Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 20, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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neophyte
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Subordinating ConjunctionsSubordinating conjunctions are used to create complex sentences containing one independent clause, or main clause, and one dependent, or subordinate, clause. What two things does a subordinating conjunction do in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Alice in Wonderland SyndromeMicropsia, also named Alice in Wonderland Syndrome after Lewis Carroll's fictional children's book, is a disorienting visual disorder in which humans, animals, and inanimate objects are perceived as significantly smaller than they actually are. The condition affects the brain's interpretation of signals sent from the eyes and not the mechanical functioning of the eyes themselves. What painful neurological condition may, in part, be the cause of micropsia? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Electricity Generated for First Time at Nuclear Power Plant (1951)Now a US National Historic Landmark, the Experimental Breeder Reactor I in Idaho became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant in 1951, when it produced enough electricity to illuminate four light bulbs. After the initial test, it subsequently generated sufficient electricity to power its building and continued to be used for experimental purposes until it was decommissioned in 1964. Today, the site is open to the public during what times of the year? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Harvey Firestone (1868)In 1900, Firestone formed a company to manufacture and sell rubber tires for horse-drawn vehicles, but within four years, his business had shifted to making tires for the burgeoning auto market. Sales to Ford Motor Company helped put Firestone Tire & Rubber Company at the top of the US tire industry. In 1924, Firestone established his own rubber plantations in Liberia, effectively defeating the British rubber cartel. What was "The Millionaires Club," and who besides Firestone was a member? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hoist by (one's) own petard— To be injured, ruined, or defeated by one's own action, device, or plot that was intended to harm another; to have fallen victim to one's own trap or schemes. (Note: "hoist" in this instance is the simple past-tense of the archaic form of the verb, "hoise.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade (2023)Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade is a nightly parade of boats at Newport Beach, California. More than 150 boats of all kinds, wildly decorated with lights depicting Santa Claus, snowmen, and other symbols of winter, join the parade. Some boats carry huge inflated figures and many play music. The floating parades started in 1908 as a Fourth of July spectacular. In 1946, the city put a tree and carolers on a barge and towed it around the harbor, and that began the current December parades. Today, about a million spectators watch them during the festival. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: perfectA-OK - Astronauts on the Mercury Project in 1961 popularized A-OK, meaning "excellent, perfect"; it was coined by blending the adjective "A," as in A-one or A1, meaning "first-class," with "OK." More... palinoia - The compulsive repetition of an act until it is perfect. More... parfait - Literally French for "perfect." More... perfect binding - A book bound by gluing instead of sewing. More... | |