Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, October 9, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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zealot
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Gerunds as Objects of VerbsGerunds very frequently function as the direct objects of "true" verbs. What type of verb is very likely to take a gerund as an object? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Space WarfareThough it may seem limited to science fiction, space warfare was a real concern in the 1960s as space was becoming more accessible to humans during the height of the Cold War. While the Soviet and American space programs were competing to launch satellites and make lunar landings, they were also pursuing other projects—Almaz and Blue Gemini, respectively—to prepare for battle beyond the atmospheric confines of Earth. What weapon did the Soviet Union reportedly test fire in space? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Supernova 1604 First Observed (1604)A supernova is a rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short-lived object that emits vast amounts of energy. The last supernova to be observed in the Milky Way was seen in 1604 by Johannes Kepler and was used by Galileo, at his trial, as evidence against the presupposition that the universe never changes. Visible to the naked eye, it was brighter at its peak than any other star in the night sky. How far from Earth was this supernova? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ruth Ellis (1926)Ellis has the notorious distinction of being the last woman executed in the UK. In 1955, a jury took just 14 minutes to convict her of murdering her lover, racecar driver David Blakely. The two had had a volatile relationship, and Ellis had previously suffered a miscarriage as a result of a punch to the stomach from Blakely, but this mattered little after she admitted openly in court that she had shot him with the intention of killing him. In what film does Ellis have an uncredited cameo? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have the better of (someone or something)— To have or gain superiority, mastery, or an advantage over someone or something; to have control over someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Denis's Day (2023)Also known as St. Dionysius, St. Denis is the patron saint of France. According to legend, Pope Clement sent him to what is now France to establish the Church there, during the reign of Emperor Decius (249-251), but the pagans who greeted him did not treat him well. The most widely repeated legend is that they beheaded him on Martyr's Hill—the place now known as Montmartre in Paris—but he miraculously picked up his head and carried it for two miles before expiring at the site where the Church of St. Denis was later built. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: plumdrupe - A fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone (e.g. almonds, cherries, plums, olives), it comes from Latin drupa, "overripe olive," from Greek druppa, "olive." More... plum, prune - Plum and prune are ultimately the same word, coming from Greek proumnon. More... plum job - Relates to the 1600s British term "plum" for 1,000 pounds, meaning a serious amount of money. More... plum pudding - So named because it was originally made with plums—the word was retained to denote "raisin," which became the main ingredient. More... | |