Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 30, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sacrilege
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Auxiliary VerbsAuxiliary verbs (also called helping verbs) are verbs that add functional meaning to other "main" or "full" verbs in a clause. What are the three primary auxiliary verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PorcupinesAmong the largest rodents in the world, porcupines are found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas and are known for their coats of sharp quills that defend them from predators. Though porcupines' quills take various forms depending on the species, all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of a tough structural protein called keratin that makes them needle-sharp. Contrary to popular belief, porcupines are not capable of shooting their quills. How, then, do they defend themselves? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Saddam Hussein Is Executed (2006)During his presidency of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, Hussein instituted a brutal dictatorship, launching wars against Iran and Kuwait and directing campaigns against Iraqi minorities, particularly the Kurds. After an Anglo-American force invaded Iraq in 2003 and drove him from power, he spent several months in hiding but was captured by US forces. In 2006, the Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced him to death for crimes against humanity. What hobby did Hussein take up while in prison awaiting execution? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rudyard Kipling (1865)Kipling was raised in England but returned to his birthplace, India, as a 16-year-old journalist. He soon became famous for his stories and poetry, which often feature the heat, strife, and ennui of India and romanticize British imperialism. While in the US in the 1890s, he published The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, stories of the boy Mowgli in the Indian jungle that have become children's classics. In 1907, he became the first English language writer to win what award? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Best to live lightly, unthinkingly.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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an honest mistake— A mistake made unintentionally or unknowingly and without the intention of causing harm; a mistake that anyone might have made in similar circumstances. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rizal Day (2023)A national holiday in the Philippines, Rizal Day commemorates the execution of the national hero, Dr. José Rizal, on this day in 1896. Flags fly at half-staff throughout the country, and special rites are led by the president at the 500-foot Rizal Monument in Manila. Writing from Europe and denouncing the corrupt ruling of the Philippines by Spanish friars, Rizal became known as a leader of the Philippine reform movement. He had no direct role in the nationalist insurrection, but he was arrested, tried for sedition, and executed by a firing squad. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nailshyponychial dirt - After an archaeology dig, you will have hyponychial dirt (under the nails). More... gadzooks - An abridgment of God's hooks, "nails of the cross." More... quick - Any tender or sensitive flesh, as under the nails, around a sore or wound, or under a hoof. More... exungulate - To trim one's nails. More... | |