorating an event, or housing a relic. A simple stupa consists of a circular earthenware base supporting a solid dome topped with an umbrella that symbolizes protection. Originally, such mounds served as burial places for royalty. The tradition was appropriated by Buddhists, who worship by walking clockwise around the stupa. What well-known Asian structures evolved from stupas? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Inventor Rudolf Diesel Disappears (1913)A German thermal engineer, Diesel invented the internal-combustion engine that bears his name, producing a series of increasingly successful models that culminated in his demonstration in 1897 of a 25-horsepower, four-stroke, single vertical cylinder compression engine. It was an immediate success and earned him a fortune. In 1913, while traveling by steamer to London for a business meeting, Diesel disappeared, presumably having fallen, jumped, or been pushed overboard. Was his body ever found? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Enrico Fermi (1901)Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi is known today as the "father of the atomic bomb." Fermi conducted early experiments with neutrons and was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics. After receiving the award in Stockholm, Fermi and his family chose not return to Fascist Italy and instead settled in the US. There, he created the first self-sustaining chain reaction in 1942 and later worked on the atomic bomb. What so-called paradox named for Fermi involves extraterrestrial intelligent life? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world ... but people don't know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (one's) druthers— To have one's choice or preference; to have things the way one would like them to be; to have one's way. Usually formulated as "if I had my druthers." Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Michaelmas (2023)The Feast of the Archangel Michael, or the Day of St. Michael and All Angels, is a traditional feast day in the Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, and Orthodox churches. Churches dedicated to Michael can be found in Asia and throughout coastal Europe, usually in places where Michael is reputed to have saved the community from the threat of a monster or giant. The ninth-century abbey Mont St.-Michel, off the coast of Normandy, France, once held the shield said to have been worn by Michael in his fight against the dragon. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: ignorantignore, ignorant - Ignore and ignorant are from Latin i-, "not," and gno-, "know." More... nescient - Can mean "ignorant" or "agnostic," coming from Latin ne, "not," and scire, "know." More... nice, nicety - Nice first meant "foolish, ignorant," derived from Latin nescius, "ignorant"; nicety first meant "stupidity." More... rude - Derives from Latin rudis, "uncultivated," and first meant "uneducated, ignorant." More... | |